Andrea Migliano

Prof. Andrea Migliano is a Professor in Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Zurich, leading the Human Evolutionary Ecology Group. Her work focuses on hunter-gatherer populations, particularly in the Philippines, Congo, Brazil, and Nepal, examining socioecology, cooperation, and cultural evolution. She investigates how foraging strategies shape human adaptations like sociality and cumulative culture, using network analysis and experimental methods. Key projects include COLLABORO (studying socio-cognitive development in hunter-gatherers) and HEE CARBON FREE (combating deforestation through agroforestry). She collaborates internationally with institutions like the Isabela State University (Philippines) and the University of Cambridge. Her research also addresses threats to indigenous communities, such as land encroachment and climate impact. She advises numerous PhD and Master’s students and has mentored prominent researchers now at institutions like the University of Cambridge and UCL.

Her fieldwork spans multiple continents, with a focus on Agta foragers in the Philippines. Projects like the AGTA BOOK preserve indigenous storytelling, while CACAO GATHERERS promotes sustainable livelihoods through agroforestry. Prof. Migliano’s work integrates anthropology, genetics, and ecology to understand human evolution, emphasizing the role of multilevel social structures in fostering cumulative culture. She has secured grants from ERC and Swiss funding bodies, and her findings have been published in high-impact journals like Science and Nature.

• Research Themes: Hunter-gatherer socioecology, cultural evolution, cooperation mechanisms, and human-environment interactions.
• Key Collaborations: ISU (Philippines), University of Cambridge, and institutions in Congo and Brazil.
• Fieldwork Locations: Philippines, Congo, Brazil, Vanuatu, and Nepal.