Topic: Anthropology

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Howard Carter: 6 of his first moments in the tomb of King Tut

Archaeologist Howard Carter details how he found and entered the famous tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Aung San Suu Kyi's historic moment: 5 things to know

Once possibly the world's best-known political prisoner, today Aung San Suu Kyi made the historic move to lawmaker, after a swearing-in ceremony at Myanmar's parliament in the capital of Naypyidaw. Here are five things about her.
Thornton Wilder: 10 quotes on his birthday

10 quotes to celebrate the 115th birthday of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Thornton Wilder.
Catholicism in Latin America: 5 key facts

Pope Benedict XVI began his second trip to Latin America on March 23, with stops in Mexico and Cuba. Here is a brief history of the Catholic church in the Americas.
7 excellent books about Kony and the LRA

Seven books to better inform about Kony, the LRA, and Uganda.

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A race to shore up the ancient walls of Babylon

After two failed bids, archaeologists seek to establish Babylon as a UNESCO World Heritage Site despite damage from Saddam Hussein and US troops. Those are just its latest encounters with conquerors, they argue.
Mayan calendar discovery suggests world might not end in 2012 (+video)

A new discovery indicates that Mayan astronomers believed that the universe would continue past 2012.
Oldest Mayan calendar found, and it goes way beyond Dec. 12, 2012 (+video)

A Mayan calendar was found deep in the Guatemalan rainforest. But this ancient Mayan calender refutes claims that the world will end Dec. 21, 2012
End of days near? Mayan find pushes calendar way beyond 2012.

A set of symbols found in an uncovered workroom where Mayan scribes or priests performed calculations suggests the Mayan calendar extends nearly 1,600 years beyond 2012.
Horizons
Howard Carter, the original Indiana Jones (+video)

Google doodle Wednesday remembers Howard Carter, who discovered the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. 
Google Doodle: Howard Carter and the pharaoh's curse (+video)

When Howard Carter, the archaeologist honored by Wednesday's Google Doodle, discovered King Tut's tomb, he inadvertently sparked the myth of the pharaoh's curse. Howard Carter didn't believe in curses. Yet the false rumors persisted.
Howard Carter: 6 of his first moments in the tomb of King Tut

Archaeologist Howard Carter details how he found and entered the famous tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Were pliable heads an adaptation to walking upright?

New research relates hominin brain growth to walking on two feet.
Was ancient crocodile world's largest?

Researchers have recently unearthed what they think may have been the biggest crocodile ever to have lived on Earth.
Did a copying mistake give rise to human intelligence?

New research suggests that a copying error found in humans seems to distinguish human brains from those of primates.
Aung San Suu Kyi's historic moment: 5 things to know

Once possibly the world's best-known political prisoner, today Aung San Suu Kyi made the historic move to lawmaker, after a swearing-in ceremony at Myanmar's parliament in the capital of Naypyidaw. Here are five things about her.
Change Agent
A Kenyan woman stands up against a massive dam project

Ikal Angelei is helping lead a campaign to stop construction of the Gibe III dam in Ethiopia that threatens the water supply and way of life of tens of thousands of indigenous people.
How did European farmers spread agriculture?

By analyzing ancient human remains, scientists have revealed that Stone Age farmers in Europe likely migrated from south to north.
Thornton Wilder: 10 quotes on his birthday

10 quotes to celebrate the 115th birthday of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Thornton Wilder.
Elbowing our way to better writing

A new book argues that people would write better if they connected better with their true 'mother tongue': spoken language.
Were early humans cooking their food a million years ago?

The discovery of million-year-old ash and charred bone in a South African cave suggests that human ancestors were using fire much earlier than previously thought.
Human ancestors used fire a million years ago, finds study

Ash and a charred bone unearthed in South Africa indicates that, even a million years ago, humanity's forebears had harnessed fire.
How did humans evolve to walk upright? Fossil discovery complicates the picture. (+video)

Foot bones unearthed recently in Ethiopia belonged to a contemporary of 'Lucy,' the 3.2-million-year-old early human discovered in 1974. But these bones seem to belong to a different species, one thought to have split its time between walking upright and climbing trees.
Catholicism in Latin America: 5 key facts

Pope Benedict XVI began his second trip to Latin America on March 23, with stops in Mexico and Cuba. Here is a brief history of the Catholic church in the Americas.
Satellites identify thousands of small hills as ancient human settlements

Now, two scientists have figured out a more efficient way of locating these sites, via their footprints, from space.
New human species discovered? How China fossils could redefine 'human'

Scientists have recently dated and described fossils from what may be a new species of hominid, the Red Deer Cave people. The discovery could shed new light on emergence of humankind in East Asia.
Possible new human species unearthed in China

Scientists in China have found what may be a new species of human. Fossils show a group of people with similarities to and differences from modern humans.
Barnard College flap: Competition among women shouldn't be over men

Columbia University women are outraged that Obama will deliver the commencement address at Barnard College, the neighboring women's school. Some accuse Barnard women of wanting to bed and wed 'their' Columbia men. Why do women still define themselves in terms of men?
7 excellent books about Kony and the LRA

Seven books to better inform about Kony, the LRA, and Uganda.
Humans, gorillas more alike than previously thought, say scientists

Fifteen percent of humans and chimp DNA is closer to that to gorillas than to each other, a new study finds.