Anthropology
Top Roman Military Officers Loved Their Pet Monkeys
An animal cemetery at a once-bustling port adds to growing evidence that Romans collected and deeply cared for these primates
How Monogamous Are Humans Actually?
How we rank among species on fidelity to a single partner may have shaped our evolution
Archaeologists Uncover Lost Opioid Tradition in Ancient Egypt
Chemical traces in a royal vase suggest the narcotic may have been a routine part of life
Was This Mysterious Mountain Feature an Incan Tax Document?
Thousands of holes dot a mountain in Peru—they might have been used by the Inca to tally tributes
Neanderthals: Do a Little Art and Take a Stroll on the Beach
Two recent discoveries about the extinct human species refine our understanding of our evolutionary kin
Have We Learned King Tut’s Lessons?
Just over a century ago today, British archaeologists discovered the entrance to the Ancient Egyptian monarch’s tomb … eventually scattering its treasures far and wide
This Inca Building was the Original Boom Box
A 600-year-old temple was likely designed to amplify drum beats and music
How Scavenging Made Us Human
Our early ancestors were more like vultures than we might like to think
How the Statues of Easter Island Walked Into Place
The iconic heads hewn from volcanic rock may have been wobbled into place by the Rapa Nui people who created them
These Aren’t Your Pharoah’s Mummies
Other cultures across Asia were preserving their dead for millennia before the Egyptians
Long Lives Helped Early Humans Thrive
Michael Gurven on the 3 greatest revelations he had while writing Seven Decades: How We Evolved to Live Longer
Marking Time in a Changing World
Climate change is throwing traditional calendars into disarray
