Both Neanderthal and early modern humans used birch tar - the first time in known history that a new material came into use. Coming up with it is one thing, but finding a way to scale it is more…

The first investigation of the genomic diversity of individuals buried at Machu Picchu and adjacent places around Cusco, the Inca capital finds that the mitmas - slaves - and members of the empire…

Nearly 3 million years ago, early human ancestors used some of the oldest stone tools ever found to butcher hippos and pound plant material, and for half that time they were butchering each other - a…

Cooperative breeders, where we count on the help of others to raise offspring,is not unique to humans. It may only appear that way. A new paper amassed data from 90 human populations comprising 80,…

Ask a hunting guide about what your first experience as a novice hunter should be and they will say a turkey. No one ever cried over eating turkey whereas a rabbit would be a bad idea for many. A new…

The most popular pets are cats and dogs but their origins as human companions are much different. Dogs became domesticated during the ice age 23,000 years ago as humans and wolves co-habitated in…

Count the times the word “culture” came out of reporters’ mouths last week, and you’d think they were anthropologists. Usually in this context: “The culture of white supremacy has gone fully…

It is common today to have food, or even a feast, to memorialize the dead. It is a legacy from ancient times. Across the Roman Empire, funerary rituals were conducted to ensure the protection of…

Once upon a time, terms like 'primate' and 'Neanderthal' were used as joke insults, but they are both entirely true, and the latter even more so now. Unlike databases of where people live such as…

The history of humans is a history of expansion, from the recesses of Africa outward across the world. No one is really a native and yet everyone is, because all humans were first an invasive species…