Early Humans Walked on the Wild Side
Some of our earliest ancestors possessed a rather unsteady stride due to subtle anatomical differences. They walked on the wild side as a result.
Legacies on the Land
To fully understand the prehistoric cultures of the Southwest, ASU scientists study how the landscape influenced societal and economic changes. They want to know how these changes, in turn, transformed the landscape.
Life at Pueblo La Plata
Agave plants living in Arizona today are genetic copies of those planted and tended by prehistoric people. Botanist Wendy Hodgson calls them living archaeological features.
A Tale of Two Species
Excavations in a remote Spanish cave suggest that Neanderthals and early modern humans likely engaged in a dramatic cultural overlap 100,000 years in the making.
The Neanderthal Next Door?
Did Neanderthals and early modern humans interact, or even mate? Ana Pinto and her colleagues are shedding light on this mystery.
Early Symbolic Thinking
New artifacts found in Tanzania offer strong evidence that symbolic thinking developed in humans earlier than once thought.
Telling the Human Story
Gwyneira Isaac grew up as the daughter of a famous paleoanthropologist. But her personal passion is not focused on the actual act of discovery at a dig site. Instead, she revels in telling the story behind the dig and explaining what those discoveries mean.
The Urge to Dig
Ask Bill Kimbel about his work in the Afar region of Ethiopia, and you might as well be mentioning the name of a dear old friend. The ASU paleoanthropologist is quick to smile and respond with equal parts passion and commitment.
Writing the Book on Latino Pop Culture
Cordelia Candelaria says the Hispanic population in North America is misunderstood, even among Hispanics. To help change things, she and other ASU scholars have produced the three-volume Encyclopedia of Latina and Latino Culture in the United States.
How to Build an Encyclopedia
Cordelia Candelaria describes the process of creating the Encyclopedia of Latina and Lation Popular Culture.
A Peek Inside
Excerpts from the Encyclopedia of Latina and Latino Popular Culture in the United States.
The Mayan Connection
Archeologists have unearthed new evidence that sheds some light on the mysterious people of Teotihuacan. For one thing, it suggests they had strong ties with the Mayans.
Gnawed Bones Tell Tales
We can learn quite a bit about people from what and how they eat. Much of what we know about our ancient ancestors is tied fo food. Christy Turner has spent a career studying the lives and deaths and eating rituals of the old ones.
Symmetry With Certainty
Archeologists can measure the symmetry of clay pots using PRISM 3D analysis technology.
The Handyman Who Wasn't
Homo habilis was the first hominid to be considered human. The name, loosely translated, means "handyman." But new research shows that habilis may not have been the handyman everyone thinks.
Old Bone Tools Reveal Sharper Image of History
Scientists are using acient bone tools to rewrite human history.
The Art of Digging
When it comes to digging up ancient artifacts, a shovel is an archeologist's worst enemy.
Getting Down to the Bone
Bone analyses transform a dusty artifact into a gripping story.
Culturing Psychotherapy
Joan Koss-Chioino says that psychotherapy is most effective when it takes culture into account.
School of Hard Rocks
Kaye Reed talks about life in a South African field school.
A Walk Through Time
Kaye Reed examines animal fossils to reconstruct the environment that surrounded early humans.
Pyramid of Mystery
Saburo Sugiyama found critical clues about Teotihuacun while excavating the mysterious Pyramid of the Moon.
Lost Beneath the Lake
Glen Rice discovers insghts about the 13th-century Salado civilization during the Roosevelt Mound Platform study.
In Search of a Collapsed Culture
Margaret Nelson and Michelle Hegmon challenge the popular concept of cultural collapse in the Southwest. They have found how the Mimbres people were in the process of becoming a new culture.
Digging for Clues to the Past
Science writer and graduate student Chris Kahn descibes a day on a dig site in New Mexico.
Garbage Shines Like Gold When Digging for History
Members of an ASU winter field school uncovered clues to the origins of ancient civilization in a heap of Bronze Age garbage.
Take Me to Your Weaver
Ethnobotanists study interactions between humans and the plants in their environment.
It's Not Easy Being An Ethnobotanist, Uh, Green
Ethnobotany involves the plants we eat, the fibers we wear, the herbal extracts in our medicines, the trees in buildings that shelter us, and even the flowers we cultivate and cut to beautify our homes.
Lucy Goes to College
Arizona State University becomes the Institute of Human Origins' first academic home since its founding in 1981 by Donald C. Johanson.
Dem Bones, Dem Bones
Charles Merbs is a physical anthropologist. He examines human skeletons to reconstruct a person's life. He is also a forensic anthropologist. He studies skeletal remains to reconstruct a person's death.
