Ancient Traditions (Page 23)

An illustration of a torture horse of the Spanish Donkey or Wooden Horse variety. (Public domain)

1 August, 2022 - 14:58 Sahir

The Spanish Donkey: Medieval History’s Most Horrific Torture Method

Throughout history, two things have remained constant. First, the intermingling of cultures has produced countless local variations of original ideas, be it cuisine, or language, or fashion. Second,...

Portrait of a male Viking wearing fur. Source: Digital Storm / Adobe Stock

30 July, 2022 - 15:01 Sahir

Elite Danish Vikings Wore Beaver Fur as a Status Symbol

A new study has revealed that elite Vikings, specifically highly ranked Danish Vikings, used and wore beaver furs as a means of showing off their exalted social status. This practice is not...

The Weighing of the Heart ritual, shown in the Book of the Dead of Sesostris. Source: Manfred Werner - Tsui / CC BY-SA 3.0

28 July, 2022 - 22:59 Jessica Nadeau

Did the Ancient Egyptians Create Art as a Way to Manifest Reality?

Among the extravagantly decorated tombs and temples that made Egyptian art immortal, there is something obscure. It could even be considered supernatural or otherworldly. Telling the stories of what...

Marble body lines of young naked Roman women of Renaissance Era Source: Neurobite / Adobe Stock)

28 July, 2022 - 14:59 Robbie Mitchell

A Guide to Exploring Love, Sex, and Homosexuality in Ancient Rome

When people think about love and sex in ancient Rome, it tends to be pretty scandalous: orgies here, there, and everywhere! But the truth is rarely black and white. Were the Romans more sexually...

Viking Longboat 'Hugin', Ramsgate. Source: Peter Lelliott / (CC BY-SA 2.0)

27 July, 2022 - 18:57 Mark Brophy

Viking Ships: More than Fearsome Weapons of the Open Seas

Few things struck fear into the hearts of medieval people more than the sight of a fleet of Viking ships sailing up the coast of their homelands. The Viking ship is iconic for its unique style,...

Main: Earliest surviving beadnet dress with the lozenge pattern (CC by SA 3.0). Inset: A bead-net dress. Photo source: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

26 July, 2022 - 19:00 Mark Brophy

Dress like an Egyptian: Fashion, Style and Simplicity in Ancient Egyptian Clothing

The ancient Egyptians may have created some of the most mind-bogglingly complex and intricate monuments known to man, but when it came to clothing, they kept it remarkably simple. Ancient Egyptian...

Two skeletons known as The Lovers of Valdaro (CC BY-SA 4.0)

26 July, 2022 - 14:58 ashley cowie

Activist Group Tells Archaeologists Not to Assume Gender of Ancient Skeletons

Self-declared “anarchist archaeologists” are warning archaeologists not to assume the gender or race of ancient skeletons because they see the categorization of sexes as discriminatory to the dead...

Jan Steen - The Lovesick Maiden [c.1660]. Source: Gandalf’s Gallery/CC BY-SA 2.0

24 July, 2022 - 23:00 Lex Leigh

Fake It Til’ You Make it: A History of the Placebo Effect

One of the most fascinating medical phenomena is the placebo effect. In medicine, a placebo is considered to be any medical treatment that is not “real.” This could be a fake pill, shot, or in some...

Therapist giving acupuncture to a woman. Source: juripozzi / Adobe Stock

23 July, 2022 - 22:59 Molly Dowdeswell

The Evolution of Acupuncture: From Ancient China to Worldwide Recognition

It is commonly believed that acupuncture played a key role in China’s medical history and is often seen as an integral part of China’s traditional health care, at least in the west. However, was this...

A relief depicting the god Anubis attending to the mummy of a worker. The recent study seems to indicate that Egyptian physicians were familiar with stroke victims and how to treat them. Source: Jean Robert Thibault / CC BY-SA 2.0

23 July, 2022 - 14:58 Nathan Falde

Scientists Discover 2,700-Year-Old Ancient Egyptian Stroke Victim

A detailed medical examination of the remains of one Egyptian mummy led to a surprising and unprecedented discovery. A team of researchers from New Jersey University in the United States, Alcalá...

Some information can be gathered about sex in ancient Egypt by viewing scenes from the mastaba tomb of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum at Saqqara in Egypt. Source: Sailingstone / Adobe Stock

22 July, 2022 - 18:52 Robbie Mitchell

Exploring Sex in Ancient Egypt

People often have the strange idea that people in the “olden days” were much more conservative when it came to sex than they are today. However, if modern history tells us anything it is that people...

Alatri acropolis cyclopean wall by the Porta Maggiorre. Source: Laura Tabone

21 July, 2022 - 23:00 Laura Tabone

The Cyclopean Problem: Who Built Italy’s Astounding Ancient Walls?

