Ursula Cowgill
Encyclopedia
Ursula Moser Cowgill is a biologist
and anthropologist who worked for Yale University
, Dow Chemical Company
and the University of Colorado
during the second half of the 20th century. Her work includes studies of agricultural practices in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica
, seasons of birth
in human beings, the relationship between cultural gender bias
and infant mortality
, and the possible role of selenium
in reducing mortality
from AIDS
. She also looked after four potto
s for many years and published a series of observations on their behaviour.
Cowgill earned a PhD
from Iowa State University in 1956. Later she worked as an analytical chemist for the limnologist G. Evelyn Hutchinson
. Her first journal articles, some published jointly with Hutchinson, appeared in the early 1960s.
Cowgill was living in Colorado
as of 2003. In addition to her scientific research, she is an activist with the American Civil Liberties Union
.
s that Cowgill and Hutchinson were studying. In 1964, Cowgill took two of the pairs to live with her. She looked after them until 1981, when she gave the sole surviving male to a colleague.
While the pottos were with her, Cowgill published a number of journal articles on their anatomy, diet, reproduction, illnesses and recovery, and social behaviour. These publications constitute one of the few long-term studies of pottos in captivity.
in the Petén Basin
, Guatemala
, with the aim of learning about the effects of agricultural
practices of the pre-Columbian
Maya civilization
. Their findings reported that Maya cultivation methods had gradually robbed the soil of vital elements, meaning that it eventually became unable to sustain crops. Some scholars have linked this exhaustion of the soil to the 10th century decline of the Maya urban settlements in the Petén region.
and contemporary observations in Guatemala
. Using birth and death records from the parish registers of York
between 1538 and 1812, Cowgill found that throughout the city's history, girls at every stage of childhood had died at a higher rate than boys of the same age. This resulted in an adult sex ratio
of 136 males for every 100 females. Cowgill theorised that this was partly because girls were more likely to be victims of infanticide
, and partly because sons tended to receive better feeding and care than daughters.
In Guatemala, Cowgill studied an indigenous village where the sex ratio was even more skewed—178:100. Cowgill observed that mothers in this village breastfed
sons for much longer than daughters, and tended to give them preferential treatment even after weaning. Cowgill and Hutchinson also speculated that the sexually provocative behaviour of young girls in this village might be a survival mechanism.
and Southern Hemisphere
s, Cowgill hypothesised that weather
was the determining factor. However, she found that in urbanised and industrialised
areas the pattern had been disrupted. Her 1966 article on the topic, published in the journal Ecology, has formed the basis for subsequent research by other scientists.
. She then correlated this information with the mortality rate of AIDS
in the area. She found that the more selenium there was in the soil, the lower mortality from AIDS was. The relationship was especially strong among African-Americans.
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
and anthropologist who worked for Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Dow Chemical Company
Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company is a multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. As of 2007, it is the second largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization .Dow...
and the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
during the second half of the 20th century. Her work includes studies of agricultural practices in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica
Agriculture in Mesoamerica
Agriculture in Mesoamerica dates to the Archaic period of Mesoamerican chronology . During this period, many of the hunter gatherer micro-bands in the region began to cultivate wild plants...
, seasons of birth
Birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...
in human beings, the relationship between cultural gender bias
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
and infant mortality
Infant mortality
Infant mortality is defined as the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. Traditionally, the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea. However, the spreading information about Oral Re-hydration Solution to mothers around the world has decreased the rate of children dying...
, and the possible role of selenium
Selenium
Selenium is a chemical element with atomic number 34, chemical symbol Se, and an atomic mass of 78.96. It is a nonmetal, whose properties are intermediate between those of adjacent chalcogen elements sulfur and tellurium...
in reducing mortality
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. She also looked after four potto
Potto
The potto is a strepsirrhine primate from the Lorisidae family. It is the only species in genus Perodicticus...
s for many years and published a series of observations on their behaviour.
Cowgill earned a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Iowa State University in 1956. Later she worked as an analytical chemist for the limnologist G. Evelyn Hutchinson
G. Evelyn Hutchinson
George Evelyn Hutchinson FRS was an Anglo-American zoologist known for his studies of freshwater lakes and considered the father of American limnology....
