Anthropology
Contrary to Popular Lore, Ancient Greek Armies Relied on Foreign Mercenaries
Scientists studying fifth-century B.C. soldiers' teeth found evidence of military support from faraway lands
Did Stone Age Humans Shape the African Landscape With Fire 85,000 Years Ago?
New research centered on Lake Malawi may provide the earliest evidence of people using flames to improve land productivity
Scientists Discover Oldest Known Human Grave in Africa
The unearthing of a tiny child suggests Africa’s Stone Age humans sometimes practiced funerary rites and had symbolic thoughts about death
Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia Tended 'Forest Gardens'
Found near villages, research suggests the Indigenous population intentionally planted and maintained these patches of fruit and nut trees
Some of Europe's Oldest-Known Modern Humans Are Distantly Related to Native Americans
Genome sequencing shows some individuals share family ties with surprising populations, and all boast plenty of Neanderthal relatives
An Evolutionary Timeline of Homo Sapiens
Scientists share the findings that helped them pinpoint key moments in the rise of our species
Rare Scraps of Mineralized Anglo-Saxon Textiles Found in England
Archaeologists unearthed the cloth, as well as 3,000 grave goods and assorted ancient structures, ahead of construction
How Dexterous Thumbs May Have Helped Shape Evolution Two Million Years Ago
Fossils and biochemical models show tool-wielding hominins used their hands like we do today
45,000-Year-Old Pig Painting in Indonesia May Be Oldest Known Animal Art
Ice Age cave painters flourished in Southeast Asia, where their work adorned rock walls
Who Invented the Alphabet?
New scholarship points to a paradox of historic scope: Our writing system was devised by people who couldn’t read
What Japan's Wild Snow Monkeys Can Teach Us About Animal Culture
Scientists have been studying the primates at some of the nation's hot springs, and what they have learned about evolution is astonishing
How Much Did Grandmothers Influence Human Evolution?
Scientists debate the evolutionary benefits of menopause
Ten New Things We Learned About Human Origins in 2020
Smithsonian’s archaeologist Ella Beaudoin and paleoanthropologist Briana Pobiner reveal some of the year’s best findings in human origins studies
Human Footprints Found in Saudi Arabia May Be 120,000 Years Old
If confirmed, the footfalls would represent the oldest evidence of Homo sapiens' presence on the Arabian Peninsula
Drone Imaging Reveals Pre-Hispanic 'Great Settlement' Beneath Kansas Ranch
The 164-foot-wide earthwork is the sixth ancestral Wichita "council circle" discovered in the region
Humans in the Near East Cremated Their Dead 9,000 Years Ago
Archaeologists found the charred bones of a young adult in the ancient Israeli village of Beisamoun
Why Bigfoot and the 'Abominable Snowman' Loom Large in the Human Imagination
In cultures around the world, folklore of a 'Wild Man' share a common narrative
Help Transcribe Field Notes Penned by S. Ann Dunham, a Pioneering Anthropologist and Barack Obama's Mother
Newly digitized, Dunham’s papers reflect her work as a scholar and as a scientist and as a woman doing anthropology in her own right
Rare Form of Miniature Stenciled Rock Art Found in Australia
New research suggests the small-scale illustrations may have been made with beeswax
Ancient Toes and Soles of Fossilized Footprints Now 3-D Digitized for the Ages
New research suggests that for the prehistoric foragers that walked this path, labor was divided between men and women
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