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SAPIENS Magazine

@sapiens.org

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A digital magazine about everything human, told through the stories of anthropologists.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · Jul 24

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THREAD: It’s with deep regret we share the news that SAPIENS will halt publication of new content by the end of this year. We are so proud of everything SAPIENS has achieved and for our role in furthering public anthropology. Wenner-Gren’s letter to our community. wennergren.org/important-ne...

Important News about SAPIENS

wennergren.org

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 1h

From the archive. A language scientist delves into historic and current efforts to catalog the planet’s 7,000-plus languages, uncovering colorful tales and Herculean challenges. Read more: www.sapiens.org/language/wor...

Tackling the Impossibility—and Necessity—of Counting the World’s Languages

A language scientist delves into historic and current efforts to catalog the planet’s 7,000-plus languages, uncovering colorful tales.

www.sapiens.org

SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 6h

“The National Park Service does so much more behind the scenes than visitors and park lovers will ever witness.”

Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/nati...

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 1d

From the archive. Decades ago, anthropologists dispelled the myth of biological race. Lagging behind in scientific understandings of human diversity, the medical profession is failing its oath to “do no harm.” Read more: www.sapiens.org/biology/medi...

Doctors Are Taught to Lie About Race

Decades ago, anthropologists dispelled the myth of biological race. The medical profession is lagging behind, failing to "do no harm."

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 1d

For Indigenous Peoples' Day, SAPIENS reaches into the archive to offer a curated collection of poems and stories that center Indigenous values, worldviews, and insights, creatively reimagining anthropology and the human experience. www.sapiens.org/language/poe...

Indigenizing What It Means to be Human

SAPIENS offers a collection of poems and stories that center Indigenous values, worldviews, and insights, creatively reimagining anthropology

www.sapiens.org

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 2d

From the archive. As moose populations multiply in the Southern Rocky Mountains, decision-makers are questioning whether the animals are endemic or invaders. Archaeology can offer answers—and potential solutions. Read more: www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

Do Moose “Belong” in Colorado?

As moose multiply in the Rocky Mountains, decision-makers question whether the animals are endemic or invaders. Archaeology offers answers.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 2d

Dressing Fish

Abigail Chabitnoy, a descendant and anthropologist-poet, claims a radical presence in looking to the past and the future.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 2d

“Growing up in Pennsylvania—near the first and one of the largest Native American boarding schools whose horrific history we have yet to fully unpack ... I never heard a negative accusation or anecdote associated with the ‘school.’”

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 2d

www.sapiens.org/culture/wome...

When Women Say “Ta-Ta” to Ta-Tas

An anthropologist fighting cancer navigates the social pressure in the U.S. to get breast reconstruction after a mastectomy.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 2d

“While breast reconstruction helps many women regain a sense of self following a mastectomy, it is not always a clearly informed choice.”

Anthropologist Arianna Huhn reflects on her experience fighting breast cancer and her decision to “go flat”: lnkd.in/e9jHtchj

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 3d

From the archive. Archaeological evidence and Oral Histories show people in what is today Ghana lived sustainably for millennia—until European colonial powers and the widespread trade of enslaved people changed everything. Read more: www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

How Colonialism Invented Food Insecurity in West Africa

People in Ghana lived sustainably for millennia—until European colonialism and the trade of enslaved people changed everything.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 4d

From the archive. Society increasingly accepts gender identity as existing along a spectrum. The study of people, and their remains, shows that sex should be viewed the same way. Read more: www.sapiens.org/biology/inte...

What Our Skeletons Say About the Sex Binary

Society increasingly accepts gender identity as existing along a spectrum. Human remains show that sex should be viewed the same way.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 5d

From the archive. The term “political correctness” can be readily deployed as a racist dog whistle—one that President Donald Trump has been blowing with increasing vigor since his election in 2016. Read more: www.sapiens.org/language/whi...

What White Power Supporters Hear Trump Saying

"Political correctness” can be deployed as a White power dog whistle—one that Trump has been blowing since 2016.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 6d

From the archive. Researchers refute a popular idea that black-furred squirrels behave more aggressively than gray ones—and suggest the myth stems from some people’s racist attitudes. Read more: www.sapiens.org/biology/blac...

