John Bunce

John Bunce is a Senior Researcher in the Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. He is also an Assistant Curator in the Division of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), focusing on South American Ethnology. His research integrates evolutionary anthropology with fieldwork in Amazonian Peru, focusing on inter-ethnic cultural dynamics, health, and the persistence of Indigenous cultures. Bunce holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from UC Davis (2009), an M.A. from UC Davis (2004), and a B.S. in Biology from Bates College (2002).

• Education:
  • Ph.D., Anthropology, University of California, Davis (2009)
  • M.A., Anthropology, University of California, Davis (2004)
  • B.S., Biology, Bates College (2002)

Bunce’s research explores how inter-ethnic interactions influence cultural norms and health outcomes among Mestizo and Matsigenka populations in Peru. He combines mathematical modeling, ethnography, and genetic analysis to study cultural evolution at ethnic boundaries. His work also examines the ecology and genetics of color vision in Neotropical primates.

His grants include a National Science Foundation award (2012–2015) and fellowships from the Leakey Foundation, Wenner-Gren Foundation, and Sigma Xi. He has co-led the Culture, Environment, and Health Research Group at MPI and taught courses at Indiana University, Vanderbilt University, and Western Kentucky University.

• Key Research Themes:
  • Cultural change and ethnic boundaries
  • Indigenous health and conservation
  • Evolutionary models of cultural dynamics
  • Primate behavior and genetics

Bunce’s professional service includes manuscript reviews for PNAS, Behavioral Ecology, and Current Anthropology, and grant reviews for the NSF and Leakey Foundation. He speaks English, Spanish, Matsigenka, and has basic German proficiency. His programming expertise includes R, Stan, and Mathematica.