Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Daniel Lieberman, Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology

Dr. Daniel Liberman (Source: Julian J. Giordano)

 

“Live long and prosper,” is a famous saying spoken by the Star Trek character, Mr. Spock (played by the late, great Leonard Nimoy).  This idiom appropriately encapsulates a dominant value in American and many Western cultures: the desire to live a long life but not let the ravages of age show or rob one of their youth.  This is very much seen through the various aspects of popular culture, such as anti-aging creams, young models in advertisements, the “30 Under 30” tributes, and more.  Americans and Western cultural groups are obsessed with staying young, but there has never been an “acceptable” answer on how best to do that.  This is where the work of Dr. Daniel Lieberman comes in.  Today’s blog post is dedicated to exploring his research and how it helps us better understand how humans evolved to become who we are, as a species, today but also how we can achieve the famous adage spoken by Spock.

 

Dr. Daniel Lieberman is a self-proclaimed evolutionary biologist who has several academic posts at Harvard University.  He is a Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology and the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences at Harvard University. His primary research focus has been on understanding human physiology and anatomy, specifically from an evolutionary perspective.  His research not only concerns how we became who we are in a biological sense, but he also seeks answer questions concerning human health, injuries, and disease.  He, too, wants to live a long time, but unlike so many he does not fear aging.  He worries about being unhealthy and unable to continue doing what he loves, and he argues that the best way to avoid that outcome is to remain physically active throughout one’s lifetime. 

 

He recognizes that humans are unique in various ways, including our expanded head size, our ability to walk on two legs, and the longevity of humans compared to other nonhuman primates.  This latter point (about humans living long past their biological reproductivity) has been a driver in much of his research concerning human health.  Since humans live a long time, far long than other nonhuman primates, it is important to figure out ways to capitalize on that extended lifespan, and to ensure it is lived in the healthiest ways possible.  Liberman’s work is based in the fields medicine, exercise, morphology and locomotion, and evolutionary theory, and from these he believes he has solved the mystery to living a long and happy life: daily physical activity.

 

This conclusion is not revolutionary by any means.  Medical professionals for decades have advocated for people to be more physically active, but Lieberman’s cross cultural studies of humans in foraging and agriculturally based societies across the globe really drives home this point.  He has consistently found that foragers outlive agriculturalists by years.  Again, this is not a new point as bioarchaeologists have also documented that agriculturalists tend to be unhealthier than foragers, but they argue it was for different reasons.  Lieberman argues that the defining difference between foragers and agriculturalists is the amount of physical activity they engage in.  He has found that individuals who are more active, and not necessarily elite athlete level, live longer and healthier lives than those who are more sedentary.  Active people also suffer fewer degenerative declines compared to sedentary individuals, including in unexpected health areas such as incidents of Alzheimer's disease (a degenerative brain disease that leads to memory loss and loss in cognitive function over time). 

 

Lieberman believes so strongly in this work that he feels compelled not just to share his research with his colleagues (fellow scholars) but also with the public.  He takes just as much pride in publishing in high impact journals as he does writing for the public.  He has authored several books that are available and accessible to the general public, and he always welcomes the opportunity to talk to the public through interviews (e.g., podcasts, YouTube videos, newspaper articles, and more).  This is because he believes his work is not just a public health issue but a social, educational, and political issue.  Society must understand what he is doing to change the social norms that view exercise as a necessary evil and recognize that any physical activity, be it as simple as walking more, has profound benefits.  Also, by doing so people can achieve what they have sought for generations: the ability to live longer and healthier lives.

 

Bibliography

Liberman, D. (2020). Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding. Pantheon Books.

Lieberman, D. (2023). Episode 206: Daniel Lieberman: The Evolution of Human Exercise. (G. LaBlanc, Interviewer)

Lieberman, D. (2026). Daniel E Lieberman, Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences; Professor, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology; Affiliate, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. Retrieved from Harvard University: https://heb.fas.harvard.edu/people/daniel-e-lieberman

Zeldin, D. (2024, February 16). Daniel E. Lieberman ’86 on Extending ‘Healthspan’, Scientific Humor, and Running Barefoot Along the Charles. The Crimson.