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.

Extinguishing the Idea That Hobbits Had Fire

Research has overturned earlier claims that a diminutive human relative, Homo floresiensis, lit fires—but big stories die hard. SMOKING HOT…

My Search for the Origins of Clothing

An archaeologist uses climate data and tailoring tools to trace the invention and evolution of apparel in the world’s colder…

What Molars and Math Reveal About the Human Brain

A paleoanthropologist explains what fossilized teeth—analyzed through a recently developed mathematical equation—can tell us about how brains have developed in…

Club-Wielding Ancestors: Myth or Reality?

Inspired by pop culture depictions of cavepeople, an archaeologist searches for elusive evidence of ancient wooden clubs. ✽ Growing up…

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…

Did Humanity Really Arise in One Place?

New evidence is prompting researchers to rethink Homo sapiens’ origin story—and what it means to be human. ✽ As a…

Did Neanderthals Make Art?

Experts continue to debate whether Neanderthals were painters and jewelry-makers. A paleoanthropologist explores the evidence for Neanderthal art and the…

What Ancient Stone “Swiss Army Knives” Mean

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.

Five Turning Points in the Evolution of Wine

Anthropologists have helped uncork the fascinating history of winemaking—from drunken primates to Stone Age seed domestication to intoxicating religious rites.

The Diet of the Future Is a Menu That Draws From the Ancient Past

An archaeologist and TV star transforms ancient hunting, gathering, and food processing technologies into lessons on how to prepare and consume nourishing food today—and he runs into his own past struggles with disordered eating.