Featured Archived
Seasons Episodes
Table of contents
Introduction 0 Why Write for the Public? 1 What to Expect, from Pitch to Publication 2 How to Write a Pitch 3 How To Tell a Great Story, Part 1: Structure 4 How To Tell a Great Story, Part 2: Style 5 Navigating Ethics and Reducing Harms 6 Habits of Thriving Public Anthropologists 7 Cultivating the Craft of Writing 8
Table of contents
Introduction 0 Why Write for the Public? 1 What to Expect, from Pitch to Publication 2 How to Write a Pitch 3 How To Tell a Great Story, Part 1: Structure 4 How To Tell a Great Story, Part 2: Style 5 Navigating Ethics and Reducing Harms 6 Habits of Thriving Public Anthropologists 7 Cultivating the Craft of Writing 8
Announcement

After ten years of exploring humanity in all its diversity, SAPIENS has concluded its publishing chapter.

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.

Crystal Worl’s Countermural Tells a Different History of Alaska

Indigenous 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.

Cooking Debris in an Australian Cave Tells a Story of Resilience

An archaeological project in Australia investigates 65,000 years of food scraps to understand Aboriginal peoples’ resilience amid changing plant life, sea levels, and climate.

Indigenous Mapmaking, or Bringing a Dead Map to Life

In a new book, an anthropologist explores how oil palm plantations in West Papua are upending Indigenous Marind communities’ ways of life. In this excerpt, Marind villagers call upon their plant and animal kin to confront a map used by the oil palm industry.

The Amazing Archive of First Nations Stories Written on Stone

Rock art created by First Nation peoples over the millennia are more than decorative. Non-Indigenous archaeologists are beginning to appreciate how they constitute an Indigenous archive of memories, histories, and relationships to the land and Ancestors.

SAPIENS Podcast Season 4 Reflections and Celebrations

In this live event, a panel of archaeologists and podcasters celebrates the completion of SAPIENS Podcast Season 4 and RadioCIAMS’ SAPIENS Talk Back series.

The Yaghan Rise Again

The Yaghan, Indigenous people in Tierra del Fuego, were falsely considered to be “extinct” by Europeans and their descendants. Now archaeologists are helping the contemporary community document their ancestors’ ancient stories.

What Ancient DNA Reveals About Life in Africa 20,000 Years Ago

Newly sequenced African aDNA shows dynamic ancient migratory patterns and interactions around the Later Stone Age that shaped human history.

More Than a Mountain

In this podcast episode, listeners learn about Dzil Nchaa Si’an, a sacred mountain in Arizona that Apache tribal members depend on and deeply value. The mountain has also become a site of resistance.

Revealing an Ice Age Route for Indigenous Peoples

Hiking through swamps, cutting across thick bush, and canoeing across open waters, archaeologists have identified a corridor through Vancouver Island where Indigenous peoples may have sojourned 18,500 years ago.

Curating as Caretaking

This episode of the SAPIENS podcast takes listeners behind the scenes in museums to explore how Black and Indigenous curators are re-imagining what their collections and exhibitions can do to change minds and transform hearts.