Are People Projecting Racist Stereotypes Onto Squirrels?

Researchers refute the idea that black-furred squirrels are more aggressive than gray ones—and suggest the myth stems from racist attitudes.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 7d

From the archive. In her study of a community devastated by industry’s flight, anthropologist Christine Walley raises questions about how to create and support meaningful work in a postindustrial world. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/post...

Life and Death After the Steel Mills

Anthropologist Christine Walley raises questions about how to create and support meaningful work in a postindustrial world.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 7d

“As they weave, volunteers are simultaneously unraveling Ukraine’s colonial past and building community.”

Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/ukra...

SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 8d

From the archive. Remains in France found by archaeologists and geneticists suggest at least two lineages—not just one—of late Neanderthals in Europe. Read more: www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

Unraveling a “Ghost” Neanderthal Lineage

Remains in France found by archaeologists and geneticists suggest at least two lineages—not just one—of late Neanderthals in Europe.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 9d

From the archive. An anthropologist who is also a singer-songwriter explores how Southwestern Native bands shake up the notion of “cowboys and Indians.” Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/nava...

Why Navajos Love Their Country Music

An anthropologist explores how Navajo music and Southwestern Native bands shake up the notion of “cowboys and Indians.”

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 10d

From the archive. Anthropologist David Graeber’s celebrated theory of “bullshit jobs” continues to provide a critical window into why modern work is often so useless, soul-sucking, and absurd. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/davi...

Revisiting the Spiritual Violence of BS Jobs

Anthropologist David Graeber’s theory of BS jobs provides a critical window into why modern work is so often so soul-sucking.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 11d

From the archive. Researchers in artificial intelligence have made extraordinary strides in mimicking human language—but they still can’t capture the parts that truly make language human. Read more: www.sapiens.org/language/ai-...

Why AI Will Never Fully Capture Human Language

Researchers in artificial intelligence have made strides in mimicking language—but they still can’t capture what truly makes it human.

www.sapiens.org

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 11d

“While breast reconstruction helps many women regain a sense of self following a mastectomy, it is not always a clearly informed choice.”

Anthropologist Arianna Huhn describes her experience fighting breast cancer and her decision to “go flat”: www.sapiens.org/culture/wome...

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 12d

From the archive. A poet-anthropologist celebrates relatedness across difference in a poem that honors the festivals of Navratri, Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Day of the Dead, and Halloween—all of which draw on otherworldly connections and mysteries. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/harv...

Harvest Song

A poet-anthropologist celebrates relatedness across difference, honoring a variety of festivals that draw on otherworldly mysteries.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 13d

From the archive. At Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, a new co-management plan brings together federal agencies and a consortium of Native American tribes—revealing deep tensions over land rights and demands for environmental justice. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/bear...

Gathering Firewood—and Redefining Land Stewardship—at Bears Ears

At Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, a new co-management plan brings federal agencies and a consortium of Native tribes together.

www.sapiens.org

SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 14d

From the archive. A new book chronicles a Palestinian family’s life and connections to their land over decades under Israeli occupation in the West Bank. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/west...

A Palestinian Family’s History—Told Through Olive Trees

A new book chronicles a Palestinian family’s life and connections to their land over decades under Israeli occupation in the West Bank.

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 14d

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins, anthropologist Arianna Huhn describes her experience fighting breast cancer and her decision to “go flat.”

“Breast reconstruction has become so routine that it is easy to miss the ways it is rooted in patriarchy.”

Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/wome...

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SAPIENS Magazine @sapiens.org · 15d

From the archive. As toxic polarization deepens in the U.S., some global conflict prevention experts are now addressing political violence at home. An anthropologist shares three key insights from a community action program in Wisconsin. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/poli...

Playing Rock, Paper, Scissors Across the Red-Blue Divide

As toxic polarization deepens in the U.S., some global conflict prevention experts are now turning to address political violence at home.