Claudio Tennie
@ctennie.bsky.social
Group Leader, Uni Tübingen | Humans, hominins, and apes | Evolution of human cultural evolution
-> When and how did we get from ape-like cultures to deep, broad & open-ended cultural evolution?
https://sites.google.com/view/claudiotennie
-> When and how did we get from ape-like cultures to deep, broad & open-ended cultural evolution?
https://sites.google.com/view/claudiotennie
Pinned
Claudio Tennie
@ctennie.bsky.social
· Dec 13
#700 Claudio Tennie: Tool Behaviors in Great Apes, Cultural Transmission, and Cumulative Culture
YouTube video by The Dissenter
www.youtube.com
Bsky is growing - follower lists do, too.
Let me introduce myself.
I study archaeology, biology & psychology. The common theme: evolution of cultural evolution (especially of: tools).
Two recent interviews give an overview:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8UK...
&
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB31...
Let me introduce myself.
I study archaeology, biology & psychology. The common theme: evolution of cultural evolution (especially of: tools).
Two recent interviews give an overview:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8UK...
&
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB31...
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
Glad to see that in the criteria for tenure our department now explicitly includes #openscience. There’s hope!
@ikmz.bsky.social @esserfrank.bsky.social
@ikmz.bsky.social @esserfrank.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Glad to see that in the criteria for tenure our department now explicitly includes #openscience. There’s hope!
@ikmz.bsky.social @esserfrank.bsky.social
@ikmz.bsky.social @esserfrank.bsky.social
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
We did a thing. 😬
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 5:59 PM
We did a thing. 😬
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
TU/e has gained a new research centre: META/e. Daniël Lakens and Krist Vaesen were among the founders of this knowledge hub for metascience—research aimed at improving the practice of science itself. “We want to be a home for every researcher who occasionally wonders: what are we even doing?”
Knowledge centre META/e: home for those improving science
TU/e has gained a new research centre: META/e. Daniël Lakens and Krist Vaesen were among the founders of this knowledge hub for metascience—research aimed at improving the practice of science itself. ...
www.cursor.tue.nl
November 13, 2025 at 2:50 PM
TU/e has gained a new research centre: META/e. Daniël Lakens and Krist Vaesen were among the founders of this knowledge hub for metascience—research aimed at improving the practice of science itself. “We want to be a home for every researcher who occasionally wonders: what are we even doing?”
Strong response to recent critiques of the sequence-struggle hypothesis. Chapeau!
For this reason, we wrote this comment, published yesterday. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
We reason that 1) their data supports rather than rejects the sequence hypothesis, as monkeys and chimps did not perform with any precision in these sequential tasks. 7/n
We reason that 1) their data supports rather than rejects the sequence hypothesis, as monkeys and chimps did not perform with any precision in these sequential tasks. 7/n
November 13, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Strong response to recent critiques of the sequence-struggle hypothesis. Chapeau!
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Teaching this on Monday
November 8, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Teaching this on Monday
There is a tiny little sign here in Tübingen at the castle, signposting the old laboratory and this finding.
Watson and Crick elucidated the structure of DNA. Stop saying that they discovered DNA! This was done by another guy you probably haven't heard of! And therein lies a story. academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
Before Watson and Crick in 1953 Came Friedrich Miescher in 1869
Abstract. The story of genetics typically omits the original discovery of the molecular nature of DNA: Friedrich Miescher's 1869 discovery of the substance
academic.oup.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:11 AM
There is a tiny little sign here in Tübingen at the castle, signposting the old laboratory and this finding.
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
"I did not duplicate data intentionally. Those formulas found their way into my Excel data files by accident too." 🙄
November 7, 2025 at 1:14 AM
"I did not duplicate data intentionally. Those formulas found their way into my Excel data files by accident too." 🙄
Is the psychology replication crisis (at last) catching up with animal cognition?
"Our results indicate low statistical power and inflated effect sizes in both primary studies and meta-analyses."
Preprint here:
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
"Our results indicate low statistical power and inflated effect sizes in both primary studies and meta-analyses."
