Michael Laxer
The Surprising Ways Inventions and Ideas Spread in Ancient Prehistory
You can learn a lot about humanity from the first technological revolutions of more than 10,000 years ago. By Brenna R. Hassett, Human...
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Michael Laxer
- 6 days ago
- 6 min
Keys to Building Human Bridges to the Past
Human technologies have continued to evolve exponentially since the end of the Paleolithic: today we are using them to learn more about...
Michael Laxer
- Aug 5
- 6 min
The Role of Ancient DNA in Modern Traits
Ancient human retrovirus DNA could be one of the markers of susceptibility to mental illness—specifically schizophrenia, bipolar...
Michael Laxer
- Jun 19
- 6 min
Can Teething Predict How Fast You Will Grow?
By Brenna R. Hassett, Human Bridges We know that humans live relatively long lives, and we certainly know that we spend a larger...
Michael Laxer
- Jun 18
- 6 min
Facing a Surge in Wildfires, the U.S. Government Turned to Native Wisdom and Advanced Archaeology
Collaborative efforts between forest agencies and Indigenous communities are improving wildfire management by combining oral histories...
Michael Laxer
- May 22
- 5 min
Some Myths Regarding the Genesis of Enterprise
Not only were “modern” elements of enterprise present and even dominant already in Mesopotamia in the third millennium BC, but the...
Michael Laxer
- May 15
- 7 min
Seven Features of Ancient Enterprise
The changing context for enterprise through the centuries reminds us that business activities are not universal but fluid and alter...
Michael Laxer
- May 11
- 6 min
Parallels Between Archaic Entrepots and Modern Offshore Banking Centers
Offshore banking and tax-avoidance centers are nothing new; they’ve been with us for millennia. Singapore skyline at night - Bijay...
Michael Laxer
- May 3
- 6 min
Seeing Red: Our Ancient Relationship With Ocher and the Color of Cognition
Extensive ocher use reflects the culture and cognitive abilities of early humans, who inherited an affinity for red from primate...
Michael Laxer
- Apr 26
- 5 min
What Does Play Tell Us About Human Evolution?
By Brenna R. Hassett Our species devotes a singular amount of time to an utterly unserious aspect of life: play. This begs the question:...
Michael Laxer
- Apr 16
- 8 min
Property and Debt in Ancient Rome
The Roman concept of property is essentially creditor-oriented. As Rome’s power grew, practices quickly became predatory. House of the...
Michael Laxer
- Apr 12
- 7 min
Why Culture Is Not the Only Tool for Defining Homo sapiens in Relation to Other Hominins
We need a broad comparative lens to produce useful explanations and narratives of our origins across time. An ancient skull excavated...
Michael Laxer
- Apr 6
- 6 min
How Elite Infighting Made the Magna Carta
Although the Magna Carta typically is depicted as the birth of England’s fight to create democracy, the 13th-century struggle was to...
Michael Laxer
- Mar 11
- 8 min
Debt Forgiveness in the Bronze Age
Whether in the realms of trade or agriculture, the operative principle was that debtors should not lose their economic liberty by being...
Michael Laxer
- Mar 9
- 7 min
The Great Archaeological Discovery of Our Time
An interview with renowned archaeologist Gary M. Feinman on the emergence of a global data set from our past that humanity can use to...
Michael Laxer
- Mar 6
- 6 min
Discarding Old Theories on the Path to Finding the First Humans Outside Africa
Spectacular archeological finds reveal the true past of the first Europeans. Atapuerca, Gran Dolina excavation -- Malopez 21, CC BY-SA...
Michael Laxer
- Mar 2
- 4 min
The Adaptive Value of Teenagers: How Peer Learning Contributes to Primate Success
By Brenna R. Hassett Anthropological science is our species’ attempt to address our most fundamental questions about who we are and how...
Michael Laxer
- Feb 26
- 7 min
Outdated Narratives Have Humanity in a Downward Spiral—It’s Time to Tell ‘Stories for Life’
A short film and narratives project “Stories for Life” seeks to bring about the shift in culture that humanity needs to survive....
Michael Laxer
- Feb 23
- 2 min
Advances in Archaeology Allow Us to Understand Political Evolution and Social Change in Deep Time
Archaeological Zone of Yaxchilan -- ZoRrO0880, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons By...
Michael Laxer
- Feb 22
- 6 min
The Evolution of the Human Pair Bond
Young couple enjoying each other's company -- John Brighenti from Rockville, MD, United States, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/li...
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