Biography.guide
Home › People › Anthropologist › Robert Boyd
Portrait of Robert Boyd

Robert Boyd

b. 1948

Anthropologist

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Robert Boyd

Born 1948. Robert Boyd is an American anthropologist and university teacher.

Robert Turner Boyd (born February 11, 1948) is an American anthropologist. He is professor of the School of Human Evolution and Social Change (SHESC) at Arizona State University (ASU). His research interests include evolutionary psychology and in particular the evolutionary roots of culture. Together with his primatologist wife, Joan B. Silk (who is also a professor in SHESC at ASU), he wrote the textbook How Humans Evolved.

Life Boyd was born in San Francisco. He studied physics at the University of California, San Diego (B.A., 1970). In 1975, he completed a PhD in ecology at the University of California, Davis. From 1980 to 1984, he was assistant professor of the Department of Forestry and Environmental Science at Duke University. Afterwards, he taught two years in the Department of Anthropology at Emory University. From 1988 to 2012, Boyd was on the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles Department of Anthropology. He is currently a professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University.

PhD students Source: Francisco Gil-White Joseph Henrich Natalie Henrich Richard McElreath Michelle Kline Stephen Le Sarah Mathew Cristina Moya Karthik Panchanathan Aimee Plourde Adam Wetsman Minhua Yan

Books

Also published by Fünfte Auflage in 2008.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
University of California, San Diego, University of California, Davis
Positions held
Emeritus, Professor, Associate professor, Assistant professor
Employers
University of California, Los Angeles, Arizona State University, Duke University, Emory University
Awards
Guggenheim Fellowship; J. I. Staley Prize
Also known as
Robert Turner Boyd

Family & relationships

Spouse
Joan B. Silk

People in Robert Boyd's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Robert Boyd's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Robert Boyd?

anthropologist

When was Robert Boyd born?

Robert Boyd was born on 11 February 1948 in San Francisco.

What is Robert Boyd's occupation?

Robert Boyd is an anthropologist and university teacher.

What nationality is Robert Boyd?

Robert Boyd is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Robert Boyd

· Wikidata: Q1515949

· DBpedia: Robert Boyd (anthropologist)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Robert Boyd. https://biography.guide/robert-boyd-anthropologist/

MLA: "Robert Boyd." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/robert-boyd-anthropologist/.

Chicago: "Robert Boyd." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/robert-boyd-anthropologist/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 04:58 UTC