. Her first journal articles, some published jointly with Hutchinson, appeared in the early 1960s.
Cowgill was living in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
as of 2003. In addition to her scientific research, she is an activist with the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
.
Pottos
In 1959, three pairs of pottos from West Africa arrived at Yale's Osborn Zoological Laboratory. At first they lived in the laboratory with a number of other nocturnal prosimianProsimian
Prosimians are a grouping of mammals defined as being primates, but not monkeys or apes. They include, among others, lemurs, bushbabies, and tarsiers. They are considered to have characteristics that are more primitive than those of monkeys and apes. Prosimians are the only primates native to...
s that Cowgill and Hutchinson were studying. In 1964, Cowgill took two of the pairs to live with her. She looked after them until 1981, when she gave the sole surviving male to a colleague.
While the pottos were with her, Cowgill published a number of journal articles on their anatomy, diet, reproduction, illnesses and recovery, and social behaviour. These publications constitute one of the few long-term studies of pottos in captivity.
Maya agriculture
Between 1961 and 1963, Cowgill and Hutchinson made studies of soilSoil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
in the Petén Basin
Petén Basin
The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, located in the northern portion of the modern-day nation of Guatemala, and essentially contained within the department of El Petén...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, with the aim of learning about the effects of agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
practices of the pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Maya civilization
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
. Their findings reported that Maya cultivation methods had gradually robbed the soil of vital elements, meaning that it eventually became unable to sustain crops. Some scholars have linked this exhaustion of the soil to the 10th century decline of the Maya urban settlements in the Petén region.
Sex ratio and childhood mortality
Cowgill's research into gender and child mortality covered both historical records in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and contemporary observations in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. Using birth and death records from the parish registers of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
between 1538 and 1812, Cowgill found that throughout the city's history, girls at every stage of childhood had died at a higher rate than boys of the same age. This resulted in an adult sex ratio
Human sex ratio
In anthropology and demography, the human sex ratio is the sex ratio for Homo sapiens . Like most sexual species, the sex ratio is approximately 1:1. In humans the secondary sex ratio is commonly assumed to be 105 boys to 100 girls, an assumption that is a subject of debate in the scientific...
of 136 males for every 100 females. Cowgill theorised that this was partly because girls were more likely to be victims of infanticide
Infanticide
Infanticide or infant homicide is the killing of a human infant. Neonaticide, a killing within 24 hours of a baby's birth, is most commonly done by the mother.In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...
, and partly because sons tended to receive better feeding and care than daughters.
In Guatemala, Cowgill studied an indigenous village where the sex ratio was even more skewed—178:100. Cowgill observed that mothers in this village breastfed
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
sons for much longer than daughters, and tended to give them preferential treatment even after weaning. Cowgill and Hutchinson also speculated that the sexually provocative behaviour of young girls in this village might be a survival mechanism.
Seasons of birth
Cowgill undertook one of the first scientific studies of seasonality in human reproduction. Taking data from historical records and indigenous peoples in various countries, she concluded that conception and birth in human beings, like that of many other animals, followed seasonal patterns to a degree. Because the pattern was different in the NorthernNorthern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
and Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
s, Cowgill hypothesised that weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
was the determining factor. However, she found that in urbanised and industrialised
Industrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
areas the pattern had been disrupted. Her 1966 article on the topic, published in the journal Ecology, has formed the basis for subsequent research by other scientists.
Selenium and AIDS
In 1997, Cowgill gauged the selenium content of soil in various locations in the United States by measuring the amount of the mineral that was absorbed by alfalfaAlfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
. She then correlated this information with the mortality rate of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in the area. She found that the more selenium there was in the soil, the lower mortality from AIDS was. The relationship was especially strong among African-Americans.
Publications
- Bajo de Santa Fe (with G.E. Hutchinson). Book, 1963.
- The history of Laguna de Petenxil, a small lake in Northern Guatemala. Book, 1966.
- Aquatic toxicology and hazard assessment, 12th volume (with Llewellyn R. Williams). Book, 1989.