University of New Mexico

Assistant Professor

Ian Wallace is an evolutionary anthropologist and Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico. His research tackles two big questions: How did humans evolve to use their bodies to move? And what are the costs and benefits of modern physical activity patterns for human health? To address these questions, he studies contemporary people in both the field and lab. He also studies the fossil and archeological records and conducts experiments with animal models. He is particularly drawn to research topics that lie at the interface between evolutionary anthropology and medicine, especially those related to degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis that appear to stem from deleterious interactions between our evolutionary heritage and modern environments. Recently, his fieldwork has been focused on the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Malaysia.