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The Black Death's origins, identified

There was no clear explanation as to how the pandemic originated, despite its vast demographic and societal impacts. Mainly affecting Afro-Eurasia in the years of 1346-1353, t he origins of the Black Death, or the Bubonic Plague, can now be traced back to Central Asia based on the ancient Yersinia pestis genomes that have been obtained and studied.  Overview The plague arrived in the Mediterranean sea through ships from lands located in the Black Sea (in 1347). It then dispersed throughout Europe, north Africa, and the Middle East almost instantaneously, exterminating close to 60% of the society. This multi-national outbreak became known as the Black Death, and would turn into a pandemic that lasted for 500 years, until the turn of the 19th century.  Where did it originate? The origins of this epidemic is not well-known. The most widespread theories suggest it originated in China, but this counters archaeological evidence, which traces the disease back to Central Asia, close to present
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Disbelief in evolution is linked to increased racism, experts say

There is a consistency in research findings across countries, cultures, genders, and religions. Low belief in evolution is linked to higher prejudices and biases against individuals from different groups across the globe. Research shows that people would be more likely to identify with humanity if they believed in evolution, because of the common ancestry we share with our predecessors.  TL;DR: You are more human if you believe you are descended from animals.  Overview In a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Physchology, University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers found that disbelief in human evolution was associated with prejudice, racism, and support for discrimination against African Americans, the LGBTQ community in the U.S., and immigrants. We also are less likely to support peace strategies such as conflict resolution.  On the other hand, as Stylianos Syropolulos, a Ph.D. candidate in the war, and his team explains, people who perceive themselves more a

Roe v. Wade overturned: what this could mean for our future

This Supreme Court ruling is about to have a horrific impact on everyone Let me explain I woke up today to the sound of my dad crying. I got out of bed, walked to the kitchen and asked him what had happened. He looked me in the eyes and whispered simply, "They overturned Roe V. Wade." His voice sounded beat, as if he had lost the courage to fight. He hadn't immigrated to the U.S. to give this kind of future to his three daughters.  Overview        Before we dive in, let me describe what Roe V. Wade is. (If you are already familiar, feel free to skip this section).  In 1970, Jane Roe (a fake name utilized in the courtroom to shield the plaintiff’s identity) filed a lawsuit in opposition to Henry Wade, the district lawyer of Dallas County, Texas, in which she resided, challenging a Texas regulation making abortion unlawful. In her lawsuit, Roe alleged that the country legal guidelines have been unconstitutionally unclear and neglected her privacy, preserved by the First, F

Effects of Russia's invasion in Ukraine

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is taking a toll on people everywhere .  Russia attacking Ukraine. This has been on news media for weeks now, and with attacks only escalating, we wonder how President Putin could do something so inhumane. Today we will dive into the toll on people's mental health. Could there be any long term effects? Overview The apparent reason Russia invaded Ukraine was because Ukraine has become too Westernized, and, a threat to Russia. It could no longer feel "safe, develop, and exist." Thousands of people have died since then and 10 million+ have been dislocated.  Why is Putin doing this?      The original goal of the Russian leader was to overthrow Ukraine and overthrow its government, thereby ending its desire to eventually join the Western alliance NATO. However, he was unable to occupy the capital Kyiv and has now moved his ambitions to the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.       He has since gone back and forth, changing his aims of what h

What ancient Mayans taught us about living through droughts

  The Mayans dealt with similar conditions we're facing today. How did they deal with them?  Who were the Maya?      The Maya lived over a thousand years ago and built impressive architecture that surpassed any other civilization of that age. They were advanced in math, astronomy, and cities were profoundly developed. Population density was high. W hat caused the downfall of such an advanced society? C limate change. Droughts occurring one after another that caused starvation and death. At least that's what's been thought for decades. But is it true?  Lifestyle        The Maya lived through five droughts, and not only did they survive, they continued to grow. However the last two droughts proved difficult to live through. Vulnerability had increased from previous droughts, and resistance had decreased. As stated above, the Maya also had a great population, perhaps too much so. To support their size, they cut down and used many trees as well as channeled gallons of water fro

Finishing my introduction

Hello!! Since I've last posted, I've been thinking a bit on how I could improve on what I wrote previously. One thing I've decided to do is to define words before listing them in the post.   Bipedality: having two legs Thermoregulation: a n organism's ability to maintain an average body temperature Primates: a group of mammals including monkeys, apes, lemurs, and humans So, many factors went into play as we evolved into modern humans. Anthropologists have different theories as to how and why we evolved in the first place, but I'll only list the main, important ones. Before we get to theories, though, we should talk about something we've accidentally ignored all this time - the climate! During this time, a global cooling was taking place, and it was affecting the environment big time. Rainforests were transitioning into grasslands, and grasslands were transforming into dry, uninhabitable deserts. Make sure to keep this in mind while reading through theories, as c

Introducing anthropology

Hey everyone! For my first post, I'll be talking a bit about biological (physical) anthropology and what it exactly has to do with us. Let's backtrack a bit before we go into that, though. What exactly is anthropology? It's the study of human behavior, culture, biology, and societies. It revolves much around past human species and evolution, and how and why we evolved. There are four main branches of anthropology: cultural, biological, linguistic, and archaeology. I'll do a quick description of each category. Cultural anthropology is the study of cultural variation around the globe, biological anthropology studies the behavioral and biological aspect of humans, linguistic is concerned with human language and how it influences(ed) our social life. Last but not least, archaeology studies humankind from the past to the present. For reference, I'll mostly be focusing on biological anthropology in this blog. So what exactly is biological anthropology? I summarized it abo