How Hearts Align in a Muslim Ritual
An important Sufi ritual brings participants together in a shared experience of trance and movement that actually synchronizes their heartbeats.
How Hearts Align in a Muslim Ritual
Ritual
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Witnessing an Endangered Puberty Ritual
In an Indigenous community in Peru, a girl’s first menstruation is accompanied by a “boot camp” during which she’s trained in how to be a woman—but that tradition is ebbing away.
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Are Trophy Skulls Evidence of Civil War Among the Classic Maya?
Macabre artifacts hint at regional conflicts around the time of the Maya civilization’s disintegration.
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Why Shamans Stand Apart
Modern-day shamans in a variety of sectors appear to tame uncertainty by embracing their otherness.
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Your Body as a Map
Adornments such as tattoos, piercings, and lip plates help to define our social identities. But what those modifications mean is in constant flux.
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The Sacrificial Puppies of the Shang Dynasty
A new study suggests young dogs were frequently buried with humans in China some 3,000 years ago, but the precise reasons remain elusive.