Anthropology

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 [https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Genetic-Americas-Jennifer-Raff/dp/1538749718/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=] was published with much fanfare in February, garnering a rave New York Times review [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/books/review/A-Genetic-History-of-the-Americas-By-Jennifer-Raff.

Elizabeth Weiss

3 Apr 2022 · 13 min read

The Problem of Sex Discrimination in Indigenous Archaeology

In January, as reporters were celebrating [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/07/arts/television/amy-schneider-jeopardy.html?smid=url-share] 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

Elizabeth Weiss

16 Feb 2022 · 7 min read

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

Kenyan paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey died on January 2nd at age 77, following an extraordinary career devoted to the scientific exploration of human origins. Richard was once my boss. And although we never became friends, I came to know him fairly well. He died peacefully in his house overlooking Kenya’s