Native American Blankets Made With Dog Hair

Native American Blankets Made With Dog Hair

To Native Americans known as the Coast Salish, the hair of the dog isn't a dubious hangover cure—it's a key ingredient in the large, beautiful blankets woven by their ancestors more than a century ago. A molecular analysis of some of these venerable textiles now confirms they are made partly of yarn spun from the fur of an unusual canine, verifying oral accounts handed down through the Pacific Northwest tribe over generations.

Ötzi the Iceman may have smashed eye in fall

Ötzi the Iceman may have smashed eye in fall

A sharp incision in his right eye may have contributed to the rapid demise of Ötzi the Iceman, the famous mummy who died in the Italian Alps more than 5,000 years ago.

Twenty years after two hikers stumbled upon the Iceman in a melting glacier, new analyses have revealed that a deep cut likely led to heavy bleeding in the man's eye. In the cold, high-altitude conditions where he was found, that kind of injury would have been tough to recover from.

Anthropologist Narrows Down History Of Animal And Human Relationship

Anthropologist Narrows Down History Of Animal And Human Relationship

Anthropologist Pat Shipman says that when our prehistoric ancestors began interacting with animals they developed empathy for them. The leading American anthropologist says these ancient humans’ relationships with animals helped propel humanity towards global domination.

Monkey Moms Are Key To Sons’ Reproductive Success

Link: Monkey Moms Are Key To Sons’ Reproductive Success

If you are a male human, nothing puts a damper on romantic success like having your mother in tow. If you are a male northern muriqui monkey, however, mom’s presence may be your best bet to find and successfully mate with just the right girl at the right time.

In a study of wild primates, reported this week (Nov. 7, 2011) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison anthropologist Karen B. Strier describes a monkey society where equality and tolerance rule and where sexually mature males, still living at home, seem to get helpful access to mates by the mere presence of their mothers and other maternal kin.