Anthropology

Where Do We Come From?

Arts, Culture & Media

Geneticist Spencer Wells is tracking the human race back to its origin, and coming up with some surprises in our backstory.

A Salvadoran father carries his son tries as he tries to board a train with another immigrant and head to the Mexican-U.S. border, in Huehuetoca, near Mexico City.

MacArthur grant winner studies the things left behind at the US-Mexico border

Arts
DNA

Modern-day tribes still carry traces of colonial devastation in their DNA

Health
Isle of Wight coastal area

Scientists dig in to paleosoil to find out why some civilizations learned to farm earlier

Science
Members of the trio Wu Force

This Chinese-American trio describes their music as ‘Kung fu Appalachian indie rock folk’

Peru government urges couples to wed, makes it easier with mass ceremonies

Development & Education

Peru’s marriage rate is comparatively low, something that’s caught the attention of local officials. In order to turn it around, which officials have linked with improving local infrastructure and the local economy, officials are throwing mass wedding ceremonies and inviting long-time couples to attend.

Lima Officials Urging Marriage, Many Getting Hitched at Mass Ceremonies

Global Politics

Local officials in Lima are urging people to get married, which they say will lead to a more stable society. Officials are even sponsoring mass weddings. Annie Murphy went to one in the capital.

Popularity of ‘white weddings’ surges in Japan, leads to shortage of officiants

Many Japanese women look forward to having a Western-style, Christian wedding ceremony — because they like the pageantry of it all. But as they become more popular, there aren’t enough caucasian ministers, deemed essential to the true “white wedding,” to conduct them all.

The royal wedding: Not just schlock

Global Politics

Celebrity weddings make people sick, but when Prince William marries Kate Middleton, many in Great Britain are welcoming the distraction.

What we lose when languages die

Languages represent more than vocabulary and grammar, and some people are fighting to save them.