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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
