Anthropology

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.

Anthropology

Spanish horses joined Indigenous South Americans’ societies long before Europeans came to stay

By the early 1600s, hunter-gatherers at the continent’s southern tip adopted horses left behind by colonial newcomers, new finds suggest.

Archaeology

Ancient Maya power brokers lived in neighborhoods, not just palaces

Lidar discoveries and recent excavations are forcing archaeologists to rethink ancient Maya political structures.

Archaeology

A mysterious ancient grave with a sword and mirror belonged to a woman

The items hint that she fought in or helped plan raids and defensive actions in what’s now southwestern England about 2,000 years ago, scientists speculate.

Psychology

Why scientists are expanding the definition of loneliness

Feeling detached from animals, places and routines can cause loneliness, researchers are learning, which may expand the list of interventions.

Anthropology

Surprisingly long-lived wild female chimps go through menopause

Chimpanzees in Uganda are the first known example of wild, nonhuman primates experiencing the hormonal changes, raising questions about how menopause evolved.

Archaeology

Neandertals hunted cave lions at least 48,000 years ago

A new study reports the first direct evidence of Neandertals slaying the big cats, and the earliest evidence of any hominids killing a large predator.

Archaeology

Human footprints in New Mexico really may be surprisingly ancient, new dating shows

Two dating methods find that human tracks in White Sands National Park in New Mexico are roughly 22,000 years old, aligning with a previous estimate.

Anthropology

Interlocking logs may be evidence of the oldest known wooden structure

Roughly 480,000-year-old wooden find from Zambia suggests early hominids were more skilled at structuring their environments than scientists realized.

Anthropology

Extreme cold may have nearly wiped out human ancestors 900,000 years ago

Ancestral populations had rebounded by about 800,000 years ago, heralding the evolution of people today, a contested DNA analysis suggests.

Psychology

An apology to Indigenous communities sparks a mental health rethink

The leading U.S. psychological association pledged to embrace Indigenous approaches to healing, which requires rethinking how to address mental health.

Archaeology

A child’s ornate necklace highlights ancient farmers’ social complexity

The intricate necklace, reconstructed by researchers, was found on the remains of a child buried about 9,000 years ago in a Middle Eastern village.