Anthropology
An Archaeologist's Take on What Indiana Jones Gets Right—and Wrong—About the Field
The movie franchise speaks to ethical issues at the very heart of anthropological thinking
Early Women Were Hunters, Not Just Gatherers, Study Suggests
Regardless of maternal status, women hunted in almost 80 percent of recent and present-day foraging societies in a new study
Our Human Relatives Butchered and Ate Each Other 1.45 Million Years Ago
Telltale marks on a bone from an early human’s leg could be the earliest evidence of cannibalism
Oldest Known Neanderthal Engravings Were Sealed in a Cave for 57,000 Years
The art was created long before modern humans inhabited France's Loire Valley
How a Jungle Prison Became a Famous Spaceport
An anthropologist explains how the South American launch site for the James Webb Space Telescope evolved
Male Primate Masturbation May Have Evolved to Prevent STIs
The behavior originated some 40 million years ago to improve breeding success and protect against pathogens, according to a new study
54,000 Years Ago, Humans and Neanderthals May Have Inhabited Europe Together
Similarities between artifacts found in Lebanon and France suggest Homo sapiens migrants brought tool traditions with them
New DNA Analysis Could Help Identify Victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre
Experts have linked six genetic profiles sequenced from exhumed remains to 19 potential surnames in seven states
Did Our Ancestors Actually Wield Clubs?
Inspired by pop culture depictions of cavepeople, an archaeologist searches for what is real and what is a myth
How Should Scientists Navigate the Ethics of Ancient Human DNA Research?
Paleogenomic research has expanded rapidly over the past two decades, igniting heated debate about studying remains
Human Ancestors May Have Evolved to Walk Upright in Trees
Research on wild chimpanzees suggests searching for food in tree branches drove bipedalism
Ancient DNA Reveals the First Known Neanderthal Family
The lived with a small community in a Siberian cave some 54,000 years ago
Our Ancestors Ate a Paleo Diet, With Carbs
A modern hunter-gatherer group known as the Hadza has taught researchers surprising things about the highly variable menu consumed by humans past
Mercenaries Were More Common in Greek Warfare Than Ancient Historians Let on
New research finds that many soldiers who fought in the fifth-century B.C.E. battles at Himera were born outside of the empire
Earliest Known Amputation Was Performed in Borneo 31,000 Years Ago
Prehistoric hunter gatherers carried out the surgery thousands of years before the previous recognized example
Why Do Some Humans Love Chili Peppers?
An anthropologist traces the origins and paths of one of his favorite kinds of plants
Seven Million Years Ago, the Oldest Known Early Human Was Already Walking
Analysis of a femur fossil indicates that a key species could already move somewhat like us
This Is the Oldest Human-Made Object in the Smithsonian Collections
Roughly two million years ago, simple items like the Kanjera tool sparked a revolution in the way humans lived
Field Museum Confronts Its Outdated, Insensitive Native American Exhibition
Co-created with Indigenous partners, the new permanent installation reckons with past harm
Skulls Thought to Belong to Modern Murder Victims Actually Date to the Pre-Hispanic Period
Found in a cave in Mexico in 2012, the 10th- through 13th-century bones may have been displayed in a ritual tower of craniums
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