Anthropology
- Anthropology
How catching birds bare-handed may hint at Neandertals’ hunting tactics
By pretending to be Neandertals, researchers show that the ancient hominids likely had the skills to easily hunt crowlike birds called choughs.
- Anthropology
50 years ago, X-rays revealed what ancient Egyptians kept under wraps
In the 1970s, scientists used X-rays to unravel mummy secrets. Now, advances in technology are providing unprecedented views of ancient Egyptians.
- Anthropology
‘Ghost tracks’ suggest people came to the Americas earlier than once thought
Prehistoric people’s footprints show that humans were in North America during the height of the last ice age, researchers say.
- Humans
Fossils and ancient DNA paint a vibrant picture of human origins
Paleoanthropologists have sketched a rough timeline of how human evolution played out, centering the early action in Africa.
- Earth
This pictogram is one of the oldest known accounts of earthquakes in the Americas
The Telleriano-Remensis, a famous codex written by a pre-Hispanic civilization, describes 12 quakes that rocked the Americas from 1460 to 1542.
- Anthropology
Stone Age humans or their relatives occasionally trekked through a green Arabia
Hominids periodically inhabited ancient Arabia starting around 400,000 years ago when lakes temporarily formed as a result of monsoons, a study finds.
- Anthropology
Ancient DNA shows the peopling of Southeast Asian islands was surprisingly complex
Ancient DNA from a hunter-gatherer skeleton points to earlier-than-expected human arrivals on Southeast Asian islands known as Wallacea.
- Archaeology
A 1,000-year-old grave may have held a powerful nonbinary person
A medieval grave in Finland, once thought to maybe hold a respected woman warrior, may belong to someone who didn’t have a strictly male or female identity.
- Genetics
An Indigenous people in the Philippines have the most Denisovan DNA
Genetic comparisons crown the Indigenous Ayta Magbukon people as having the most DNA, 5 percent, from the mysterious ancient hominids.
- Psychology
Psychology has struggled for a century to make sense of the mind
Research into what makes us tick has been messy and contentious, but has led to intriguing insights.
- Anthropology
A skeleton from Peru vies for the title of oldest known shark attack victim
The 6,000-year-old remains of a teen with a missing leg and tell-tale bite marks came to light after news of a 3,000-year-old victim in Japan surfaced.
- Anthropology
A partial skeleton reveals the world’s oldest known shark attack
An ancient shark bite victim died quickly, before his body was recovered and buried, a new study finds.
