Human Relations Area Files at Yale University
@hraf755.bsky.social
Promoting understanding of cultural diversity and commonality in the past and present since 1949. Home of the world's largest anthropological data bank. https://hraf.yale.edu
Blood is thicker than water, they say, but is there a limit to its thickness? Do we owe loyalty to an antisocial or violent outlaw in our family? Relatives of a psychopath, a serial killer and more share their story: buff.ly/u6W02jc
#ProcB in @science.org | Reassuring body contact promotes social tolerance in bonobos and chimpanzees: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Chimps and bonobos hug and hold hands just like us
New study suggests ancient origins of reassuring social touch among apes
science.org
Unlocking the secrets of the universe, one petabyte at a time. Explore how the Janet Network underpins some of the world's most data-intensive research, connecting UK researchers with @cern.bsky.social and enabling the transfer of vast amounts of data that drive groundbreaking discoveries.
Powering discovery: how the Janet Network connects the world’s most data-hungry science - Jisc
jisc.ac.uk
🌟 New Publication! Comparing 60 ethnographic cultures and 49 archaeological cases, we show that residential burial—the placement of the dead within or near houses—was far more common archaeologically (with Tim Earle, Carol Ember, Gary Feinman & Bill Parkinson). @hraf755.bsky.social bit.ly/4c4WRK1
Funerary Placement in the Past and Present: Uses of Ethnographic Analogy for Archaeological Interpretation | American Antiquity | Cambridge Core
Funerary Placement in the Past and Present: Uses of Ethnographic Analogy for Archaeological Interpretation
cambridge.org
Trump is trying to destroy academic freedom - he sees it as an impediment to his corruption of our democracy. I know university leaders, like those at Yale, are in a tough position given his attacks, but they are under no obligation to agree to anything other than what's required under existing law.
Sociology beyond the classroom! Students and faculty from Penn State's Sociology and Culture in Korea program traveled to Seoul to immerse themselves in their coursework and deepen their understanding of Korea's changing culture. @ssripennstate.bsky.social
Students get up-close view of South Korean culture during faculty-led program | Penn State University
A group of Penn State students recently traveled to Seoul, South Korea, for a course, where they immersed themselves in the country’s rich culture. The course was one of 14 faculty-led education abroad programs offered by the College of the Liberal Arts this summer.
bit.ly
Bronze disc depicting a goddess (900-700 BC), from Luristan (Lorestan), a province in Zagros mountains, western Iran. She is wearing a long pleated gown, the belt ties falling across her waist, and she is supposedly holding a veil in her hands. (D. 14.9cm) Walters Art Museum, Baltimore 🇺🇸
Ten years after a milestone victory, AI now dominates Go training. Players are figuring out what that means for the game.
AI is rewiring how the world’s best Go players think
Ten years after a milestone victory, AI now dominates Go training. Players are figuring out what that means for the game.
trib.al
How do sociology departments thrive in the current academic climate? Register for the ASA Department Leaders Preconference, “Thriving Together: Building Strong, Future-Facing Departments,” for engagement, practical takeaways + peer support to help you adapt and innovate. Aug 7 https://bit.ly/44DVs9e
Bologna opens a new library containing more than 32,000 books from Umberto Eco's private study - arranged exactly as he left them - a decade after his death.
Umberto Eco library opens in Bologna, 10 years after his death
The University of Bologna has opened a new public library housing the personal book collection of writer Umberto Eco, a decade after his death.
wantedinmilan.com
A cemetery conservation project revealed the gravestone of Boston, a well-known free (formerly enslaved) Black man who lived and worked in Boston, MA, in the early 18th century. 🏺🧪
'One of the oldest gravestones of a free Black person in America' discovered in Boston
Experts have identified the gravestone of Boston, a free Black man who died in 1729.
livescience.com
These may be the last days of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.
