The Boundaries of Ancient Trade

The Boundaries of Ancient Trade

Kings, Commoners, and the Aksumite Salt Trade of Ethiopia

Drawing on rich ethnographic data as well as archaeological evidence, “The Boundaries of Ancient Trade,” by archaeologist Helina Woldekiros in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, challenges long-standing conceptions of highly centralized sociopolitical and economic organization and trade along the Afar salt trail: one of the last economically significant caravan-based trade routes in the world.
Research highlights gender bias persistence over centuries

Research highlights gender bias persistence over centuries

Using dental records of more than 10,000 people from 139 archaeology sites throughout Europe, political scientists in Arts & Sciences found that individuals who live in areas that historically favored men over women display more pro-male bias today than those who live in places where gender relations were more egalitarian centuries ago.
Malaria infection harms wild African apes

Malaria infection harms wild African apes

Scientists led by Emily Wroblewski, in Arts & Sciences, discovered that bonobo populations differ in a key immune trait depending on the presence of malaria infection. Infected populations have a higher frequency of an immune variant that protects against developing severe disease, a pattern that mirrors what is observed among human populations.
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