anthropology

Paul Salopek's Seven-Year Science Project

Mallory Ortberg · 12/08/12 11:50AM

Perhaps you have already been following reporter Paul Salopek's Out of Eden project, a seven-year attempt to follow the migration patterns of early humans as they radiated outward from East Africa's Great Rift Valley across Europe and Asia to the New World. Perhaps you already follow him as he details his preparations for the trip on Twitter and have found your throat enveloped by the haggard claw of envy as you picture how much of the next seven years you'll spend sitting in front of a desk as this intrepid journeyman fulfills the deepest longing of your once-adventurous heart. If you have not yet heard of it, however, you are in for a true delight; as the Nieman Lab reports, Salopek will be broadcasting narratives from his journey every 100 miles or so.

How a Foul-Mouthed American Chef Brought "Fuckin" to Japan

Adrian Chen · 01/10/12 01:51PM

After publishing this post about an Osaka department store hilariously advertising its "Fuckin sale," we got an email from Ron Silver, owner and chef of New York's Bubby's restaurant. "I feel personally responsible for this Fuckin Sale," he wrote. He attached a picture from the opening of Bubby's branch in Yokohama, Japan in 2009, where a sign advertised Bubby's Fuckin Fresh lemonade and Fuckin Fresh & Delicious food. Much to the surprise of visiting English-speaking tourists, Fuckin Fresh is the the unofficial slogan of Bubby's Japanese branch, printed on menus, signs and t-shirts.

Florida's Governor Declares War on Useless Degrees

Jim Newell · 10/12/11 11:33AM

Florida's comically unpopular governor, Rick Scott, has decided to pick another new, arbitrary fight: This time with anthropology majors! And psychology majors, and really all liberal arts/social science majors, whom he believes his state university system subsidizes for no good reason. Have any of these invalids ever gotten a job, in Florida? There is no reason to humor them any longer.

FBI Investigated the Father of Modern Anthropology For Being a 'Jewish International Communist'

John Cook · 08/02/11 12:37PM

Claude Levi-Strauss is familiar to anyone who took Anthropology 101 as the most important anthropologist of the 20th century and a father of structuralism, the theoretical forebear to post-structuralism, post-modernism, deconstruction and all that weird subversive French philosophy your parents warned you about. Which may explain why the FBI spent close to a decade spying on him in the 1940s.

Introducing Humans' Newest Ancestral Relative

Adrian Chen · 12/22/10 08:29PM

Scientists have discovered an entirely new species of ancient human. The Denisovans lived in Central Asia around 40,000 years ago, and we all have some of their DNA from back when they got busy with our own ancestors.

Anthropology: More a Hobby Than a 'Science'

Hamilton Nolan · 12/10/10 03:41PM

Anthropology debate! Brain hearing! Jock myth! Unique fingerprints! Estrogen breast-rogen! Smallest battery! And gay mice marriage! It's your Friday Science Watch, where we watch science—if you can call it that!

Meet John Terry, England Football Captain, Scumbag

Ravi Somaiya · 02/04/10 06:50AM

He's married, and has twin three-year-olds. Terry has thrown the otherwise stoic island nation into turmoil with revelations he cheated with the (now-former) girlfriend of a teammate. It's not the first piece of scumbaggery he's indulged in.

Tokyo + Recession = New York

Ravi Somaiya · 12/30/09 08:23AM

The Wall Street Journal does a piece of recession cultural anthropology today about Japanese people abandoning their preference for living alone and shacking up with roommates. Clearly, the Journal haven't been to New York. Or read Vice this month.

Confessions of a Real New Jersey Guido

cityfile · 11/18/09 12:34PM

Last week, MTV announced its newest series, Jersey Shore, which it promises will feature the "hottest, tannest, craziest guidos" in the Jerz. (Think The Hills, but starring people who are tanner and have a whole lot more confidence.) What you can expect to see: all the fist pumping, pecs, and hair gel you can handle, naturally. So how close will it be to reality and how much of it will be the product of imaginative MTV producers? To separate fact from fiction, we reached out to the world's leading expert on guido-dom, Anthony Moussa, a 30-year-old Jersey native who founded the website NLSociety.com (formerly the infamous NJGuido.com), and asked him to explain to us what the lifestyle is really all about. Join us as he discusses man-jewelry, the origin of the fist pump, and how some guidos today are disgracing the culture that so many hold near and dear.