Anthropology
- Anthropology
How does a fossil become a superstar? Just ask Lucy.
Geologic good fortune, skilled scientific scrutiny and a catchy name turned Lucy into an evolutionary icon.
- Anthropology
The ‘midlife crisis’ is too simple a story, scientists say
Some scientists want to shift focus to the teen mental health crisis. But the course of happiness is too complex for simplistic theories, experts warn.
- Psychology
Navigation research often excludes the environment. That’s starting to change
Participants “navigating” on a lab computer have shaped navigation knowledge. Studies that add in the environment challenge those findings.
- Archaeology
Ancient Scythians had cultural roots in Siberia
A possible sacrificial ritual from around 2,800 years ago suggests mounted herders from Siberia shaped a Eurasian culture thousands of kilometers away.
- Anthropology
Fossils of an extinct animal may have inspired this cave art drawing
Unusual tusks on preserved skulls of dicynodonts influenced the look of a mythical beast painted by Southern Africa’s San people, a researcher suspects.
- Anthropology
Ancient DNA unveils a previously unknown line of Neandertals
DNA from a partial skeleton found in France indicates that European Neandertals consisted of at least two genetically distinct populations.
- Anthropology
An Egyptian mummy’s silent ‘scream’ might have been fixed at death
A rare muscle-stiffening reaction could explain the open-mouthed expression of a mummy known as the Screaming Woman, scientists suggest.
- Archaeology
Ancient Egyptian scribes’ work left its mark on their skeletons
Years of hunching over, chewing pens and gripping brushes left the skeletons of Egyptian scribes with telltale marks of arthritis and other damage.
- Anthropology
Child sacrifices at famed Maya site were all boys, many closely related
DNA analysis shows victims in one underground chamber at Chichén Itzá included twins, perhaps representing mythological figures.
- Anthropology
Fossil finds amplify Europe’s status as a hotbed of great ape evolution
A kneecap and two teeth belonged to the smallest known great ape, a study contends. If so, it’s the first to coexist with another great ape in Europe.
- Anthropology
50 years ago, evidence showed that an extinct human ancestor walked upright
Fossil finds have since pushed back the ability of hominids to walk on two legs by millions of years.
- Anthropology
Ancient primates’ unchipped teeth hint that they ate mostly fruit
Of more than 400 teeth collected, just 21 were chipped, suggesting that early primate diets were soft on their choppers.
