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Michael Laxer
Aug 5, 20246 min read
The Role of Ancient DNA in Modern Traits
Ancient human retrovirus DNA could be one of the markers of susceptibility to mental illness—specifically schizophrenia, bipolar...
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Michael Laxer
Aug 3, 20246 min read
Community in Motion
Bike co-ops uphold a tradition of self-empowerment through cycling. Vegasjon, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4....
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Michael Laxer
Aug 3, 20245 min read
The Undemocratic Reality of Capitalism
Composite By Richard D. Wolff Fans of capitalism like to say it is democratic or that it supports democracy. Some have stretched language...
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Michael Laxer
Jun 19, 20246 min read
Can Teething Predict How Fast You Will Grow?
By Brenna R. Hassett, Human Bridges We know that humans live relatively long lives, and we certainly know that we spend a larger...
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Michael Laxer
Jun 18, 20246 min read
Facing a Surge in Wildfires, the U.S. Government Turned to Native Wisdom and Advanced Archaeology
Collaborative efforts between forest agencies and Indigenous communities are improving wildfire management by combining oral histories...
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Michael Laxer
May 22, 20245 min read
Some Myths Regarding the Genesis of Enterprise
Not only were “modern” elements of enterprise present and even dominant already in Mesopotamia in the third millennium BC, but the...
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Michael Laxer
May 15, 20247 min read
Seven Features of Ancient Enterprise
The changing context for enterprise through the centuries reminds us that business activities are not universal but fluid and alter...
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Michael Laxer
May 11, 20246 min read
Parallels Between Archaic Entrepots and Modern Offshore Banking Centers
Offshore banking and tax-avoidance centers are nothing new; they’ve been with us for millennia. Singapore skyline at night - Bijay...
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Michael Laxer
May 3, 20246 min read
Seeing Red: Our Ancient Relationship With Ocher and the Color of Cognition
Extensive ocher use reflects the culture and cognitive abilities of early humans, who inherited an affinity for red from primate...
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Michael Laxer
Apr 26, 20245 min read
What Does Play Tell Us About Human Evolution?
By Brenna R. Hassett Our species devotes a singular amount of time to an utterly unserious aspect of life: play. This begs the question:...
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Michael Laxer
Apr 16, 20248 min read
Property and Debt in Ancient Rome
The Roman concept of property is essentially creditor-oriented. As Rome’s power grew, practices quickly became predatory. House of the...
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Michael Laxer
Apr 12, 202410 min read
A Class Analysis of the Trump-Biden Rerun
Amaury Laporte, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons By Richard D. Wolff By “class system” we...
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Michael Laxer
Apr 12, 20247 min read
Why Culture Is Not the Only Tool for Defining Homo sapiens in Relation to Other Hominins
We need a broad comparative lens to produce useful explanations and narratives of our origins across time. An ancient skull excavated...
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Michael Laxer
Apr 9, 202415 min read
The Myth That India’s Freedom Was Won Nonviolently Is Holding Back Progress
Some struggles can be kept nonviolent, but decolonization never has been—certainly not in India. Public domain image of Gandhi leaving a...
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Michael Laxer
Apr 6, 20246 min read
How Elite Infighting Made the Magna Carta
Although the Magna Carta typically is depicted as the birth of England’s fight to create democracy, the 13th-century struggle was to...
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Michael Laxer
Mar 11, 20248 min read
Debt Forgiveness in the Bronze Age
Whether in the realms of trade or agriculture, the operative principle was that debtors should not lose their economic liberty by being...
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Michael Laxer
Mar 9, 20247 min read
The Great Archaeological Discovery of Our Time
An interview with renowned archaeologist Gary M. Feinman on the emergence of a global data set from our past that humanity can use to...
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Michael Laxer
Mar 6, 20245 min read
Empire Decline and Costly Delusions
President of Russia Vladimir Putin and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping, March 2023 -- Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0...
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Michael Laxer
Mar 6, 20246 min read
Discarding Old Theories on the Path to Finding the First Humans Outside Africa
Spectacular archeological finds reveal the true past of the first Europeans. Atapuerca, Gran Dolina excavation -- Malopez 21, CC BY-SA...
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Michael Laxer
Mar 2, 20244 min read
The Adaptive Value of Teenagers: How Peer Learning Contributes to Primate Success
By Brenna R. Hassett Anthropological science is our species’ attempt to address our most fundamental questions about who we are and how...
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