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A computer-rendered graphic shows a rocky hill with sparse greenery at its base against a dark blue, starry sky.

Taking Cultural Preservation to a New Dimension

A multidisciplinary team of researchers explains historical, cultural, and ethical issues they considered while developing a 3D scan of a South African site to be shared with the world online.
A small mammal with brown fur sits on a grassy field with few blades of grass sticking out of its mouth.

Ancient Pollen Is Hiding in a Surprising Place

A paleoecologist explains what pollen in fossilized mammal urine can reveal about past ecosystems and environmental change.
An ornate engraving in a large stone wall depicts the head of a figure beneath sunrays. To its right are more figures etched into two levels on top of one another. On the left is an engraving of two feet.

What Ancient Egyptians Knew About Meteorites—Long Before Modern Astronomers

An Egyptologist’s study of hieroglyphic texts has revealed that ancient Egyptians likely understood the celestial origins of iron-rich meteorites.
A landscape features a grassy complex with a large, tiered structure made of stones that towers upward toward a blue, cloud-filled sky. Mountains taller than the structure are barely visible behind clouds in the distance.

Decoding Diversity and Power at Machu Picchu

New DNA analysis has revealed surprising diversity among remains from burial sites in Peru. A genetic anthropologist explains what this suggests about the 15th century Inca palace.
A graphic features a mastodon with its head raised and mouth open on rocky ground in front of a blue sky filled with swirling lights.

Forensic Methods Unveil Clues About Megafauna Extinctions

An archaeologist explains how novel applications of forensic methods—namely, blood residue analyses—have yielded evidence that Paleoindians hunted mastodons, mammoths, and other megafauna in eastern North America 13,000 years ago.
A person with a mustache and beard wearing a red-and-blue checkered shirt sits in a black computer chair and holds a white model of a mandible. Three computer monitors line the wooden desk the person is leaning their elbow on.

A New Take on an Old Fossil Hints at Ancient Migrations

Two anthropologists explain how an enigmatic human fossil jawbone—and its 3D-printed reconstruction—may evidence an early Homo sapiens presence in Europe and shed new light on evolutionary diversity and migration.
A colorful mosaic shows several people wearing helmets and holding metal shields in front of a pillared building.

The Rebellion Recorded on the Rosetta Stone

An archaeologist explains how recent archaeological finds in Egypt expand our knowledge of a violent revolt discussed on the now-famous Rosetta Stone.
A man with black hair and a beard sits on a sofa in the dark and looks at the illuminated screen of a cellphone he holds in his left hand.

Dating Apps Can Gauge Attraction but Not Chemistry

Why do attraction and chemistry feel different in the digital age? The answer lies in how digitally mediated information is changing the way we come to know potential partners.
A photograph shows, through glass, a person with short black hair wearing glasses, a necklace, and a black shirt pointing at a graphic of stick figures. Different clusters of stick people interact in different scenarios as various red lines surround them, with several lines intersecting at a central node.

How Diverse Was Medieval Britain?

An archaeologist explains how studies of ancient DNA and objects reveal that expansive migrations led to much greater diversity in medieval Britain than most people imagine today.
A black-and-white photograph features the head of a person with patterned face paint and a large headpiece adorned with feathers.

The Aztec Antichrist Chronicles Indigenous Resistance and Religious Conversion

An exceedingly rare notebook from 16th-century Mexico contains plays about the Antichrist told by the Aztecs’ descendants. An anthropologist recounts his rediscovery of the notebook and explains the plays’ unique insights into Indigenous Christianity.
With forest in the background, shirtless people with "USA" painted in red on their chests wear a mix of jean and khaki bottoms. Each person holds a long bamboo stick in their left hand, balancing it on their left shoulder. The group steps forward in unison.

What Cargo Cult Rituals Reveal About Human Nature

In Melanesia, Indigenous communities developed elaborate rituals to bring themselves material wealth starting in the late 19th century. These practices reveal a profoundly important and universal social technology.
A close-up image features a hand covered with a white latex glove holding a tiny test tube as it catches drops of small clear liquid from a pipette.

Will a Nobel Prize Make Paleogenomics More Accountable?

An anthropologist offers possible directions for ancient DNA studies moving forward—especially regarding the field’s complex histories with Indigenous communities and public education.
Three human researchers surround a white robot with a screen on its chest. The robot looks up to meet the gaze of one of the researchers.

Why AI Will Never Fully Capture Human Language

Researchers in artificial intelligence have made extraordinary strides in mimicking human language—but they still can’t capture the parts that truly make language human.
A tall, stair-step pyramid of beige stone in the distance towers over other stone ruins, with its top level plateauing just under a light-blue sky with white clouds.

What Ended This Hub of Ancient Maya Life?

A bioarchaeologist reflects on how a team of scientists investigated various elements that contributed to the destabilization and ultimate breakdown of Mayapán.
A black script is shown on sepia tone paper with a tear at the top.

What the Vai Script Reveals About the Evolution of Writing

In the 19th century, a man living in present-day Liberia dreamed of the first script for his native Vai language. Today linguistic anthropologists are digging into the script’s evolution—and what the changes over the past two centuries reveal about human cognition and society.
The flag of Ukraine, a blue stripe with a yellow stripe below, waves in front of a blue sky.

The Politics of “Ukraine” Versus “the Ukraine”

In Russian, the difference between the terms “Ukraine” and “the Ukraine” is not just descriptive or geographical.