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Editor's Selections: Last Names, Death and Remembrance, Puberty, and Stray Pottery

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American



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If you've been the path of earthquakes or the hurricanes this week, hope you're safe! Here are this week's picks:

  • Should you or shouldn't you take your husband's last name after marriage? Though it seems a matter of personal preference, opinions are hotly divided. At The Jury Room Rita Handrich discusses a study that finds that women who take their husband's last name are judged more harshly, and may make less money over their lifetime.

  • Treatment of the dead varies from culture to culture. Kristina Killgrove of Powered By Osteons reviews the idea of the extended burial and asks whether there is a resurgence in the practice of prolonged mourning and memorial.

  • Hormones can make you do all sorts of crazy things as a teen, but can they also increase your risk of death? At Inkfish, Elizabeth Preston discusses how the earlier onset of puberty coincides with risky behavior which can have dire consequences.

  • Nath of Imprints of Philippine Science asks, how did a Visayan pot get to Luzon? This discussion of a sole pot Visayan found in Calatagan walks readers through the process of analysis in trying to determine the origin of unusual pottery.

PSA: If you enjoyed the first installment of The Roman Archaeology Carnival, you may want to take a look at the second edition.