ancient history

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• 6/7/2020
  

  Contagion and Recovery in the Hittite Empire

  by Eva von Dassow

  The progress of an ancient plague shows that when faith--in gods or medical research--fails, it's a long road to safety.

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  5/11/2020
  

  The Elites Were Living High. Then Came the Fall.

  Modern cities can learn from the fate of the collapsed civilizations at Ugarit and Mycenae.

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• SOURCE: MPR News
  1/13/20
  

  A Beautiful World: Ancient texts reveal Aztecs’ history in their own words in Camilla Townsend's Latest Book

  Camilla Townsend’s new book, "Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs," documents the story of the Aztecs from an entirely new perspective, that of the Aztecs themselves.

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• SOURCE: The Conversation
  1/13/20
  

  Why are there seven days in a week?

  by Kristin Heineman

  The Babylonians, who lived in modern-day Iraq, were astute observers and interpreters of the heavens, and it is largely thanks to them that our weeks are seven days long. 

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• SOURCE: History Today
  1/2/20
  

  Carving our names on great monuments is a millennia-old tradition, but why do we do it?

  by Laura Aitken-Burt

  The earliest graffiti of a person’s name on a monument has been identified by the historian Lionel Casson in a cave at Wadi Hammamat in Egypt – the name of Hena, an official under Menutuhotep III in 2000 BC, is chiselled into the sandstone alongside a list of his achievements.

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  12/16/19
  

  A museum’s 3,500-year-old disposable cup shows the desire to avoid dishwashing is ancient

  One is a paper discard from the 1990s. Researchers believe the other, made from clay, may have held wine before it was thrown out after an ancient party on the island of Crete.

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• SOURCE: The Conversation
  12/12/19
  

  Children in the ancient Middle East were valued and vulnerable — not unlike children today

  by Shawn Flynn and Kristine Garroway

  The choices that societies make concerning the treatment of children can bring about the greatest of debates and prompt significant political action. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  11/27/2019
  

  A Turkish dam is about to flood one of the oldest continuously settled places on Earth

  The project has also faced years of stiff resistance from critics who said its benefits were hardly worth the cost to local communities and from historians, archaeologists and others who say the preservation of Turkey’s cultural heritage is a global concern.

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• SOURCE: The Conversation
  10/22/19
  

  New evidence that an extraterrestrial collision 12,800 years ago triggered an abrupt climate change for Earth

  by Christopher R. Moore

  What kicked off the Earth’s rapid cooling 12,800 years ago?

• 
• 9/1/19
  

  Sparta and the Collapse of Greece

  by Jennifer T. Roberts

  Why the Peloponnesian War went on longer than is commonly thought. 

• 
• 9/1/19
  

  The Value of History Podcasts: An Interview with Historian and Podcaster Mike Duncan

  by Scott Benigno

  "Wherever we’re headed history will always thrive.”

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• SOURCE: National Geographic
  8/26/19
  

  The Vandals sacked Rome, but do they deserve their reputation?

  Their name is synonymous with destruction, but the group may not deserve such a harsh legacy.

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• SOURCE: Smithsonian Magazine
  Accessed 8/22/19
  

  The New Treasures of Pompeii

  From gorgeous artworks to grimacing corpses, archaeologists are still uncovering the truth about life—and death—in the doomed city.

• 
• 7/28/19
  

  Is Stonehenge a Tourist Rip-Off?

  by Ken West

  If Stonehenge is to be restored to its rightful heritage then it must be reengaged with the River Avon and its tribal lands. Only then can we interpret the astounding achievement of these prehistoric people.   

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• SOURCE: Daily Beast
  5/26/19
  

  What’s So Useful About Studying Ancient History?

  by Barry Strauss

  Americans are notoriously ignorant of history, even their own, and while there’s nothing new about this indifference, the consequences are profound.

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  5/1/19
  

  A Revealing Piece of Ancient Human History, Discovered in a Tibetan Cave

  The remarkable, fossilized jawbone has no chin, and the teeth within it are exceptionally large.

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• SOURCE: National Geographic
  3/25/19
  

  1,500-year-old garbage dumps reveal city’s surprising collapse

  Archaeologists thought Elusa, a popular Roman wine center, collapsed with Islam’s arrival. Its trash reveals a very different—and alarming—reason.

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• SOURCE: Society for Classical Studies
  2/21/19
  

  Ancient Historian Lindsey Mazurek Discusses Public Engagement and Productivity

  "There’s an image of the monk-like individual in the ivory tower, and I wish now that I had realized how ineffective it was for me."

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• SOURCE: Smithsonian.com
  2/13/19
  

  The History of Poisoning the Well

  From ancient Mesopotamia to modern-day Iraq, the threat to a region’s water supply is the cruelest cut of all  

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  2/11/19
  

  Ancient European Stone Monuments Said to Originate in Northwest France

  Research on Stone Age tombs throughout Europe offers a new answer to an old debate on where and when the iconic stone works were first built.