Haneul Jang

Haneul Jang is a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, affiliated with the Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture. His work focuses on hunter-gatherer societies, particularly the BaYaka people of the Republic of Congo, examining navigational strategies, cooperative foraging, childcare dynamics, and cultural transmission. He holds a PhD in Primatology from the same institute (2020), advised by Dr. Karline Janmaat and Prof. Christophe Boesch. His research integrates mixed methods including interviews, observations, and social network analysis.

Education: PhD (2020, Max Planck Institute), MSc (2014, Ewha Womans University, South Korea), BSc (2012, Ewha Womans University).

Research interests include spatial cognition in tropical forests, intergroup cooperation, and subsistence strategies. Key findings include how BaYaka women balance childcare with foraging and the role of social networks in transmitting cultural knowledge. He has published in Scientific Reports, Science Advances, and Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Awards include the Leakey Foundation Grant (2015) and travel bursaries to international conferences. His fieldwork spans Congo, Indonesia, and South Korea, with over 12 months of data collection among the Mbendjele BaYaka. Collaborations include Dr. Adam Boyette and Dr. Karline Janmaat.