All Stories by Bruce Bower
- Humans
Cannibalism in Colonial America comes to life
Researchers have found the first skeletal evidence that starving colonists ate their own.
- Humans
Maya civilization’s roots may lie in ritual
Cultural exchanges in southern Mexico and Guatemala tied to ancient society's rise.
- Psychology
Disputed signs of consciousness seen in babies’ brains
Within five months of birth, infants produce a possible neural marker of being aware of what they see.
- Anthropology
American Association of Physical Anthropologists meeting
Perhaps the oldest swatch of hominid skin yet found and –tzi the iceman’s Neandertal genetics are among the highlights from the physical anthropology meeting.
- Humans
Ardi’s kind had a skull fit for a hominid
Study of reconstructed skull section puts 4.4-million-year-old species in human evolutionary family.
- Humans
Possible human ancestor in Australopithecus sediba
The hominid’s unusual build may place it in into humankind’s lineage.
- Humans
Pottery cooked from the start
Japanese sites yield late Stone Age evidence of people heating fish in ceramic vessels.
- Psychology
Babies’ flexible squeals may enable them to talk later
Language evolution might have fed off infants’ ability to use certain sounds to express various emotions.
- Psychology
Competition brings out autism’s social side
Given motivation, kids with autism can appreciate what other people think and believe.
- Psychology
Early malnutrition bodes ill for adult personality
Undernourishment in first year of life may destabilize personality decades later.
- Humans
Disputed finds put humans in South America 22,000 years ago
Brazilian site may have been home to people before the Clovis hunters.
- Humans
Ancient people and Neandertals were extreme travelers
Stone Age folk were built for journeying farther than even the most active individuals today.
