Anthropology.net

DECEMBER 3, 2024

Archaeological specimens of semi-domesticated maize (corn) were found in baskets buried in caves in Peruaçu Valley. Archaeological evidence indicates that maize spread to southwestern Amazonia approximately 6,000 years ago before eventually arriving in Brazil’s Peruaçu Valley some 1,500 years ago.

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DECEMBER 19, 2024

But recent archaeological findings reveal that even domestic livestock were transformed to project power and control. This discovery reshapes our understanding of early animal domestication and its cultural significance in Predynastic Egypt. Credit: Journal of Archaeological Science (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2024.106104

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 26, 2025

Using Bayesian chronological modeling and data from over 150 archaeological sites, the study examines how two major climatic events—the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR) and the Younger Dryas (YD)—influenced early human dispersal across the continent. The modelling work (e.g., <2,5000 masl = orange. ≥2,5000 masl = blue.

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DECEMBER 19, 2024

Published in Archaeological Research in Asia 1 , the research introduces a computational approach that reveals unexpected complexity in the architectural development of Neolithic settlements. These sites span from the Natufian culture (15,000 years ago) to the early Neolithic period (8,500 years ago). Paléorient, 28(1), 5-13.

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MARCH 14, 2025

Genomic Clues: Tracing Language Through Population Splits Unlike previous studies that relied on archaeology or comparative anatomy, this research examines how human populations began to branch off from one another. What Came First: Language or Symbolic Thought? This challenges the long-held view that language and symbolism arose in tandem.

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Anthropology.net

OCTOBER 29, 2024

Photo by Marcello Canuto) The Power of Lidar in Archaeology Lidar, a laser-based detection system, allows archaeologists to scan landscapes by sending thousands of laser pulses per second and mapping the terrain based on how these pulses reflect off surfaces. .”

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Anthropology for Beginners

DECEMBER 20, 2023

style='mso-element:field-begin'> TOC o "1-4" h z u Archaeology of power and identity: the political use of the discipline. style='mso-element:field-begin'> TOC o "1-4" h z u Archaeology of power and identity: the political use of the discipline.

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Anthropology.net

JANUARY 18, 2025

In the 8th century CE, the Avars—an enigmatic group with roots in the East Asian steppes—settled in Central Europe, weaving a tapestry of cultural cohesion amid genetic diversity. Their findings reveal an intriguing story of cultural integration despite distinct genetic divides. ” Even weapons were rare in the graves.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 14, 2025

And yet, the archaeological record for that period—from roughly 26,500 to 19,000 years ago—tells a strangely quiet story. Or has the archaeological record simply failed to preserve these ephemeral traces of life? Fire as Cultural Technology Fire is not merely a survival tool. Did hunter-gatherers abandon fire?

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APRIL 2, 2025

© Archaeological Mission in the Sahara, Sapienza University of Rome By analyzing DNA from two 7,000-year-old naturally mummified individuals found in the Takarkori rock shelter of southwestern Libya, researchers have identified a genetic signature distinct from both sub-Saharan and Eurasian populations. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006976

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Anthropology.net

DECEMBER 2, 2024

Such tasks likely involved collaboration and the transmission of knowledge within the group, suggesting that these skills were culturally shared over generations. This discovery supports growing evidence that Neanderthals possessed the cognitive abilities and social structures necessary for cultural innovation. Leierer, L., Knight, R.

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

Recent analysis of artifacts from two Lusatian Culture cemeteries suggests that early metallurgists were not only working with iron from terrestrial sources but also incorporating metal from ataxite meteorites—an extremely rare form of nickel-rich iron that originates in space. Journal of Archaeological Science, 92 , 30-39.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 12, 2025

This may be the earliest archaeological hint of social learning in technological contexts. “That would place culture, in its earliest form, hundreds of thousands of years deeper into our past.” “That would place culture, in its earliest form, hundreds of thousands of years deeper into our past.”

Humanities 95

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Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

Their findings underscore the importance of Central Asia not only as a geographical way point but as a cultural and technological nexus where different human populations may have encountered each other over millennia. Artifacts suggest that the Zeravshan Valley was not only a migration route but potentially a place of cultural exchange.

Humanities 98

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 25, 2025

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.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 7, 2025

These instruments, linked to the Umm an-Nar culture, provide compelling evidence of a shared musical tradition between the ancient civilizations of the Arabian Peninsula and the Indus Valley.​ Al Rahbi Music has long served as a universal language, transcending geographical and cultural boundaries. S., & Douglas, K.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 14, 2025

In a sweeping new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1 , an international team analyzed the size of more than 47,000 houses across 1,100 archaeological sites. The archaeological record, stretching across six continents and 10 millennia, shows otherwise. Princeton University Press. link] 1 Kohler, T.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 16, 2025

Their three-dimensional models show a planet bathed in increased ultraviolet and cosmic radiation—especially across Europe and northern Africa—at precisely the moment when Homo sapiens was expanding and Homo neanderthalensis was fading from the archaeological record.

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Anthropology.net

OCTOBER 31, 2024

While other Bronze Age cultures had advanced in terms of population density, specialized labor, and structured hierarchies, northern Arabian towns remained modest, indicating a more gradual cultural and social shift.

