It is generally accepted among historians that kissing had no one point of origin, but the habit began as a human trend in different regions. The earliest known written record of romantic saliva...
With the recent pandemic and the still-spreading Covid-19 virus, inoculation has become a hot topic throughout several areas of the world. Regardless of what side you’re on, the history of...
An interdisciplinary team of archaeologists and biologists from Oxford University recently completed a study of parasite infections in ancient Britain. Their exhaustive survey covered a period of...
A team of Norwegian scientists have been tracking the evolution of diseases in medieval bodies. Not only have they added to the understanding of how diseases become pandemics, but they’ve revealed...
For centuries, a commonality across the various monarchies of the world was a direct association between the ruler and a higher power. Kings and queens were seen either as God’s Chosen One or, in...
Two colonies of apes have been discovered suffering from leprosy. The so-called “Leper Apes,” some with gruesome skin lesions and rotting body parts, were found in Guinea-Bissau's Cantanhez National...
It is well-known that modern humans interbred with Neanderthals during the time they co-existed in Europe and Asia. A 2018 study revealed an interesting and intriguing detail about that interbreeding...
Sir Isaac Newton was one of the most influential scientists in world history. He is best-known for his three laws of motion, and his law of universal gravitation. Additionally, he made contributions...
Ghost sickness is the belief that ghosts are able to cause a living person to fall ill. This particular term is used by the Native Americans, especially amongst the Navajo people. Nevertheless, this...
The remains of an ancient hunter-gatherer unearthed long ago at the Rinnukalns archaeological site in Latvia, has tested positive for Yersina pestis, which is better known as the bacteria behind the...
An indigenous people living largely undisturbed in the Bolivian Amazonian rainforest for centuries may hold the key to understanding (and possibly even reversing) the aging process. Previous research...
A team of University of Cambridge researchers have just released the results of their study of cancer incidence in medieval and pre-Industrial Revolution-era Britain. The scientists examined the...
A naturally mummified man was found to have had a grasshopper diet for several months before he died. His body was found in 1937 when a young man called Guy Skiles was exploring in a rock-shelter...
The Thirty Years’ War was a major European war that occurred during the 17th century. While the conflict took place mainly in the area of modern day Germany, it involved many of the great European...
An examination of the skeletal remains of a man from Bronze Age China has produced some astonishing results. Work conducted by the international research team resulted in experts finding one of the...
Research on a 6,000-year-old skeleton has revealed the undeniable presence of the rare genetic disorder known as stone bone disease or osteopetrosis. This discovery will help us to understand the...
In Japan , a graveyard has been unearthed in the heart of Osaka City . The Japanese burial ground is believed to have been an important historic graveyard that dates back several hundred years. The...
The ancient origins of tuberculosis have finally been identified after a team of scientists followed a trail of molecular breadcrumbs through the lung of a Danish mummified bishop . Peder Pedersen...
We have all heard of Bubonic plague , smallpox and typhoid , but between 990 and 1130 AD it is estimated that over 50,000 people died from the so-called “Holy Fire” disease in southern France alone,...
Chinese-Flu, Kung-Flu and now Trump-Flu, according to Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, but now, in the middle of all these politicized pseudonyms names for...
The plague doctor mask is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Black Death. Though the image is iconic the relationship may be a little anachronistic. While plague doctors have been plying...
The internet is awash with comparisons between life during COVID-19 and life during the Bubonic plague . The two have many similarities, from the spread of misinformation and the tracking of...
Just as many now don face masks and do breathing exercises to protect against COVID-19 – despite debates around the science behind such practices – so too did the Islamic world turn to protective...
Every so often, a pandemic emerges that dramatically alters human society. The Black Death (1347 - 1351) was one; the Spanish flu of 1918 was another. Now there’s COVID-19 . Archaeologists have long...