The wicker man is purported to be one of the means by which the ancient druids made human sacrifices. According to a number of classical authors, the druids partook in human sacrifice, though these...
For some time, people have debated whether or not human beings could spontaneously combust, or burst into flames, without an external heat source. However, over the past 300 years, there have been...
Experts in Israel believe that a mysterious group of early humans were using fire to manufacture flint blades and tools up to 300,000 years ago. This discovery has implications for our understanding...
Fire, and learning how to control it, greatly altered the course of human evolution allowing our ancestors to cook food, fight off predators and explore colder climates. Defining when humans first...
Have you ever heard of the “The Hasanlu Lovers?” If not, don’t be too quickly seduced by the exotic and romantic sounding moniker this phenomenon has been awarded. Colorful and amorous images are...
The oldest charcoal remains ever discovered in Mexico have been found submerged in a Yucatán Peninsula cenote. New archaeological evidence from burnt charcoal samples has determined the earliest...
The remains of last year ’ s burning of Paris ’ s Notre-Dame cathedral will be studied by scientists. On April 15 of last year the world froze as an electrical fire destroyed the cathedral’s roof and...
Royal Street of New Orleans’ French Quarter is one of the oldest parts of the city, well-known and liked for the many antique shops, galleries, and sights. It remains a window into the real soul of...
A fire has engulfed an historic castle in Japan. The blaze badly damaged Shuri Castle on the southern island of Okinawa and destroyed much of the complex. This fortress is a UNESCO world heritage...
Fire starting is a skill that many modern humans struggle with in the absence of a lighter or matches. The earliest humans likely harvested fire from natural sources, yet when our ancestors learned...
Every year thousands of Venezuelans hike into the mountains around Chivacoa and practice fire, blood, and smoke rituals as they pay homage to their indigenous goddess - Maria Lionza - who is still...
The Achaemenid Persian Empire is historically important for the Western world because of the influence of the Persian civilization on both the ancient Greeks and the ancient Jews. Because of this...
A fire has badly damaged a historic church in England that dates back to medieval times. The 12 th century church was almost gutted by the fire and its ornate interior destroyed. The local community...
The Amazon fires are uniting rival indigenous cultures against Jair Bolsonaro’s administration in Brazil. When I was young, my brother and I battled tooth and nail with the neighbor’s boys in what...
The fires blazing across the Amazon rainforest in Brazil are devastating. They’re making international headlines and sparking sadness and outrage across the globe as people worry about how the planet...
"In most cases, collapse results from multiple, 'cascading' stress factors—politico-economic, demographic, and sociocultural as well as environmental…relational aspects, arguing that factors such as...
In the Res Gestae Divi Augustus (‘The Deeds of the Divine Augustus’), Augustus demonstrates his piety by stating that he was a member of all four major priesthoods in Rome – the Pontifices, Augures,...
Dubbed ‘Britain’s Pompeii,’ Must Farm is an amazingly well-preserved Bronze Age site in Cambridgeshire, England. The 3,000-year-old site has made international archaeology news headlines time and...
New research suggests that the Eastern United States’ forests have been transformed more by Native American intentional forest fires in the past than by current climate change. But the ‘fire-adapted...
Celtic tribes celebrated Beltane to welcome the return of summer. Since at least the Iron Age, celebrations have included fire ceremonies, feasting, and fertility rites. Historically, the festival...
The destruction of Notre Dame cathedral is lamentable. A wonderful icon has been largely destroyed by fire . However, we should not despair. Part of the reason this loss is so upsetting is because we...
An immense tragedy is currently unfolding in Paris as a fire has broken out in the world-famous Notre-Dame cathedral and is spreading rapidly. Fire fighters are tackling the blaze in the 850-year-old...
The Medieval period is often called (rightly or wrongly) one of the most brutal eras in European history. One of the most notorious features of the Middle Ages was the use of torture. Although...
Saint Christopher's Palace in the Quinta da Boa Vista park, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil had served as residence for both the Portuguese and Brazilian royal families before becoming the...
