Anthropology
- Physics
These 2017 discoveries could be big news, if they turn out to be true
Some findings reported in 2017 are potentially big news, if they hold up to additional scientific scrutiny.
- Anthropology
Strong-armed women helped power Europe’s ancient farming revolution
Intensive manual labor gave ancient farm women arms that female rowers today would envy.
By Bruce Bower - Archaeology
How Asian nomadic herders built new Bronze Age cultures
Ancient steppe herders traveled into Europe and Asia, leaving their molecular mark and building Bronze Age cultures.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Ancient European farmers and foragers hooked up big time
Interbreeding escalated in regionally distinct ways across Neolithic Europe.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Crocs take a bite out of claims of ancient stone-tool use
Reptiles with big bites complicate claims of Stone Age butchery.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Scientists battle over whether violence has declined over time
People are no more violent in small-scale societies than in states, researchers contend.
By Bruce Bower - Genetics
Ancient humans avoided inbreeding by networking
Ancient DNA expands foragers’ social, mating networks.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Christina Warinner uncovers ancient tales in dental plaque
Molecular biologist Christina Warinner studies calculus, or fossilized dental plaque, which contains a trove of genetic clues to past human diet and disease.
- Anthropology
The rise of agricultural states came at a big cost, a new book argues
In ‘Against the Grain,’ a political scientist claims early states took a toll on formerly mobile groups’ health and happiness.
By Bruce Bower - Genetics
Ancient boy’s DNA pushes back date of earliest humans
Genes from South African fossils suggest humans emerged close to 300,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Neandertal kids were a lot like kids today — at least in how they grew
Ancient youngster’s spine and brain grew at relatively slow pace.
By Bruce Bower - Astronomy
Readers ponder mini-spacecraft and Canaanites’ genomes
Readers have questions about miniature spacecraft project and Canaanite genealogy.