Anthropology
- Archaeology
Ancient, engraved stones may have been buried to summon the sun
Members of a Stone Age culture in Denmark may have ritually buried stones to counter the effects of a volcanic eruption.
- Anthropology
Britain’s largest ancient massacre may have included cannibalism
Bones recovered from a natural shaft unveil a 4,000-year-old massacre of men, women and children, possibly part of a cycle of revenge killings.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Humans have linked emotions to the same body parts for 3,000 years
3,000-year-old clay tablets show that some associations between emotion and parts of the body have remained the same for millennia.
By Jason Bittel - Humans
Dietary evidence bolsters Clovis hunters’ reputation as mammoth killers
Mammoths made up as much as 40 percent of the ancient North Americans’ diet, a chemical analysis of human remains reveals.
By Anna Gibbs - Anthropology
Footprints offer a rare look at ancient human relatives crossing paths
The imprints put flat-footed and arched-foot walkers together at a prime spot in East Africa.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Fossil teeth hint at a surprisingly early start to humans’ long childhoods
Signs of temporarily delayed tooth development in the skull of an ancient Homo species youth spark debate about the origins of humanlike growth.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
How does a fossil become a superstar? Just ask Lucy.
Geologic good fortune, skilled scientific scrutiny and a catchy name turned Lucy into an evolutionary icon.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
The ‘midlife crisis’ is too simple a story, scientists say
Some scientists want to shift focus to the teen mental health crisis. But the course of happiness is too complex for simplistic theories, experts warn.
By Sujata Gupta - Psychology
Navigation research often excludes the environment. That’s starting to change
Participants “navigating” on a lab computer have shaped navigation knowledge. Studies that add in the environment challenge those findings.
By Sujata Gupta - Archaeology
Ancient Scythians had cultural roots in Siberia
A possible sacrificial ritual from around 2,800 years ago suggests mounted herders from Siberia shaped a Eurasian culture thousands of kilometers away.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Fossils of an extinct animal may have inspired this cave art drawing
Unusual tusks on preserved skulls of dicynodonts influenced the look of a mythical beast painted by Southern Africa’s San people, a researcher suspects.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Ancient DNA unveils a previously unknown line of Neandertals
DNA from a partial skeleton found in France indicates that European Neandertals consisted of at least two genetically distinct populations.
By Bruce Bower