Viewing the Rocks
Exhibits at the Deer Valley Rock Art Center explain how petroglyphs were made and how they can be studied and interpreted.
When Cultures Collide
Dorothy Larson uses proton-induced X-ray emission analysis (PIXE) to acquire valuable data without harming ancient pots.
The Better to Eat You With
Brad Archer and John Babiarz use real shark teeth to recreate the giant jaws of a Carcharadon megalodon.
Bullies at Work
Schoolyard bullies do not vanish as we grow into adulthood. They still exist. Only now, the nasty ones have taken root in one of our most important institutions--the workplace.
Bully Profile
The American Workplace Survey provides a glimpse at the prevalence of workplace bullying in the United States.
Humor, Seriously
Humor serves very real and very important psychological and social functions. A pair of ASU English professors study how humor can help us cope, save face, gain status, test limits, or bond with others.
Take My Wife...Please
The husband-and-wife team of Alleen and Don Nilsen have taken their love of laughter to the extreme. The ASU English professors have devoted more than 25 years to humor studies.
Who Cares?
There are plenty of books and videotapes and other resources that offer tips for caregivers. But no one has really studied what is important to these people to find out their biggest needs. ASU gerontologists are working to find those answers.
Elder Care Facts
Facts about aging and elder care in the United States and Arizona
The Greatest Paper Ever Written...
Need to write a research paper? Try these tips for finding information on the Internet.
Warning Labels Don't Stop Teen Drinkers
Warning labels on alcoholic beverages do not curb teen drinking in the long run, says ASU psychologist David MacKinnon.
Flirting 101
Melanie Trost and Jess Alberts study the subtle cues used to attract and display interest and availability between two people.
Champ or Chump?
William Arnold offers advice on how to protect the elderly from direct mail scams.
Scam I Am
You're a winner! A winner? Not likely. Americans lose more than $40 billion per year to sweepstakes scams, according to William Arnold.
Plugging in Electronic Democracy
Steven Corman's research centers on how best to get information from congressmen to constituents.
Embarassing Strategies
Strategic embarrassment has been proven to be a very effective conformity tool.
Roots of Feminism
Cheree Carlson sifts through the origins of American feminism.
Signs of Change
Communication graduate students use a sign language game to improve Alzheimer's patients' ability to communicate with others.
Serious Humor
Excerpts from the Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor
It's All About Hair
In her book "Rapunzel's Daughters," Rose Weitz shows how hairstyle is tangled up with all aspects of life, including sexuality, age, race, social class, health, power and religion.
Humor, Seriously
Humor serves very real and very important psychological and social functions. A pair of ASU English professors study how humor can help us cope, save face, gain status, test limits, or bond with others.
Take My Wife...Please
The husband-and-wife team of Alleen and Don Nilsen have taken their love of laughter to the extreme. The ASU English professors have devoted more than 25 years to humor studies.
Damage: The Health Effects of Abuse
Nurses at ASU's Communith Health Services Clinic have created a health needs survey to tease out the specific health issues affecting abused women and children.
Scary Numbers Tell a Painful Story
Between one and four million women are assaulted by an intimate partner each year. Learn more about the prevalence and effects of domestic violence.
A Voice for Latinas
Vicki Ruiz chronicles the quiet courage of everyday Spanish-speaking women who made lives for themselves and their families in the United States.
Still Struggling to Overthrow Gender Violence
Nancy Felipe Russo has found that women's mental health is closely tied to their experiences with family violence, sexuality and reproduction, and their levels of education and poverty.
Fall in Love with an Idea
ASU's Barbara Kerr has gone from being educated as a gifted girl to studying and nurturing the talents of today's gifted girls and creative adults.
World's Women On-Line!
Muriel Magenta exhibited her interactive cyberspace gallery, The World's Women On-Line at the 1995 United Nations' Conference on Women.
Roots of Feminism
Cheree Carlson sifts through the origins of American feminism.
Dangerously Equal
Lynne Norris studies the effects of mandatory arrest programs on women.
Stop! In the Name of Love
Kathleen Ferraro explores violence in intimate relationships.
Girlhood in America
Mary Rothschild researches the history of the Girl Scout program.
A Woman of History
Mary Rothschild is among the first generation of scholars who worked to create and develop women’s studies as an independent discipline.
Serious Humor
Excerpts from the Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor
The Pros of Positive Parenting
Some parents worry that their influence starts to fade around the middle school years. But new research shows that parenting style continues to make a big impression on children's emotional adjustment, even into adolescence.
