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Caleb Strom

Caleb Strom is currently a graduate student studying planetary science. He considers himself a writer, scientist, and all-around story teller. His interests include planetary geology, astrobiology, paleontology, archaeology, history, space archaeology, and SETI.

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Posts

Hoia Baciu forest, Romania.

Romania’s Bermuda Triangle: The Creepy Hoia Forest

Outside of Romania, especially in the English-speaking world, Transylvania is a land associated with vampires, specifically Dracula. Inside Romania, where Vlad the Impaler is a national hero, his...
Left; A turquoise mask representing the god Tezcatlipoca.  Right;Tezcatlipoca with all 20-day signs, symbolizing the divine calendar. Source: Left; CC BY-SA 2.5, Right; Public Domain

Tezcatlipoca, Prime God of the Aztecs, Compared to Other Omnipotent Deities

The god Tezcatlipoca was a major Aztec deity who was worshiped in east-west facing temples in many Mesoamerican city-states under the influence of the Aztecs, particularly Texcoco. He was considered...
Samurai gold armor statue. Source: Public Domain

The Amazing Story of Yasuke, The Forgotten African Samurai

Samurai are among the most enduring symbols of Japanese cultural heritage, thus unsurprisingly, most samurai were Japanese. There are, however, examples of non-Japanese who became samurai as well...
The Temple to Ninmakh to the east of Ishtar Gate in ancient Babylon. Source: CC BY-SA 4.0

Babylon’s Temple of Ninmakh, the Mesopotamian Goddess of Humankind

One of the great temples constructed during the Neo-Babylonian period (626-539 BC), the golden age of the city of Babylon, was the Temple of Ninmakh. The temple was built adjacent to the famous...
Incredible orange sunrise at the temple of Philae, a Graeco-Roman construction seen from the Nile river, a temple dedicated to Isis, goddess of love. (unai/Adobe Stock)

The Golden Age of Ptolemaic Egypt (332-14 BC)

Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BC and after his death, his empire was divided. In 305 BC Egypt fell to his general Ptolemy I Soter . The Ptolemaic Dynasty was a powerful Hellenistic state...
Detail of the two heads of Kap Dwa. Source: CC BY SA

Tales of a Two-headed Giant: Are Legends of Patagonia’s Kap Dwa Real?

In the annals of history, tales of giants have permeated diverse cultures, weaving a rich tapestry of myth and legend. From the towering Greek titans to the colossal Norse beings, the Chinese Pangu...
A chimpanzee in contemplation.  Source: keks20034 / Adobe Stock.

Age of the Wise Men: What Distinguishes Homo Sapiens from Apes?

Homo sapiens represents the last of a long line of hominins that once consisted of five different species spanning four continents. Today, we are the last humans, that is, the last of the genus Homo...
Representational image of the Cape Gelidonya shipwreck generated by AI. Source: Krtola / Adobe Stock

Ancient Underwater Trade Secrets at the Cape Gelidonya Shipwreck

When a Turkish sponge diver discovered a shipwreck in the 1950s, little did he know that he had stumbled on the ancient remains of a ship laden with Bronze Age cargo. Later dubbed the Cape Gelldonya...
Part of the extensive East Bay Wall network. Source: Chris/Adobe Stock

Unravelling the Mystery Behind the East Bay Walls: Who Really Made Them and Why?

In the hills around East Bay and elsewhere near San Francisco, there is a series of stone walls that extend discontinuously for miles. The walls are about 3-4 feet (a meter or so) high in most places...
Songlines, or dreaming tracks, are songs and rituals associated with migration routes spanning the Australian continent. Source: Rick / Adobe Stock

Tracing Songlines: Unraveling Aboriginal Australia's Ancient Oral Maps

From as early as 65,000 to 80,000 years ago, the first human settlements appeared on the vast continent of Australia. These left behind an archaeological record which bears witness to the remarkable...
An artist's rendering of the hypothetical impact of a planet like Theia and Earth. (Public Domain)

Theia—Greek Goddess of Light, the Sun, the Moon, and Wisdom

The Olympian gods are well known to most people in the Western world. A lesser-known deity is Theia. Theia is the primordial Greek goddess of light. She was considered one of the Titans. She is said...
Right; Dancers in a fresco in the Etruscan Tomb of the Triclinium, Left; Tarchon mosaic, Tarquinia, Lazio, Italy.  Source: Left; Public Domain, Right; Public Domain

Tarchon and Tyrrhenus: The Etruscan Romulus and Remus?

The Etruscans, although enigmatic compared to the familiar civilizations of Greece and Rome, had a significant impact on the development of Roman civilization. As a result, it is unsurprising that...
Fantasy illustration of the palaces of the gods on Mount Olympus.	Source: Max79im / Adobe Stock

Mount Olympus, Dwelling Place of the Gods: Myth vs Reality

Few mountains have had greater impact on the history of Western civilization than the mountain situated on the Aegean coast on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, referred to as Mount Olympus...
Medieval alchemists believed they could create a mini artificial human. Source: lidiia / Adobe Stock

Medieval Scientists Tried to Make Little People with Semen, Blood, and an Animal Womb

The question of how to create life does not just go back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, when the eponymous character used forbidden science to create life. Medieval scientists tried for centuries to...
King Charles VI had a glass delusion. Source: LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS / Adobe Stock

Troubled King Charles VI of France Believed He Was Made of Glass

For several centuries, beginning around the 14th century AD, a strange affliction known as the ‘glass delusion’ spread around Europe, particularly amongst nobles, royals and elite members of society...
The Fajada Butte Sun Dagger in Chaco Canyon in New Mexico is a spiral petroglyph that is lit up with brilliant streaks of focused Sunlight at key moments in the year.	Source: YouTube screenshot / Mystery History

Connecting Heaven and Earth: The Sun Dagger of Fajada Butte, New Mexico

Near the entrance to Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA is an imposing butte that had sacred significance to the ancestral Pueblo culture, who inhabited Chaco Canyon up until about 1150 AD. On Fajada...

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