Amazon will stop accepting new customers for Mechanical Turk | TechCrunch
These may be the last days of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.
techcrunch.com
I assumed everyone knew this was predicted to occur when they sacked 50% of the NOAA staff and started canceling weather balloons that collect data last year; but if not. 👇
Here's Why Weather Forecasts Have Seemed So Inaccurate Lately
Meteorologists simply aren't able to gather as much data as they used to, and you're suffering for it.
gizmodo.com
Happy to have contributed to the latest HBES newsletter on our recent paper, The Meanings and Dividends of Man the Hunter, led by @vivek123.bsky.social I reflect on MTH through the lens of my research on Bayaka women's foraging & cooperation in the Congolese rainforest www.hbes.com/revisiting-m...
Revisiting Man the Hunter - HBES
– by Haneul Jang For decades, the phrase Man the Hunter has occupied a central place in discussions of human evolution. Today, however, the phrase sounds outdated, evoking a familiar image of men hunt...
hbes.com
If companies can't run data centres without polluting our air and water, pushing up energy bills, abusing workers' rights, harming local communities or wrecking the climate – then they shouldn't be allowed to run them A safe climate and healthy environment are necessities – tech bro profits aren't
EU weighs weaker data centre climate rules in win for Big Tech
Past proposals for strict rules on renewable energy certificates have been dropped after heavy lobbying, draft shows
ft.com
Hey ethnography nerds! @dwbird.bsky.social, @parnajarlpa.bsky.social, Nyalangka Nola Taylor, & Desmond Taylor have a new book out on "the interacting socio-ecological relationships" of the Martu economy. I especially recommend the social organization chapter 🤌🏻 www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Aboriginal Homelands and Economy in Australia's Western Desert
Cambridge Core - Archaeology: General Interest - Aboriginal Homelands and Economy in Australia's Western Desert
cambridge.org
Mixtec pectoral of Mictlantecuhtli, the Mesoamerican god of death and ruler of the underworld. Gold c. 1300-1450 CE Mixtec culture Mexico #handmade #gold #pectoral #mixtecculture #montealban #oaxaca #mexico #mesoamerica #mictlantechuhtly #godofdeath #precolumbian #prehispanic #ancientart #art
Ford has rehired hundreds of senior engineers after replacing them with AI backfired and has cost the company billions of dollars. AI adoption is blamed for Ford being the most recalled automaker in the U.S. with 51 recalls covering over 11 million vehicles in the first half of 2026 alone.
French archaeologist cracks 4,000-year-old Elamite script from Iran - Tehran Times www.tehrantimes.com/news/527705/...
French archaeologist cracks 4,000-year-old Elamite script from Iran
TEHRAN – French archaeologist François Desset has decoded the 4,000-year-old Linear Elamite writing system from ancient Iran, unlocking one of the last undeciphered scripts of the ancient Near East af...
tehrantimes.com
The right takes academia seriously, and is pouring money into neutering it. Would be good to see left wing politicians taking academia equally seriously, and taking action to support it www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
‘Dialogue is all the rage’: why is the right pouring millions into ‘civil discourse’ initiatives on US campuses?
Universities looking for a fix to relentless controversy are flocking to ‘civility’ initiatives. Critics say these efforts mask a darker project
theguardian.com
#ResistanceRoots Pearl Buck was born on this day in 1892 in Hillsboro, W.Va. She is best known for her novel The Good Earth and for becoming the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. She was also a fierce advocate for human rights, civil rights and cross-cultural education. /1
Just watched - it's really cool! As someone working on a book titled "A brief history of the world's music", I appreciate the difficulty of the challenge! Will be interesting to see how they squeeze it all into the next 8 episodes... but really enjoyed the first one!
Philip Ball@philipcball.bsky.social · last mo."Don’t miss it for the world... this is the sort of show the BBC used to be famous for. Even a decade ago, something like [this] would have found a very comfortable home on BBC Four, and yet it is telling that it has ended up on YouTube." www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
First report of the biomineral whitlockite from the fossil record of holocephalans: doi.org/10.1098/rsos... #RSOS #palaeontology
BREAKING: Alligator Alcatraz has officially closed. A lot of outlets won’t report on this, but the Miccosukee Tribe played a key role in the fight.
📣 @brunelpsy.bsky.social Centre for Culture and Evolution is hosting Linking Labs and Local Lives it's a community partnership event bringing academics, outreach/charity workers and policy makers into the same room to talk about research that actually lands 💬