Anthropology

  1. profile photo of the top section of a gold sarcophagus belonging to King Tutankhamun
    Archaeology

    King Tut’s tomb still has secrets to reveal 100 years after its discovery

    More of Tut’s story is poised to come to light in the coming years. Here are four things to know on the 100th anniversary of his tomb’s discovery.

    By Bruce Bower
  2. An illustration of a Siberian Neandertal father carrying his young daughter on his shoulders.
    Genetics

    Ancient DNA unveils Siberian Neandertals’ small-scale social lives

    Females often moved into their mate’s communities, which totaled about 20 individuals, researchers say.

    By Bruce Bower
  3. black and white image of Louis Armstrong holding a trumpet surround by other jazz musicians
    Humans

    Here’s where jazz gets its swing

    Swing, the feeling of a rhythm in jazz music that compels feet to tap, may arise from near-imperceptible delays in musicians’ timing, a study shows.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  4. Tina Lasisi
    Anthropology

    Tina Lasisi wants to untangle the evolution of human hair

    Tina Lasisi is pioneering studies of human variation in an ethical and scientifically sound way.

    By Aina Abell
  5. painting on the side of a Maya vase that depicts a ruler speaking to a kneeling attendant while tamales are prepared
    Anthropology

    In Maya society, cacao use was for everyone, not just royals

    Previously considered a preserve of Maya elites, cacao was consumed across all social strata, a new study finds.

    By Richard Kemeny
  6. a fossilized ape jaw on a black background. The jaw has several discolored teeth
    Anthropology

    Fossil finds put gibbons in Asia as early as 8 million years ago

    Specimens from China raise questions about the evolutionary ID of an even older ape tooth from India.

    By Bruce Bower
  7. black and white illustration of buildings at the ancient settlement Abu Hureyra
    Anthropology

    Humans may have started tending animals almost 13,000 years ago

    Remnants from an ancient fire pit in Syria suggest that hunter-gatherers were burning dung as fuel by the end of the Old Stone Age.

    By Richard Kemeny
  8. image of a young adult’s skeleton with the lower left leg absent
    Anthropology

    The oldest known surgical amputation occurred 31,000 years ago

    A young adult on the island of Borneo survived a lower left leg removal thanks to medically savvy rainforest surgeons.

    By Bruce Bower
  9. An engraving of Hercules capturing the three-headed dog Cerberus with a rope around its neck amidst mysterious flames
    Anthropology

    How mythology could help demystify dog domestication

    The path that dog myths took around the world closely parallels that of dog domestication, a new study finds.

    By Elyse DeFranco
  10. 3-D models of an upper leg bone and two forearm bones, each shown from two angles
    Anthropology

    7-million-year-old limb fossils may be from the earliest known hominid

    An earlier report on one of the bones of a 7-million-year-old creature that may have walked upright has triggered scientific misconduct charges.

    By Bruce Bower
  11. a grayscale drawing of native Hawaiians rowing long boats, one of which has a sail
    Anthropology

    ‘The Five-Million-Year Odyssey’ reveals how migration shaped humankind

    A globe-trotting trek through history shows how past population migrations changed the course of human biology and culture.

    By Bruce Bower
  12. a child holding a glass of milk grimaces
    Anthropology

    Famine and disease may have driven ancient Europeans’ lactose tolerance

    Dealing with food shortages and infections over thousands of years, not widespread milk consumption, may be how an ability to digest dairy evolved.

    By Bruce Bower