Controversy over the age of an early fossil of Homo erectus has been settled, and has led to other specimens.

Her work supporting Indigenous sovereignty over biodiversity was recently recognized by the Explorer Club on its list of 50 people who are changing the world.

New research details an emerging politics of indigeneity surrounding Quyllurit’i, a major annual pilgrimage through Peru’s high glaciated peaks.

Scientist Ben Orlove discusses why it’s important to bring an anthropological dimension to the science of climate change and glacial retreat.

Yak herders in the Himalayas are observing climate change in action, and it’s one of the factors threatening their way of life.

East Africa’s rift valley is considered by many to be the cradle of humanity. In the Turkana region of northwest Kenya, researchers Christopher Lepre and Tanzhuo Liu of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are cooperating with colleagues to study questions of human evolution, from the creation of the earliest stone tools to climate swings that have affected developing civilizations.

Who were our earliest ancestors? How and when did they evolve into modern humans? And how do we define “human,” anyway? Scientists are exploring Kenya’s Lake Turkana basin to help answer these questions.

How can the full range of the social sciences be brought into research on climate change and the search for solutions? The roles of economics and political science seem crucial, since pricing mechanisms and policies are needed to promote mitigation and to support adaptation. Psychology explores the ways to make this problem, often seen as distant and uncertain, stand out more prominently in human thinking and motivation. Sociology studies the variety of organizations, such as urban governments and consumer groups, which address climate change. Anthropology, though, might seem too remote, and too focused on traditional cultures or ancient civilizations, to have much to offer.