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ANTHROPOLOGY ARTICLES
Anthropology Articles
Welcome to the Anthropology Articles page! On this page, you will find links to some interesting online readings about Anthropology. The readings are categorized by the 4 fields of Anthropology. So, you can read about Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, and Physical/Biological Anthropology. I’ll add more over time, so check back again to see what’s new!
Archaeology
Could a Catastrophe Have Changed the Path of One of the Most Important Cultures of Ancient North America?
A new study claims that a comet influenced the direction of Native American cultures 1,600 year ago. That conclusion is controversial but it reveals the challenge of understanding natural hazards in the ancient past.
Why Are Black People’s Remains in Museums?
Two archaeologists explain how the remains of thousands of Black people ended up in U.S. museums, and what should happen next.
Earliest-Known Animal Cave Art
Archaeologists' dates on ancient cave paintings in Indonesia push the timeline for the first animal depictions back thousands of years.
Stone Age Myths We’ve Made Up
Stone Age myths - Commonly held views of ancient history are often colored by what survives in the archaeological record—and by cultural biases.
A Radical New Theory About the Origins of Art
Paleolithic cave art animals - Archaeologists are tapping cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology research to figure out how our ancestors began making figurative art.
Archaeology of the 99 Percent
Jeremy Sabloff - Most people in antiquity were too poor to leave many artifacts behind. Archaeologists have learned how to look beyond the 1%.
Nabta Playa: The World's First Astronomical Site Was Built In Africa And Is Older Than Stonehenge
This 7,000-year-old stone circle tracked the summer solstice and the arrival of the annual monsoon season. It's the oldest known astronomical site on Earth.
Cultural Anthropology
5 Ancient Foods Still Eaten Today
From cheesecake to popcorn, our ancient ancestors were consuming some of our favorite foods well before we may have realized.
How Black Caribbean Communities Are Reviving an Ancestral Dance Tradition
Bele Martinique - An interview with Camee Maddox-Wingfield explores how practitioners of bèlè find agency, healing, and connection.
When Kinship Is Traced Through Women, Their Health Follows
Matrilineal kinship womens health - A study finds that there may be health benefits when family ties are linked through mothers.
Death as Something We Make
medical aid in dying ethics - An anthropologist dives deeply into how “medical aid-in-dying” is transforming death's ethics and aesthetics .
In Nigeria, dreadlocks are entangled with beliefs about danger
Nigerian men who wear their hair in knots are not a new phenomenon, but the hairstyle's spiritual heritage sparks fear in the hearts of many.
India’s Third Gender Rises Again
Hijra - Hijras, a gender nonconforming community, are striving to overcome a century of discrimination and reclaim their holy status in society.
Why Land Acknowledgments Matter
One anthropologist views land acknowledgment -- honoring traditional lands -- as a way to remember the past while stepping toward the future.
Linguistic Anthropology
African Script Sheds Light on Evolution of Writing
New research confirms that letter shapes become predictably simpler over time to make reading and writing more efficient.
Why Was the Alphabet Invented, Anyway?
Among other things, reading hieroglyphics was a lot of work.
How to Resurrect Dying Languages
language revitalization - Community activists are using creative methods to revive endangered languages and reawaken dormant ones.
What’s Left Unsaid When a Language Dies
Tayap - Deep in Papua New Guinea, Tayap speakers have stopped using their language. An anthropologist recounts his journey to find out why.
When Deafness Is Not Considered a Deficit
In the Peruvian Amazon, the Maijuna peoples created their own sign language—which hints at the importance of community in the evolution of language.
Where Do “New” Languages Come From?
New languages - Where do recently recognized tongues come from—and what does their flourishing tell us about how to keep rare or threatened languages alive?
How Did Human Language Evolve? Scientists Still Don't Know
Humans have language and other animals don’t. That’s obvious, but how it happened is not. Since Darwin’s time, scientists have puzzled over the evolution of language.
The Joy of Dialects
What a froggy mystery in Papua New Guinea can teach us about the pleasure and power of language diversity.
Physical/Biological Anthropology
If Humans Evolved from Apes, Why Do Apes Still Exist?
A closer look at human and ape evolution.
The Mediterranean Plains Where Neanderthals and Modern Humans Came Together
Archeological evidence in the Lavant region of the Middle East points to a past where Neanderthals and Homo sapiens co-existed, and likely interbred early in our origin story.
How Dexterous Thumbs May Have Helped Shape Evolution Two Million Years Ago
Fossils and biochemical models show tool-wielding hominins used their hands like we do today
Did a Magnetic Field Reversal Doom Neanderthals?
magnetic field reversal neanderthal - A Neanderthal expert weighs in on a new theory about what killed off our evolutionary cousins.
The Neanderthal Diet—From Teeth to Guts
Neanderthal diet - Neanderthals’ tooth enamel, torsos, and even fossilized poop reveal that they ate much more than meat.
A Head-to-Toe Tour of the Neanderthal
The Neanderthal body has stories to tell about the life and times of our ancient hominin cousins.
Unraveling the Mystery of Human Bipedality
Paleoanthropologist Carol Ward explains how walking upright marked a milestone in hominin history.
5 Skulls That Shook Up The Story Of Human Evolution
Skull finds can change the way we think about human origins — but often not without controversy.
Enjoyed These Anthropology Articles?
Looking for More Resources?
Looking for a list of Anthropology-related websites? Check out the Anthropology Links page! View Anthropology organizations, Anthropology blogs, information on Anthropology careers, and more!
Looking for Anthropology-related videos? Check out the Anthropology 4U Videos page! On that page, you can view the videos I have posted to YouTube. You don’t even need to leave my website!
Looking for suggestions on Anthropology books to read? Check out the Recommended Reading page! View a wide variety of introductory books that you can use to teach yourself about all four fields of Anthropology.
Looking for Anthropology-related slideshow presentations? Check out the SlideShare Presentations page! On that page, you can view my SlideShare presentations without leaving my website. These slideshow presentations are made with Keynote, which is Apple’s version of PowerPoint.
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