SAPIENS

2 weeks ago | sapiens.org | Bob Holmes

This article was originally published at Knowable Magazine and has been republished under Creative Commons. ✽LISTEN CAREFULLY TO a spoken conversation and you’ll notice that the speakers use a lot of little quasi-words—“mm-hmm,” “um,” “huh?,” and the like—that don’t convey any information about the topic of the conversation itself.

1 month ago | sapiens.org | Mariam Durrani |Nilosree Biswas

Roti, an unleavened flatbread, originated with ancient peoples of the Indus River Valley on the Indian subcontinent. Known by many names, including chapati and parotta, roti and the practice of roti-making has traveled the globe to become a culinary mainstay across many foodways in the “Global South.” Today roti and its many varieties connect cuisines and peoples across South and Southeast Asia, in East and South Africa, in the Caribbean, and their respective diasporas.

2 months ago | sapiens.org | Josh Reno |Holly High

✽We both recall the exact moment when we heard that U.S. anthropologist and activist David Graeber had died in Venice, Italy, at the age of 59. I (Holly) remember the cold of the brown leather sofa where I was sitting. I was at home in the chilly highlands south of Sydney and felt my phone buzz. “I just wondered if you saw that,” read the text from a former student. I clicked on the article link they’d sent. My first reaction was denial. “Is this a hoax?” I shot back, slightly irritated.

2 months ago | sapiens.org | Julien Louys

✽FROM THE AIR, endless rows of palm trees swallowed the topography as we flew over Bintan Island in the South China Sea. On the ground, an occasional fallen palm tree and piles of red palm fruit scattered along the roadsides. Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil and signs of the industry are everywhere in this palm-studded tropical island nation.

Jan 9, 2025 | sapiens.org | Jenny Davis

✽I HELD MY CARRY-ON BAG close to me apprehensively, waiting for the prearranged special security screening at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago en route to the Republic of Vanuatu, an archipelago in the South Pacific. This marked the beginning of an 11-day trip to return the remains of a man whose skull had been taken almost 100 years ago and sold for display in a museum at my university. Many anthropologists have long framed repatriation through stories of loss to science and institutions.