Preprint here:
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
The statistical fragility of animal cognition findings: a meta-meta-analytic reappraisal
ecoevorxiv.org
November 7, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Is the psychology replication crisis (at last) catching up with animal cognition?
"Our results indicate low statistical power and inflated effect sizes in both primary studies and meta-analyses."
Preprint here:
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
"Our results indicate low statistical power and inflated effect sizes in both primary studies and meta-analyses."
Preprint here:
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
Understanding this balance may be critical to developing more equitable innovation systems. Increasing population density in metropolitan areas does not automatically boost innovation.
November 3, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Understanding this balance may be critical to developing more equitable innovation systems. Increasing population density in metropolitan areas does not automatically boost innovation.
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
"Simple Neanderthal art wasn’t about lesser minds, it was about social life. Culture and connection shaped art evolution."
Art Beyond Cognition: Reframing Neanderthal art through social connectivity and cultural transmission | Evolutionary Human Sciences | Cambridge Core
Art Beyond Cognition: Reframing Neanderthal art through social connectivity and cultural transmission
www.cambridge.org
October 30, 2025 at 5:30 AM
"Simple Neanderthal art wasn’t about lesser minds, it was about social life. Culture and connection shaped art evolution."
Just out - "Art Beyond Cognition: Reframing Neanderthal art through social connectivity and cultural transmission" by Straffon & Tennie
Art Beyond Cognition: Reframing Neanderthal art through social connectivity and cultural transmission | Evolutionary Human Sciences | Cambridge Core
Art Beyond Cognition: Reframing Neanderthal art through social connectivity and cultural transmission
www.cambridge.org
October 27, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Just out - "Art Beyond Cognition: Reframing Neanderthal art through social connectivity and cultural transmission" by Straffon & Tennie
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
The people who would vote for Farage's ReFuk and support axing the NHS (to fund a tax cut for the extremely wealthy elites) need to know how much health insurance costs.
In the UK, a lot of people think health insurance is a £50 a month premium to Bupa. No grasp on reality...
In the UK, a lot of people think health insurance is a £50 a month premium to Bupa. No grasp on reality...
October 26, 2025 at 7:23 PM
The people who would vote for Farage's ReFuk and support axing the NHS (to fund a tax cut for the extremely wealthy elites) need to know how much health insurance costs.
In the UK, a lot of people think health insurance is a £50 a month premium to Bupa. No grasp on reality...
In the UK, a lot of people think health insurance is a £50 a month premium to Bupa. No grasp on reality...
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
April 5, 1925: Wolfgang Köhler, an eminent German psychology professor, cancels a planned lecture in North Carolina about the language and habits of chimpanzees. Although his studies have nothing to do with evolution the suggestion of a human-ape link is highly sensitive.
April 5, 2025 at 9:36 PM
April 5, 1925: Wolfgang Köhler, an eminent German psychology professor, cancels a planned lecture in North Carolina about the language and habits of chimpanzees. Although his studies have nothing to do with evolution the suggestion of a human-ape link is highly sensitive.
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
Monty Python understood p-hacking
October 23, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Monty Python understood p-hacking
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
🐦 Exciting news! Our new paper is out in PLOS Biology:
“A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia.”
Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍
🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@themanybirds.bsky.social
“A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia.”
Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍
🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@themanybirds.bsky.social
A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia
Neophobia (the aversive response to novelty) varies considerably across species and individuals, and can impact adaptability and survival. This study assesses neophobia in 1400 subjects from 136 bird ...
journals.plos.org
October 14, 2025 at 6:45 PM
🐦 Exciting news! Our new paper is out in PLOS Biology:
“A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia.”
Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍
🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@themanybirds.bsky.social
“A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia.”
Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍
🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@themanybirds.bsky.social
Wanted to make a joke that the 99.7 percent accuracy might include your main take-home message being reversed by AI-insertion of the word "not". But the real joke in all this is much better even.
