An exceedingly rare notebook from 16th-century Mexico contains plays about the Antichrist told by the Aztecs’ descendants. An anthropologist recounts…
Unsung Native Collaborators in AnthropologyAnthropologists such as Franz Boas and Margaret Mead could not have achieved success without their local assistants’ insider knowledge and…
With So Few Farmers, Why Are Video Games About Farming So Popular?An archaeologist considers what farming simulators reveal about humanity’s ancient and evolving relationship with agriculture. ✽ “I hate when I…
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…
Finding Mental Health Issues Hidden in the PastAn archaeologist speculates about how to uncover evidence of depression, anxiety, and neurodiversities in ancient humans. ✽ Hi, my name…
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…
An Archaeology of Personhood and AbortionOpinions about fetal personhood and abortion have fluctuated enormously throughout history and differ in surprising ways between cultures. ✽ After…
Peeling Back the Myth of a “White” MidwestThe popular image of the U.S. heartland as only a place of rural, hardworking white farmers has always been a…
We All Love RosesSAPIENS Poet-in-Residence Jason Vasser-Elong reflects on horrific cycles of violence—and highlights injustices that are often papered over. We All Love…
Difficult Truths: Confronting Irish Industrial SchoolsAn anthropologist delves into the archives to uncover her family’s early 20th-century experiences with Catholic-run Irish industrial schools—institutions later revealed to be rife with child abuse.
