In the beginning there was Anthropology.

And it was good.

[ted]

Well, that was easy.

You just learned 8 Chinese words in the cutest way possible.

When TED speaker ShaoLan Hsueh tried to teach her children Chinese, she realized just how hard it is for new learners to grasp. So she created a series of illustrations to make the beautiful, often complex characters easier to remember. It makes learning Chinese … wait for it … Chineasy.

Try Chineasy for yourself and watch her full talk here »

[smithsonian]

Got a case of the post-holiday-weekend Tuesdays? The Smithsonian’s National Zoo Asian small-clawed otters wrote this little ditty to cheer you up. The keyboard is part of the Zoo’s enrichment program: activities designed to allow animals to demonstrate their species-typical behavior, to allow them exercise control or choice over their environment and to enhance their well-being. While they most likely wouldn’t encounter a keyboard in the wild, the activity engages their sight, touch and hearing senses. 

This week, the Zoo is sharing stories of #ZooEnrichment on their Twitter & Facebook

[anthroprofessor]

Nothing can brighten you day as much as seeing otters play the keyboards.

[anthroprofessor]

How Napoleon Chagnon Became Our Most Controversial Anthropologist

Napoleon Chagnon tramped through a rain forest, uncovering the lives of indigenous tribes. But to some, he’s anything but a hero.

[anthroprofessor]

In Korea, Changes in Society and Family Dynamics Drive Rise in Elderly Suicides

The number of suicides among people 65 and older has nearly quadrupled in recent years, ranking the country’s rate of such deaths among the highest in the developed world.

[anthroprofessor]

In China, Families Bet It All on a Child in College

Millions of Chinese sacrifice heavily for their children’s education, but as graduates saturate the job market, the security they seek is increasingly elusive.

[anthroprofessor]

The Average American Knows How Many People?

Researchers used a clever method to estimate the size of the average social network.

[anthroprofessor]

In Nepal, Buddhists Reconstruct Tibetan Murals

A project aimed at restoring the artwork of two sites in Lo Manthang, Nepal, has trained a team of local residents to revise historic works.

[anthroprofessor]

The Learning Virtues

A book on education cultures finds that the Chinese tend to define learning morally while Westerns define it cognitively.

[anthroprofessor]

Internet Marriages on Rise in Some Immigrant Communities

Some international couples are marrying by proxy over the Internet, a practice so new that immigration authorities say they do not typically watch for it in their efforts to detect fraud.

[anthroprofessor]

Who Lives Longest?

What Swedish babies and the Stone Age can teach us about life expectancy and income inequality.

[anthroprofessor]

Study in Science Shows Monkeys Pick Up Social Cues

A study published in Science showed that monkeys conditioned to eat a certain color corn switched to a disliked color when other monkeys were eating it.

[anthroprofessor]

Consuming Colonists

What recent evidence of cannibalism at Jamestown tells us about the earliest English settlements.

[anthroprofessor]

What Our Words Tell Us

Gradual shifts in language use over the centuries reflect tectonic shifts in culture.

[anthroprofessor]

From a Neanderthal Molar, Scientists Infer Early Weaning

Patterns of barium in the fossil tooth of a child indicate that breast-feeding ended after 1.2 years, researchers say — much sooner than in modern nonindustrial populations.

[anthroprofessor]

Mountain Populations Offer Clues to Human Evolution

When people moved to high altitudes, they experienced natural selection that has reworked their biology and allowed them to cope with low oxygen levels.

[anthroprofessor]

A Village Invents a Language All Its Own

A linguist has concluded that a new language, with unique grammatical rules, has come into existence, created by children in a remote area of Australia.

[anthroprofessor]

Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught?

If everybody knows that test scores and grades aren’t the keys to success, how do we teach, and measure, the things that are?