A poet of the Indigenous Lepcha community of the Eastern Himalayas is looking to find herself as she grapples with…
Should Paviland’s Red Lady “Come Home”?Two archaeologists explore the complicated story of 33,000-year-old human remains—and calls for their repatriation to Wales. This article was originally…
Reconsidering Fragility in Museums—and the WorldFollowing climate protests at art museums, a conservator considers museums’ role in the unsustainable exploitation of nature and cultural heritage.…
When Life Imitates Art in UkrainePhotographs from Russia’s war on Ukraine dissolve an archaeologist’s fondness for a Soviet-era sculpture. ✽ On February 24, 2022, the…
Embracing the Poetry of Being HumanA contributor to a special series on decolonizing anthropology rejects the discipline’s colonial and racist roots and instead pursues ways…
A Major Museum’s Attempt to Center Native American VoicesChicago’s Field Museum recently unveiled their new Native North America Hall, redesigned with input from Native collaborators. But does it…
Two Pioneering Female ArchaeologistsHannah Marie Wormington and Cynthia Irwin-Williams grew up in a time when women were banned from some anthropology classrooms, yet they forged successful careers and set examples as supportive and inspiring leaders.
Curating as CaretakingThis 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.
The Blockbuster Exhibit That Shouldn’t Have BeenMuseum curators have occasionally embellished archaeological finds with compelling but questionable stories. Consider the Field Museum’s “Magdalenian Girl.”
Confronting the Colonial Legacies of Museum CollectionsThe Humboldt Forum, a new exhibition venue in Berlin, has raised questions about museum restitution and the importance of researching objects’ provenance.