This week from my ResearchBlogging.org column: Contextual clues are important in archaeology. And at Bones Don’t Lie, Katy Meyers highlights how a geoarchaeology approach can reveal how a tomb was treated—whether it was reopened and how many times. With time, this information may be linked to other tomb elements that can possibly shed more light on funerary [...]

It took a few days of moping around the house before I finally acknowledged what the problem is: my heart hurts. It’s an expression I use with those closest to me. It means I’m sad, and to some degree I feel helpless. It means my heart is breaking just a little. And it’s also an [...]

By now you’ve undoubtedly heard that Facebook allows people to share their organ donor status. A friend of mine adjusted her information on the day of the announcement to reflect her donor status and someone quipped, “What did you donate?” Snark potential aside, it’s a wonderful way to bring the donor community together and to [...]

The selection for this week covers the last two weeks: We might not give much thought to eyeliner today, dismissing it as a beauty product that highlights and enhances the eye, but the ancient Egyptians had a different purpose for lining their eyes: preventing eye infections. At Body Horrors, Rebecca Kreston has the scoop on [...]

Concerns about the digital divide have started to take on a bit of hysterical edge—think along the lines of Reverend Lovejoy’s wife: “But what about the children?! she would exclaim over every single slight change that threatened her sense of idyllacy. Make no mistake, however, there is more than ample reason to be concerned about [...]

This is an installment in the On My Shelf series—reviews about books demonstrating anthropology in practice. Book details follow the post. I learned something recently: Twine was once a contraband item. Picture this: It’s almost harvest time, and it promises to be a good one—in fact, you’ve taken out a bank loan to cover your [...]

An eclectic collection from my ResearchBlogging.org column this week, but all well worth the read: At EvoAnth, Adam Benton wonders whether human ancestors may have mastered tool use earlier than we think. He shares research (containing admittedly scant evidence) that includes a nice discussion of the challenges of this data. Sarah Jane Alger of The [...]

S has taken the lead in preparing our weeknight meals. It helps us get dinner on the table earlier but he’s also interested in helping us eat more healthfully. He’s invested a great deal of time into learning about healthy food options and healthy substitutes for the richer foods he enjoys. Our daily menu has [...]

Highlighted in my ResearchBlogging.org column this week: At Geneaology of Religion, Cris Campbell has a nice summary of dissociative speech patterns—in layman’s terms, that’s to say he breaks down different ways of “speaking in tongues.” The Neuroskeptic discusses a small, self-selected study on “bi-gendered” individuals which highlights the ways social pressures can color our identities. At NeuroDojo, Zen Faulkes [...]

This week on my ResearchBlogging.org column: Could there be evidence of a second type of bipedalism in the hominid family tree? Possibly—though the evidence is scant. At Lawn Chair Anthropology, Zachary Cofran discusses the potential a 3.4 million year old foot may bring to discussions about evolution. How does your liver feel? The Neuroskeptic discusses [...]