Staff profile

Using methods from anthropology and psychology, I conduct research in hunter-gatherer societies to understand the cultural diversity in, and evolution of, social learning in childhood. Specifically, I use quantitative and qualitative methods to study how and from whom children learn through meaningful participation in every day activities. With Forager Child Studies, the interdisciplinary research team I co-founded and co-direct, I conduct cross-cultural reviews and secondary data analysis on the pasts, presents, and futures of forager children's learning.

Since 2016, I work with egalitarian BaYaka foragers and their farmer neighbours in the Congo Basin. My primary research uses behavioural observations to understand social learning. I have also collected biological samples, social network data, and conducted experiments for collaborative cross-cultural projects.

• peer learning
• cultural evolution
• cross-cultural research methods
• object play
• child foraging

Journal Article

• Lew-Levy, Sheina, van den Bos, Wouter, Corriveau, Kathleen H., Dutra, Natalia Bezerra, Flynn, Emma G., O'Sullivan, Eoin, Pope, Sarah, Rawlings, Bruce, Smolla, Marco, Xu, Jing & Wood, Lara (Submitted). Peer learning and cultural evolution. Child Development Perspectives
• Lew-Levy, S, van den Bos, W, Corriveau, K, Dutra, N, Flynn, E, O'Sullivan, E, Pope-Caldwell, S., Rawlings, B.S, Smolla, M, Xu, J & Wood, L (2023). Peer learning and cultural evolution. Child Development Perspectives
• Riede, Felix, Lew-Levy, Sheina, Johannsen, Niels N., Lavi, Noa & Andersen, Marc Malmdorf (2022). Toys as Teachers: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Object Use and Enskillment in Hunter–Gatherer Societies. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory
• Pope-Caldwell, Sarah, Lew-Levy, Sheina, Maurits, Luke, Boyette, Adam H., Ellis-Davies, Kate, Haun, Daniel, Over, Harriet & House, Bailey R. (2022). The social learning and development of intra- and inter-ethnic sharing norms in the Congo Basin: A registered report protocol. PLOS ONE 17(11).