Anthropology

More Stories in Anthropology

  1. Seven ancient bone flutes, each shown from three different angles, against a black backdrop
    Anthropology

    These ancient flutes may have been used to lure falcons

    Seven bird-bone flutes unearthed from a site in northern Israel are about 12,000 years old and may have been used as bird calls.

    By Sid Perkins
  2. An artist reconstruction of a grave holding several bones.
    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.

    By Bruce Bower
  3. 'The 84-Gun Danish Warship "Dronning Marie" in the Sound' painting, which shows one large ship sailing flanked by two small ships
    Chemistry

    19th century painters may have primed their canvases with beer-brewing leftovers

    Several paintings from the Danish Golden Age contain remnants of brewer’s yeast, barley and other grains commonly used to brew beer.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  4. A photo of Anténor Firmin in black and white overlayed on a tan background.
    Science & Society

    Anténor Firmin challenged anthropology’s racist roots 150 years ago

    In The Equality of the Human Races, Haitian scholar Anténor Firmin showed that science did not support division among the races.

    By Sujata Gupta
  5. A photo of a punctured animal bone fragment on a black background.
    Archaeology

    A prehistoric method for tailoring clothes may be written in bone

    A punctured bone fragment was probably a leatherwork punch board. Perforated leather sewn together may have been seams in clothing.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  6. A photo of a dark room with a projector screen showing a film about the origin of a star cluster. The outlines of people and stars are on the screen frozen while stars light up the ceiling.
    Science & Society

    The Smithsonian’s ‘Lights Out’ inspires visitors to save the fading night sky

    The exhibition examines how light pollution harms astronomy, ecosystems and human cultures. But it also offers hope.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  7. An image of a Native American man standing next to a brown horse while other brown horses mill in the background.
    Anthropology

    Native Americans corralled Spanish horses decades before Europeans arrived

    Great Plains groups incorporated domestic horses into their cultures by the early 1600s, before Europeans moved north from Mexico.

    By Bruce Bower
  8. illustration showing rotting mean, fruit, vegetables and an animal carcass
    Anthropology

    A surprising food may have been a staple of the real Paleo diet: rotten meat

    The realization that people have long eaten putrid foods has archaeologists rethinking what Neandertals and other ancient hominids ate.

    By Bruce Bower
  9. A photo of two men walking side by side on a road. Both men have a piece of fabric across their foreheads that attaches to a large log on their backs.
    Anthropology

    Two scientists’ trek showed how people of Chaco Canyon may have hauled logs

    By carrying a log with the aid of head straps called tumplines, the duo demoed how people may have hauled timbers to Chaco about 1,000 years ago.

    By McKenzie Prillaman