*UPDATE: On March 30, 2021, a press release announced that the Collegiate Court of Circuit in Work and Administration Matters had reversed the decision to suspend activity on Sections 1,…
In February 2020, lightning struck Figure of Eight Island in Western Australia’s Recherche Archipelago, igniting a fire that burned through most of its vegetation in just a few days. While…
Two Māori iwi, or tribal groups, are campaigning for a portion of the New Zealand government’s new COVID-19 economic stimulus package to help save their treasured, ancestral Raukūmara Forest from…
BONTOC, Philippines — Each weekend since March, no one has crossed the boundary into the town of Bauko, in the northern Philippine region of Cordillera. The prohibition, a municipal advisory,…
OAHU, Hawaii — Tucked at the base of the Ko’olau Mountains on the eastern side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu lies He’eia fishpond. Built around 800 years ago by…
A massive fire ravaged Brazil’s National Museum (Museu Nacional) in Rio de Janeiro on the night of Sept. 2. The losses to the country’s oldest scientific institution and its approximately…
Intact forests are among the few places on earth where native trees and animals can fulfill their ecological roles outside the influence of industrial humankind. Some interpret “intact” to mean…
Citizens of Indonesia and the world today can feel the impact of two centuries of unsustainable exploitation of nature. But few have associated problems like climate change, mass extinction and…
ncovering the history of human habitation in the Amazon rainforest is challenging. The humid, tropical climate and dynamic forest landscape, where organic materials decay rapidly, can be an enemy of…
Media coverage of ruins raises controversy among scientists, but leads to stepped-up protection efforts in long-neglected region Temple at Tikal, a Mayan city in Guatemala. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.…
Indigenous group hopes the monument will help them protect an embattled Amazon reserve A still from the film, The Reunion, showing the Rostro Harakbut. A new short film documents the…
The Amazon forest along the Tambopata River in Peru. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. A study last month in the journal Science argued that pre-Columbian peoples had little impact on…
Researchers have uncovered corncobs dating back at least 3,000 years ago in two ancient mound sites in Peru according to a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of…
The Maya city of Tulum. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Researchers have garnered further evidence for a smoking gun behind the fall of the great Maya civilization: deforestation. At the…
Around 60,000 years ago the ancestors of modern African Pygmies, known worldwide for their small-stature, separated from local farmer populations, according to new genetic research published in PLoS Genetics. The…
Killers of renowned anthropologist sentenced in Brazil Killers of renowned anthropologist sentenced in Brazil mongabay.com July 12, 2007 The men charged with the 2005 killing of University of Vermont anthropology…
Peanuts, cotton, squash first farmed in Peru 6,000-10,000 years ago Peanuts, cotton, squash first farmed in Peru 6,000-10,000 years ago mongabay.com June 28, 2007 Anthropologists have discovered the earliest-known evidence…
Polynesians brought chickens to Americas before Columbus Polynesians brought chickens to Americas before Columbus Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com June 4, 2007 New DNA analysis shows that Polynesians introduced chickens to…
Did asteroid wipe out America's first people? Did asteroid wipe out America's first people? New evidence suggests extraterrestrial cause for disappearance of Clovis culture mongabay.com May 17, 2007 An asteroid…
Ancient Amazonian technology could save the world Ancient Amazonian technology could save the world mongabay.com May 17, 2007 Terra preta, the ancient charcoal-based soil used by ancient Amazonians to create…
Fires are nothing new to the Amazon reports a study published in the journal Biotropica. Analyzing soils in the interior of Guyana, South America, a team of scientists led by…
Chili peppers came from Ecuadorian rainforests 6,100 years ago Chili peppers came from Ecuadorian rainforests 6,100 years ago mongabay.com February 15, 2007 Chili peppers were first cultivated 6,100 years in…
Lost civilization found in Peru Lost civilization found in Peru mongabay.com January 19, 2007 Explorers have found ruins of a little known civilization deep in the cloud forests of the…
Bison-hunting Plains indians more advanced than thought Bison-hunting Plains indians more advanced than thought mongabay.com August 15, 2006 A controversial new theory argues that ancient plains Indians may have developed…
Amazon Stonehenge suggests advanced ancient rainforest culture Amazon Stonehenge suggests advanced ancient rainforest culture By Rhett Butler, mongabay.com May 14, 2006 (modified from an earlier article) The discovery of an…
Easter Island settled around 1200, later than originally believed Easter Island settled around 1200, later than originally believed Rhett Butler, mongabay.com March 13, 2006 New evidence suggests that colonization of…
Evidence of early corn cultivation and agricultural trade uncovered in Peru Evidence of early corn cultivation uncovered in Peru Agricultural trade thrived thousands of years ago Rhett Butler, mongabay.com March…
Large Maya mural showing ancient mythology uncovered in Guatemala Large Maya mural showing ancient mythology uncovered in Guatemala University of New Hampshire December 13, 2005 WASHINGTON/GUATEMALA CITY — Archaeologists at…
