Stop Projecting Nationalism Onto Stonehenge

Two archaeologists respond to the portraits of Queen Elizabeth II beamed onto Stonehenge—the latest attempt to appropriate the monument for nationalist messages.

Did Margaret Mead Think a Healed Femur Was the Earliest Sign of Civilization?

An anthropologist digs into the origins of a popular story attributed to Margaret Mead about the original sign of civilization.

Is Donated Blood a Gift or a Commodity?

An anthropologist dives into the morally fraught blood and plasma industry and what it reveals about human societies—the good, the bad, and the gory.

Can Machine Learning Translate Ancient Egyptian Texts?

A new program aims to use AI to help academics and the public decipher hieroglyphs. Here’s an inside look at how—and whether—it works.

Maize and Okra

A poet-anthropologist recollects when Muscogee (Creek) people offered his formerly enslaved ancestors refuge, extending the bonds of kinship.

Tree Rings Are Evidence of the Megadrought—and Our Doom

Scientists are using dendroclimatology to investigate megadroughts in the western U.S., and the trees are telling a disturbing tale.

Crystal Worl’s Countermural Tells a Different History of Alaska

Indigenous artist Crystal Kaakeeyáa Worl’s new public mural honoring Tlingit activist Elizabeth Peratrovich places Alaska Native peoples’ resistance to colonialism at the center of Juneau’s history.

Five Turning Points in the Evolution of Wine

Anthropologists have helped uncork the fascinating history of winemaking—from drunken primates to Stone Age seed domestication to intoxicating religious rites.

Cooking Debris in an Australian Cave Tells a Story of Resilience

An archaeological project in Australia investigates 65,000 years of food scraps to understand Aboriginal peoples’ resilience amid changing plant life, sea levels, and climate.

The Deep Human Story of Collecting Fossils

Dinosaur eggs, trilobites, and other fossils have intrigued humans for hundreds of thousands of years, inspiring their creative pursuits and their understanding of the natural world.