Your Body as Part Machine
When you hear the word “cyborg,” scenes from the 1980s films RoboCop or The Terminator might spring to mind. But the futuristic characters made famous in those films…
Tag: Evolution
Neanderthal Legs and Feet—Suited to Sprinting
If you’re like me, you view long-distance running as a somewhat unrealistic aspiration and see those people who do it well as remarkable creatures. The truth, though, is…
“Ain’t no future in your future”: Temporalities of Recovery and Resilience in Flint, Michigan
By Talia Gordon, University of Chicago § A future full of possibilities starts by drinking pure quality water – Nestlé “Pure Life®” Bottled Water In October 2018, Mayor…
Should the Story of Homo’s Dispersal Out of Africa Be Rewritten?
Researchers excavate in Jordan’s Zarqa Valley. Fabio Parenti Giancarlo Scardia was in Jordan in 2013 as the Syrian Civil War ground on. He recalls seeing refugees gathered in…
Things That Are Not Alive, but Which May Be Alive in a Certain Way: An Interdisciplinary Essay on a Relational Theory of Life
By Meredith Root-Bernstein, AgroParisTech, INRA § This blog post is adapted from a paper given at “Anthropology Off Earth,” Collège de France and l’Observatoire de Paris, 4-5 June…
Grounds for Climate Change Mitigation in South Korea’s Tidal Mudflats
By Gebby Keny, Rice University § Blue Carbon Muddy boots on the shore of Wah Ohn beach. Photo by author. “The trick is to step with your right…
Where Have All the Denisovans Gone?
[no-caption] Marcel Hirshegger/SAPIENS The Denisovans have long been one of the most elusive ancient human cousins, until now. In May 2019, scientists revealed the first fossil evidence o…
Does Your Microbiome Shape Your Friendships?
[no-caption] Sara López Gilabert/SAPIENS It is early morning on a wide plain in Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya. With a small Dixie cup and a wooden tongue…
The Blueberry Wars
In elementary school, the first “robin red-breast” of spring signaled warmer days, colorful flowers, and a promise that the school year wouldn’t last forever. I considered robins m…
The Neanderthal Arm—Hints About Handedness
The human body is often visualized as a symmetrical form: Picture the geometric precision of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic drawing of a man’s proportions encased by a circle…
The Neanderthal Arm—Hints About Handedness
The human body is often visualized as a symmetrical form: Picture the geometric precision of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic drawing of a man’s proportions encased by a circle…
New Hominin Shakes the Family Tree—Again
Homo luzonensis’ teeth are unusual in that the premolars (two teeth on the left) are relatively large, while the molars (three on the right) are smaller than other…
Teaching Evolution in the South: Framing Evolutionary Theory for Religious Students
I am a biocultural anthropologist and teach at a university in the southern United States of America. This means that many of my students are religious and haven’t…
A Head-to-Toe Tour of the Neanderthal
In 1856, a scattered collection of bones was found in the Feldhofer Cave of the Neander Valley in Germany. Scientists had never seen anything like it. The skull…
Fat, Not Meat, May Have Led to Bigger Hominin Brains
[no-caption] sodapix/Getty Images Northern Ethiopia was once home to a vast, ancient lake. Saber-toothed cats prowled around it, giant crocodiles swam within. The streams and rivers that …
First Confirmed Denisovan Skull Piece Found
Three researchers stand in Denisova Cave in Russia, home to the newly classified Denisovan skull fragments. IAET SB RAS/Sergei Zelensky/Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology …
Will the Iconic Skull of an Ancient Human Return to Zambia?
[no-caption] Trustees of the NHM The town of Kabwe sits about 70 miles north of Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, as the crow flies. Just over 200,000 people live in…
Visitor Log Chronicled for the Denisovan Family Home
Tooth pendants (one pictured here), along with other artifacts discovered at Denisova Cave, mark the earliest evidence of human ornamentation—between 43,000 and 49,000 years ago—in northern Eurasia. …
Fat Gets No Respect (But That Should Change)
Every human has it. But nearly every human society sees it differently. Fat. What purpose does it serve? In this video, a collaboration between SAPIENS and Aeon, anthropological…
Writing Science: Viewing Science as Social Practice in the Composition Classroom
Composition endures, in fact thrives, at universities that are heavily invested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. But, this also means that composition instructors who are primaril…
Top Articles of 2018
As the year winds down, Anthropology News rounds up our most popular articles of 2018. From critical reflections on the discipline and experiences of it, to grappling with…
Secrets Hidden in Ancient Teeth
Fossilized tooth crowns hold lots of information about past climates and life events. Tanya M. Smith This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been republished under Creative…
Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs?
Ten years ago, toiling in scorching heat on the parched Fongoli savanna in southeast Senegal, anthropologist Julie Lesnik faced an unpalatable task. She had to taste a termite.…
Chocolate Treats Have Been a Part of Our History for at Least 5,000 Years
Not a trick: We’ve been hooked on chocolate treats for a long time. — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com