An archaeologist explains new evidence from stone tools that shows strong and wide social connections among our ancestors who lived 65,000 years ago in Southern Africa.
Stop Projecting Nationalism Onto StonehengeTwo archaeologists respond to the portraits of Queen Elizabeth II beamed onto Stonehenge—the latest attempt to appropriate the monument for nationalist messages.
Did Margaret Mead Think a Healed Femur Was the Earliest Sign of Civilization?An anthropologist digs into the origins of a popular story attributed to Margaret Mead about the original sign of civilization.
Is Donated Blood a Gift or a Commodity?An anthropologist dives into the morally fraught blood and plasma industry and what it reveals about human societies—the good, the bad, and the gory.
Can Machine Learning Translate Ancient Egyptian Texts?A new program aims to use AI to help academics and the public decipher hieroglyphs. Here’s an inside look at how—and whether—it works.
Maize and OkraA poet-anthropologist recollects when Muscogee (Creek) people offered his formerly enslaved ancestors refuge, extending the bonds of kinship.
Tree Rings Are Evidence of the Megadrought—and Our DoomScientists are using dendroclimatology to investigate megadroughts in the western U.S., and the trees are telling a disturbing tale.
Crystal Worl’s Countermural Tells a Different History of AlaskaIndigenous artist Crystal Kaakeeyáa Worl’s new public mural honoring Tlingit activist Elizabeth Peratrovich places Alaska Native peoples’ resistance to colonialism at the center of Juneau’s history.
Five Turning Points in the Evolution of WineAnthropologists have helped uncork the fascinating history of winemaking—from drunken primates to Stone Age seed domestication to intoxicating religious rites.
Cooking Debris in an Australian Cave Tells a Story of ResilienceAn archaeological project in Australia investigates 65,000 years of food scraps to understand Aboriginal peoples’ resilience amid changing plant life, sea levels, and climate.
