• humans have evolved a whole suite of specialized skills to help us survive. Perhaps the most important of these skills was our ability to make and use tools. Did you know that crows use tools, too?

Ask An Anthropologist

Ask An Anthropologist is an educational resource for students, teachers, parents, and life-long learners. We encourage anyone interested in anthropology to make use of its content.

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Becoming human brings together interactive multimedia, research and scholarship to promote greater understanding of the course of human evolution.

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Off to the Field We Go

Cargo pants. Bug repellent. Duffel bag. Laptop computer. These are just a few of the “must-haves” for anthropologists as they set off to do fieldwork each year.
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Brains over Brawn

The differences between our brains and the brains of other animals is an important part of what makes us human. Find out why your brain is so big and what that allows you to do.
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On the Origin of Species

In 1859, Charles Darwin published a book called On the Origin of Species that completely changed our understanding of how biodiversity arises.

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Babies, Birth, and Brains

We have big brains, but are we born with big brains or do they get big as we grow up? It turns out that it’s a little bit of both. Learn about how our incredible brains grow and find out what limits our brain size. Also in: Español