Lucy Goes East
The discovery of bones in the Kenyan highlands suggest early human relatives were even more adaptable than anthropologists thought.
Browsing Tag
Anthropology
23 posts
What Motivates Extreme Self-Sacrifice?
New work in the field of anthropology says violent extremism isn't really motivated by religion—but by fusion with the group.
Violent Extremism Isn’t Really Motivated by Religion
An early look at a Pacific Standard story that's currently only available to subscribers.
The Complicated Science—and Conflict—Behind Identifying the First Native Americans
Genetic studies of living Native Americans and ancient remains are revising our theories about America’s first inhabitants.
Nancy Scheper-Hughes Responds to Our Profile, ‘The Organ Detective’
The chair of the doctoral program in medical anthropology at the University of California-Berkeley was written about in the July/August issue of Pacific Standard.
The Organ Detective: A Career Spent Uncovering a Hidden Global Market in Human Flesh
Tracking the organ trade, anthropologist Nancy Scheper-Hughes visited African and South American dialysis units, organ banks, police morgues, and hospitals. She interviewed surgeons, patient's rights activists, pathologists, nephrologists, and nurses. So why aren't more people listening to her?
Meet the Flexians
A new professional class of movers and shakers—people who serve overlapping roles in government, business, and media with smiling finesse—is controlling the flow of power and money in America. The anthropologist Janine Wedel is bent on making us understand just how dangerous this new normal can be.
The Pit House
Our multimedia presentation on the evolution of fairness continues with a visit to the reconstructed houses that saw the rise of a 'transegalitarian' society.
Charting Genomes: Old Hairs Create New Headaches
Two studies make similar strides in identifying how mankind came to populate the Earth, but their differing approaches to gathering and using samples open up ethical questions.
Law of the Jungle: Powerful Men Have More Children
Anthropologist Christopher von Rueden's studies of a Bolivian tribe suggest that men's instinctive drive for power is a strategy to seed their descendants thickly.