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In contrast, modern humans have relatively smaller, flatter faces with retracted midfaces and more delicate bone structures. For decades, researchers have debated the evolutionary forces behind these differences. How Faces Grow: A Comparative Approach At birth, Neanderthals already have larger midfaces than modern humans.
The human skeleton has long been a resource for science, offering insights into disease, migration, and evolution. Credit: Boris Hamer from Pexels A Legacy of Exploitation For centuries, human remains have been collected, often without consent, to serve scientific and medical purposes.
However, the journey to this unique bond between humans and canines was far from straightforward. A new study 1 suggests that in prehistoric Alaska, humans repeatedly domesticated and lived alongside not just dogs but also wolves, wolf-dog hybrids, and even coyotes.
Between 45,000 and 29,000 years ago, early human activity not only altered landscapes but also reshaped the complex web of interactions between scavengers and prey. Large predators, such as hyenas and cave lions, were gradually displaced, while smaller scavengers like foxes and birds thrived in human-dominated environments.
A Revolutionary Theory in AnthropologyHuman culture is a remarkable, complex phenomenon, often seen as a defining feature that sets humans apart from other species. But what truly distinguishes human culture? But what truly distinguishes human culture? Read more
Discovery of a Potential New Human Species A groundbreaking study published in Nature Communications 1 has proposed the existence of a new human species, Homo juluensis. This ancient hominin, believed to have lived in eastern Asia between 300,000 and 50,000 years ago, is a significant addition to our understanding of human evolution.
A Quest for Our Earliest Stories Myths and legends have always been windows into the human psyche, revealing our fears, dreams, and attempts to understand the world. Yet, could these stories also encode the history of humanity’s migrations and interactions?
For anyone who has been teaching anthropology over the last two years, the latter will be of no surprise to you. (As While AI has simply not been in the hands of students long enough to have longitudinal data on its impacts, there is a growing slew of research that touts it as a learning tool for non-traditional students (such as Dai et al.,
An anthropologist and poet reflects on a journey of return that tells a larger story about human connection, acts of Indigenous solidarity, and the potential for repair within anthropology. IN 2023, I BEGAN the process of consultation toward repatriation on behalf of the anthropology department. While the U.S.
The results challenge long-held assumptions about how early humans controlled tool shape and suggest that the differences in Levallois core designs may be more influenced by cultural traditions than previously thought Why Levallois Technology Matters Levallois technology represents a milestone in human cognitive and technological evolution.
MerrillSinger, PhD, University of Connecticut The COVID-19 pandemic brought enhanced global attention to the anthropological concept of syndemics. As medical anthropologist Lance Gravlee observed, syndemics has achieved a broader reach than most anthropological ideas. It is a syndemic.
A recent study led by researchers from London’s Natural History Museum and the KU Leuven Institute of Philosophy reignites the debate over whether Homo sapiens and Neanderthals ( Homo neanderthalensis ) should be classified as separate species. Neanderthals and Homo sapiens are both humans, but they differ in many ways.
Anna Apostolidou PhD, Assistant Professor of Social Anthropology, Ionian University Given the history of our discipline, it seems rather peculiar that anthropologists are not more “naturally inclined” to employ multimodality in their research and teaching.
The scientific establishment, still enthralled by the Eurocentric idea that human origins were tied to Asia or Europe, was unwilling to accept an African cradle for humanity. His work was shaped by the racial and colonial attitudes of his time, and his interpretation of human evolution was, at times, influenced by problematic ideas.
In preparation for a class based my 2022 article in Teaching Anthropology, Toward a Pedagogy for Consumer Anthropology: Method, Theory, Marketing , I provided ChatGPT with the following prompt: Use the research findings below to create 12 marketing ideas for Duncan Hines cake mix. Human Organization. 69 (3): 252-262.
Researchers from the University of Tübingen have found that australopithecine hands exhibited the necessary muscle attachments for complex object manipulation. These attachment sites adapt and strengthen with frequent use, allowing researchers to infer habitual behaviors. "By The analysis revealed that australopithecines like A.
A recent study, published in the European Journal of Archaeology 1 , suggests these plaques may represent one of humanity's earliest attempts at recording genealogy—a non-verbal precursor to modern ancestry documentation. eyes, noses) weakens this claim. zigzags, triangles), and a transitional band between these sections.
A Discovery in the Desert The story of human migration is often told in sweeping arcs—great waves of Homo sapiens leaving Africa, moving into Eurasia, and eventually populating the entire planet. Credit: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2025).
Intersectional Anthropology. Here, I share about my class, “Intersectional Anthropology,” and reflect on some of the ways it has played into my career, while also acknowledging my privileges as a person who holds a Ph.D. and, in the context of international research, has United States citizenship.
It is also known as physical anthropology, which originally referred to the study of human biology within the framework of evolution and with an emphasis on the interaction between biology and culture. Thousands of specimens of human ancestors (mostly fragmentary) are now kept in research collections.
Marilou Polymeropoulou, University of Oxford, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography Active learning is a well-established pedagogical strategy in secondary and tertiary education where independent learning and critical thinking are nurtured. Three challenges in teaching anthropology. Teaching Anthropology 1 (2), pp.
This new analysis, published in the journal Antiquity 1 , sheds unsettling light on the darker side of prehistoric human behavior. ” The Scene of the Massacre The story begins in the 1970s, when excavators first uncovered over 3,000 human bones and fragments deep within the Charterhouse Warren shaft. Examples of cranial trauma.