Drawing the Lines
Richard Fabes and Carol Martin say that fundamental differences in gender interaction may be rooted in early childhood playground activities.
Household Chores--The Never-Ending Battle
Sampson Lee Blair's research offers compelling reasons for parents to assign their chidren houshold chores.
Keeping Divorced Dads Involved Benefits Kids
Noncustodial parents who are allowed a high level of involvement in their children's lives provide greater financial support, according to a new study.
Champ or Chump?
William Arnold offers advice on how to protect the elderly from direct mail scams.
Fathers Without Fail
Bill Griffin and Sanford Braver work to reduce post-marital conflict, the single best predictor of long-term outcomes for children of divorce.
Preventing Problems
The best thing parents can do for their children is to prevent problems before they become acute. ASU's Marriage and Family Clinic offers low-cost, high-quality counseling for Maricopa County residents.
Wonder Moms and Healthy Kids
Sharlene Wolchik and Irwin Sandler help mothers and their children cope with the stress that follows divorce.
Social Structure on the Playground
When children have a choice, they choose to play with members of their own sex. It's cute, in a cooties sort of way. Who would you rather play with?
You Played With Who?
School-aged children show a distinct interest in same-sex playmates, according to researcher Carol Martin.
Ten Keys to Unlocking Temperament
Shirley Rees-McGee worked with 15 pediatric nurses and more than 600 Arizona families in the Temperament Intervention for Parents Study.
Taking the Temperament
Nancy Melvin helps parents understand their child's temperament through the Temperament Intervention for Parents Study.
The Earth Moved
Half a million years ago, a giant landslide careened down the side of the McDowell Mountains near Phoenix. ASU geographers say that if development keeps undercutting local mountain ranges, another slide could devastate local communities.
Aging Arizona
The age structure of Arizona and the United States is changing radically. John Stuart Hall directs "The Coming of Age" project. He says where you grow old might make all the difference.
Time Marches On--Relentlessly
By 2025, Arizona's population will number almost 8 million. Almost 20 percent of these people will be over 65. The Morrison Institute for Public Policy studies how these changes will affect the state.
Mapping the Roots of Sneezing and Wheezing
Billions and trillions of bits of pollen fill the air in central Arizona every spring and fall. Different types of pollen affect people in different ways. ASU scientists are working to map where the different types of pollen are.
Living Under the Carbon Dioxide Dome
Metropolitan Phoenix lies under a dome of carbon dioxide. Researchers at ASU are using the city to help predict the effects of rising CO2 worldwide.
Learning Skills and River Dynamics
Students are getting hands-on research experience using Geographic Information Systems software while studying the history of the Salt River.
Circle of Migration
Kevin McHugh and Robert Mings examine the experience of mobility and place as it relates to growing older in America.
Boning Up From Life
Ray and Jean Sol served as teachers and fellow students while homeschooling their daughter, Jennifer.
Mapping Student Daydreams
Jean Sol's place perception study identified three main parameters that determine their desire to live in a certain location.
Who's Driving All Those Cars In Phoenix?
Jennifer Sol's study of commuters revealed an unexpected pattern in single occupant vehicle usage.
Requiem for Singing Geese
Thanks to diligent scholarship, music and song preserved in a rare medieval text is being performed and once again after a 500-year respite.
The Real George Washington
No one knows for sure what George Washington looked like, especially when he was young. Now, a group of researchers are working to reconstruct our first president and produce the most realistic replicas of Washington to date.
Philo's Passion
Philo T. Farnsworth was a farm boy who would eventually change the world, as the inventor of the television. Don Godfrey chronicles his life in a new book.
A Voice for Latinas
Vicki Ruiz chronicles the quiet courage of everyday Spanish-speaking women who made lives for themselves and their families in the United States.
Cultural Evolution
Navajo history is one of the notable success stories of Native American people, according to historian Peter Iverson.
Still Kickin'--Route 66 Revisited
Old Route 66 was much more than just a road. It was a bonafide part of American history.
The Workingman's Road
Route 66 was "the route of big dreams and rude awakenings," says Angel Delgadillo, who grew up along the historical road.
Burning Issues
Stephen J. Pyne knows that a humanless fire ecology is like the ideal, frictionless surface of theoretical physics: It doesn' t exist.
Cold War Leftovers
Janelle Warren-Findley documents America's Cold War history at military sites in the United States and overseas.
Girlhood in America
Mary Rothschild researches the history of the Girl Scout program.
Media Fear Mongers Among Us Always Cry Wolf
Opinion polls indicate that Americans are fearful despite evidence that we are healthier, safer and happier than Ever. David Altheide points to the mass media as fear-mongers.
