Domesticating horses had a huge impact on human society − new science rewrites where and when it first happened

New analyses of bones, teeth, genetics and artifacts suggest it’s time to revise a long-standing hypothesis for how humans domesticated horses.

William Taylor, Assistant Professor and Curator of Archaeology, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Sept. 3, 2024 • ~10 min

How was popcorn discovered? An archaeologist on its likely appeal for people in the Americas millennia ago

Corn has its roots in Mexico about 9,000 years ago.

Sean Rafferty, Professor of Anthropology, University at Albany, State University of New York • conversation
July 1, 2024 • ~6 min

Cassava: The perilous past and promising future of a toxic but nourishing crop

Cassava’s many assets would seem to make it the ideal crop, except for one drawback: It’s highly poisonous. Human ingenuity has made cassava edible for millennia.

Stephen Wooding, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Heritage Studies, University of California, Merced • conversation
May 1, 2024 • ~11 min

Mutton, an Indigenous woolly dog, died in 1859 − new analysis confirms precolonial lineage of this extinct breed, once kept for their wool

Dogs have lived with Indigenous Americans since before they came to the continent together 10,000 years ago. A new analysis reveals the lineage of one 1800s ‘woolly dog’ from the Pacific Northwest.

Logan Kistler, Curator of Archaeobotany and Archaeogenomics, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution • conversation
Dec. 14, 2023 • ~12 min

Cats first finagled their way into human hearts and homes thousands of years ago – here's how

Natural selection changed just 13 genes to separate your Felix and Fluffy from their African wildcat ancestor.

Jonathan Losos, William H. Danforth Distinguished University Professor, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis • conversation
Aug. 3, 2023 • ~10 min

Before chickens became food for people, they were regarded as special exotica

Why did the chicken cross the globe? A new study has revealed how chickens were domesticated.

Ophélie Lebrasseur, MSCA Research Fellow, Université de Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier • conversation
June 22, 2022 • ~8 min

Humans domesticated horses – new tech could help archaeologists figure out where and when

Archaeologists have long argued over when and how people first domesticated horses. A decade ago, new techniques appeared to have provided answers – but further discoveries change the story again.

William Taylor, Assistant Professor and Curator of Archaeology, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
March 2, 2020 • ~10 min

Modern tomatoes are very different from their wild ancestors – and we found missing links in their evolution

Through genetic detective work, scientists have identified missing links in the tomato’s evolution from a wild blueberry-sized fruit in South America to the larger modern tomato of today.

Ana Caicedo, Associate Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst • conversation
Jan. 30, 2020 • ~6 min

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