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History

From the powerful civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley, to the fearsome yet sophisticated society of the Vikings, the ancient world was a surprising and challenging place. Here we feature some of the most seminal and influential events and people throughout history, that have helped shape the world we know today.

‘Creation of Man’, (Public Domain) Cosmos (Public Domain); Deriv.
12 July, 2017 - 15:30 jim willis

Science Versus Religion on Our Ancient Origins: What if They’re Both Wrong?

"The universe began when God said, 'Let there be light'!" "No, the universe began with the big bang!" "God created life as we know it largely in the forms we now recognize!" "No, evolution is the key...
Wisconsin Community Pharmacy supply of natural remedies
12 July, 2017 - 13:58 aprilholloway

Modern Science Confirms Ancient Chinese Remedy Provides Effective Non-Addictive Pain Relief

With innovations appearing in our lives seemingly every day it seems that new breakthroughs in science are the only ones we trust. New is always considered better. With this prevalent thinking those...
11 July, 2017 - 19:07 Greg Sams

The Greatest Discovery Never Made – Ancient Civilizations Thrived With NO Ruling Elite

There is a remarkable discovery that has not yet emerged from our renewed interest in ancient civilization. Yet few remark upon this glaring omission from the relics and records we dig up and...
Satyr Playing the Pipe (Jupiter's Childhood) (fragment) Jacob Jordaens 1639
10 July, 2017 - 18:58 Riley Winters

War, Death and the Wrath of Gods: How Satyr Plays Helped Ancient Greeks Cope With Life

Before Shakespeare, there were the Greeks. The infamous "all the world's a stage" quote attributed to the Elizabethan writer in the 16th century far more accurately describes the world of ancient...
Dramatic mask with tusks and feathers, Ninghai, Zhejiang, China
10 July, 2017 - 15:39 MartiniF

Ferocious Beast-Head Masks, Heavy Robes & Swirling Colors: What are the Unspoken Messages in Ancient Chinese Opera?

In “Civilization of China” (1911), Herbert Giles wrote that “for pleasure pure and simple, independent of gains and losses, the theater occupies the warmest place in every Chinaman's heart”. The fact...
Ruins of Pompeii seen from the above with a drone, with the Vesuvius in the background
10 July, 2017 - 01:57 aprilholloway

A Diet of Delicacies for the People of Pompeii Included Giraffe and Sea Urchin

Several years ago, surprising discoveries were made in a study , which drew on the findings of a sizable excavation of an area of Pompeii. The study, which was presented to the Archaeological...
The Flammarion engraving.
9 July, 2017 - 23:12 Sam Bostrom

The Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: Were Humans the First? Part 3: Science in Antiquity

The achievements by modern science are phenomenal. But with our background of spaceships, skyscrapers, wonder drugs, and atomic reactors we are apt to minimize the scientific accomplishments of the...
Before Antibiotics: Ancient Medical Procedures That Still Baffle Scientists
8 July, 2017 - 22:59 ancient-origins

Before Antibiotics: Ancient Medical Procedures That Still Baffle Scientists

In the modern age, when we think of surgery, we think of doctors working in sterile environments using finely crafted tools on an anesthetised patient. That was not always the case. Early surgical...
This Too Shall Pass: Will Jinichi Kawakami Be the Last of the Ninjas?
8 July, 2017 - 14:01 Riley Winters

This Too Shall Pass: Will Jinichi Kawakami Be the Last of the Ninjas?

The ninja warriors seen in Hollywood are, sadly, born more of myth than reality. Truths were exaggerated and those exaggerations misconstrued as fact. One cannot wholly blame the screenwriters or...
10 Secrets About Ancient Greece That Are Rarely Recounted
8 July, 2017 - 02:01 Mia Stokes

10 Secrets About Ancient Greece That Are Rarely Recounted

The ancient Greeks have contributed so much to modern civilization, especially regarding education, philosophy, science, art, politics, and language, among other things. But, their legacy does not...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji (Photo credits: Heidi Kontkanen, Oliviero Piccinali, and Julian Tuffs); Deriv.
7 July, 2017 - 22:30 anand balaji

Akhenaten: Imperishable Art of an Iconoclast: Age of Extravagance in Amarna—Part II

The monuments Akhenaten constructed were no less impressive than those of his father, Amenhotep III. But all his buildings were dismantled and destroyed during the Amarna backlash—including the city...
Little Known Links Between Spirits You Drink and the Holy Spirit
7 July, 2017 - 19:01 Scott Rank

Little Known Links Between Spirits You Drink and the Holy Spirit

Beer may have been invented by the ancient Egyptians, but it was perfected in medieval monasteries, which gave us modern brewing as we know it. They also pioneered and improved several methods of...
Magu, Goddess of Longevity and immortal hemp maiden
7 July, 2017 - 01:47 Robert Brusco

Wearing it, Smoking it, or Selling it? The Hazy History of Cannabis in Ancient Korea

Cannabis. Even the word is enough to bring people closer or drive them further away. Although the topic of legalization is controversial in the USA, not all regions have felt this way. In fact, the...
Painting of Father General Saint Francis Borgia, SJ, performing an exorcism, by Goya.
6 July, 2017 - 01:57 aprilholloway

Modern Possessions: What Evil is Behind the Resurgence in Demand for Exorcisms?

