Articles by

Bruce Bower

A new study challenges the idea that Rapa Nui islanders caused an ‘ecocide’

Early settlers of the island of Rapa Nui are famous for having created massive stone statues. They...

Child sacrifices at famed Maya site were all boys, many closely related

Genetic clues have unveiled a type of ritual child sacrifice at an ancient Maya site that consisted...

Fossil finds amplify Europe’s status as a hotbed of great ape evolution

Two lines of ancient apes, including what may be the smallest great ape yet, lived alongside each...

One of the world’s earliest farming villages housed surprisingly few people

A farming-fueled baby boom long thought to have sparked the rise of ancient cities in southwest Asia...

A puzzling mix of artifacts raises questions about Homo sapiens’ travels to China

More than half a century ago, Chinese researchers uncovered thousands of pieces of an ancient cultural puzzle....

How Ötzi the Iceman really got his tattoos

An off-beat experiment has poked holes in a popular assumption about Ötzi the Iceman’s tattoos. Ötzi’s roughly...

These South American cave paintings reveal a surprisingly old tradition

Near the southernmost tip of South America, people may have started cave painting nearly 8,200 years ago,...

A four-holed piece of ivory provides a glimpse into ancient rope-making

A mammoth ivory tool unearthed in central Europe has offered a peek at how teamwork enabled Stone...