SAPIENS Magazine

Snapshots of Losing Jenna An anthropologist offers a lens on how losses from war dramatically alter a family—and a society.

From the archive. An anthropologist offers a lens on how losses from war dramatically alter a family—and a society. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/anth...

What Vietnam’s Scarred Lands Reveal About Modern Warfare Fifty years on, the long-term ecological consequences of the war in Vietnam signal a dark future for Gaza and Ukraine.

From the archive. Fifty years on, Vietnam is still reckoning with the long-term ecological toll of U.S. warfare—a grim warning as Israel and Russia unleash similar destruction in Gaza and Ukraine. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/viet...

Uncovering an Archaeology of U.S. Empire in Panama An anthropologist investigates how the U.S. used archaeology to expand its influence in the Panama Canal Zone.

From the archive. An anthropologist investigates how archaeology helped the U.S. colonize the Panama Canal Zone—just as the current U.S. government threatens to retake it. Read more: www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

Why Do Swallows Fly to the Korean DMZ? An anthropologist discovers diasporic flights that begin at and return to the waters of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

From the archive. An anthropologist discovers diasporic flights—including her own—that begin at and return to the waters of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/kore...

Forest as Kin and Pantry in the Himalayas In Northeast India, supply chains are often interrupted. In response, Indigenous communities are reclaiming ancestral foodways.

From the archive. In the Sikkim and Kalimpong Himalayas in Northeast India, supply chains are often interrupted by changing monsoon systems that damage highways. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/indi...

From the archive. An evolutionary anthropologist details seasonal changes among foraging communities—and distills how the fixed political structures of industrialized societies are an outlier in human history. Read more: www.sapiens.org/biology/fora...

As 2025 comes to a close, the SAPIENS editorial team offers 10 standout pieces that capture the spirit of what the magazine has always sought to do: illuminate what it means to be human.

Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/best...

Yes! The website will remain online as a living archive.

Best of SAPIENS 2025 In SAPIENS' final year of publishing new stories, the magazine honors the best contributions that brought anthropology to readers worldwide.

I'm so very pleased by this "best of 2025" honor.
Thank you, @sapiens.org, for all you have done.
I wish you were sticking around, as we need public scholarship now more than ever.
But your archive lives on, and I hope it will be a resource for many years to come.

Shading U.S. Empire in Puerto Rico’s Ballroom Scene An anthropologist explores the queer Ballroom scene in Puerto Rico—and how performers incorporate critiques of colonialism into the art form.

From the archive. A linguistic anthropologist explores the queer Ballroom scene in San Juan—and how performers are incorporating critiques of colonialism into the art form. Read more: www.sapiens.org/language/pue...

“Scientists must walk a fine line between silence and sensationalism when they share their conclusions with society. Archaeologists, in particular, should create space for both evidence and imagination.”

Read more: www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

How Cultural Knowledge Sustained Desert Farms in the Ancient Andes An archaeologist studies past farming practices in the north coast of Peru, which may offer models for navigating current climate crises.

From the archive. An archaeologist who studies past farming practices in the north coast of Peru argues these offer models for navigating current climate crises. Read more: www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

SAPIENS’ 2025 poet-in-residence situates her listening in Kashmir and Germany during and after her fieldwork, contextualizing her contributions to SAPIENS this year.

Read the full poem: www.sapiens.org/culture/list...

Earworm A poet-anthropologist listens to a field recording from Kashmir: What might be dismissed as noise becomes a way to unsettle the settled.

From the archive. A poet-anthropologist listens to an accidental field recording from Kashmir: What might be dismissed as noise becomes a way to unsettle the settled—making audible dispossession and theft, stealth and refusal. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/earw...

“The earliest clear written reference to a ‘Women’s Kingdom’ appears in the mid-5th century, when it was listed among exotic goods exchanged in diplomatic contacts. ... Could Gurugyam, and the female in M2, offer material traces of such a kingdom?”

Read more: www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

Caring Across Distance—One Call at a Time An anthropologist explores how a simple phone call home carries layers of meaning for migrating nurses and their families in India.

An anthropologist explores how a phone call home may seem simple but carries layers of meaning for migrating nurses and their families in India. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/mobi...

“Contrary to official claims, I never heard any trans women say the programs ‘corrected’ their gender identity.”

Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/tran...

Reclaiming Collective Life in a Fractured U.S. In a new book, an anthropologist recounts his quest across the U.S. to understand the nation's deepening divides and how to repair them.

From the archive. After Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election win, an anthropologist set out across the U.S. to understand the nation’s deepening divides. In the new book Something Between Us, he grapples with these rifts and how to repair them. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/some...

Ancient Tools in East Asia Reveal Middle Paleolithic Innovation An archaeologist explains how Quina scrapers in China overturn long-standing assumptions about the region’s humans over 50,000 years ago.

From the archive. An archaeologist explains his team’s insights into how Quina scrapers in southwest China overturn long-standing assumptions about the region’s humans more than 50,000 years ago. Read more: www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

“The earliest clear written reference to a ‘Women’s Kingdom’ appears in the mid-5th century, when it was listed among exotic goods exchanged in diplomatic contacts. ... Could Gurugyam, and the female in M2, offer material traces of such a kingdom?”

Read more: www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

When Wartime Plunder Comes to Campus An archaeologist considers whether she should teach with antiquities looted during the U.S invasion of Iraq.

From the archive. An archaeologist considers whether students should learn from antiquities looted from Iraq. Read more: www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

Why Are People Worshipping the Virgin Mary as a Goddess? Amid a goddess worship revival, some feminists are revering Mary as a deity, confronting her use as a handmaiden of patriarchy.

From the archive. Amid a goddess worship revival, some feminists are revering the mother of Jesus as a deity, defying Christian doctrines and confronting the use of Mary as a handmaiden of patriarchy. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/virg...

“Contrary to official claims, I never heard any trans women say the programs “corrected” their gender identity.”

Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/tran...

How Virtual Reality Is Restoring Liberia’s Culture The Traveling Treasures project puts Liberians directly in touch with dispersed cultural heritage through immersive technologies.

From the archive. Traveling Treasures is a new project led by a team of anthropologists that puts Liberians directly in touch with their dispersed cultural heritage through immersive technologies designed to bridge continents and histories. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/virt...

In Japan, Rethinking What It Means to Care for the Dead Facing an increasing aging population and other societal shifts, people are looking beyond traditional family-based mortuary practices.

From the archive. Facing an increasing aging population and other societal shifts, people are looking beyond traditional family-based mortuary practices. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/japa...

Huh? The Valuable Role of Interjections Science writer Bob Holmes says utterances like "um," "wow," and "mm-hmm" aren’t useless—they keep conversations flowing.

From the archive. Utterances like “um,” “wow,” and “mm-hmm” aren’t garbage, they keep conversations flowing. Read more: www.sapiens.org/language/lin...

A Poetics of Liberation: An Imagined Archive SAPIENS' 2024 poet-in-resident conjures alternative engagements with Black African women who were imprisoned in colonial archives.

From the archive. A Tanzanian historian and poet conjures alternative engagements with Black African women who were marginalized by violent colonial histories and imprisoned in the archives. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/imag...

When Calls for Vengeance Go Online An anthropologist reckons with digital media's impacts on youth gang cultures—and what can be done to combat the spread of misinformation.

From the archive. An anthropologist reckons with how digital media has changed youth gang culture dynamics—and what can be done to combat the spread of deadly rumors. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/soci...