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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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A painting of Cahokia Mounds State Historic site by William R. Iseminger. Source: William R. Iseminger

Cahokia: The Rise and Fall of an Indigenous Empire

A young Indigenous man, a Pilgrim, has been walking all day carrying a large bundle basket on his back. His long black hair is tied up in a bun at the back of his head, and he has new, round,...
Kathakali eye dancer. Source: Grigory Kubatyan / Adobe Stock.

Eye Dancing and India’s Ancient Art of Kathakali (Video)

Kathakali, the captivating traditional Indian dance originating from Kerala , unveils a mesmerizing world where stories from Hindu epics come alive. This art form transcends mere movements and steps...
A singing group of 5 ethnic Kam women stand in front of the wooden drum tower in Xiaohuang village, Congjiang county, Guizhou, China. Source: imphilip / Adobe Stock.

Dong Storytelling: Passing Down Ancient Stories Through Song (Video)

Within the Dong ethnic group of China's Guizhou province, a profound belief is encapsulated in the adage, "Eat rice to nourish the body, and sing songs to nourish the heart." These songs, numbering...
Poetry, song, and comedy was a way to deal with reality in medieval times.  Source: Ruslan Batiuk/Adobe Stock

Professor Discovers Oldest Script for Stand-Up Comedy in Scottish Library

A Cambridge academic found a rare 15th-century manuscript in Scotland, revealing the oldest medieval stand-up comedy. Apparently, they had jokes and laughter back then too! Not even Chat GPT knows...
12th page of Kunijo Kabuki Ekotoba showing Izumo no Okuni, the founder of kabuki theatre, on stage. Edo Period, Keichō era (1596—1615) (Public Domain)

Asian Storytelling: Rakugo, Pingshu And The Art Of Sitting Seiza

Intertwined with the development of mythologies, storytelling predates writing and the earliest oral storytelling was animated with gestures and expressions thrown in for good measure. Tools to...
Reading the Rich Symbolism in Aboriginal Art

How to Read the Symbolism in Aboriginal Art

For thousands of years, an art form has existed that includes works in a wide range of media, including bark painting, ceremonial clothing, painting on leaves, rock carving, watercolor painting, and...
Faerie silhouette at night with a boy.		Source: 	fona / Adobe stock

The Time I Met The King of the Faeries

“One day you will be old enough to read fairy tales again!” – CS Lewis All my life I’ve been fascinated by faeries, as I grew up with European fairy tales, Walt Disney’s Tinker Bell and movies like...
Herodotus, by Jean-Guillaume Moitte, relief 1806.

Herodotus, Cato the Censor and Josephus: Understanding the Life and Times of Historians of the Ancient World

For thousands of years, we turned to history to explain the what, why and how an event happened. Although “historian” did not become a professional occupation until the late nineteenth century, the...