The hottest Anthropology Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Time Perception in the Digital Age

The Digital Anthropologist • 39 implied HN points • 17 Jul 23
🎭️ Culture Technology History Society Anthropology Psychology
  1. Time perception evolves as we age, seeming to speed up; impacted by living environment and technology.
  2. Shifts in how we perceive and value time in the Digital Age lead to changing societal norms and relationships.
  3. Digital technologies, like social media and e-commerce, significantly influence our relationship with time, affecting how we interact with the world.

Things That Caught My Eye #8:

Natural Selections • 4 implied HN points • 04 Feb 25
🔬 Science Nutrition Astronomy Ecology Anthropology Botany
  1. Indigenous people often fed muscle meat to their dogs, focusing on eating nutrient-rich organs instead. This shows they had important knowledge about nutrition that many of us overlook today.
  2. The skeletons of large game animals were usually found as broken bone chips, which indicates a careful use of all parts of the animal for nutrition, especially the marrow.
  3. There is a curiosity about whether Earth ever had a ring like the other large planets in our Solar System, and this raises questions about our planet's history.

Rabbit Holes 🕳 #27

Creative Destruction • 7 implied HN points • 22 Mar 23
🎭️ Culture History Society Anthropology Environment Technology
  1. Universal Basic Capital proposes sharing wealth upfront through ownership stake to reduce inequality.
  2. Moving into an Age of 'Fewer' suggests embracing simplicity for environmental and personal well-being.
  3. The Original Affluent Society concept highlights how hunter-gatherer lifestyles were simpler and more satisfying, sparking discussions on modern work-life balance.

Underestimating Social Complexity Among Hunter-Gatherers

Traditions of Conflict • 1 HN point • 22 Mar 23
🔬 Science Anthropology Ethnography
  1. Social complexity among hunter-gatherer societies is often underestimated compared to larger agricultural societies.
  2. Anthropologist Robin Dunbar's paper highlights the need for social institutions in managing challenges of group living.
  3. It's important to critically evaluate and not blindly trust generalizations about hunter-gatherer societies from secondary sources.

UFOs: Why We Believe In Them

The Digital Anthropologist • 0 implied HN points • 01 Sep 23
🎭️ Culture Anthropology Beliefs Society
  1. Belief in aliens and UFOs is driven by a desire for a saviour or higher power to address world uncertainties, offering psychological comfort.
  2. Mythologies and stories around aliens provide context for the unknown, easing psychological discomfort in uncertain times.
  3. Humans seek social connection, reflected in the longing for alien societies to avoid feeling alone and to satisfy a need for social order and structure.
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Humanity’s Operating System: cultureOS

The Digital Anthropologist • 0 implied HN points • 11 Aug 23
🎭️ Culture Digital technology Anthropology Sociology Globalization Human Evolution
  1. Culture can be seen as humanity's Operating System, crucial for survival and adapting to new technologies and societies.
  2. A cultureOS framework includes various 'apps' like aesthetics, governance, and religion, with middleware and hardware components that enable societies to function.
  3. Considering cultureOS is important in our increasingly interconnected world for better understanding societies, global interactions, and adapting to technological advancements.

Will We Become Hunter-Gatherers Again?

The Digital Anthropologist • 0 implied HN points • 19 Apr 23
🔬 Science Anthropology Technology Wealth Distribution Egalitarianism
  1. The concept of becoming hunter-gatherers again in the future is speculated due to integrating technology and redefining what it means to be a hunter-gatherer.
  2. As digital technologies evolve and become invisible, we might shift towards hunting for experiences and gathering knowledge and ideas.
  3. Hunter-gatherer societies are often more egalitarian, encouraging communal wealth distribution and democratic engagement, hinting at potential changes in societal structures.

The Manis Mastodon

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 0 implied HN points • 22 Jul 21
🔬 Science Paleontology Archaeology History Geology Anthropology
  1. The Manis Mastodon is a significant archaeological site where a mastodon was found with a projectile point embedded in its rib, suggesting early human hunting around 13,800 years ago.
  2. Another discovery of bison bones on Orcas Island showed signs of butchering, providing more evidence that ancient humans hunted large animals for food.
  3. Some scientists are skeptical about the human connection to these finds, suggesting that the animals could have died from natural causes or other means, not necessarily human actions.

Toys, scratching, and quantum strategies

The Strategy Toolkit • 0 implied HN points • 12 Feb 25
🎭️ Culture Child development Education Anthropology Sociology History
  1. Choosing the right toys can significantly impact children's development. Toys can teach vital skills that prepare kids for adult life.
  2. Research shows that the Norse settlers in Greenland struggled due to the lack of useful toys for their children. Their creativity suffered, which contributed to their downfall.
  3. Inuit children thrived because they had more diverse and relevant toys. This helped them be more innovative and adapt better to their environment.

A Global Mental Meltdown & Hope For The Future

The Digital Anthropologist • 0 implied HN points • 27 Mar 24
🎭️ Culture History Anthropology Technology Storytelling
  1. The world may seem messy, but human history has shown that we always find a way through challenges and there are reasons to remain hopeful.
  2. Today's hyper-connected world allows us to be more aware of global issues, leading to increased stress and anxiety on a global scale.
  3. Technological advancements, like Artificial Intelligence and digital communications, play a significant role in shaping societies and cultures, but ultimately, it is human behavior and adaptation that determine the path forward.

Society & Technology: Adaptation

The Digital Anthropologist • 0 implied HN points • 06 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Society Anthropology Smartphones
  1. Technology goes through phases of society becoming aware of it, evaluating its impact, and adapting to it, leading to cultural changes and deeper interactions with the technology.
  2. Cultural actions shape technology adaptations such as imposing laws, regulations, or societal norms, reflecting mass actions and group thinking.
  3. When technologies become seamlessly integrated into society and taken for granted, they become most interesting as they bring proven value and comfort to daily life.