Humans

The Late Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant saw notable changes in almost every aspect of daily life. Some of the most significant shifts during this time seem to have been anchored in the subsistence economy and involved food and its cooking, processing, storage, serving, and handling with vessels and tools. The paper offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of one utensil that is likely to have been caught up in these developments—the Late Chalcolithic spoon. While spoons first appeared in the region during the Pottery Neolithic period, the Chalcolithic period witnessed a rise in their frequency and distribution. Nonetheless, they were few in number. While their functions remain unclear, we have presupposed their association with food and kitchenware and have explored them in this vein. This paper delves into their morphological characteristics and distribution and ponders their significance in light of other changes that occurred during the Late Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant. Full article

In this study, I discuss recent studies of human/wildlife mutualisms and suggest that several cases considered to represent domestication that has arisen through commensalism would be better considered as examples of mutualism between humans and various wild species. Species discussed include the only domesticated carnivores: cats (Felis sylvestris) and wolves (Canis lupus and C. dingo). I also discuss species over which there is considerable debate about whether they are domesticated or not: African (Loxodonta) and Asiatic elephants (Elphas). All of these species’ interactions include niche construction on the part of both species and influence human evolution at least a cultural level. I further argue that most contemporary domestic species currently exist in mutualistic relationships with humans because even though all of these species have been selected to benefit humans, all domestica species have also benefitted in terms of increased global and local population sizes and from more secure living conditions than can be found in their wild ancestors. Full article

This paper examines our collective exploratory research on Anthropology and Sociology students at Concordia University. As teaching faculty members at Concordia, we have all observed a significant shift in our student population over the past fifteen years. They appear to be more detached and less involved in their studies, a phenomenon that has piqued our collective curiosity. Our first insight into the possible reasons behind this shift came from Rob Beamish’s The Promise of Sociology (2010), where he explored the relationship between technology and knowledge. Inspired by Beamish, we sought to understand the relationship between technology and students’ performance. At the beginning of this research, we never imagined that the world would be under lockdown because of a pandemic (2020–2022) and forced to rely on technology; anyone teaching at the height of COVID-19 was obligated to use technology, which makes Beamish’s argument an even more relevant place to start. Lastly, we delved into the potential impact of technology on students’ health. Full article

When assessing potential mates is costly, there will be selection for copying others. Mate choice copying, which is the increased chance of mating with another individual after observing them mating with someone else (i.e., individual-based copying), has been documented in several species, including humans. It is touted as an example of the influence of culture on animal and human mating, but alone it is unlikely to lead the cultural evolution of mating. Rather, it requires mate choice copying with generalization (i.e., trait-based copying), which is the effect of immediate observations on future mating. This sort of mate choice copying has been documented in six species, including humans. Here, I extend an existing game theory model of mate choice copying to include generalization (Extension 1), a cost to immediate copying (Extension 2), and both previous extensions (Extension 3). The results show that Extensions 1 and 2 decrease the adaptive value of mate choice copying when compared to the original model. Extension 3 suggests that adding generalization to mate choice copying with a cost to immediate copying is a more likely evolutionary trajectory than adding it to mate choice copying without this cost. These results have implications for illuminating the emergence of the cultural evolution of mating preferences. Full article

This paper outlines advances in biocultural approaches to anthropology by discussing anthropological approaches to understanding stress, how anthropologists have typically measured stress, and why it matters for anthropology and beyond. We discuss the application of common quantification techniques such as the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and biomarkers of psychosocial stress from abnormal hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity. We highlight case studies that demonstrate the utility of a biocultural approach to stress across a range of topics—(i) childhood effects, (ii) non-human animals, (iii) depression and anxiety, (iv) migration, and (v) religion—as well as the complexities in the relationship between perceived and biological stress. We conclude by highlighting several areas where we have seen significant advances and point to approaches in other disciplines that anthropology might incorporate to its benefit. Full article

