Anthropology

Apes That Dive And Swim- First Documented Report

Zoos have used water moats to confine chimpanzees, gorillas or orangutans. When apes ventured into deep water, they often drowned, which indicated that apes could not learn to swim and so prefer to stay on dry land. But it turns out that they can. Two rese ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 14 2013 - 9:05am

Hunter-Gatherers Liked Spice Too

Our early ancestors developed a taste for spicy food at the time they were beginning to transition to agriculture. The researchers discovered traces of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), along with animal and fish residues, on the charred remains of pot ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 22 2013 - 8:01am

Anthropomorphizing Animals Could Help Conservation Projects

Anthropomorphism is overlooked as a powerful tool for promoting low-profile species that are either endangered or require urgent attention, say the authors of a new paper. As has been noted in the past, it also helps to use cute animals. At present, anthr ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 22 2013 - 10:07am

4600 BC: Hunters, Gatherers, Pig Owners

Though some Europeans were still hunter-gatherers in 4,600 BC, there was interaction between the hunter-gatherer and farming communities and a 'sharing' of animals and knowledge  which led to acquisition of domesticated pigs from nearby farmers, ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 27 2013 - 4:55pm

The Complex Social Ecosystem Of A Trailer Park

Trailer park residents are one of the few demographics it's still okay to stereotype but, as is usually the case, low-income trailer park residents form distinct groups with different visions of morality, according to a new paper. In other words, the ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 10 2013 - 11:48am

Neanderthals Made The First Bone Tools, Not Modern Humans, Says Paper

A bone fragment from a French archaeological site has turned out to be a part of an early specialized bone tool used by a Neanderthal before the first modern humans appeared in Europe. ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 20 2013 - 2:57pm

Modern Hyperlink Movies Don't Really Push Any Cognitive Limits

Hyperlink films, which use cinematic devices such as flashbacks, scenes out of chronological order, split screens and voiceovers to create an interacting network of storylines and characters across space and time, mirror contemporary globalized communitie ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 23 2013 - 9:36am

Like Modern Civilization? Thank War

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Article - News Staff - Sep 25 2013 - 5:14pm

Kin Selection And How Transgender Males Might Have Been An Asset In Some Ancestral Societies

Transgendered androphilic males may have been accepted in ancient hunter-gatherer cultures because they were an extra set of hands to support their families, according to a new article in Human Nature. ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 2 2013 - 6:14pm

Ancestry Of Ashkenazi Jews- Men Migrated And Married European Women?

The early days of Ashkenazi Jews – that is, Jews with more recent ancestry in central and Eastern Europe – are a hot debate topic. It is believed that their ancestors migrated into Europe from Judea in the first century A.D., after the destruction of the ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 8 2013 - 11:47am