Bruce Bower

Bruce Bower

Behavioral Sciences Writer

Bruce Bower has written about the behavioral sciences since 1984. He often writes about psychology, anthropology, archaeology and mental health issues. Bruce has a master's degree in psychology from Pepperdine University and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Following an internship at Science News in 1981, he worked as a reporter at Psychiatric News, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association, until joining Science News as a staff writer. In 1996, the American Psychological Association appointed Bruce a Science Writer Fellow, with a grant to visit psychological scientists of his own choosing. Early stints as an aide in a day school for children and teenagers with severe psychological problems and as a counselor in a drug diversion center provided Bruce with a surprisingly good background for a career in science journalism.

All Stories by Bruce Bower

  1. Anthropology

    Extreme cold may have nearly wiped out human ancestors 900,000 years ago

    Ancestral populations had rebounded by about 800,000 years ago, heralding the evolution of people today, a contested DNA analysis suggests.

  2. Archaeology

    Pre-Inca people stomped salutes to their thunder god on a special dance floor

    Excavation of a drumlike platform in the Andes turned up a structure seemingly designed to absorb shocks and emit resonant sounds when stomped upon.

  3. Archaeology

    A child’s ornate necklace highlights ancient farmers’ social complexity

    The intricate necklace, reconstructed by researchers, was found on the remains of a child buried about 9,000 years ago in a Middle Eastern village.

  4. Archaeology

    The oldest known horseback riding saddle was found in a grave in China

    The well-used saddle, dated to more than 2,400 years ago, displays skilled leather- and needlework. Its placement suggests its owner was on a final ride.

  5. Psychology

    ‘Fires in the Dark’ illuminates how great healers ease mental suffering

    Kay Redfield Jamison’s new book examines approaches used throughout history to restore troubled minds and broken spirits.

  6. Archaeology

    How Asia’s first nomadic empire broke the rules of imperial expansion

    New studies reveal clues to how mobile rulers assembled a multiethnic empire of herders known as the Xiongnu more than 2,000 years ago.

  7. Anthropology

    Fossil marks suggest hominids butchered one another around 1.45 million years ago

    Researchers disagree whether new evidence of stone tool marks on a hominid leg bone reflects ancient cannibalism or perhaps some other, undetected behavior.

  8. Anthropology

    Homo naledi may have dug cave graves and carved marks into cave walls

    Proposed discoveries of humanlike activities by these ancient, small-brained hominids have elicited skepticism from some researchers.

  9. Archaeology

    The oldest scaled-down drawings of actual structures go back 9,000 years

    Rock engravings in Jordan and Saudi Arabia may be maps or blueprints of desert kites, massive structures once used to capture animal herds.

  10. Archaeology

    Ancient human DNA was extracted from a 20,000-year-old deer tooth pendant

    Insights into Stone Age people’s lives may soon come from a new, nondestructive DNA extraction method.

  11. Archaeology

    Hair analysis reveals Europe’s oldest physical evidence of drug use

    Analyses of human hair found in a Mediterranean cave turned up psychoactive plant substances, revealing use of hallucinogens around 3,000 years ago.

  12. Archaeology

    What did Homo sapiens eat 170,000 years ago? Roasted, supersized land snails

    Charred shell bits at an African site reveal the earliest known evidence of snail-meal prep, suggesting ancient humans cooked and shared the mollusks.