Anthropology

Glue Isn’t Proof Of Neanderthal Intelligence- It Was Easy To Make

It was easy to make a strong adhesive in the Stone Age so claims about the presence of glue 50,000 years ago meaning higher intelligence for "Neanderthals" don't stick very well. Neanderthals and other early humans produced a tarry glue from ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 22 2019 - 2:51pm

The Salem Witch Trials Targeted Women- Here's Why

“Witch hunt” – it’s a refrain used to deride everything from impeachment inquiries and sexual assault investigations to allegations of corruption. ...

Article - The Conversation - Oct 25 2019 - 10:13am

Chopping The Dead, Mummification- It Isn't A Halloween Movie, It's Real Life Death Rituals

Cremation, "air burial," grave cairns, funeral mounds, mummification, belief in life after death – death practices sacred to one culture are often considered "odd" or even terrifying by another. The Greeks were fascinated with the hist ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 31 2019 - 2:12pm

November 5th, Guy Fawkes And The Gunpowder Plot: Torture And Persecution In Fact And Fiction

In 1605, England’s parliament was sitting on a powder keg, literally. Like now, the country was bitterly divided between two factions, with religion at the heart of the schism after the Reformation pitted Protestants and Catholics against each other in a ...

Article - The Conversation - Nov 5 2019 - 9:44am

Pink Razors, Manly Beer, And Lady Backpacks- The Folly Of Gendered Products

As women started counting steps and walking to work wearing running shoes and fitness trackers, there was one work-related item that had to change: the briefcase. It’s not suited to walking fast and gets in the way of drinking coffee en route to the offic ...

Article - The Conversation - Nov 13 2019 - 8:16am

Alcohol And Drugs: An Anthropological History Of Intoxication

In 2014, drugs and alcohol are used primarily for pleasure and not to commune with nature or contact the spirit world. In ancient times, opium poppies and hallucinogenic mushrooms were for gifted elites and their use went hand-in-hand with shamanistic bel ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 25 2019 - 10:40am

Neanderthal M.D.?

Neanderthals- Cave Men, in colloquial terms (as if Cro-Magnon emerged in a medieval castle; they all lived in caves if they could)- don't get a lot of respect for being smart.  But they probably had a few things going for them, since they survived unt ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 6 2019 - 10:48am

Jamming 'Health' Food Stores Into So-Called Food Deserts Doesn't Change Buying Habits

A joke in nutrition circles is that while you once needed to be rich to be fat, now you need to be rich to be thin. Scientific progress has given us cheap food, anyone can afford to eat well, and after an existence of worrying about food availability it ta ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Dec 11 2019 - 1:17pm

The Historical Evolution Of Christmas Decorations

The idea of hanging up decorations in the middle of winter is older than Christmas itself. Decorations are mentioned in ancient descriptions of the Roman feast of Saturnalia, which is thought to have originated in the 5th century BC. Some 900 years later, ...

Article - The Conversation - Dec 21 2019 - 7:00am

Disaster Tourism Can Aid In Recovery

If you intended to holiday at a place that underwent a disaster it might be a good idea to keep your plans, especially if you are civic-minded and are willing to help. Such "volunteer tourism" can actually help communities recover from natural di ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 6 2020 - 12:05pm