Table of contents
Padi Nyawa Urang

A poet and aspiring anthropologist in Indonesia reflects on the values reflected in rice cultivation in a traditional village in…

Dreamscapes of Refusal: A Chorus

SAPIENS poet-in-residence for 2025 listens to a chorus of dreams in her field recordings from Kashmir. ✽ “Dreaming has a…

A Linguist’s Night at the Ball

Walk with a linguistic anthropologist through the sounds, politics, and fabulosity of a kiki ball in Puerto Rico. Since its…

Emic/Etic

A poet-anthropologist offers an “anti-glossary” to contest ways of knowing in social science that objectify people(s) into categories. “Emic/Etic” is…

Harvest Song

A poet-anthropologist celebrates relatedness across difference in a poem that honors the festivals of Navratri, Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Day…

The Distant Origins of a Stonehenge Stone

After two decades of research, scholars find that Stonehenge’s giant Altar Stone came from northeast Scotland. This article was originally…

Payangko, or Echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi)

After a 60-year haitus, an Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna was seen in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains. A poet-anthropologist reflects on the echidna’s…

An Ancient Child Who’s Changing Archaeology

A Brazilian archaeologist reexamines the way people treat ancestral Indigenous remains housed in museums—starting with one important encounter. Can museums…

What a Community’s Mourning of an Owl Can Tell Us

The outpouring of grief over New York’s Flaco the owl, who died recently, reveals how much attitudes toward these creatures…

Bila Mwili

A poet-historian in Tanzania remembers those who have passed but who are still nearby. “Bila Mwili” is part of the…