- A new study reports remarkable equality between husbands and wives amongst existing hunter-gatherers. In this interview, the lead author explains the findings and offers some thoughts on a decade-old question in anthropology: Why is agriculture so conducive to patriarchy? https://onhumans.substack.com/p/why-patriarchy-foragers-farmers-and 53 comments anthropology
- Polyandry (one woman, many husbands) is more common than has been assumed. In addition to formal polyandrous marriages, many human societies have norms around women having several male partners. This expert interview details examples of polyandry and discusses related work on sexual jealousy. https://onhumans.substack.com/p/some-myths-about-human-sexuality 11 comments anthropology
- Have humans always waged war? What can modern hunter-gatherers tell us about this? What about cave paintings or other forms of archaeological evidence? In this interview, Luke Glowacki explains why scholars disagree on the evidence and what are the implications for our theories of war and peace. https://onhumans.substack.com/p/48-is-war-natural-after-all-luke 15 comments anthropology
- Is “Man the Hunter” a myth? Did women hunt just as much as men? A new piece interviews scholars on both sides of the debate. It concludes that many questions remain open, but the recent reports of the death of "Man the Hunter" seem greatly exaggerated. https://onhumans.substack.com/p/is-man-the-hunter-dead 57 comments anthropology
- A new theory explains why agriculture started, when it started, and where it started. Based on ancient climate data, the author argues that the Neolithic Revolution was not linked to global warming. Instead, it was linked to an increase in seasonality in the northern hemisphere and the sub-tropics. https://onhumans.substack.com/p/42-why-agriculture-climate-change 13 comments anthropology
- Prof Peter Railton argues that trolley problems have been misused to support a distinction between reason and emotion in moral decision making. Many of the common responses to trolley problems reflect genuine moral insights, even when based on a “gut feeling”. https://onhumans.substack.com/p/podcast-what-can-we-learn-from-moral 27 comments philosophy