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Anthropology.net

DECEMBER 4, 2024

The Study of Ancient Alaskan Canids To explore this complex history, a team of archaeologists led by François Lanoë from the University of Arizona analyzed 111 sets of bones from canids unearthed at archaeological sites across interior Alaska. Journal : Journal of Anthropological Archaeology , 2019. lupus/familiaris ).

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Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

Ochre’s Role in Early Human Society Ochre, valued across cultures and eras, was more than a mere pigment; it was a cornerstone of symbolic and ceremonial life. In Eswatini, ochre remains significant in various cultural rituals, such as wedding ceremonies where brides are adorned with red ochre as a symbol of transformation and unity.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 4, 2025

But beyond their everyday function of fastening and securing, knots hold something deeper: a story about the evolution of human cognition, the flow of culture, and the quiet persistence of shared technique across continents and millennia. Encoding Entanglement—How Math Helped Map Knots Knots rarely survive in the archaeological record.

Humanities 72

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

Found in different parts of Europe, these two industries have often been grouped together as “transitional industries,” implying that they might share a common technological or cultural origin. A new study published in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology 1 has upended this assumption. But do they? 4a) blade-like. (4b)

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MARCH 27, 2025

​ a) Location of early metallurgical activities in Anatolia and Gre Fılla archaeological site. Rather than a singular origin point, metallurgy may have emerged independently in various regions, influenced by local resources, knowledge systems, and cultural practices.​

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 26, 2025

Archaeology often deals with what remains—the bones, the stone tools, the charred remnants of ancient hearths. These stone grinding surfaces, found alongside rock art panels and other cultural features, are yielding the first direct evidence of plant processing in this landscape. American Antiquity, 81 (4), 664–681.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 5, 2025

Bone tools found in Olduvai, photographed in the Pleistocene Archaeology Lab of CSIC. Credit: CSIC This finding changes the way we think about early human cognition, technological adaptability, and cultural innovation. Bone tools found in Olduvai, photographed in the Pleistocene Archaeology Lab of CSIC.

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Teaching Anthropology

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024

It is also a point at which I want to remind students of core course concepts like cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. This is why evidence for diet was a big part of my archaeology flipped class activity , for example. References Han, D. (27 27 Feb 2023) Fast and Pluribus: Impacts of a Globalizing McDonald’s. JSTOR DAILY.

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Anthropology.net

DECEMBER 4, 2024

Discovering Emotion in Ancient Mesopotamia From the flutter of "butterflies in the stomach" to the weight of a "heavy heart," emotions are often tied to physical sensations in modern cultures. Towards a Universal Understanding of Emotions This study opens new doors to understanding whether emotions are universal or culturally specific.

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Anthropology.net

JANUARY 8, 2025

Wallacea, the sprawling chain of islands in eastern Indonesia that includes Timor-Leste, has long been a crossroads of cultures, languages, and genetics. Gludhug Ariyo Purnomo from the University of Adelaide, who led the research, noted that the findings emphasize the importance of West Papua as a bio-cultural hub.

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Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 5, 2024

Insights from 130,000 Years of Climate and Human Impact The study tracked vegetation changes in southeastern Australia over the past 130,000 years, analyzing fossil pollen and archaeological data to determine how climate and human land use shaped the region’s ecology.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 31, 2025

It suggests that these journeys were neither incidental nor purely educational but held profound cultural and spiritual significance. Liminal Beings: Children as Mediators In many indigenous cultures, children are perceived as liminal beings—occupying a threshold between the earthly realm and the spiritual world.

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Anthropology.net

JANUARY 19, 2025

It serves as a critical archaeological site for understanding the transition from Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to Neolithic agriculturalists. This nuance suggests a more varied diet than previously thought, shaped by both ecological and cultural factors. The findings also raise broader questions about cultural practices.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 14, 2025

A sweeping archaeological analysis 1 led by Gary Feinman of the Field Museum of Natural History offers a strikingly different view. “The idea that big populations or new technologies automatically lead to widening inequality simply doesn’t hold up in the archaeological record.” But what if that assumption is wrong?

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Anthropology.net

JANUARY 17, 2025

The Acheulian culture, which emerged around 1.75 Using experimental archaeology, advanced 3D scanning, and photogrammetry, they recreated and analyzed the wear patterns on stone tools from Melka Wakena. ” Melka Wakena’s archaeological record offers a glimpse into these capabilities.

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Anthropology.net

JANUARY 23, 2025

Hussain from the University of Cologne, drew on a vast database of archaeological findings. The ROAD database, developed by the Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans (ROCEEH) project, contains data from over 2,400 prehistoric sites across Europe, Africa, and Asia. ” Journal of Archaeological Research.

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Sapiens

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

A multidisciplinary team of researchers explains historical, cultural, and ethical issues they considered while developing a 3D scan of a South African site to be shared with the world online. This has led to numerous archaeological and heritage sites appearing online in interactive 3D platforms, such as Sketchfab.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 10, 2025

Unlike many other archaeological sites that have been repeatedly excavated over decades, this cave has only recently been investigated systematically. Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports , 63 (105064), 105064. The radiocarbon dating places these tools firmly within the Early Epigravettian, aligning with known sites across Italy.

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