Megalithic cyclopean masonry is found in many parts of Italy, including Lazio , Abruzzo, Campania, Umbria, Tuscany and Molise. This type of masonry involves fitting together huge differently shaped...

Ground nutmeg, used through history as powerful drug. Source: oksix / Adobe Stock

17 July, 2022 - 23:01 Sahir

Nutmeg Poisoning: A Deadly Addition to the Kitchen Cabinet?

A low-cost, high-risk drug hiding in plain sight – in your kitchen cabinet! This is a highly aromatic spice that can change the trajectory of your food, and is sometimes used as a healing agent in...

Medieval monk praying with a Bible and a rosary. Source: Nomad_Soul / Adobe Stock

17 July, 2022 - 18:56 Lex Leigh

Medieval Monks: The Life and Times of God’s Men in Robes

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a medieval monk? Perhaps you’ve wondered about the reasons behind becoming a monk, or what they do on a daily basis. Monasticism has existed for...

Charles II had a deathbed obsession with King’s Drops, which were made using powdered human skulls. Source: papi8888 / Adobe Stock

16 July, 2022 - 22:56 Sahir

The King’s Drops: Charles II, Powdered Skulls and a Deathbed Obsession

For all of Europe’s pretentions of progress with civil democracies and human rights, the archives are filled with anything but. From the blood of Roman gladiators being sold as a remedy for epilepsy...

Firewalking over hot coals. Source: Tatyana / Adobe Stock

8 July, 2022 - 18:56 Lex Leigh

Hot Trot: The Fascinating Ancient Practice of Firewalking

If you’ve ever seen firewalking in person or online, you may have been amazed by the control and skill of individuals performing such a risky act. Since ancient times, the ability to walk barefoot...

Body odor has been around for as long as we have been and early on civilizations from Egypt to Greece and Europe developed things to keep us smelling clean. Source: Andrey Popov / Adobe Stock

5 July, 2022 - 22:59 Lex Leigh

What’s That Smell? Body Odor Through the Ages!

Consider your home bathroom: you probably have a lot of toiletries in there, such as soap, deodorant, and perfume. In today’s age, these items are associated with cleanliness and health. But were...

This alligator in San Pedro Huamelula, Oaxaca, Mexico is about to be “married” to the mayor! Source: YouTube screenshot / SCMP

5 July, 2022 - 14:59 Nathan Falde

Mexican Mayor Weds Alligator in Colorful Ancient Indigenous Ceremony!

The mayor of the Mexican town of San Pedro Huamelula, in the state of Oaxaca, has just done something pretty extraordinary. In a special wedding ceremony steeped in deep traditional beliefs, Mayor...

4 July, 2022 - 21:04 David Grant

The Problem With Labelling Alexander, The Macedonian King With A Mercurial Character

‘ It is a naive belief that the distant past can be recovered from written texts, but even the written evidence for Alexander is scarce and often peculiar ,’ says Robin Lane Fox in Alexander the...

13th century depiction of hemorrhoid surgery. Source: The British Library / Public Domain

4 July, 2022 - 19:00 Brendan Beatty

Hippocrates Did WHAT to Treat Hemorrhoids?

Did you know that more than half of all people will have to deal with hemorrhoids at least once in their life? Although hemorrhoids are an issue no one looks forward to dealing with, if you ever find...

Coffee beans next to a skull. Source: karnstocks / Adobe Stock

1 July, 2022 - 15:00 Lex Leigh

When Sweden’s King Ordered a Clinical Trial of Coffee on Prisoners

Between Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, coffee is everywhere. If you’re a coffee lover, you may have wondered about how coffee came to be throughout history. In early times, however, some people...

In the Arms of Morpheus - Sir William Ernest Reynolds-Stephens (1862-1943) Source: Fair use

1 July, 2022 - 01:52 Miriam Kamil

Dreams and Prophecy in Ancient Greece

Dreams were very important within the culture of ancient Greece and their connection to concepts of prophecy were explored in the literature of the era. Writers tended to distinguish between two...

A new multidisciplinary study has looked at Roman winemaking from the ground up through the analysis of residues found at the bottom three Roman wine amphorae. A group of amphorae recovered from the sea off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. Source: Salvatore / Adobe Stock

30 June, 2022 - 18:59 Sahir

Secrets of Roman Winemaking Revealed By Pollen-Charcoal Residue Analysis

The Roman empire has historically been associated with wine and winemaking. Now more about just how they produced the beverage that was consumed by practically all in the nation, rich or poor, has...

Backgammon as depicted from the 14th century Codex Manesse. Source: Public domain

29 June, 2022 - 15:00 Mark Brophy

The 5,000-Year-Old Ancient History of Backgammon

Despite its modern popularity, not many know that backgammon is actually one of the oldest board games known to man. The story of backgammon stretches back 5,000 years and around the globe, spanning...