My Search for the Origins of Clothing

An archaeologist uses climate data and tailoring tools to trace the invention and evolution of apparel in the world’s colder…

What Molars and Math Reveal About the Human Brain

A paleoanthropologist explains what fossilized teeth—analyzed through a recently developed mathematical equation—can tell us about how brains have developed in…

Club-Wielding Ancestors: Myth or Reality?

Inspired by pop culture depictions of cavepeople, an archaeologist searches for elusive evidence of ancient wooden clubs. ✽ Growing up…

How Ancient Humans Came to Cope With the Cold

Two anthropologists explain how humans managed to not just survive but dominate northern climates despite evolutionary origins in—and hence, biological…

Did Humanity Really Arise in One Place?

New evidence is prompting researchers to rethink Homo sapiens’ origin story—and what it means to be human. ✽ As a…

What If Neanderthals Had Outlived Homo Sapiens?

An anthropologist considers how different the world might be if Neanderthals—and hence, their ways of navigating relationships with the environment…

Is a “Sweet Tooth” Genetic?

An anthropologist explains the evolutionary origins of why so many people seem practically programmed to love sugar. This article was…

Did Meat Do Neanderthals In?

Studying zinc levels in unearthed Neanderthal skeletal remains, an archaeologist examines whether the carnivorous eating habits of Neanderthals in the…

Extracting Hominin Evolution From Fossilized Teeth

Two scientists explain how analyses of oxygen isotopes from 17-million-year-old ape teeth could lead to new insights on early human…

Was Our Skin Meant for the Sun?

An anthropologist examines the history of human skin under the sun, revealing how evolution and culture conspired to shape our…