Morality Plays Revisited
The problem frame is a structural bias that gets incorporated into news because of the way news is covered in our fast-moving information society.
Philo's Passion
Philo T. Farnsworth was a farm boy who would eventually change the world, as the inventor of the television. Don Godfrey chronicles his life in a new book.
Fade to White
Joe Foote has found that the percentage of women reporting for network news programs has fallen since 1998.
Still Kickin'--Route 66 Revisited
Old Route 66 was much more than just a road. It was a bonafide part of American history.
The Workingman's Road
Route 66 was "the route of big dreams and rude awakenings," says Angel Delgadillo, who grew up along the historical road.
Come Together
The coming superappliance will combine features found in computers, televisions, telephones, CD players, and almost everything electronic.
Media Fear Mongers Among Us Always Cry Wolf
Opinion polls indicate that Americans are fearful despite evidence that we are healthier, safer and happier than Ever. David Altheide points to the mass media as fear-mongers.
Morality Plays Revisited
The problem frame is a structural bias that gets incorporated into news because of the way news is covered in our fast-moving information society.
A Matter of Rape
Owen Jones studies biobehavioral theories of rape and how they impact the American legal system.
Putting It All Together
Scholars at ASU's Center for the Study of Law, Science and Technology take on the challenges presented by new technological developments.
A Shadow of Doubt
David Kaye and James Strick discuss the value and use of DNA databanks.
Come Together
The coming superappliance will combine features found in computers, televisions, telephones, CD players, and almost everything electronic.
Grazing Habitats to Death
Robert Ohmart describes the riparian areas in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness as "beat to hell by domestic livestock grazing."
Dangerously Equal
Lynne Norris studies the effects of mandatory arrest programs on women.
Robo Reference: From Dewey Decimal to Digital
In the library of the year 2000, "point and click" will probably outnumber "pick and ponder" by huge degrees. Sherrie Schmidt talks about technology's impact on library systems.
Patten Collection Takes Root at Hayden Libabry
Hayden Library has sprouted a lush collection of about 150 herbals and early gardening books dating as far back as 1485.
Teaching the World's Teachers
Four ASU researchers have designed the "War in a Box" system, a leading-edge multimedia educational program for Air Force Pilots.
Legos and Logistics
Napoleon's army traveled on its stomach. Ted Lewis and Jeffrey Cochran say that today's modern military force travels on its spare parts.
Political Campaigns, Yanqui Style
Bruce Merrill explains the differences between the politics of Mexico and the United States.
Politics, Power, and Pesos
Julie Murphy Erfani considers the implications of Mexico City's politics to be profound. She studies the changing cultural, economic, and political dimension of urban life in Mexico City.
When Politics and Science Collide
High-level nuclear waste will remain dangerously radioactive for 100 centuries. That is nearly twice as long as the existing recorded history of humankind. What is a planet to do?
Plugging in Electronic Democracy
Steven Corman's research centers on how best to get information from congressmen to constituents.
Political Access On-line
Technology is making government a lot more accessible to the people.
The Pros of Positive Parenting
Some parents worry that their influence starts to fade around the middle school years. But new research shows that parenting style continues to make a big impression on children's emotional adjustment, even into adolescence.
Influence
Robert Cialdini studies the power of persuasion. He has found six basic principles of influence used by salespeople, leaders, non-profit organizations and anyone else looking to influence others.
Avoiding Mixed Messages
Psychologist Robert Cialdini says that sometimes, attempts to change negative behaviors can backfire. If you show lots of people doing unhealthy things, it spreads the message that such behavior is popular.
The Human Factor
Model airplane enthusiasts don't think twice about the power that rests in the palm of their hands. But what happens when the remotely controlled aircraft weighs 1,130 pounds, includes a weapons payload, costs more than $40 million, and is controlled by multiple operators in different locations? Researchers at ASU East's Department of Applied Psychology want to know.
Appetite for Flight
Roger Schvaneveldt admits that eight months of flying lessons and a myriad of solo flights played a key role in his success with recent pilot-related research in applied psychology.
A Dose of Reality
In the world of flight simulation, the task of creating realistic computer-animated backdrops and textures is more complicated than simply adding a dose of realism to the screen. ASU applied psychologist Rob gray is learning what works.
Zen and the Art of Golf
Does your golf game suffer from sudden jerks and twitches that ruin a shot? You might be a little mentally unbalanced.
Culturing Psychotherapy
Joan Koss-Chioino says that psychotherapy is most effective when it takes culture into account.
