News

Harvard Gazette: Harvard faculty recognized by the National Academy of Sciences, April 29, 2026

Learn more about how we’re persevering in our study of the human past, despite funding cuts. Harvard Gazette: “Funding cuts upend projects piecing together saga of human history,” by Christy DeSmith, August 9, 2025. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/08/funding-cuts-upend-projects-piecing-together-saga-of-human-history/

Check out this new article in The Scientist about our ancient dental calculus research! The Scientist: Sneha Khedkar, “Ancient dental plaque unearths prehistoric people’s lifestyles,” August 8, 2025. https://www.the-scientist.com/ancient-dental-plaque-unearths-prehistoric-people-s-lifestyle-73245

Learn more about how federal funding cuts are hollowing out American archaeology. Science analyzes how canceled and curtailed federal grants are impacting research, collections, and training Science: “Funding cuts to U.S. archaeology could imperil field’s […]

Harvard Gazette: “History of Chichén Itzá written in DNA,” by Christy DeSmith on June 14, 2024. The article is also available in Spanish! “La historia de Chichén Itzá escrita en el ADN.”

Washington Post: “DNA reveals surprise about the children ancient Mayans chose to sacrifice,” by Victoria Bisset, June 14, 2024.

NPR: “A surprising history of malaria is revealed by clues from ancient bones,” by Melody Schreiber, June 13, 2024.

New York Times: “Ancient Genomes Reveal Which Children the Maya Selected for Sacrifice,” by Freda Kreier, June 12 ,2024.

Harvard Gazette: “Tracking entwined histories of malaria, humans,” by Christy DeSmith, June 12, 2024.

Science: “Oldest malaria cases reveal how humans spread the disease across the globe,” by Andrew Curry, June 12, 2024.