Ask An Anthropologist
Ask An Anthropologist is an educational resource for students, teachers, parents, and life-long learners. We encourage anyone interested in anthropology to make use of its content.
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When you put on the mitts and try to build a structure, you will get a sense of how hard it would be to do things that we do every day if our hands were shaped differently.
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Becoming human brings together interactive multimedia, research and scholarship to promote greater understanding of the course of human evolution.
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Changing Climates and Changing Faces
Climate change has been a hot topic in discussions on the future of our global community. But looking into the past is also important. What do we know about how the climate and the environment affected our early ancestors?
The Tales of Teeth
You are sitting in a dark movie theater. You are trying to enjoy the movie, but you keep thinking about a pesky piece of popcorn stuck between your molars, the back teeth. After fumbling for a toothpick in your pocket, you dislodge the popcorn.
Controlling the Code
DNA controls all of your traits. Right? Well, kind of. The environment can actually control how your DNA works. Learn about how it does this through a series of switches known as epigenetic mechanisms.
Tool test
humans have evolved a whole suite of specialized skills to help us survive. Perhaps the most important of these skills was our ability to make and use tools. Did you know that crows use tools, too?