The Best of SAPIENS
10+ most popular SAPIENS articles, as voted by our community.
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SAPIENS on Agriculture
With So Few Farmers, Why Are Video Games About Farming So Popular?
An archaeologist considers what farming simulators reveal about humanity’s ancient and evolving relationship with agriculture.
SAPIENS on Food
Confronting Xenophobia Through Food—and Comics
An anthropologist who migrated from India to the U.K. illustrates how fellow migrants from India maintain cultural heritage through food.
Is a “Sweet Tooth” Genetic?
An anthropologist explains the evolutionary origins of why so many people seem practically programmed to love sugar.
SAPIENS on History
How Diverse Was Medieval Britain?
An archaeologist explains how studies of ancient DNA and objects show that expansive migrations led to notable diversity in medieval Britain.
My Search for the Origins of Clothing
An archaeologist uses climate data and tailoring tools to trace the origins and evolution of Paleolithic clothing in colder climates.
SAPIENS on Nature
Monogamy. Grandmas. Milk. The Evolution of Childhood Is Very Strange.
In a new book, Growing Up Human, a bioarchaeologist chronicles the most surprising evolutionary adaptations of babies and parents.
Did Meat Do Neanderthals In?
An archaeologist examines zinc levels in bones to explore if the carnivorous diets of Neanderthals contributed to their extinction.
SAPIENS on Nutrition
Hunting Down the Facts About Paleo Diets
An evolutionary anthropologist argues that Paleolithic diets were more varied than people think based on research with the Hadza of Tanzania.
SAPIENS on Race
Untangling Race From Hair
One anthropologist has made it her mission to remove racial prejudices from the study of hair and find the evolutionary roots of hair diversity.
SAPIENS on Society
In Delhi, Women Find Their Place on the Metro
In an excerpt from The Moving City, an anthropologist explores how the Delhi Metro has reshaped social relations in India’s capital.
To Decolonize, We Must End the World as We Know It
A contributor to a special series argues that decolonizing anthropology would require the dismantling of existing global power structures.
SAPIENS on Solar Energy
In Lebanon, Solar Power Is Booming. Why?
An anthropologist explores whether Lebanese turning to solar power is a story of resilience, environmental triumph, or something else.
Popular
These are some all-time favorites with Refind users.
What Molars and Math Reveal About the Human Brain
Using math, a paleoanthropologist explains what fossilized human teeth can tell us about how brains have developed in utero for millennia.
What the Vai Script Reveals About the Evolution of Writing
Linguistic anthropologists are digging into evolution of the West African Vai script for insights into human cognition and society.
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.
Did Neanderthals Make Art?
Experts debate whether Neanderthals created art. A paleoanthropologist explores the evidence and the sources of people’s skepticism.
Why Do (Some) Humans Love Chili Peppers?
An anthropologist traces the origins and world travels of one of his favorite kinds of plants: chili peppers.
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