How Did Anthropology Begin?

The history and roots of anthropology can be difficult to trace but if you want to know how the methodology evolved then this video is for you.  It traces the study of various aspects of humans within past and present societies to its modern roots when the question what does it mean to be human was first asked in a particular way.

This entertaining and educative animation was created by Visual Effects and Motion Graphics compositor Glyn Jenkins for the School of Anthropology of the University of Wales.

The Lucky Tree of Chapel Rock

Nature can take hold in precarious places.  Chapel Rock on Lake Superior has a single tree perched atop its column.  By rights the tree should not be there: the small surface area of land on the top of the rock is insufficient to sustain a tree of this size.

There is hardly any topsoil, certainly not enough for an obviously thriving tree. How then does it flourish?