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Israeli archaeologists working at the Tel Tsaf site in the Jordan valley have discovered the earliest evidence of social drinking in the Middle East, dating to 5000 BC. This image shows medieval people eating and drinking together in an ancient kitchen interior. 		Source: Nejron Photo / Adobe Stock

Earliest Social Drinking Evidence in the Middle East Found in Israel

Social drinking history in the Middle East has been rewritten with finds at Tel Tsaf, Israel. According to the Times of Israel , Israeli archaeologists have found the first evidence of social...
HALF of the Men Found in Medieval Paupers’ Cemetery Had Broken Bones

HALF of the Men Found in Medieval Paupers’ Cemetery Had Broken Bones

Life in Europe during the Middle Ages was difficult and dangerous for the majority of the population. Poverty, disease, and warfare were common, and the poor and working classes bore the brunt of...
Ceramics in Heuneburg, Germany show Iron Age Celts of all social classes drank Mediterranean wine. Source: 9parusnikov /Adobe Stock

Even Low-Class Iron Age Celts Sipped Fine Mediterranean Wine

A new study reveals Mediterranean wine was enjoyed by ‘all classes’ of Iron Age Celts 2,700 years ago. Archaeologists excavating at the prehistoric Heuneburg hillfort in southern Germany, just north...
A traditional bedroom in Cappadocia, Turkey. Credit: EvanTravels / Adobe Stock

What Humans Have Been Doing in Bed for 77,000 Years

Groucho Marx once joked , “Anything that can’t be done in bed isn’t worth doing at all.” You might think he was referring to sleeping and sex. But humans, at one time or another, have done just about...
 Imprints found in the cave allowed analysis of ancient human behavior

14,000-year-old Footprints in Italian Cave Reveal Ancient Human Behavior

Evidence of crawling in an Italian cave system sheds new light on late Stone Age human behavior in groups, especially when exploring new grounds, says a study published today in eLife. The Discovery...
Was Wang Mang a visionary, or a murderous villain – or both? (Wang Mang art italkcafe.com, The Analects of Confucius; Deriv)

The Emperor is Dead, Let Confucianism and Chaos Reign! The Rise and Fall of Wang Mang and the Xin Dynasty

Some saw Wang Mang as an evil usurper – others a selfless visionary. Either way, an emperor lay dead, and a learned Confucian scholar sought to bring peace and harmony, but the dynasty would descend...
King Haraldr hárfagri receives the kingdom out of his father's hands. From the 14th century Icelandic manuscript Flateyjarbók.

Icelander Sagas May Have More Truth to Them than You Think

Myths and legends – purely the creation of creative and imaginative minds, right? Not necessarily. Numerous stories, sagas, and texts from the ancient past have been proven to hold facts. For example...
Reconstructed heads of the children that may have been sacrificed for a double burial in Sunghir, Russia.

The Sunghir Burial Site: Were these Two Children Sacrificed in a Form of Prehistoric Scapegoating?

One of the clearest signs of behavioral modernity in the archaeological record is the appearance of art and religion. Once we see indications of creative and speculative minds at work trying to...
The School of Athens: Plato and Aristotle

Aristotle is Dead, but his Ideas are Alive: Manipulating Money, and Plato’s Communism– Part II

Aristotle died. But then he returned from the grave, in a manner of speaking. The ancient Greek philosopher and scientist’s ideas remained mostly dead until the middle ages. With his rediscovered...
Aristotle, part of a wall painting, circa 1883.

Aristotle is Dead, but his Ideas are Alive: On Private Property and Moneymaking – Part I

By Cam Rea / Classical Wisdom Aristotle died. But then he returned from the grave, in a manner of speaking. The ancient Greek philosopher and scientist’s ideas remained mostly dead until the middle...
Images from the manuscript ‘Seventy-Two Specimens of Castes in India.

The Controversial Indian Caste System Has Been Dividing India for 2000 Years

A study of genetic populations in India suggests the Indian caste system, a traditional method of social organization into a hierarchy of hereditary groups, has been prevalent in the South Asian...
Stone head of lord Buddha photographed during a dive at the Temple, near Pemuteran, Bali

The Underwater Temple Garden: A Unique Fusion of Bouyancy and Enlightenment

The Underwater Temple Garden is a unique dive site located in Bali, Indonesia. This underwater garden was created in recent years, and contains a Balinese Hindu temple compound. A photo of the site...
Left, Sisters Charlotte and Susan Cushman in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in 1846. Right, Male Kabuki actor in Japan

Ancient History of Cross-Dressing: From Ancient Religions to the Theaters

Ephippus, in a surviving fragment of his lost pamphlet depicting the court of Alexander the Great in 324-323 BC, alleges that Alexander liked to cross-dress as the Greek archer-goddess Artemis...
The Four Great Beauties, and the Arts of the Courtesans in Ancient China

The Four Great Beauties, and the Arts of the Courtesans in Ancient China

The Four Great Beauties are four ancient Chinese women renowned for their beauty which they skillfully exercised to influence Chinese history. Although each of the Four Great Beauties frequently...
Social Networking in Ancient Times

Social Networking in Ancient Times

Of course there was no internet back then … but the intrinsic need of humans for socializing was active back in 13 th Century in different forms. After studying ceramic and obsidian artefacts from...