New research is overturning long-held assumptions about tooth enamel and human diversity. | Continue reading
An anthropologist dives into the world of genetic engineering to explore whether gene-editing tools such as CRISPR fulfill the hope of redesigning our species for the better. | Continue reading
As over 50 countries sign on to the “Thirty by Thirty” plan that would set land aside from human use, some scholars worry about its effects on marginalized communities. | Continue reading
Experimental archaeologist Bill Schindler’s globe-trotting research has led him to champion a diet based on humanity’s long history of inventive food preparation techniques, from nose-to-tail butchery to sourdough bread. | Continue reading
In the Peruvian Amazon, the Maijuna peoples created their own sign language—which hints at the importance of community in the evolution of language. | Continue reading
An anthropologist applies the practice of “multispecies ethnography” to study a controversial, flourishing population of macaques on Florida’s Silver River. | Continue reading
These members of the genus Homo have long occupied two different branches on the family tree. But now that researchers think these groups interbred, scholars are giving serious consideration to whether we are the same species after all. | Continue reading
A team of archaeologists is working to uncover whether ancient objects in South Africa were once used as sound tools to make noise or music. | Continue reading
Written rules about how to govern only work if they are backed up by unwritten values shared across the political spectrum. Over the past four years, Donald Trump’s relentless attacks on U.S. democratic norms have taken a toll. | Continue reading
Researchers recently announced a discovery that connects Neanderthal DNA and people who experience severe symptoms from COVID-19. Hugo Zeberg, one of the scientists who led the study, speaks with SAPIENS host Chip Colwell. | Continue reading
New archaeological findings about hunting challenge entrenched beliefs about gender roles in ancient hunter-gatherer societies—and today. | Continue reading
An archaeologist considers the history and biology of what defines a taste of home. | Continue reading
With no end to the COVID-19 pandemic in sight, people find themselves in a prolonged liminal state of transition. Why does that feel so unsettling? | Continue reading
Scientists are partnering with brewers to taste test ancient recipes and sip a long-lost past. | Continue reading
A new study suggests at least two close relatives of Homo sapiens may have died out as their environments changed. | Continue reading
The surprising scientific discovery of phosphine in the clouds of Earth’s closest neighboring planet is reanimating questions about humanity’s place in the cosmos. | Continue reading
Even as online meetings become more common, they can’t always capture the nuances of nonverbal communication and in-person interactions. | Continue reading
How did cannabis—a plant humans have been using for more than 10,000 years—become so vilified in the U.S.? | Continue reading
A new study, borrowing techniques from artificial intelligence research, suggests hominins in the eastern Mediterranean forged flint blades in flame, a task that requires creating and controlling heat. | Continue reading
Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, is ramping up its efforts to inhabit Mars, raising crucial questions about who gets left out of fantasies of space colonization. | Continue reading
As the pandemic sweeps across Mexico, some Indigenous communities recognize that their traditional principles and practices can offer protection from the virus. | Continue reading
An anthropologist digs into what the current “botanic boom” reveals about people’s interactions with nature and with one another. | Continue reading
Protestors toppling statues spur an anthropologist to look at the underlying urban politics that reproduce colonial and racist systems in Australia’s Waterloo-Redfern housing plans. | Continue reading
The story we’ve all been told about the demise of Easter Island’s culture is flat-out wrong. Here’s why. | Continue reading
If you’re a parent or thinking of becoming one, read this essay about my friend Sarah (they/them) and how their mom, who’s an anthropologist, responded when they came out to her as agender. I was already crying five sentences into this piece, but the conclusion is what really got … | Continue reading
The retelling of one of America’s Founding Fathers showcases how some people need to hustle to get ahead—highlighting the problems of systemic racism in U.S. society. | Continue reading
In Papua New Guinea, Indigenous peoples have been interpreting their ancestral landscapes for generations. | Continue reading
Universities are planning to open across the United States with strategies based on fantasy documents and magical thinking. | Continue reading
As the field of anthropology struggles to shed its colonial past, the discipline has inadvertently put constraints on anthropologists of color who already face racism, bias, and discrimination. | Continue reading
Nonbinary genders and male hierarchy as expressed in Ecuadorian clay sculptures led one archaeologist to see biases in her modern life with fresh eyes. | Continue reading
Archaeology remains a profession with an overwhelmingly white workforce. Two archaeologists ask why that matters and what can be done about it. | Continue reading
Researchers show that with proper training, dogs can help scholars discover human and animal remains from bygone centuries. | Continue reading
Controversial new archaeological research casts doubt on a classic theory of this famous island's societal collapse. | Continue reading
When the bureau’s Art Theft Program teamed up with a cultural anthropologist to investigate one man’s private collection, they began a yearslong project to return cultural objects and human remains to their rightful homes. | Continue reading
Not just for trampoline jumpers and sweater wearers, static electricity is helping archaeologists illuminate the behavior of our ancient cousins. | Continue reading
The coronavirus pandemic is unequally affecting minority communities in the U.K. and the U.S. Racism, not race, explains the disparity. | Continue reading
The populations of the great apes were once nearly equal. Now, one great ape species outnumbers the rest. How did we do it? | Continue reading
Two anthropologists and diehard sports enthusiasts reflect on why documentaries and draft coverage only go so far in filling the void amid the COVID-19 pandemic. | Continue reading
An anthropologist explores how her current study of COVID-19 and childbirth reveals profound and amplified problems with the United States’ maternity system. | Continue reading
An anthropologist looks at past disease outbreaks to consider how the COVID-19 crisis may—or may not—benefit the environment. | Continue reading
An anthropologist’s extensive study of water scarcity in Mumbai reveals how such crises are often driven less by nature’s limits and more by human choices. | Continue reading
To help battle the coronavirus crisis, testing would not only identify those who carry the virus, it would also make the threat of the disease more tangible. | Continue reading
Anthropologists often study people who have died. Can the field provide context and comfort during a pandemic? | Continue reading
Politics, geography, and tradition have long focused archaeological attention on the evolution of Homo sapiens in Europe and Africa. Now, new research is challenging old ideas by showing that early human migrations unfolded across Asia far earlier than previously known. | Continue reading
One of the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis is taking serious action against a threat that seems so abstract and intangible. | Continue reading
Humans are wired through millions of years of evolution to be social creatures. Faced with the COVID-19 virus, can we stay connected at a distance? | Continue reading
With COVID-19 making its way around the United States, people are emptying stores of toilet paper. Archaeology throws a light on other bouts of odd consumer behavior. | Continue reading
Suffocating air pollution and a fog of censored information in China are leading to higher fatalities from the virus. Will this outbreak clear the air? | Continue reading