Anthropology - Quillette

Mortuary Archaeology

Death, DNA, and the culture wars.

Jon Entine / Patrick Whittle

29 Dec 2023 · 14 min read

Chasing the Ice Moon

A new book describes the crackpot anthropological theories that Nazis used to justify their belief in Aryan racial superiority.

Steven Tucker

27 Nov 2023 · 10 min read

The Sex of Skeletons

To suggest that a spirited discussion of the importance of sex and gender in archeology threatens “scientific integrity” is to misunderstand the nature of science.

Lawrence M. Krauss

11 Oct 2023 · 7 min read

The Aztec Way of Empire

Six imperial rulers expanded the Mexica domain from 1430 until 1519, until the Spaniards first set foot in Tenochtitlan and disrupted the Aztec imperial agenda.

Frances F. Berdan

2 May 2022 · 11 min read

Jennifer Raff’s ‘Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas’—A Review

Jennifer Raff’s Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas was published with much fanfare in February, garnering a rave New York Times review. And as of this writing, it is listed as one of the top 10 books about genetics on Amazon. The success reflects the fact that the

Elizabeth Weiss

3 Apr 2022 · 13 min read

The Problem of Sex Discrimination in Indigenous Archaeology

In January, as reporters were celebrating the first woman—and also the first transgender person—to win more than a million dollars on Jeopardy!, I was reading up on the discrimination still faced by biological women who toil away in my own fields of endeavor: anthropology and archaeology. This discrimination

Elizabeth Weiss

16 Feb 2022 · 8 min read

Remembering Richard Leakey (1944–2022), the Last Victorian Scientist

While he may have seemed like something of an (enormously) overachieving dilettante to some, there was in fact a unity to his life and work.

Geoffrey Clarfield

10 Jan 2022 · 11 min read

The Society of Cultural Anthropology’s Campaign to Present American Populism as Fascism

The January 6th riot does make for a visually dramatic backdrop to an exploration of the fascistic strain in modern populist politics.

Matthew Porter

5 Aug 2021 · 8 min read

Why Is the Society for American Archaeology Promoting Indigenous Creationism?

The most expansive interpretations of NAGPRA’s provisions now serve to place Indigenous oral traditions, which typically include religious stories, on equal footing with traditional forms of scientific evidence such as DNA analysis.

Elizabeth Weiss and James W. Springer

13 Jun 2021 · 16 min read

The Campaign to Thwart Paleogenetic Research Into North America's Indigenous Peoples

In the north, the Maritime Archaic gave way to Pre-Dorset Palaeoeskimos (as they are known in the literature) that had recently arrived from Siberia.

Bruce Bourque

29 Mar 2021 · 20 min read

The Dangerous Life of an Anthropologist

It took a long time for Chagnon to acclimatize to the deep interior of the Amazon Rainforest and its unique threats.

Matthew Blackwell

5 Oct 2019 · 24 min read

How David Graeber Cancelled a Colleague

At the height of the #MeToo scandal in 2018, when dozens of actresses were coming forward with sordid testimonies about Harvey Weinstein’s sexual predation, a much more obscure scandal was unfolding around an academic journal involving the anthropologist David Graeber. The journal—HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory—was imploding

Claire Lehmann

9 Sep 2019 · 15 min read

Why Is a Top Australian University Supporting Indigenous Creationism?

The message in Appropriate Terminology, Indigenous Australian People is that the UNSW now regards its core mission—the pursuit of truth—as negotiable if it conflicts with the postures associated with social justice.

Andrew Glover

23 Jul 2019 · 5 min read

The Origins of Colourism

As revealed in the documentary, this view takes an emotional toll on dark women, who are discriminated against in all sorts of ways.

Matthew Blackwell

13 Feb 2019 · 13 min read

On the Nature of Patriarchy

As Hrdy sees patriarchal social practices as being rooted in our ancient evolutionary heritage, she argues that progress towards sex equality should not be taken for granted.

William Buckner

25 Nov 2018 · 16 min read