Anthropology

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We’ve been preserving human bodies since the Stone Age.

From back injuries to difficult childbirth, here are six annoying parts of being human that you can blame on evolution.

Often dismissed as “primitive,” our extinct relatives were surprisingly thoughtful. Some were also cannibals.

The first major sociological study of Thanksgiving appeared in the Journal of Consumer Research in 1991. Here’s what the authors learned.

These prehistoric members of our genus, ‘Homo,’ occupy different branches of the human family tree.

Scientists have uncovered ancient fossils, prehistoric artwork, and other clues to human evolution. Here are nine of the most revealing discoveries that have changed our understanding of our early ancestors—and ourselves.

Within the last 200 years, we’ve discovered about two dozen species of hominins in Europe, Africa, and Asia—which you can see laid out in this map.

Each of these ancient fossils, even if just a small part of a skeleton, represents an identifiable character in the story of humankind.

Lucy walked on her own two feet. Scientists weren’t expecting that.

China, Chile, and New Zealand are a few places that have historic mummies of their own.

The gorge in northern Tanzania has yielded many of the oldest fossils of humankind, shedding new light on our ancient ancestors.

From forged artworks to fake mummies and even fraudulent orangutan bones, archaeological hoaxes fool scientists and stir the public’s imagination—until the culprits are forced to come clean.

The Stone Age timeline encompasses a huge chunk of prehistory—and life wasn’t only about hunting and gathering.

The bodies of Iron Age Europeans are so well preserved in peat bogs that they’re sometimes mistaken for modern murder victims.

A fragment of an arm bone found on Flores, Indonesia, suggests that some of our human ancestors were even smaller than we thought.

A fossilized ear bone supports the idea that Neanderthals helped raise the child collectively and altruistically.

The origins of the phrase 'missionary position' involve Alfred Kinsey, some shoddy research, and zero actual missionaries.

The Denisovans went extinct around 30,000 years ago. Scientists are just beginning to unravel their genetic legacy.

Ötzi the Iceman may have gone bald in middle age—but hey, at least he had tattoos.

Writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston’s literary legacy is a class apart. Here are some facts you might not have known about the author of “Their Eyes Were Watching God.”