Human Bridges Project
Bringing recent discoveries in human origins and biology into social and political consciousness.
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Has Map
This is a guide to notable prehistoric and ecological sites in France, as well as the museums and supplemental media you can use to learn more about them.
Has Map
This is a guide to notable prehistoric and ecological sites in Costa Rica and the museums and supplemental media you can use to learn more about them.
Mysterious stone balls continue to puzzle archaeologists.
Of all the pivotal technologies discovered by humans, fire making was the one that gifted our species with power beyond all others.
Social hierarchies based on gender, race, appearance, and status are often learned rather than inevitable. Human ecology education offers one framework for helping people recognize these patterns and build more equitable relationships and communities.
Autocratically organized societies were characterized by spectacles that foment fear and awe, while participatory rituals predominated in more democratically organized contexts.
How deep history challenges fascist myths of purity, hierarchy, and identity.
The people of Çatalhöyük depicted the world not “as it is” but “as they felt and conceptualized it.”
By comparing self‑medication and caregiving among animals with evidence from the fossil record, we can reinterpret the deep‑time origins of self-medication behavior and recognize treating the injured and ill as a shared biological heritage rather than a uniquely human achievement.
Each leap in human communication—from vocal anatomy to writing to digital networks—followed the same pattern: faster, more complex, less individual.
Collaborative Research
Archaic Organization of Time, Measurement and Laws, Music, Tribes, and Cities
Research suggests that human consciousness evolved as a cognitive filter, privileging and amplifying human-communicative inputs as a foundation for transmissive teaching and learning, language development, and, ultimately, cultural evolution and culture itself.
Fair representation emerges when governments need to rely on their people financially. Remove that reliance, and representation withers—even if formal democratic institutions remain intact.
The term “arkeopolitics” unifies the archaeology of the “order beneath” (“arkeo”) with the political science of the “order above” (“politics”). With these combined disciplines we can revaluate the human story—from the Paleolithic to the present—through an “amodernist” lens. This is not a retreat into the past, but a strategic expansion of our vocabulary to survive the future.
The archaeological record challenges longstanding theoretical models in political science and anthropology that treat autocracy as an almost inevitable corollary of increasing complexity.
Nineteenth-century activists revolutionized attitudes toward nonhuman animals amid cultural, economic, and moral shifts in a rapidly changing nation.
Political, religious, and cultural polarization has allowed urgent societal problems, such as climate change and wealth inequality, to become existential dangers. To reverse our policy paralysis, people should learn the dynamics that produce a widening or narrowing of the we.
Throughout history, negative human impulses (such as divisiveness, greed, aggression, etc.) have birthed periods of societal crisis. For example, polarizing political agendas and greedy economic policies not only create trauma and suffering, but they also narrow the “we” by destroying community coalitions. Fortunately, we can shift the paradigm in favor of goodwill for all. This guide provides a framework for understanding this toxic societal polarization pattern and demonstrates how we have repeatedly navigated our way out of it. By reflecting on human nature and historical examples, we can create a more inclusive future for the “we” collective.
Common sense is contested terrain.
The attraction to luster is rooted in our evolutionary history and has persisted among prehistoric artifacts, ancient civilizations, and consumer culture.
From seasonal cycles and reincarnation to cosmic destruction and rebirth, ancient Greek and Roman philosophers developed competing theories of how time repeats—and what that repetition means for human life.
This guide explores the evolutionary origins of aesthetics in humans, otherwise known as bioaesthetics. Bioaesthetics is an interdisciplinary field that bridges biology, psychology, philosophy, and art to investigate aesthetic perception and how we perceive certain forms. Emerging research underlines the fact that our sense of beauty isn't purely cultural and has biological underpinnings.
We are wired to find faces everywhere, and this instinct reveals how our perception and our environment can influence each other.
A survey of the parameters of post-mortuary practices recorded from animal behavior, the human archaeological record from the Lower Pleistocene to the Iron Age, and ethnographic/ethological research.
The New Grand Tour is a modern take on the "old" Grand Tour—a journey through the ancient landscapes of Rome and Greece, the kingdoms of Sumeria, and beyond—once reserved for only the privileged few. Today, the availability of data from the past six million years of human activity through archaeological collections and the accessibility of this data enable anyone to journey through the past.
Globally, our human stories have varied depending on factors such as terrain type, resource availability, and the ecoregion type at a given time and place. However, our collective story is written around the fact that environments shape human culture and, in turn, humans shape their environments.
Has Map
This is a visual guide to two journeys through South Africa created by the Cradle of Human Culture.
Exclusionary social movements rise in polarized societies, fueled by economic, political, and social factors. Can inclusive movements find a way forward?
Toxic societal polarization is the product of malignant bonding, scarcity mindsets, and trauma. However, there are counterbalancing strategies that citizens can implement to effect societal change.
