The Neanderthal leg proportions and tendons, along with their genes, made our ancient cousins designed for short bursts of speed.
Are Colors Universal?How do language, biology, and culture shape an individual’s experience of color? A journalist investigates the anthropological debate about whether color is a human universal.
How Rituals of Pain Help HealCase Closed: You Can’t Make a Knife Out of Frozen Poop
Testing out a tale from the Arctic, one archaeologist takes matters into his own hands.
How Hearts Align in a Muslim RitualAn important Sufi ritual brings participants together in a shared experience of trance and movement that actually synchronizes their heartbeats.
Does Your Microbiome Shape Your Friendships?Research confirms that who you spend time with is a powerful predictor of the microbes you carry. But these tiny organisms may also influence your social life.
The Neanderthal Arm—Hints About HandednessStone tools and skeletons suggest that Neanderthals were mostly right-handed.
Scientists Find First Evidence of Humans Cooking StarchesMore than 100 millennia ago, people were roasting tubers over the fire, a culinary practice that fueled their bodies and may have aided their migrations.
The Neanderthal Throat—Did Neanderthals Speak?The third installment of our head-to-toe tour of the Neanderthal body tackles how our close ancestors might have sounded.
Unraveling the Mystery of Human BipedalityPaleoanthropologist Carol Ward explains how walking upright marked a milestone in hominin history.