Finally, someone has solved a real problem with AI! No more having to take a paper in the format for a journal that rejected you, and reformat it for a new journal. Well done!! formatmypaper.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Wanted to make a joke that the 99.7 percent accuracy might include your main take-home message being reversed by AI-insertion of the word "not". But the real joke in all this is much better even.
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
📢🚀 Are you an early-career researcher working on anything related to culture, behaviour or learning? 🧠🌍 Join ESLR, an interdisciplinary research community! We have a NEW website and our membership is now FREE. 👉 Sign up here to get updates and become a member: www.eslrsociety.com/membership
ESLR | Membership
www.eslrsociety.com
October 2, 2025 at 7:43 AM
📢🚀 Are you an early-career researcher working on anything related to culture, behaviour or learning? 🧠🌍 Join ESLR, an interdisciplinary research community! We have a NEW website and our membership is now FREE. 👉 Sign up here to get updates and become a member: www.eslrsociety.com/membership
Watched it a few years ago. Still recovering.
Of course there was also the delight of watching 'The Day After', just in case you had any hope for the future left.
But the holy grail of trauma collecting was watching 'Threads', for which I still need to gather courage to watch.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads...
But the holy grail of trauma collecting was watching 'Threads', for which I still need to gather courage to watch.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads...
September 26, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Watched it a few years ago. Still recovering.
You were not kidding when you said it's like doorstopper size, @jeremykendal.bsky.social :-)
September 16, 2025 at 8:55 AM
You were not kidding when you said it's like doorstopper size, @jeremykendal.bsky.social :-)
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
📃 Check out the paper in BioScience:
"Cultural inheritance is driving a transition in human evolution" academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
But, wait, is this bullshit?
"Cultural inheritance is driving a transition in human evolution" academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
But, wait, is this bullshit?
Cultural inheritance is driving a transition in human evolution
Abstract. Previous research on a transition in human evolution has been befuddled by the complexity of adaptive culture and made little effort toward empir
academic.oup.com
September 15, 2025 at 4:16 PM
📃 Check out the paper in BioScience:
"Cultural inheritance is driving a transition in human evolution" academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
But, wait, is this bullshit?
"Cultural inheritance is driving a transition in human evolution" academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
But, wait, is this bullshit?
From up the hill in Tübingen. Congrats!
Carrion crows can be trained to use stick tools with precision and flexibility, demonstrating advanced motor and cognitive skills not typically seen in their wild behavior. doi.org/g927xw
Carrion crows can learn precise tool use
Animal training can teach carrion crows to use a stick tool to retrieve food. With increasing practice, they not only demonstrate great skill and achieve their objective in a few steps, they also respond flexibly to varying conditions in the experiment.
phys.org
September 10, 2025 at 5:17 PM
From up the hill in Tübingen. Congrats!
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
Absolutely astounded that the UCU and Unison branches at Kent and Greenwich were not consulted, and that staff only found out about the merger this morning via BBC news and Kent Online. Solidarity to all colleagues.
September 10, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Absolutely astounded that the UCU and Unison branches at Kent and Greenwich were not consulted, and that staff only found out about the merger this morning via BBC news and Kent Online. Solidarity to all colleagues.
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
Still waiting for your recommendations! In the meantime, given the need to understand healthcare news, I recommend following @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social @wiringthebrain.bsky.social @carlbergstrom.com
I am going to implement this tip as a bsky starter pack! To help, all you need to do is to suggest bsky accounts of people who match this description and are useful bulwarks against misinformation. I will take the top 5-10 and make them into our ultimate starter pack security blanket.
September 8, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Still waiting for your recommendations! In the meantime, given the need to understand healthcare news, I recommend following @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social @wiringthebrain.bsky.social @carlbergstrom.com
Reposted by Claudio Tennie
Journal publishers *are* bundling your papers up in "data licensing agreements" for big tech companies to use for AI model training. Our publisher, T&F, got £75m from Microsoft for that last year alone.
September 6, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Journal publishers *are* bundling your papers up in "data licensing agreements" for big tech companies to use for AI model training. Our publisher, T&F, got £75m from Microsoft for that last year alone.