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Anthropology Current Affairs
Week of 19–25 July 2026 · published Sunday, 26 July 2026 A deer park, what the apes are telling us, and the tribes of Odisha Think of a group of bonobos in a forest sanctuary, waiting. They know the food is coming — a scatter of peanuts, any moment now. It is exactly the kind… Continue reading
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Great apes were using touch to reassure and keep the peace six million years before humans evolved – new research
Jake Brooker, Utrecht University and Zanna Clay, Durham University During an eight-month-long research trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia, we studied consolation: the way bonobos and chimpanzees comfort each other after conflicts and distress. But early on, we kept noticing something that didn’t quite fit. The animals were exchanging a lot… Continue reading
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Smaller brains? Fewer friends? An evolutionary biologist asks how AI will change humanity’s future
Rob Brooks What will humans be like generations from now in a world transformed by artificial intelligence (AI)? Plenty of thinkers have applied themselves to questions like this, considering how AI will alter lives – often for better, sometimes for worse. They have conjured dramatic scenarios, like AI-driven extinction of humans (and many other species),… Continue reading
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The whole story of human evolution – from ancient apes via Lucy to us
In pursuit of knowledge, the evolution of humanity ranks with the origins of life and the universe. And yet, except when an exciting find hits the headlines, palaeoanthropology and its related fields have gained far less scientific support and funding – particularly for scientists and institutions based in the African countries where so many landmark… Continue reading
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Understanding Gene Expression in Anthropology
Gene expression refers to the process by which the genetic information stored in DNA is converted into functional products, primarily proteins, that perform various functions within the cell. This process typically involves two main steps: transcription, where the DNA is transcribed into a messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule, and translation, where the mRNA is then translated… Continue reading
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International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples – August 9
The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed on 9 August every year. There are an estimated 476 million indigenous peoples in the world living across 90 countries. They make up less than 5 per cent of the world’s population, but account for 15 per cent of the poorest. They speak an overwhelming… Continue reading
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Self-medicating Chimpanzees!
An adult chimpanzee named Suzee was seen medicating the wound of her adolescent son Sia, using insects in the process. This behaviour was found amongst the chimpanzees in Loango National Park in Gabon. The incident was reported by a group of researchers in Current Biology in February 2022 and is considered the first of such… Continue reading
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DNA study reveals modern humans emerged from several groups in Africa, not one.
Past studies of human genetics have proposed the theory that modern humans originated from a single population in Africa. But a new paper, published last week in the journal Nature, put this idea to the test—and concluded it doesn’t hold up. The paper relies on modeling using the genomes of 290 living people from southern, eastern… Continue reading
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The Hakki Pikki Tribe
The Hakki Pikki Tribe from Karnataka were recently in the news because they are stranded in violence-hit Sudan. “Hakki Pikki” translates to “Bird Catchers”. Hakki Pikki is a semi-nodamic tribe whose members were traditionally involved in hunting, but had to give up the activity due to India’s Wildlife Protection laws. They are now involved in… Continue reading
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The evolutionary adaptation of wrinkling of fingers submerged in water.
Have you wondered why your fingers wrinkle when submerged in water? This response of the skin has an evolutionary advantage to the humans. Read this interesting article published by the BBC. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220620-why-humans-evolved-to-have-fingers-that-wrinkle-in-the-bath Feature Photo by Andre Moura: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-person-s-hand-submerged-in-water-2499417/ Continue reading
i think, therefore i am.
Cogito, ergo sum is a Latin philosophical proposition by René Descartes usually translated into English as “I think, therefore I am”, probably the one thing that defines our specie.
More about Kartic Godavarthy here…
Recent Posts
- Anthropology Current Affairs
- Great apes were using touch to reassure and keep the peace six million years before humans evolved – new research
- Smaller brains? Fewer friends? An evolutionary biologist asks how AI will change humanity’s future
- The whole story of human evolution – from ancient apes via Lucy to us
- Understanding Gene Expression in Anthropology
Kartic Godavarthy 