Anthropology

Ann P. Rowe transferred around 88 books and 4,556 archaeological specimens from her father’s collection to Peru.

Why the Daughter of an American Archaeologist Sent Her Father's Collection to Peru

Unlike many of his peers, John Howland Rowe viewed the country as a source of partnership, not a laboratory to play in

The nearly complete skeleton has been identified as a member of an extinct fox species, Dusicyon avus, which once roamed Patagonia’s grasslands.

Did Ancient South Americans Keep Foxes as Pets?

At a cemetery in Argentina, a 1,500-year-old fox buried alongside humans suggests a "close relationship" between the species, researchers say

Roger Federer hits a forehand shot at Wimbledon. The tennis great has called his racket an extension of his arm.

How Did Humans Evolve to Use Everyday Tools?

An anthropologist explains why we experience many objects, from tennis rackets to cars, as extensions of our bodies

The Hohle Fels baton, made from 15 pieces of ivory unearthed in 2015.

Stone Age People Used This 35,000-Year-Old Woolly Mammoth Tusk Tool to Make Rope, Scientists Say

To test their hypothesis that the perforated object was a tool, researchers used a replica to create a 16-foot-long rope from cattail reeds

To understand Elma's life, researchers cut her tusk lengthwise and took samples to study the elements present in the ivory.

Meet Elma, a Woolly Mammoth Who Roamed Far and Wide More Than 14,000 Years Ago

By analyzing a fossilized tusk, scientists have pieced together the animal's movements

The 160-year-old pelt of the woolly dog Mutton in the Smithsonian’s collection

What Happened to the Extinct Woolly Dog?

Researchers studying the 160-year-old fur of a dog named Mutton in the Smithsonian collections found that the Indigenous breed existed for at least 5,000 years before European colonizers eradicated it

Workers discovered this Indigenous ossuary while digging in Toronto.

Construction Workers Discover Indigenous Burial Ground in Toronto

Researchers who investigated the site estimate that it's about 700 years old

These fossilized teeth belonged to a Propliopithecus chirobates, a type of early primate that lived between 29 million and 35 million years ago.

Early Primates May Have Feasted on Soft, Sweet Fruits

An analysis of more than 400 fossilized teeth suggests the creatures weren't eating many seeds, nuts or other hard foods

Neanderthals have held our fascination ever since we first identified their remains.

Here's What We Know About Neanderthals So Far

Today, thanks to new artifacts and technologies, findings about our closest relatives are coming thick and fast

The store's owner said she got the skull when she bought a storage unit last year.

Why Was a Human Skull on Sale at a Florida Thrift Shop?

Experts are now analyzing the specimen, which could belong to a Native American woman

Contact between Europeans and Native Americans is recorded in the DNA of head lice.

When Did Humans Arrive in the Americas? Lice Help Answer That Head-Scratcher

A new analysis of the annoying critters shows when groups from Asia and Europe hitched rides on human hair and skin to arrive on our continent

An illustration of the Aztec calendar stone surrounds a young portrait of anthropologist Zelia Nuttall. “Mrs. Nuttall’s investigations of the Mexican calendar appear to furnish for the first time a satisfactory key,” wrote one leading scholar.

The Globe-Trotting Scholar Who Unlocked the Secrets of the Aztecs

Anthropologist Zelia Nuttall transformed the way we think of ancient Mesoamerica

A tattooed devotee prays at the annual tattoo festival at Wat Bang Phra in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.

The Worldwide History of Tattoos

Ancient ink exhibited religious faith, relieved pain, protected wearers and indicated class

An illustration of the Homo erectus child with her mother in the Ethiopian highlands, two million years ago

Two Million Years Ago, This Homo Erectus Lived the High Life

Dating of a child's fossilized jaw and teeth suggest our relatives lived at altitude earlier than once thought

Fossilized footprints in White Sands National Park

North America's Oldest Known Footprints Point to Earlier Human Arrival to the Continent

New dating methods have added more evidence that these fossils date to 23,000 years ago, pushing back migration to the Americas by thousands of years

These shell dolls were among the artifacts that the Manchester Museum returned to the Anindilyakwa people of Australia.

Manchester Museum Returns 174 Artifacts to Indigenous Australians

After years of planning, the museum handed over dolls, baskets, maps and other objects acquired in the 1950s

To recreate the face of a pregnant Egyptian woman, Hew Morrison first digitally mapped her skull, then added muscles and soft tissues—and, finally, the most subjective element: the eyes.

How One Forensic Artist Brings the Dead to Life

Using DNA analysis and historic records, his work allows us to look ancient humans in the eye

Ancient human remains and shell accessories found at the Hirota burial site

These Ancient Japanese Islanders Created a Signature Skull Shape by Molding Babies' Heads

Some 1,800 years ago, the Hirota people practiced intentional cranial modification

The Tyrolean Iceman Ötzi is one of the oldest known human glacier mummies.

Famed 5,300-Year-Old Alps Iceman Was a Balding Middle-Aged Man With Dark Skin and Eyes

Genetic analysis shows that Ötzi was descended from farmers who migrated from an area that is now part of Turkey

Spider wrestling can range from casual matches played by children to more high-stakes games involving gambling.

Does Playing Games With Spiders Reduce Arachnophobia?

An anthropologist ponders whether a children's pastime in the Philippines, pitting the creatures against each other in wrestling matches, decreases fear

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