Latest John Shea Stories

That human evolution follows a progressive trajectory is one of the most deeply-entrenched assumptions about our species. This assumption is often expressed in popular media by showing cavemen speaking in grunts and monosyllables (the GEICO Cavemen being a notable exception). But is this assumption correct? Were the earliest humans significantly different from us? In a paper published in the latest issue of Current Anthropology, archaeologist John Shea (Stony Brook University) shows they...

By Kevin KrolickiNEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans courts are bracing for the annual Mardi Gras rush when hundreds are arrested for petty crimes, but this year's will strain a criminal justice system critics say has been pushed to crisis by Hurricane Katrina.The municipal court, which handles misdemeanors such as public drunkenness, has been shunted to an area used for suspect line-ups in the storm-damaged House of Detention. The damaged sign on the gray jailhouse reads simply: "House of...