Organ–skeleton relationships are understudied in biological anthropology. The torso skeleton is often used to infer the organ size and evolution in hominins; ribcage “types”, in particular, are used to infer the abdominal organ size in hominins. This study is a quantitative examination of the relationship between the lower ribcage and two organs: the liver and the intestines (“gut”) in humans. Specifically, we test whether the ribcage breadth, shape, and “flare”, at the level of rib 10, covaries with the liver volume and gut volume in Homo sapiens. Liver size, gut size, and ribcage measurements are taken from CT scans (N = 61). The results show sex differences in the gut–ribcage relationship. The gut volume is associated with ribcage breadth and flare in both sexes. The liver volume is not associated with any ribcage measurements. We conclude that sex differences in the organ–skeleton relationship complicate the previous simplistic view that the size of the liver or the gut could be inferred through a fossil’s ribcage type. Biological anthropologists should continue to explore sex differences in organ–skeleton relationships, when attempting to understand the evolution of visceral organs and the torso. Full article

Lactation in humans is complex. Understanding the cultural and biological patterns of human breastfeeding requires a global evolutionary analysis that includes observations of other primates. Human breastfeeding may have several specificities, but some features could be shared with other non-human primates. The purpose of this work is to determine what makes human breastfeeding unique from an evolutionary perspective. We consider behavioral as well as biological variables. Human and non-human primates share behavioral characteristics, such as the need to learn breastfeeding skills, and they display an adaptation of the energy density of the milk according to the type of mothering. However, despite having slow-growing, secondarily altricial offspring and rather diluted milk, modern humans spend less time breastfeeding than the great apes, and consequently have shorter interbirth intervals. Milk composition in macro- and micro-constituents changes during lactation, demonstrating evolutionary and ecological adaptation. Among the great apes, the milk of modern humans contains a higher proportion of fats, an equivalent proportion of carbohydrates and proteins, and a greater variety of oligosaccharides involved in brain and immune system development. The microbiome of modern man is less diverse than those of non-human primates, but the presence of HMOs and immunoglobulin A suggests that human milk is particularly adapted to prevent neonatal infections. Full article

This article discusses collaborative ethnography as a meaningful source for spatial research, in particular, for participatory methodologies in urban planning and placemaking processes. It investigates the experiences with co-creation and co-research in different research projects to gain insight into the performance of collaborative ethnography as a technique to explore and enrich local knowledge. To better understand the possible causal relationships between the experience gained in the projects and the learnt lessons, we also identify recommendations for improving research methodologies to be applied in placemaking. This article concludes that collaborative ethnography is an effective tool for adding value to spatial co-research and co-creation processes. It opens opportunities for the co-production of space, ideas and knowledge, contributing at the same time to better informed decision-making. It also helps improve ideas and gather insights into the spatial needs of focus groups. Full article

Contemporary biopolitical discourse around fundamental rights and societal representations has increasingly weaponized moral-based attitudes and personal feelings, eschewing informed, factual opinions grounded in observation, data analysis, and scientific research. This trend is evident in the treatment of the queer community—used here as an umbrella term for non-cisgender, non-heterosexual individuals. Over recent years, the group has become the primary target of negationist critiques aimed at undermining the very existence of the community and challenging its rights. This article argues that the rise of depersonalized interactions and individualism, particularly through social media (where superficial and sensationalist content thrives, often at the expense of nuanced, data-driven discourse), the cult of the self and power (which prioritizes individual success, sidelining the collective struggles and rights of marginalized groups), and misinformation, is strategically employed by those in power and reverberated through the general public. These elements serve as a translucent veil, enabling the conscious choice to avoid engaging in structured, complex, and informed discussions about queer people’s rights and their existence. Consequently, the strategic deployment of these tactics, with the aim of shaping public opinion based on falsehoods and emotional appeals, undermines the capacity for informed dialog and perpetuates the marginalization of the queer community. Full article

