Anthropology
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Field Museum Confronts Its Outdated, Insensitive Native American Exhibition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
Fragment of Oldest-Known Maya Calendar Discovered in Guatemalan Pyramid
A glyph representing "7 Deer" marks the earliest known use of the historical system—for now
This Native American Tribe Wants Federal Recognition. A New DNA Analysis Could Bolster Its Case
The new findings could help Mukwema Ohlone prove they never went "extinct"
The Ancient Origins of the Easter Bunny
A scholar traces the folk figure's history from the Neolithic era to today
How the Ancient Romans Went to the Bathroom
A new book by journalist Lina Zeldovich traces the management of human waste—and underscores poop's potential as a valuable resource
Where Did the Ancient Etruscans Come From?
A new DNA analysis suggests the enigmatic civilization was native to the Italian Peninsula
What Secrets Does This 1,800-Year-Old Carved Stone Hold?
The Tuxtla Statuette illuminates an endangered Latin American culture
Trove of Unseen Photos Documents Indigenous Culture in 1920s Alaska
New exhibition and book feature more than 100 images captured by Edward Sherriff Curtis for his seminal chronicle of Native American life
Evidence of Fur and Leather Clothing, Among World's Oldest, Found in Moroccan Cave
Humans likely sported clothes made of jackal, fox and wildcat skins some 120,000 years ago
Human Remains From the Chilean Desert Reveal Its First Farmers Fought to the Death
Three thousand years ago desert dwellers fatally stabbed and bashed each other, possibly due to diminishing resources
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