Who and where were the Proto-Indo-Europeans? Almost 450 languages spoken by 4 billion people descend from their tongue—and J.P. Mallory has been on a life-long journey to reconstruct their world.
Looking to our cultural evolutionary origins might help us improve society at many levels.
The appearance of cuteness is not arbitrary, but rather an evolutionary mechanism that promotes infant and group survival.
It is necessary to challenge some pervasive myths that fundamentally shape not just what we think about the past, but why so many see history as irrelevant when it comes to guiding the present and shaping the future.
Anthropologists’ research on the origins of war, going back to the beginning of human history and our closest ape relatives, suggests war is not part of our evolution. They also find systems of peace work, and many already exist.
Language plays an important role in understanding the concept of numbers.
Is large-scale intraspecific warfare Homo sapiens’ condition, or can our species strive to achieve global peace?
With housing disparity data from more than 1,000 archaeological sites, researchers are tracing historical wealth differences across the globe.
What draws us to such a distant and long-gone time? A fruitful relationship has always existed between prehistory (a scientific discipline constantly refreshed by new discoveries) and the visual artists who interpret it.
The movement to revillage our modern world seeks to combat mental illness, housing and climate disasters.
Mark Changizi’s study offers a scientific and anthropological explanation for a phenomenon many take for granted.
We need a broad comparative lens to produce useful explanations and narratives of our origins across time
What we can learn from an ancient egalitarian civilization in the Indus Valley.
Between 50,000 and 35,000 years ago in Eurasia, the disappearance of hominin species or their biocultural assimilation with anatomically modern humans is one of the biggest questions in prehistory today.
Can we pinpoint a time in our evolutionary trajectory when we wandered from the path of empathy, compassion and respect for one another and for all forms of life?
The overall picture of when and where the specific characteristics of our human ancestors appeared has a plausible answer.
Playing encourages cooperation and tolerance, and may even support collective decision-making.
An interview with renowned economic historian Michael Hudson on where our calendar comes from, his collaborations with the late intellectual David Graeber, and the long-lost practice of forgiving debt.
These archaeological structures provide researchers with insight of prehistoric cultures, specifically their burial practices and construction coordination.
The pioneering research by one of the founders of economic anthropology is essential for understanding the social and institutional processes that gave rise to money as we know it.
Republican ideals have evolved over millennia, shaping governance across the globe. Modern republics continue to adapt, but face challenges in upholding their foundational principles.
The Venetian Republic’s political system, emerging alongside those of other Italian city-states, was founded on collaboration and power distribution. Its rise and decline highlight the importance of adaptability in the face of shifting global political dynamics.
Baldwin examines the glyph sequences of Easter Island's Rongorongo tablets.
You can learn a lot about humanity from the first technological revolutions of more than 10,000 years ago.
Ancient human retrovirus DNA could be one of the markers of susceptibility to mental illness—specifically schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, a new study suggests.
Twin research sheds light on genetics, behavior, and evolutionary psychology, helping us understand human nature and individual differences.
The rise and erosion of the plebeian council offers perspectives on the stagnant U.S. civil rights movement.
African ape fossils are missing from a key Miocene period. Did apes evolve in Eurasia and return to Africa, or are fossils missing?
Discover how hunter-gatherer societies actively maintained equality through mockery, shared resources, and social strategies, challenging the assumption that egalitarianism is “simple” and revealing the complex effort it takes to keep everyone on equal footing.
A conversation with renowned archaeologist Gary M. Feinman on the emergence of a global data set from our past that humanity can use to prosper—and avoid the biggest mistakes.
Michael Levin of Tufts University reveals how Xenobots can help researchers understand the general laws that govern both human and synthetic behavior.
Evolution has shaped the way we bond with one another, especially in regards to our rather unlikely mating system: monogamy.
What reading Georges Bataille could teach you about the birth of art—and of humanity.
Anthropologists have recognized the characteristic patterns of butchery on human remains in archaeological sites from around the world, across huge swathes of time.
Today’s hot-button issue is actually as old as the human race.
Peer learning is a way of transferring important information beyond our own native social groups.
There are strong evidence that clans, culture, and dialects are not unique to humans.
We are witnessing a dramatic decline in the legitimacy of democracy as a governing ideal.
By applying a concept widely used in mathematics and computer science, Carole Crumley has radically changed the way anthropologists see and study societies.
Interviewing the neuroscientist and primate behavior expert on a question that could radically change our understanding of reality.
Just as humans gradually developed bipedalism to aid their survival, they have innate responses to circumstances and tendencies that guide their behavior.
Humans learn cues to perceive social hierarchy as early as infancy, and later self-perceptions of lower rank, however accurate, affect health and happiness.
Humans have long used and selected for certain materials due to their aesthetic appeal.
Extensive ocher use reflects the culture and cognitive abilities of early humans, who inherited an affinity for red from primate ancestors.
Frederick L. Coolidge explains the link between numerosity and language.
