Anthropology

Two scholars who study death rituals explain that the corpse is considered spiritually polluting in many religious traditions, while the Moon holds a sacred place.

With access to precious cultural and linguistic knowledge on country for the first time, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies has expanded its reach outside Canberra.

It’s time to rethink what tools reveal about animal intelligence and evolution.

An eye-catching new study shows just how different the experience of walking home at night is for women versus men.

Black men and boys must continuously confront the negative stereotypes attached with Black masculinity, and this can impact their mental health.

Most primate societies have long been assumed to be male-dominated, but a new study shows many have females in charge or feature power sharing

Until federal politicians start “valuing people in their own homes”, intangible cultural heritage will remain misunderstood and underappreciated, said Agnieszka Pawlowska-Mainville, author of Stored in the Bones.

It is well documented that Australian teachers face challenges incorporating Indigenous perspectives and content in their classrooms. The approach can sometimes be somewhat tokenistic, as if the teacher is "ticking a box". We need a more culturally responsive teaching workforce.

Baird, T. D., J. T. McCabe, E. Woodhouse, I. Rumas, S. Sankeni, and G. O. Saitoti. 2021. Mobile phones and wrong numbers: how Maasai agro-pastoralists form and use accidental social ties in East Africa. Ecology and Society 26(2):41. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12528-260241

"Magical" texts from Egypt in Coptic script and language are at the center of a research project at the University of Würzburg. They have now been collected and scientifically annotated for the first time in a 600-page book.

Interviews with people in remote communities challenge widely held perception that money buys happiness

“This is special,” said Jennifer Neptune (Penobscot) as she peered through the glass pane of a display at the University of Maine Hudson Museum. “What's unique about this one is the lace work around the outside edge. See how the ash is woven?” Her fingers moved in a weaving motion,…

A new study, which centers on evidence from skulls of a 6-million-year-old fossil ape, Lufengpithecus, offers important clues about the origins of bipedal locomotion courtesy of a novel method: analyzing its bony inner ear region using three-dimensional CT-scanning. The inner ear appears to provide ...

More than 100 people united over a single mission to save sacred Ojibwe birch bark scrolls from falling into a black hole of private collectors of Native artifacts.

Peoples who live close to nature have a rich lore of plants, animals and landscapes embedded in their mother tongues — which may hold vital clues to protecting biodiversity

A year in the making, the elaborate, wearable artworks of the Black Masking Indians are a unique New Orleans tradition

Note: In 2007–2008, the author was the principal investigator for an NSF-funded study of Taumako voyaging. This incident occurred toward the end of 2008.

When we imagine ourselves as another creature, we become more attuned to the world around us – and better at being human

The Peregrine lander carried remains and the DNA of more than 70 people — but a propulsion problem meant it never reached the moon, and will burn up at reentry.

What I learned about emotions when I traded Amsterdam for Ann Arbor.

In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers have shown that orbitally induced strengthening of the Asian summer monsoon played a key role in the dispersal of Homo sapiens from Africa to East Asia during the last interglacial period 125,000 to 70,000 years ago...

A biological and anthropological researcher discusses different sexual relationships found across primate species and human societies.

The number of relatives that an individual has is expected to decrease by more than 35% in the near future. At the same time, the structure of families will change. The number of cousins, nieces, nephews and grandchildren will decline sharply, while the number of great-grandparents and grandparents ...

'With these new opportunities and new ways of doing business, we recognize that some non-NASA commercial payloads can be a cause for concern to some communities.'

Scientists have been vollying the question back and forth for more than a century.

A little-known dog lineage with fur so thick it was spun into blankets was selectively bred for millennia by Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest until its rapid demise following European colonization, a study in Science showed Thursday.

Scientists find genes inherited from our prehistoric cousins increase tendency to rise early – useful in regions with short winter days

Study finds infants first understand language via rhythm and tone rather than individual sounds

Do you remember the bizarre Salad Fingers videos from the early 2000s? They inspired a whole genre of genre-less online videos.

The tonal Navajo language differentiates words based on pitch and makes Spanish conjugation look like child’s play.

Infants and toddlers may be psychologically wired to thrive with high levels of "sensitive care" and personal attention, according to a study conducted with contemporary hunter-gatherer societies.

CT scanning and an auditory bioengineering model are used to establish the sound power transmission and occupied bandwidth of the Neanderthal ear, suggesting similar auditory and speech capacities as those in Homo sapiens.

A GM study diachronically examined evolution of the medial longitudinal arch and variation as expressed by the navicular bone, identifying navicular traits associated with particular locomotor behaviors, subsistence strategies, and foot types