All stories

Three people in red and blue work suits, helmets, and boots walk in a cave.

The Humans We Haven’t Met Yet

One anthropologist contends that far too many species have been lumped into one category: Our story is more complicated, he argues.
The word "SAPIENS" on an off white background.

Five Questions for Gillian Tett

In this upcoming free live event, anthropologist and Financial Times editor Gillian Tett answers five questions about her new book, Anthro-Vision: A New Way to See in Business and Life..
Jesse Eisenberg anthropology - Jesse Eisenberg’s breakthrough roles in movies such as Zombieland (2009) and The Social Network (2010) earned him fame and accolades.

The Strange Rites of Celebrity

A brush with Jesse Eisenberg—anxious Hollywood star, intellectual, and advocate of anthropology—spurred one anthropologist to ponder the culture of celebrity.
halloween history - Girl dressed in a Halloween costume for the celebration of Dia de los Muertos

How Halloween Has Traveled the Globe

Whether trick-or-treating in the United States or costume play celebrations in Japan, Allhallows Eve has taken many forms as its traditions travel the world.
This scanning electron micrograph (SEM) shows healthy spermatozoa emerging from a cavity within the testis.

The Myth of Badass Sperm

We’ve all been taught that human fertilization is an Olympic-style competition. The truth is that it’s much more like a gigantic lottery.
Participants in the Shetkari Sanghatana movement ardently supported a message that allowed for a wide variety of interpretations.

Why Political Ambiguity Appeals to the Masses

A movement in 1990s India illuminates the allure of vagueness from our leaders.
beer can archaeology - These are just a few dozen of the thousands of old beer cans that archaeologist David Maxwell has collected over the years.

Meet Archaeology’s Beer Can Man

One scholar has found in the humble, rusty beer can a trusty time capsule.
gift wrapping reason

Why Do We Wrap Presents?

Wrapping paper is a striptease that hides and reveals, transforming otherwise ordinary objects into gifts.
anumeric

How Do You Count Without Numbers?

Some human societies lack words for numbers. What does this say about the rest of us—and human evolution?
This 15th-century depiction of cannibalistic practices was inspired by Marco Polo’s writings about traveling through Asia.

Eating People Is Wrong—But It’s Also Widespread and Sacred

Can transcendence be attained by embracing the strongest taboo of all?
A Trump red hat hands on traditional wood weapons.

The Mysterious Power of Arrogance

Why do overbearing, obnoxious people so often come out on top? What the story of a local celebrity in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea reveals about the rise of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency.
The Detroit Tigers have held their spring training at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, for more than 50 years. Baseball culture has changed a great deal over the last half-century.

The New Old National Pastime

A onetime minor league baseball player turned anthropologist conducts interviews at his former spring-training camp—and discovers how playing ball has changed.
neanderthal extinction - Humans and Neanderthals face off at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Survival of the Socially Fittest

In the great saga of evolution, humans survived and Neanderthals didn’t. New research suggests why.