Less than five years ago, a new army of exorcists was created by the Roman Catholic Church. They were trained to deal with the “unprecedented rise” in requests for help in battling evil spirits. The...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji
5 July, 2017 - 15:34 anand balaji

Akhenaten: Imperishable Art of an Iconoclast: Creativity Blossoms in the Desert—Part I

Never before had a pharaoh ushered daring, almost bizarre and inconceivable transformations in religion and statecraft as Akhenaten did. Not only did he oust the pantheon of traditional gods and...
The Toda mund, from Richard Barron, 1837, View in India, chiefly among the Neelgherry Hills
4 July, 2017 - 18:57 Caleb Strom

Oval Huts, Dairy Temples and Holy Milkmen: How a Secluded Existence Produced the Idiosyncratic Toda Traditions

The Todas are an ethnic group that inhabit the Nilgiri Plains of south India. They were once one of the most isolated people in the world. Their customs and language are still considered strange to...
Witch of Eye was burned at the stake. Fire and witch
3 July, 2017 - 15:26 Charles Christian

Witch of Eye Burned Alive at the Stake: Did She Use Black Magic to Bewitch a King in a Game of Thrones-Style Plot?

For over 900 years, people have been telling stories of wicked witches who have used Black Magic to overthrow kings. Morgan Le Fay in Arthurian legends of the early 12th century is thought to have...
The helmet of a heavily armed ‘secutor’, first century AD. Rógvi N. Johansen, Department of photo and medie Moesgaard
3 July, 2017 - 01:55 ancient-origins

Roman Gladiators Were War Prisoners and Criminals, Not Sporting Heroes

For centuries, the bloody gladiator conflicts that the Romans staged in amphitheatres throughout the empire have engrossed and repelled us. When it comes to gladiators, it is almost impossible to...
A Jewish prayer shawl adorned with ritual tassels that contain tekhelet-dyed threads.
2 July, 2017 - 22:50 aprilholloway

Piece of Ancient Fabric Revealed True Source of Biblical Blue Dye Lost for 1,300 Years

An ancient blue dye, known as tekhelet, once adorned the precious robes of kings, priests, and high-ranking Jews. But around two millennia ago, this highly-valued commodity became lost to the pages...
The statue of a seated Zeus at Olympia.
1 July, 2017 - 18:19 Mark Oliver

Unleashing The Power of the Gods: Hexes and Black Magic in the Ancient Greek Olympics

When the ancient Olympics began, the greatest athletes in Greece gathered before a statue of Zeus Horkios, the god of oaths. Laid before its feet would be the freshly cut meat of a boar sacrificed by...
Why Do We Love (and Fear) Mummies?
30 June, 2017 - 22:49 ancient-origins

Why Do We Love (and Fear) Mummies?

Christian-Georges Schwentzel / The Conversation Somewhere in Iraq, the tomb raider Nick Morton (a never-ageing Tom Cruise) flies over the desert. This is where Egyptian queen Ahmanet lies in her tomb...
Bust of Timur ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ), and Timur defeats the Sultan of Delhi
30 June, 2017 - 15:52 Cam Rea

To Plunder, Destroy and Kill: Atrocity and Terror as Tamerlane Sacks Delhi— Part II

Timur, historically known as Tamerlane (1336 - 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror and the founder of the Timurid Empire in Persia and Central Asia. After having conquered much of the Near East,...
Chullpas, Sillustani, Peru
30 June, 2017 - 14:00 Brien Foerster

Were the Ancient Funerary Towers of Sillustani Peru Originally Part of an Energy System?

Sillustani is a pre-Incan burial ground on the shores of Lake Umayo, about an hour’s drive from Puno in Peru, which is a large city on the shore of Lake Titicaca. The tombs, which are built above...
Bust of Timur ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ), and Timur standing with cane (Public Domain)
28 June, 2017 - 15:26 Cam Rea

When I rise, the world shall tremble! Tamerlane’s Deadly Drive into India—Part I

Timur, historically known as Tamerlane (1336 - 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror and the founder of the Timurid Empire in Persia and Central Asia. Timur rose through the ranks by gaining the...

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