Ancient Art Deep in the Southeastern United States

An archaeologist examines the history and diversity of art found in the dark zones of caves across the Southeastern U.S.

Preserving Black Women’s Stories as a Labor of Love

An interview with anthropologist Irma McClaurin dives into the process and meaning behind creating an archival home for Black feminist work.

Do Stolen Sacred Objects Experience Culture Shock?

Ancestral memorials from Kenya called vigango have been stolen and sold as “art” around the world. An anthropologist working to return them wonders what the spirits experience when they are displaced.

What Does It Mean to Decolonize Heritage?

A new study led by an anthropologist and a heritage sites protection specialist offers a path forward for decolonizing heritage management in Rwanda—and beyond.

Can Indigenous Language Comics Save a Mother Tongue?

Publishers and researchers are creating graphic publications to help stem the loss of Hñäñho, spoken by the Ñäñho people.

How Pottery Offers Glimpses Into Ancient Foodways

Archaeologists, armed with new technology and old fragments of food containers, are piecing together what humans in the past cooked and ate.

Tiny Snails Help Solve a Giant Mystery

Archaeologists may finally know the age and true identity of the “Rude Man,” also known as the Cerne Abbas Giant, one of dozens of geoglyphs etched into the British countryside.

How Migrant Filmmakers Practice Archival Activism

Migrant youth in Palermo, Italy, are documenting their lives to ensure their stories are not just told by those in power.

How Early Humans Shaped the World With Fire

An archaeological project in Malawi shows how nearly 100,000 years ago, humans used fire to create wide-scale, permanent transformations of the natural environment. It’s time to abandon the idea of “pristine nature.”

An Excavation of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Contemplating Pompeii’s sudden demise in A.D. 79, an anthropologist asks what future generations will uncover when they sift through the pandemic’s remains.