By integrating insights from developmental psychology, researchers have identified playful and imaginative marks made by young artists, fundamentally rethinking prehistoric creativity. This new research confronts that narrative, positioning children as active creators whose unique contributions have long been overlooked.
Among the latest findings, researchers have uncovered bone needles crafted from the remains of fur-bearing animals, suggesting these ancient humans produced garments that helped them survive cold climates. An eyed needle made from the bone of a red fox found at the LaPrele archaeological site in Wyoming’s Converse County. .
New research, published in Nature 1 by an international team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, delves into the lives of two neighboring Avar communities in Lower Austria. Related Research **Pohl, W. “The Avars: A Steppe Empire in Central Europe, 567–822.”
For decades, archaeologists have described the architectural evolution of early human settlements as a transition from circular to rectangular structures—a shift thought to reflect deeper societal changes. By digitizing and analyzing architectural remains, researchers can uncover patterns that qualitative approaches often miss.
ELIZABETH KEATING, Professor of Anthropology & Graduate Faculty, Human Dimensions of Organizations, The University of Texas at Austin Teaching through research is recognized as one of the strengths of anthropology. The students used questions I developed and used in my research project.
A Genetic Mystery Unraveled For years, scientists have tried to piece together the evolutionary puzzle of human language. What genetic shifts allowed humans to develop the intricate vocal control necessary for language? Unlike bones and tools, words do not fossilize, leaving researchers to scour DNA for clues.
A new study published in Scientific Reports 1 takes another look at human remains from Maszycka Cave in Poland, and the findings reignite a long-standing debate. Human induced modifications on cranial and postcranial remains. Cut Marks and Cracked Bones: The Case for Cannibalism Maszycka Cave is not new to the anthropological world.
As our team of researchers drove southeast through Utah toward Bears Ears National Monument , changes in the landscape unfolded around us. These values rest on the belief that humans are apart from natural systems rather than a part of these systems, creating tensions for federal land managers and residents.
The morning of my 26th birthday, I woke up to incredible news for my field of evolutionary anthropology: For the first time, the study of human evolution won a Nobel Prize. But because his 1984 paper appeared in a journal published in East Germany, the research did not reach global scientists or publics.
iv] Anthropological attention to Peasant study: Although Robert Redfield’s fieldwork in Mexico as early as 1926 is considered to be the first attempt to see peasant as an analytical category, the study of peasant or the use of the term peasant is quite old. Some scholars emphasized generic cultural or “folk” characteristics of peasants. [vi]
leading research excavations, the Durotriges project of the University of Bournemouth. While some of the press coverage about the new research portrayed the findings as a surprise, archaeologists were far from shocked. The new findings come from individuals buried at the Late Iron Age cemetery of Winterborne Kingston in Dorset.
A groundbreaking study 1 of ancient human DNA from the Oakhurst rock shelter in South Africa is shedding new light on population history in one of the world’s earliest regions of modern human activity. It contained more than 40 human graves and preserved layers of human artifacts, such as stone tools, going back 12,000 years.”
The genetic legacy of Neanderthals persists in modern humans, with 1-2% of non-African genomes composed of Neanderthal DNA—a determination made through comprehensive sequencing and comparison of ancient and modern genomes. “These beneficial traits spread rapidly in early human populations.”
Editor Stacey is Lecturer in Biological Anthropology at the Australian National University, specialising in the analysis of archaeological human remains. Follow Stacey on X (Twitter): @wardstaceym The post Stacey Ward first appeared on Teaching Anthropology. She was recently appointed Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Editor Stacey is Lecturer in Biological Anthropology at the Australian National University, specialising in the analysis of archaeological human remains. Follow Stacey on X (Twitter): @wardstaceym The post Stacey Ward first appeared on Teaching Anthropology. She was recently appointed Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Editor Sherry is the Associate Chair and Assistant Professor Teaching Stream in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, specializing in pedagogical research in biological anthropology, and community-engaged learning with the local Indigenous community.
Editor Sherry is the Associate Chair and Assistant Professor Teaching Stream in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, specializing in pedagogical research in biological anthropology, and community-engaged learning with the local Indigenous community.
Rural-serving institutions are defined by the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges, which Koricich directs, as those that share such characteristics as being located in counties classified as rural and a certain distance from metropolitan areas. A banner hangs from a lamppost on the campus of the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
A Glimpse into Europe’s Earliest Settlers Over 45,000 years ago, small groups of modern humans roamed the icy expanse of Ice Age Europe. Among these pioneers were individuals whose lives and genetic histories have now been reconstructed from the oldest modern human genomes yet sequenced.
As anthropologists, we study what we care about, making research an intimate undertaking. Here, Dr. Mecca Howe and Ariana Gunderson discuss the effects of our food research on our personal relationships with food, while considering the role of our eating choices within the food system and our research for the communities we study.
The ability to digest starch has played a crucial role in human evolution. Researchers discovered that early humans experienced two significant waves of amylase gene expansion: the first potentially linked to the mastery of fire and the second with the onset of agriculture approximately 12,000 years ago. 1 Bolognini, D.,
Over the last 12,000 years, a pivotal shift occurred in the human genome, driven by the advent of agriculture and the shift to a carbohydrate-rich diet. This research sheds light on how the rise of agriculture accelerated the evolution of genes associated with energy extraction from starchy foods.
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