The tense truce between detectorists and archaeologists
Metal detecting is enjoying a resurgence, driven by good press and fantastic finds. But archaeologists are not overjoyed at the rise of the hobby detectorists. Why? There’s been…
Tag: Culture
The Shameful Persistence of White Supremacy in the United States
So-called alt-right groups, such as these demonstrators at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017, have been emboldened by recent political developments in…
Natural Disasters Are Social Disasters
When Hurricane Harvey dumped more than 4 feet of rain over parts of Houston in August, the National Weather Service needed two new colors for their rainfall maps:…
Encounters Unforeseen: A Bicultural Retelling of 1492 with Andrew Rowen
From Press Release: After 525 years, the traditional literature recounting the history of Columbus’s epic voyage and first encounters with Native Americans remains Eurocentric, focused principally—whe…
Are Religious People More Moral?
While religious practices might remind participants of specific moral codes, they do not make followers more moral, overall, than unbelievers. Dimitris Xygalatas This article was original…
Trump’s cuts to national monuments are an assault on our humanity – fight them
Reducing Utah’s national monuments is not simply about economics, archeology, ecology or grazing. The degradation of our public lands is a degradation of our humanity Monday, 4 December,…
Trump’s cuts to national monuments are an assault on our humanity – fight them
Reducing Utah’s national monuments is not simply about economics, archeology, ecology or grazing. The degradation of our public lands is a degradation of our humanity Monday, 4 December,…
Making #AmAnth17 Manageable: The Teaching Culture Top 30
What would the AAA be without the Teaching Culture Top 30 list? Every year we scour the AAA program and try to winnow it down to a short…
When Ex-convicts Become Criminologists
Education can offer prisoners an avenue by which to both voice their critiques of the system and to help transform it. Wenting Li/SAPIENS One fresh, sunny morning this…
Could Group-Organized Violence Be Rooted in Empathy?
The Samburu people, pastoralists who live in northern Kenya’s semiarid lands, have a rich oral tradition recounting stories of their ancestors. In the late 19th century, one story…
No One Right Way to Peace
When the United Nations drafted The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, it established a vision of peak humanity, articulating what the assembly considered appropriate rules for…
Compassion Sets Humans Apart
When considering the question of whether humans are a naturally aggressive and violent species, it might be good to take a deep breath and have a look at…
Conditions & Potentials of Human Life
What is Anthropology? In each generation, the question of “What is Anthropology?” must be answered anew. In 2017, Tim Ingold’s Anthropology and/as Education provides a summation of a…
It’s Not Just Your Parents’ Fault
Did you know that your mind is a cesspit of anger, and fear, and unresolved moments from your childhood? It’s not just you. Apparently everyone is living in…
Is the United Nations Broken?
U.S. President Donald Trump excoriated the United Nations at the 72nd U.N. General Assembly in September. MediaPunch/Associated Press When the United Nations General Assembly convened its…
All that is trafficking is rape, and other emotional excesses
A combination of titillation and outrage characterise public rhetoric about commercial sex, along with a tone of moral indignation suited to crusaders. A policeman in Cornwall has just warned…
When It’s Not Safe to Sleep
Many street dwellers wait to sleep until the sun rises and people bustle through public spaces, providing a level of safety that the homeless cannot find at night.…
Can We “See” Climate Change?
While standing on the Senate floor in Washington, D.C., in February 2015, Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma expressed his deep skepticism about climate change. “We keep hearing…
Life and Death After the Steel Mills
Steel mills were the economic backbone of many cities across the Midwest and Northeast until the 1980s. When the industry left, former workers not only took a hit…
Besuch von der Osterinsel
Mit etwas schlechtem Gewissen habe ich festgestellt, dass seit meinem letzten Blogeintrag schon mehr als ein Monat vergangen ist. Das liegt allerdings nicht daran, dass in den letzten vier Wochen…
Three Lessons I Learned From Charlottesville
White supremacists surrounded counterprotesters at the University of Virginia campus on August 11. Shay Horse /Associated Press On the evening of August 11, a torch-bearing mob assaulted …
What mysteries could be unlocked by new Antikythera shipwreck finds?
Excavation has revealed fragments of bronze sculpture and raises the possibility of several buried statues in the area. So what do these discoveries tell us? The shipwreck at…
What mysteries could be unlocked by new Antikythera shipwreck finds?
Excavation has revealed fragments of bronze sculpture and raises the possibility of several buried statues in the area. So what do these discoveries tell us? The shipwreck at…
Iceland’s Forgotten Fisherwomen
Fisherwomen have played a significant role in Iceland’s history, and yet their contribution has been, for the most part, overlooked. Michelle Jones/SAPIENS In the mid-1700s, a seawoman in…