Dieter Lukas

I am an evolutionary biologist focused on social systems of past and present populations from a comparative perspective. My key research achievements highlight the role of kinship in structuring social behaviour, resolve long standing questions about the evolution of animal societies, and advance novel approaches to provide insights into the evolution of social systems. My recent work unravels the fundamental assumptions underlying the field of human behavioural ecology, showing that behavioural variation in humans appears to be constrained by many of the same factors that shape behaviour in other mammals and birds. I am now revealing how the factors shaping social interactions lead to inequality in resource access and power imbalances within societies.