PETs Check Your Brain
PET imaging helps monitor treatment in Alzheimer's patients
Warning Labels Don't Stop Teen Drinkers
Warning labels on alcoholic beverages do not curb teen drinking in the long run, says ASU psychologist David MacKinnon.
Are You Frugal, Or Just Cheap?
John Lastovicka has discovered that frugality is not as prevalent today as it was in the past.
A Gene to Clean
Carol Nemeroff explains why humans have a need to clean during spring.
Of Magic Shows and Lecture Halls
Nancy Felipe Russo knows the value of classroom teaching, and teaching undergraduates requires much more than a daily magic act.
Still Struggling to Overthrow Gender Violence
Nancy Felipe Russo has found that women's mental health is closely tied to their experiences with family violence, sexuality and reproduction, and their levels of education and poverty.
Fathers Without Fail
Bill Griffin and Sanford Braver work to reduce post-marital conflict, the single best predictor of long-term outcomes for children of divorce.
Preventing Problems
The best thing parents can do for their children is to prevent problems before they become acute. ASU's Marriage and Family Clinic offers low-cost, high-quality counseling for Maricopa County residents.
Wonder Moms and Healthy Kids
Sharlene Wolchik and Irwin Sandler help mothers and their children cope with the stress that follows divorce.
The Ticking Inside
Peter Killeen works full time to answer questions about our innate sense of time.
Advice for the Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama invited Nancy Eisenberg to discuss altruism, ethics, and compassion at a 1995 conference.
Plowing Toward Safety
When it comes to operating heavy snow removal equipment, practice makes perfect. Not surprisingly, the regions with the least snowfall do not necessarily have the lowest accident rates.
A Recipe for Disaster Preparedness
Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) let citizen volunteers help their communities in a disaster. Rob Gresser is interested in in getting professionals, volunteers and academics together to promote the best emergency response possible.
Managing Emergencies
The Emergency Management program at ASU East merges the classroom with the community to provide the best solutions for real-world problems.
Aging Arizona
The age structure of Arizona and the United States is changing radically. John Stuart Hall directs "The Coming of Age" project. He says where you grow old might make all the difference.
Time Marches On--Relentlessly
By 2025, Arizona's population will number almost 8 million. Almost 20 percent of these people will be over 65. The Morrison Institute for Public Policy studies how these changes will affect the state.
A View From On High
Mars Global Surveyor's remote-sensing technology helps the City of Scottsdale plan improvement and save money.
A Think Tank that Takes Action
Founded in 1981 through a grant from Marvin and June Morrison, the Morrison Institute for Public Policy was charged specifically with providing objective research that could help shape public policy.
Shadow City
The mandate: Engage in applied urban research, then provide direct technical assistance and outreach programs that help people to improve their lives.
Price of Pollution
Can you put a price on the air you breathe? According to ASU sociologists, it has already been done. Lower income neighborhoods are more likely to be close to environmental hazards and industrial pollution sources than more expensive homes.
It's All About Hair
In her book "Rapunzel's Daughters," Rose Weitz shows how hairstyle is tangled up with all aspects of life, including sexuality, age, race, social class, health, power and religion.
Scary Numbers Tell a Painful Story
Between one and four million women are assaulted by an intimate partner each year. Learn more about the prevalence and effects of domestic violence.
Fighting for Air
The residents of the Homedale neighborhood in Phoenix are no strangers to community activism. Now, they are working with ASU researchers to uncover possible environmental causes for health problems in their area.
Unnatural Disasters
Robert Bolin studies the cultural, political, and economic aspects of natural disasters.
Household Chores--The Never-Ending Battle
Sampson Lee Blair's research offers compelling reasons for parents to assign their chidren houshold chores.
Flirting 101
Melanie Trost and Jess Alberts study the subtle cues used to attract and display interest and availability between two people.
Circle of Migration
Kevin McHugh and Robert Mings examine the experience of mobility and place as it relates to growing older in America.
The Numbers Crunch
Deborah Sullivan focuses on how a change in demographic structure affects societal issues.
Migration on Their Minds
Morris Okun takes steps to meet the education needs of practitioners who serve older adults.
A Question of Sexual Orientation
Frederick Whitam seeks answers to questions related to the broad issue of sexual orientation across cultures.
Supporting the Biological Link
Frederick Whitam's research results support the idea that there may be a biological basis for sexual orientation.
Classroom as Laboratory
Mary Laner and Neil Russell examine students' expectations of marriage.
Marriage Mythology
Mary Laner deflates unrealistic expectations of marriage.
Quiz: Before You Walk the Aisle
Take Mary Laner's pop quiz to find out if you're ready to get married.