My Nonbinary Child

An anthropologist muses on what her career and child have taught her about gender stereotypes and fluidity.

What Milk-Sharing Communities Reveal

As women in the United States create networks to give or receive breast milk, anthropologists are illuminating the complex social and cultural forces that shape mothers’ choices.

Archaeologists Respond to the Black Lives Matter Movement

A recent panel discussion encouraged scholars from across the U.S. to consider the experiences and contributions of Black people in this discipline.

What Orangutans Taught Me About Motherhood

After observing great apes in Borneo, an anthropologist reflects on being raised by a single mother—and on how women learn to be good moms.

Grass Trilogy

Three poems by Mongolian author Ochirbatyn Dashbalbar, translated by a poet-anthropologist, offer timeless celebrations of life on Earth.

Introduction to Grass Trilogy

SAPIENS celebrates Earth Day 2020 with a poet-anthropologist’s translations of three rapturous poems by Mongolian author Ochirbatyn Dashbalbar.

Yoik

Like smoky spirals, two cultures weave together in a SAPIENS contest-winning poem by an anthropologist who worked with Sámi reindeer herders in the Arctic Circle.

The Gift of a Bicultural Upbringing

A daughter of anthropologists reflects on how a childhood lived in and between two cultures profoundly shapes one’s views of belonging and “othering.”

What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting Down Syndrome

An anthropologist holds up a mirror to his own experience in order to understand how humans conceive of difference.

Does Your Microbiome Shape Your Friendships?

Research confirms that who you spend time with is a powerful predictor of the microbes you carry. But these tiny organisms may also influence your social life.