Girsu, the modern site of Tello (southern Iraq), represents one of the earliest known urban centres of the ancient world, along with Uruk, Eridu, and Ur. During the 3rd millennium BCE (3000–2000 BCE), Girsu was revered as the sanctuary of the Sumerian heroic deity Ningirsu, who fought with supernatural beasts and made possible the introduction of irrigation and agriculture in Sumer. While much is known about the gods, their roles, and rituals inside the temples, there is little textual or archaeological evidence concerning the rituals that took place in the large open-air plazas adjacent to the temples. These areas within the sacred precinct were where the general population would gather to participate in festivals and ceremonies to honour the gods. To better understand the ancient cultic realm in southern Mesopotamia, an in-depth investigation of a favissa (ritual pit) discovered within the sacred precinct at Girsu was undertaken. The excavations recovered a large quantity of ceramics and animal remains that had been used for ritual purposes. Through the study of archaeological remains of cultic spaces at Girsu, information on ritual behaviour such as sacrificial animal slaughtering and consumption for the purpose of feasting, the types of libations provided to quench the thirst of the gods, and the distance travelled to take part in the annual festivals to pay homage to the patron god of their sacred city were explored. Analysis of the associated ceramics, cuneiform texts, and zooarchaeological remains (including stable isotope data), allowed a multi-faceted and integrative approach to better understand ceremonial behaviour and ritual feasting in this sacred city. New insights into communal and performative participation in ceremonies, especially by non-elite individuals, are generated. These data increase our knowledge not only of how Girsu’s citizens organised their sacred spaces and religious festivals, but also of how they behaved in order to satisfy the ever-demanding needs of their gods. Full article

Litter size plays an essential role in mammalian evolution and is one of the most important factors determining whether an organism is deemed to have a ‘slow’ or ‘fast’ life history strategy. Humans are distinct in being classified as having slow life history yet bearing singletons who have completed relatively less growth than other ape neonates. Previous work has proposed that the ancestral primate gave birth to singletons. However, primate litter size has not yet been contextualized within a broad phylogenetic assessment of mammalian life history. We performed a comprehensive investigation of primate litter size using life history data for 155 primate species, and litter size data for an additional 791 boreoeutherian mammals. Litter size and life history traits have strong phylogenetic signal in primates (Pagel’s lambda: 0.99, p < 0.001; Blomberg’s K: 0.6311. p < 0.001), and litter size is significantly negatively correlated with gestation length (p < 0.001). Our data support that the last common ancestors of both primates and Haplorhini gave birth to multiples (litter size 1.7 and 1.6, respectively). We also find that singleton-bearing pregnancies evolved convergently in multiple primate lineages, including tarsiers and other haplorhines. This study contributes significantly to our understanding of life history and litter size in mammals, and we emphasize the utility of a callitrichid model for investigating the evolution of human reproduction. Full article

Lion transformation, among San-Bushmen, is arguably the most dramatic and spectacular instance of animal transformation. Transformation is a central component of San curing and initiation ritual and of certain San hunting practices. Moreover, it is a recurrent theme in San mythology, art and cosmology, all of them domains of San expressive and symbolic culture that are pervaded by ontological mutability (manifested most strikingly in the therianthropes of San myth and art). Lion transformation is a phenomenon that has received much mention in the ethnographic literature on Khoisan ritual and belief, through information that is based not on first-hand but second- or third-hand ethnographic and ethno-historical information. In the paper, I describe my own eye-witness account of what San people deemed a lion transformation by a trance dancer, which I observed in my early field work among Ghanzi (Botswana) Naro and = Au//eisi San in the 1970s. This is followed by my own musings on the actuality or reality of lion transformation, from both my own perspective and from what I understand to be the indigenous perspective. In terms of the latter, lion transformation—and animal transformation in general—is a plausible proposition. Indigenous doubt and scepticism, deriving from a rarely if ever fully conclusive witnessing of such transformations, are assuaged in a number of epistemological, cosmological and phenomenological ways. These are not available to a Western cultural outsider with a Cartesian mindset, nor to a Westernized—and perhaps also Christianized—insider, whose cosmos has become “disenchanted” through historical–colonial and contemporary–acculturational influences. Full article

Substantial and necessary research examining the violence perpetrated against Native women continues to flourish, while violence and masculinity studies focused on Native men draws little attention. Meanwhile the murder rate of Native men is three times higher than Native women, twice as high as white men, and occurs at the hands of police more often than any other U.S. racialized group per capita. Colonization divided ‘Christians’ (white) and ‘heathens’ (Native), with settler whites identifying Native men as wild and threatening. I suggest the construct of settler colonialism and the ‘toxic gendering’ of Native masculinity continues today and impacts Native men internally (psychologically) and externally (rationally), contributing to violence perpetrated against and by them. This paper is an interpretive analysis of “Scary Brown Man” and Reservation Blues as examined through the intersection of the toxic gendering bias intrinsic to settler colonialism. Alexie’s novel offers a depiction of ‘typical’ reservation life and the conflicting struggle to maintain a healthy Native identity, while Ross’s article brings real-life situations into the conversation, encouraging the entry of intersectional discourse around Native masculinity into the arena of gender/bias research as applied to settler colonial studies while questioning the role of identity politics within disciplines. Full article

