Jan Verpooten obtained his MSc Biology from the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He studied the social behavior (conflict management) of spider monkeys in the wild in Yucatán, Mexico, as a research assistant of Prof. dr. Filippo Aureli, John Moore's University, UK. For some years now he has been collaborating with Prof. Dr. Mark Nelissen of the University of Antwerp (Behavioral Biology) in developing an evolutionary approach to human artistic behaviors. He is currently writing his PhD thesis as a Junior Fellow.