Bruce Bower

Bruce Bower

Behavioral Sciences Writer

Bruce Bower has written about the behavioral sciences since 1984. He often writes about psychology, anthropology, archaeology and mental health issues. Bruce has a master's degree in psychology from Pepperdine University and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Following an internship at Science News in 1981, he worked as a reporter at Psychiatric News, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association, until joining Science News as a staff writer. In 1996, the American Psychological Association appointed Bruce a Science Writer Fellow, with a grant to visit psychological scientists of his own choosing. Early stints as an aide in a day school for children and teenagers with severe psychological problems and as a counselor in a drug diversion center provided Bruce with a surprisingly good background for a career in science journalism.

All Stories by Bruce Bower

  1. Humans

    Southern Africa may have hosted a hominid transition 2 million years ago

    Braincases excavated from the Drimolen caves suggest Homo erectus and Paranthropus robustus may have coexisted in southern Africa.

  2. Anthropology

    Lucy’s species heralded the rise of long childhoods in hominids

    Australopithecus afarensis had prolonged brain growth before the Homo genus appeared, but it still resulted in brains with chimplike neural structure.

  3. Anthropology

    This 300,000-year-old skull may be from an African ‘ghost’ population

    The age of the mysterious Broken Hill fossil suggests it came from a hominid that lived around the same time as both Homo sapiens and H. naledi.

  4. Archaeology

    Neandertals’ extensive seafood menu rivals that of ancient humans

    Finds from a coastal cave in Portugal reveal repeated ocean foraging for this European hominid.

  5. Archaeology

    New Guinea’s Neolithic period may have started without outside help

    Islanders on New Guinea experienced cultural changes sparked by farming about 1,000 years before Southeast Asians arrived, a study suggests.

  6. Archaeology

    The Nazareth Inscription’s origins may refute ties to Jesus’ resurrection

    Chemical analysis shows the tablet’s marble came from a Greek island, challenging the idea the decree concerned early Christianity in the Middle East.

  7. Archaeology

    This is one of the largest Ice Age structures made of mammoth bones

    A massive ring of mammoth bones, built by hunter-gatherers during the Ice Age, offers a peek at life 25,000 years ago.

  8. Archaeology

    An ancient ball court sheds light on a game made famous by the Aztecs

    A 3,400-year-old ball court in the southern mountains of Mexico suggests many societies contributed to the development of an ancient, well-known Mesoamerican ball game.

  9. Anthropology

    An ancient social safety net in Africa was built on beads

    A Stone Age network of communities across southern Africans was established using ostrich shell beads by around 33,000 years ago.

  10. Anthropology

    New fossils and artifacts show Homo erectus crafted a diverse toolkit

    Ancient hominid made stone tools demanding a range of skills and planning, a study finds.

  11. Anthropology

    The ancient hominid species that includes ‘Nutcracker Man’ may have made tools

    Newly described hand, arm and shoulder fossils suggest that Paranthropus boisei had powerful arms with hands capable of making simple tools.

  12. Archaeology

    South Asian toolmaking withstood the biggest volcanic blast in 2 million years

    Toolmakers continued to strike sharp-edged flakes as usual after a volcano’s colossal eruption around 74,000 years ago on what’s now Sumatra Island.