Plant domestication, which led to agriculture, arguably has had among the deepest or most profound impacts on modern societies relative to all other human innovations. Not only did it lead to greater availability of food, allowing societies to grow in… Read More ›
The pyramids of Egypt are among the most recognizable and enduring monuments of the ancient world. Long after they were built, other ancient peoples, such as the Greeks and Romans, wrote about them with as much awe as people do… Read More ›
Warfare has been a constant throughout human history and conflict can certainly be traced back to our hominid ancestors in our evolutionary past. While technology today is often used as the distinguishing characteristic of warfare, the development of the professional… Read More ›
The marathon is seen today as grueling long-distance, usually over 26 mile race. The battle of Marathon, fought between the Greek and Persian armies, and the resulting run by a Greek warrior to tell the victory is usually cited as… Read More ›
The rise of Athens in the late 6th century and early 5th century BCE not only ushered in the Classical Age, but it went on to influence European and Western culture for for thousands of years. This rise occurred in… Read More ›
From Aeon by Josephine Quinn author of In Search of the Phoenicians: Modern nationalism created history as we know it today: what we learn in school, what we study at university, what we read at home is all shaped… Read More ›
Of all the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt still remain. War, neglect, and natural disasters have wiped them from the face of the earth with only descriptions left by ancient historians… Read More ›
Today, Egyptology – the study of ancient Egyptian history, culture, and language – is a worldwide discipline studied and taught at major universities on nearly every continent. It has evolved from a more esoteric study known only to elites in… Read More ›
The epic series of battles between the Greeks and the Persians in the fifth century BC known as the Persian Wars, or Greco-Persian Wars (499-479 BC), in many ways solidified the Greeks’ place in world history and established many attributes… Read More ›
While monotheism is seen as something that has derived from Judaism, the history of how monotheism became pervasive is complex. Integrating both historical and archaeological data, we find that the rise of monotheism has been influenced by key political events…. Read More ›
Cleopatra is perhaps one of the most recognized names of all ancient personalities. She is known as a clever temptress who helped reignite the Roman Civil Wars and oversaw the collapse of the Ptolemaic-Egyptian kingdom. Her life and death has… Read More ›
The people of ancient Mesopotamia practiced a religion that modern scholars are only just now beginning to understand and the physical focal point of their religion were the monumental, triangular structures known as ziggurats. Today, many people like to compare… Read More ›
Few places in a home are as important or symbolic for our social bonds than the kitchen. In almost every culture, the kitchen serves not only as the place where food is prepared, but serves as a social hub for… Read More ›
The Etruscan civilization was one of earliest known civilizations in mainland Europe. It is little known and was largely forgotten, until archaeological discoveries once more revealed its power, complexity and sophistication. The Etruscans had a unique civilization and in… Read More ›
One of the most important wars in the Ancient World was the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE). This was a long drawn out war between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies. It convulsed Greece and changed the course of the… Read More ›
Why did humans start wearing pants? To answer this question it’s important to understand two things – first, what were the earliest forms of clothing and how did they evolve into pants and secondly, why did a need for pants… Read More ›
Common languages are an integral part of linguistic development in the ancient world, as often such languages influence subsequent languages and help unify or economically and politically integrate populations over a wide territory. The ancient Near East displays some… Read More ›
Most studies suggest that domestication of the horse took place along the Eurasian steppe. However, it is not clear where exactly and most likely there were several independent domestication attempts. Interestingly, wild horses before domestication show a wide range of… Read More ›
. For centuries, hunting became associated with kingship, where large tracts of land were preserved for the kings’ pleasure as they would hunt a variety of game and even exotic animals imported from abroad. While on the surface this was… Read More ›
.The Academy, founded by the philosopher Plato in the early 4th century BCE, was perhaps one of the earliest institutions of higher learning. While it was not like a university where people would enroll and obtain advanced degrees, it functioned… Read More ›
