Cultural anthropologists seek to understand the dizzyingly diverse ways people live today, including how they think, act, create, struggle, make…
Misperceiving Life Expectancy in the Deep PastAn archaeologist explains that most people do not calculate life expectancy correctly. This leads to misunderstandings. This article was originally…
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…
Archaeology at the Borders of the Refugee CrisisArchaeological methods, which are typically used to study the past, can also illuminate the experiences of today’s displaced people. This…
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…
Excavating My Dad’s LifeAn archaeologist navigates her dad’s passing by using the methods of her discipline to preserve his office and gain insight…
What Is Anthropological Poetry?SAPIENS’ poetry editor and inaugural poet-in-residence break down what makes certain poems anthropological and explore how poetry has the potential…
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.
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.
What the Vai Script Reveals About the Evolution of WritingIn the 19th century, a man living in present-day Liberia dreamed of the first script for his native Vai language. Today linguistic anthropologists are digging into the script’s evolution—and what the changes over the past two centuries reveal about human cognition and society.