Because of systemic discrimination, transgender individuals are at greater risk of being the victims of violence and of homicide. Accurate post-mortem identification from skeletonized remains of transgender individuals must be incorporated into a new standard for forensic anthropological analyses. A critical component of any investigation is the assessment of skeletal remains for evidence of gender-affirming care. A systematic review of the current medical literature was conducted to compile in one document descriptions of changes that could be used by forensic anthropologists to recognize skeletal manifestations resulting from gender-affirming surgeries, including facial feminization surgery (FFS), shoulder width reduction surgery, and limb-lengthening procedures. These skeletal changes, when present bilaterally and without evidence of healed trauma, serve as key indicators of a person’s transgender identity postmortem. Recognizing common patterns in bone structure alterations due to gender-affirming interventions will assist in identifying transgender individuals and providing closure for families. By integrating markers from gender-affirming care practices into forensic investigations, this research contributes to more inclusive and rigorous forensic investigations. Full article

Archaeologists deploy a variety of models and theories, often tailored to specific questions or situations, in making sense of the material record we study. The concept of the community of practice, originally developed in the context of modern work and learning situations, describes among other things how participation in shared activities can create and shape social relationships. It therefore offers a powerful and flexible framework for the many archaeological research agendas in which group dynamics play a role. Some archaeologists have already begun to use the community of practice approach (CoP) as an interpretive framework, and this essay argues that a wider embrace would be a benefit to individual archaeologists and to the field as a whole. Full article

It has been argued that the increase in the consumption of dogs in the southern Levant during the Iron Age was due to the advent of the Philistines/“Sea Peoples” into the region. In this study, we test this proposal through the presentation of new information on dog consumption and its depositional context in Bronze and Iron Age strata from the archaeological site of Tell Zirāʿa (Jordan), and we compare the results to other sites in the region. Our study does not support that such behaviour is a signal of ethnic identity. Full article

The present study collected a larger set of three-dimensional data on human crania from the Kofun period (as well as from previous periods, i.e., the Jomon and Yayoi periods) in the Japanese archipelago (AD 250 to around 700) than previous studies. Three-dimensional geometric morphometrics were employed to investigate human migration patterns in finer-grained phases. These results are consistent with those of previous studies, although some new patterns were discovered. These patterns were interpreted in terms of demic diffusion, archaeological findings, and historical evidence. In particular, the present results suggest the presence of a gradual geological cline throughout the Kofun period, although the middle period did not display such a cline. This discrepancy might reflect social changes in the middle Kofun period, such as the construction of keyhole-shaped mounds in the peripheral regions. The present study implies that a broader investigation with a larger sample of human crania is essential to elucidating macro-level cultural evolutionary processes. Full article

This essay takes advantage of the current context of superdiversity to define a form of hybrid heuristics between North American anthropology and research-creation “in” the arts. In an attempt to alleviate the epistemological disaster described by Gregory Bateson as the loss of the unity of the biosphere and humanity, I position myself within a nomothetic perspective of Boasian anthropology and a postqualitative approach to research-creation. My research-creation proposes clay as an epistemic object and develops a creative methodology in the form of an experimental system that borrows from the following two types of change observable in living organisms: static and schismatic changes. The artistic activities, presented as two heuristic cycles, seek to broaden the self-reflexivity inherent in the use of clay by human groups. They provoke decentring leading to a loss of control where a new identity has to be defined. This reveals itself in terms of system thinking as the reconstruction of a new reality that is defined neither entirely by my artistic practice nor entirely by my theoretical framework derived from anthropology. It is a “place of passage” between both. It is a new identity that can be defined by the “change of change” that I call “creative anthropology”. This transdisciplinary approach introduces a “second glance” into anthropological research and opens up breaches through research-creation. It works to develop new narratives and test posthumanism in the field of my artistic practice. Full article