Political partisanship is predicted by the way our brains process basic political words or concepts.
Bronze Age burials at Başur Höyük predate Mesopotamian city-states, yet they lack evidence of palaces or complex governance.
Peter Coyote invites you to look at the media, research, and education initiatives related to the Human Bridges Project.
As we head into a future shaped by climate change, we must find ways to stabilize societies and reduce conflict. Solutions may lie in the archaeological record.
New findings and significant advances in research have scientists rethinking our origins, and museums around the world are working to catch the public up.
How pseudo-archaeology and alternative history, fueled by media and conspiracy culture, have gained popularity in the U.S., influencing extremist ideologies.
The United States today faces inherent challenges that have weakened the republic, making lessons from the Roman Republic even more necessary to avoid greater political instability.
Advances in technology make the reconstruction of the past increasingly realistic. However, as archaeology has learned, bringing back the past is never as straightforward as it seems.
Giorgio Buccellati’s At the Origins of Politics takes readers to the early stages of a process that became the structure of modern life.
Listening skills, concrete action, and knowledge of potential vulnerabilities are just some of the necessary components for successfully keeping all the groups within a coalition together.
Research sheds light on the orbitofrontal cortex, the part of the brain scientists termed a “cognitive map framework” of decision-making in social contexts.
How new information changes theories.
Developments in the study of human prehistory hold clues about our times, our world, and ourselves.
In a world so profoundly transformed by science and technology, it seems reasonable to ask: Why do religions still exist?
Collaborative efforts between forest agencies and Indigenous communities are improving wildfire management by combining oral histories with long-term archaeological datasets, demonstrating the value of integrating an understanding of the past into solutions for a better future.
From King Tutankhamun's iron dagger to ancient civilizations' sacred stones, meteorites have shaped human history, myth, and metallurgy after falling from the heavens.
The human species boasts something rare among all animals: females who live long beyond their ability to reproduce.
A paradigm shift has occurred in our understanding of when the first humans settled in Western Eurasia.
What led humans on the unique path of cultural development? And can we do anything useful with newly reconstructed histories of this process?
A 2021 study on the effects of climate crises in ancient Mesopotamia found increased cooperation and a more widespread distribution of power.
Our first molars emerge at exactly the right time for a primate trying to build an enormous brain the size of ours.
A new archeology is being developed based on evidence of human activity in the Earth’s sedimentary record, and archeologists are helping to define the Anthropocene as a new stage in the geological record.
The evidence tells us that cooperative and pluralistic governments were at least as common as and more resilient than despotic states in the region.
These interactive books and events encourage fresh perspectives on long-standing social systems.
The Mesoamerican city of Monte Albán is a powerful case study that early investments in public infrastructure and goods foster longer-term sustainability.
The wealth of qualitative and quantitative archaeological data challenges the Eurocentric notion of a single linear course in human history.
The success of our species may come down to one key trait: the ability to cooperate with people who are not relatives.
A true republican political system operates without a monarchy or concentrated political power in any office, branch, or individual. And a thriving republic observes the fundamental principles of equality, consensus, transparency, and reform (rather than institutional abandonment). If a republic strays from these values, political collapse can occur. This guide compares past republics, including the Roman and Venetian Republics, to republican states of today. By examining the successes and failures of early republics, we can gain a deeper understanding of the challenges in our current political environment.
Our financial system originated in Mesopotamia, where it was designed to ensure economic stability for a community. Over time it has transformed into something much more predatory.
With new anthropological, biological and scientific findings, we are increasingly able to trace the outlines and fill in the blanks of our human evolutionary story. This can help us better understand the social and cultural processes that produced the world we live in now. This guide to Human Bridges explores the work of experts from the fields of human biology, human origins, and anthropology who want to contribute their individual expertise to a wider accessible body of information, and enlist in the cause to make this material a staple of education at all stages of life.
Legible and open urban plans with widespread access to services and power tend to be associated with more collective, less autocratic forms of governance, says a new study.
Associated Authors
Deborah Barsky is a writing fellow for the Human Bridges project of the Independent Media Institute, a researcher at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution, and an associate professor at the Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona, Spain, with the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). She is the author of Human Prehistory: Exploring the Past to Understand the Future.
Irina Matuzava is a contributor to the Human Bridges project.
Yann Perreau is a writer, educator, contemporary art curator, and writing fellow for the Human Bridges project of the Independent Media Institute. He has published several books on art, climate, anonymity, and more. His articles have appeared in many publications, including Libération, Art Press, and East of Borneo. He has served as a cultural attaché for both the French Embassy in London and the French Consulate in Los Angeles. He holds an MPhil in art history from Paris’s EHESS.
Josh Fisher is a writer and educational theorist whose work explores how knowledge and understanding emerge through shared meaning, social coordination, and cultural transmission.
Brenna R. Hassett is a biological anthropologist and archaeologist whose research focuses on childhood, growth, and health in the past.
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