In a new book, an anthropologist explores how oil palm plantations in West Papua are upending Indigenous Marind communities’ ways of life. In this excerpt, Marind villagers call upon their plant and animal kin to confront a map used by the oil palm industry.
The Cultural Anxieties of XenotransplantationA genetically engineered pig heart was transplanted to a human body for the first time this year. While many celebrated, others remain uneasy. Anthropologists can shed light on why.
The Spring a Time for Calving and CleavingA poet-anthropologist joins Sámi reindeer herders in Norway who are preparing for the spring migration. As an outsider, he feels a longing to connect, even as he remains “outside the fences.”
The Last Wild Lions of EuropeMounting archaeological evidence is revealing that modern lions may have roamed free in Southeastern Europe—overturning long-held assumptions about art and mythology in the process.
Five Ways Native American Communities Honor TurkeysSome Indigenous peoples in the U.S. Southwest have a long relationship with turkeys, which they use for their feathers, eggs, meat, and more.
How Human Are We?An evolutionary theorist considers how traits we think of as human may have been shared by other hominins.
Allying With Parasites to Fight Industrial Oil PalmNew research on Indigenous language groups in British Columbia shows a relationship between geographical patterns in genetic variation in grizzly bears and words used to identify these bear populations.
When the Guinea Pig Goes GourmetIn recent years, the guinea pig has gone from a humble and ceremonial food eaten in the Andes to a delicacy among urbanites. What’s behind this change in tastes?
The Macabre and Magical Human-Canine StoryZooarchaeologists and geneticists are exploring how wolves and domestic dogs have been humanity’s predator, prey, and partner.
