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Anthropology
Despite the fact that both species shared a similarly large neocortex, scientists still have many questions about how closely the function of their brains resembled our own.
Bring not a bagpipe to a man in trouble.
The Greeks were among the first to move beyond “primitive money” and establish an official currency, transforming their trade, government, and even philosophy.
Million Stories
Looking at ourselves in a mirror — or on a video call — shapes our sense of self. But what you see is not what others see.
Mesopotamian beer was not flavored with hops, and it was probably on the thick, porridgey side.
Many people lived long enough to grow old in the olden days, too.
Thanks to genetics and improving nutrition, denizens of the Western Balkans have surpassed the Dutch in height.
More than mindless bloodshed, the gladiatorial games were organized sports. Gladiators were treated as world-class athletes, receiving superior diets and medical care.
Why should it be considered impolite to discuss something so important to our long-term well-being?
Million Stories
The 557-million-year-old specimen challenges the theory that animal body plans were laid out in the Cambrian explosion.
Horses pranced around the western hemisphere until they went extinct in the late Holocene. They were reintroduced by European colonists — though where, when, and how has remained unclear.
For decades people have arranged to freeze their bodies after death, dreaming of resurrection by advanced future medicine. Many met a fate far grislier than death.
Using data collected from ancient civilizations across the world, researchers identified the most significant factors in human development. War came out on top.
Ideas often taken for granted in the United States and Europe about what it means to be a person are, quite simply, not shared with other cultures.
More than 20% Americans live in a state with access to a medically assisted death.
In the wake of the pandemic, the crystal industry boomed, with customers hoping the stones might relieve a little anxiety.
Predatory dinosaurs with big skulls tend to have tiny arms. Researchers propose there might be a direct link between those traits.
Fossils of Australopithecus in a South African cave are one million years older than previously thought. This challenges the consensus that humans first evolved in East Africa.
Three out of four Russians accused of witchcraft were men.
Symbolic gestures often speak to our psyche in ways no rational action could ever speak to our intellect.
The architecture and infrastructure found may well have required the greatest amount of skilled labor of any construction from the same time period in the entire continent.
The weird and wild ways mummy fever swept through Europe.
Some of the coastal areas were not repopulated for millennia afterward, showing that there was a long-lasting memory of this tragic event.
This world map shows how the rest of the world LOLs. In France, you MDR; in China, you 23333.
It's not about leaves in tall trees.
The weirdest thing about the 21 feet found near Vancouver since 2007? Foul play has been ruled out.
Experimental archaeology is the practice of recreating past events using knowledge and tools available at the time. Sometimes, it involves elephants.
Human sacrifice appears to be as old as humanity itself. Still, experts disagree on how and where the practice first originated.