In the seventh season of the SAPIENS podcast, listeners will hear a range of stories about how technology—in a variety of configurations—shapes humanity. Since the dawn of our species, the ability to make things has made us who we are. Human-made objects, large and small, have enabled and molded evolutionary forces, sparked and expressed our imagination, guided and structured social relations, transformed and destroyed the environment–and much more. This season of the podcast looks at how a wide range of technologies—from smartphones to comic books to cooking to hydroelectric dams—are intertwi ..read more

In a new book, an anthropologist reveals the heavy tolls industries have placed on residents in this eastern U.S. city. Here, she explains how these burdens have only worsened since the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Excerpted with permission from Futures after Progress: Hope and Doubt in Late Industrial Baltimore by Chloe Ahmann. Published by the University of Chicago Press. © 2024. All rights reserved. Last month, a 116,000-ton-capacity container ship departing from the Port of Baltimore veered off course and dealt a fatal blow to the Francis Scott Key Bridge, bringing down an ico ..read more

The outpouring of grief over New York’s Flaco the owl, who died recently, reveals how much attitudes toward these creatures have changed. This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been republished under Creative Commons. ✽ THERE HAS BEEN AN outpouring of grief in New York City ever since the beloved Eurasian eagle owl Flaco died on February 23, 2024, after striking a building. In 2023, after escaping from Central Park Zoo, Flaco survived for over a year on his own, captivating New Yorkers. Mourners are leaving notes and flowers at the base of an old oak tree in Centra ..read more

An archaeologist explains his motivations and strategies for appearing on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast with a purveyor of misinformation about the ancient past. ENTERING THE FRAY I agreed to discuss archaeology with pseudoarchaeologist Graham Hancock on the mega-popular but controversial podcast the Joe Rogan Experience. Celebrity author Hancock has made a fortune writing sensationalized books that claim a “lost” ice age civilization once existed—without any direct evidence for this society. I am an archaeologist, a scientist who uses the remains of objects, structures, and other traces of ..read more

As increasing numbers of pilgrims walk the Camino, a European network of historic pilgrimage routes, those who journey to “slow down” their lives often don’t recognize the burdens of tourism on locals. ✽ We brush past each other like ghosts. A woman wearing a visor, khaki shorts, and a large backpack rushes ahead—her hiking poles determinedly tapping their way into the distance. “Buen Camino,” she nods tersely. “Buen Camino,” I echo back, watching her disappear around the bend. “Buen Camino” translates literally to “Good Way.” It’s a trademark pilgrim acknowledgment unique to the Camino de San ..read more

An archaeologist, anthropologist, and film expert examine the staggering amount of damage to cultural heritage caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine. This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been republished under Creative Commons. ✽ WAR DOESN’T JUST DESTROY lives. It also tears at the fabric of culture. And in the case of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now about to enter its third year, the remarkable destruction of Ukrainian history and heritage since 2022 hasn’t been a matter of collateral damage. Rather, the Russian military has deliberately targeted&nbs ..read more

Not all fossil discoveries happen in the field. In museum archives, researchers found photos of remains from Paleolithic children who had belonged to a group of early Homo sapiens in Eurasia. Please note that this article includes images of human remains. ANOTHER SET OF TEETH “These teeth don’t belong to Egbert!” In a museum basement, we huddled over a black-and-white photograph showing pieces of a lower jawbone and its loose teeth. The photo captured evidence of a missing child—one who had been buried 40,000 years ago, only to be discovered and then lost by archaeologists. This long-lost ch ..read more

An archaeologist with expertise in human origins assesses the accuracy of a 2022 film about Homo sapiens who encounter Neanderthals. This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been republished under Creative Commons. ✽ NEITHER THE CHOICE OF genre (survivalist horror) nor time period (43,000 years ago) bodes well for Out of Darkness. After all, films set in the Stone Age tend to be comedic, sexualized, or woefully historically inaccurate. Think Ice Age (2002), Clan of the Cave Bear (1986), or 10,000 B.C. (2008) in which mammoths help build the pyramids. Yet this f ..read more

Palestinian narratives of their own dispossession are routinely dismissed—making witnessing Israel’s ongoing onslaught on Palestine that reignited in 2023 an urgent task. But witnessing is not enough. ✽ What can you not unsee? I cannot unsee the reporting and images from Gaza that show a mother cradling her lifeless miracle baby who took her 580 injections to meet. Or Rania Abu Anza, another mother, holding her murdered twins that took her 10 years of in vitro fertilization to conceive. Or the children orphaned, injured, and shaking. Or the decomposing infants who had been left attached to hos ..read more

An anthropologist in the West Bank explains how Israel’s prison regime dehumanizes Palestinians, who nevertheless dream of freedom and resist erasure. CAMERAS ON CARCERAL VIOLENCE In December 2023, as Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza entered its third month, the Israeli occupying forces (IOF) released photos and videos of military trucks crammed with Palestinian captives: stripped to their underwear, kneeling, blindfolded, and with hands bound behind their backs. While Israeli media boasted the images depict “Hamas terrorists surrendering in Gaza,” Palestinian and international organizations rea ..read more