Claudia Valeggia
Specific Research Areas
Human reproductive biology and the ecological and cultural context in which it develops
Research Synopsis
My work is primarily concerned with the interactions between human reproductive biology and the ecological and cultural context in which it develops. My research program takes a biocultural approach, that is, the interplay between biology and culture takes a central role in interpreting reproductive patterns. Some of the topics I have explored are the determinants of the return to postpartum fecundity, the variation in reproductive hormonal levels within and between women in relation to environmental variables, growth and development patterns in breastfed infants, and variation in male and female life history in populations experiencing drastic lifestyle changes.
My research interests include human reproductive ecology, reproductive endocrinology, maternal and child health, and health of indigenous populations in Latin America.
Anth 104 Sex and Human Nature
Anth 447 Human Reproductive Ecology
Anth 620 Topics in Biological Anthropology
Appointments:
Anthropology Graduate Group; Psychology Graduate Group; Demography Graduate Group
Li cenciatura in Biology, University of Buenos Aires;
Ph.D, Animal Behavior, University of California-Davis
Bove, R.M., Vala-Haynes, E. and Valeggia, C. (in press) Women's Health in Urban Mali: Social Predictors and Health Itineraries. Social Science and Medicine
Fernandez-Duque, E., Burke, K.M., Schoenrock, K., Wolovich, C. and Valeggia, C. (2011) Hormonal monitoring of reproductive status in monogamous wild female owl monkeys of the Argentinean Chaco. Folia Primatologica 82:143-153.
McGuinness, C. and Valeggia, C. (2011) La transición menopáusica en dos poblaciones étnicamente diferentes de la ciudad de Formosa [The menopausal transition in two ethnically different populations of the city of Formosa] Encuentro de Geohistoria Regional 30, 272-278.
Nagata, J., Bream, K.D.,Barg, F.K., and Valeggia, C. (2011) Coca-Colonization and Hybridization of Diets among the Tz’utujil Maya. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 50:4, 297-318.
Nagata, J., Valeggia, C., Barg, F.K., and Bream, K.D. (2011) Criticisms of Chlorination: Social Determinants of Water Beliefs and Practices among the Tz’utujil Maya. Panamerican Journal of Public Health 29(1): 9 -16.
Leonard, W., Stock J., and Valeggia C. (2010) Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Diet and Nutrition. Evolutionary Anthropology, 19: 85-86.
Valeggia, C., Burke, K. M., and Fernandez-Duque, E. (2010) The impact of socioeconomic change on nutritional status among Toba and Wichí populations of Argentina. Economics and Human Biology 8(1):100-10.
Fernandez-Duque, E., Valeggia, C., and Mendoza, S. P. (2009) The biology of paternal care. Annual Review of Anthropology 38:115-130.
Nagata, J., Valeggia, C., Barg, F.K., and Bream, K.D. (2009) Body Mass Index, Socio-economic Status, and Socio-Behavioral Practices among Tz’utujil Maya women. Economics and Human Biology, 7(1):96-106.
Valeggia, C. and Ellison, P. T. (2009) Interactions between metabolic and reproductive functions in the resumption of postpartum fecundity. American Journal of Human Biology 21(4): 559-566.
Lanza, N., Burke, K.M., and Valeggia, C. (2009) Fertility among the Toba, an Argentine indigenous population in transition. Society, Biology, and Human Affairs 73(1-2):26-34.
Valeggia, C.R. (2009) Flexible Caretakers: Responses of Toba families in transition. In: Substitute Parents: Biological and Social Perspectives on Alloparenting in Human Societies, Gillian Bentley & Ruth Mace (Eds). Studies in Biosocial Science Series, Berghahn Press, pp 100 -115.
Bove, R.M. and Valeggia, C.R. (2008) Polygyny and Women’s Health in Sub-Saharan Africa. Social Science and Medicine 68(1):21-9.
Valeggia, C.R. (2007) Taking the lab to the field: Minimally invasive techniques for monitoring reproductive hormones in population-scale research. Population Development Review 33(3) 525-542.
Walker, R., Hill, K., Gurven, M., Magliano, A., Chagnon, N., Djurovic, G., Hames, R., Hurtado, A.M., Oiver, W.J., De Souza, R., Valeggia, C. and Yamauchi, T. (2006) Growth rates, developmental markers, and life histories in 21 small-scale societies. American Journal of Human Biology 18(3):295-311.
Valeggia, C.R. and Ellison, P. T. (2004) Lactational amenorrhea in well nourished Toba women of Argentina. Journal of Biosocial Science 36 (5) 573-595.
Valeggia, C.R. and Ellison P. T. (2003) Impact of breastfeeding on anthropometric changes in a population of Toba women. American Journal of Human Biology 15:717-724.
Ellison, P.T. and Valeggia, C. R. (2003) C-peptide levels and the duration of lactational amenorrhea. Fertility and Sterility 80(4):878-880.
Bove, R. M., Valeggia, C.R, and Ellison, P.T. (2002) Girl helpers and nursing women’s activities among the Toba of Argentina. Human Nature 13(4), 457-472.
Fernandez-Duque, E., Valeggia, C.R., and Mason, W. A. (2000). Effects of pair-bond and social context on male-female interactions in captive titi monkeys (Callicebus moloch). Ethology, 106, 1067-1082.
Valeggia, C.R., Mendoza, S.P., Fernandez-Duque, E., Mason, W.A., and Lasley, B. (1999) Reproductive Biology of Female Titi Monkeys (Callicebus moloch). American Journal of Primatology, 47(3):183-95.