While the magazine has closed, its living archive endures—open to all and preserving the many ideas, voices, and discoveries that deepen our understanding of what it means to be human.
An anthropologist who is also a singer-songwriter explores how Southwestern Native bands shake up the notion of “cowboys and Indians.”
How Skirts Are Changing Bolivian WrestlingIn ornate skirts and bowler hats, Indigenous female fighters claim their place in the ring.
How Some Tried—and Failed—to Kill “Race” in Latin AmericaThe use of genetic testing to demonstrate degrees of mixture in Latin American populations has had perverse consequences that are also potentially dangerous.
When Black Female Victims Aren’t Seen as VictimsIn Peru, rampant stereotypes about Afro-Peruvian women as aggressive and hypersexual leaves many women unwilling or unable to seek support as victims of abuse.
How the Samoan Tattoo Survived ColonialismA combination of factors, from geography to group identity, supported the endurance of this traditional body art—even as similar practices were lost in other cultures.
How Traditional Knowledge Opens Nature’s Medicine CabinetIn Peru, the challenge of providing health care to the country’s citizens has spurred interest in alternative medicines that draw on cultural traditions.
Remembering the Woman Who Was My Second Mother in CubaUpon the death of her friend and childhood nanny in Cuba, an anthropologist reflects on the gifts exchanged over decades of reunion amid cultural and economic changes on the island.
A New Generation Is Reviving Indigenous TattooingPeople in Arctic and Northwest Coast communities are uncovering the therapeutic history of tattoos.
An Author by Any Other NameFor many romance writers, pen names are the norm—but they are used for more than just anonymity.
Where Do “New” Languages Come From?Anthropologists and linguists are working to understand how complex systems of communication emerge—and what they reveal about how to keep rare or threatened languages alive.
