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.
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.
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.
Why Shamans Stand ApartModern-day shamans in a variety of sectors appear to tame uncertainty by embracing their otherness.
Your Body as a MapAdornments such as tattoos, piercings, and lip plates help to define our social identities. But what those modifications mean is in constant flux.
The Sacrificial Puppies of the Shang DynastyA new study suggests young dogs were frequently buried with humans in China some 3,000 years ago, but the precise reasons remain elusive.
How the Samoan Tattoo Survived ColonialismA combination of factors, from geography to group identity, supported the endurance of this traditional body art—even as similar practices were lost in other cultures.
How to Care for the DeadHow long have we been burying the dead? And why is it so haunting when we can’t set those who have passed to rest?
How Halloween Has Traveled the GlobeWhether trick-or-treating in the United States or costume play celebrations in Japan, Allhallows Eve has taken many forms as its traditions travel the world.
Ritual Sacrifice May Have Shaped Dog DomesticationAn ancient Arctic site suggests a complex relationship between humans and dogs.
Can Cryptocurrency Revolutionize the Rituals of Money?Some people are turning their backs on traditional banks in favor of cryptocurrencies. Beneath the financial and technological conversations surrounding this shift is a story about how trust shapes the culture of money.
