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Cultural Anthropology
We don’t know when or how music was originally invented, but we can now track its evolution across space and time thanks to the Global Jukebox.
Today’s scary clowns are not a divergence from tradition, but a return to it.
With almost every shovel of sand shifted in Egypt, another artifact comes to light.
More than any other nation, Japan tends to feel comfortable with the idea of humanoid robots entering the home.
Instead of worshipping Yahweh, the devotees were perhaps dedicated to Mars and Jupiter.
Between 30% and 50% of the US population says they believe in ghosts.
More than 1,000 years ago, Mesoamerican societies conducted one of history's most interesting experiments in commodity money.
Million Stories
From politics to culture, we blame “tribalism” for humanity’s problems. This explanation is entirely wrong.
John Templeton Foundation
How drugs, demons, and the search for immortality gave us words we use everyday.
There are nearly 100 towns named "Troy."
Mesopotamian beer was not flavored with hops, and it was probably on the thick, porridgey side.
Thanks to genetics and improving nutrition, denizens of the Western Balkans have surpassed the Dutch in height.
Long before Christopher and Magellan, ancient explorers voyaged into the unknown and brought home extraordinary tales.
Ideas often taken for granted in the United States and Europe about what it means to be a person are, quite simply, not shared with other cultures.
More than 20% Americans live in a state with access to a medically assisted death.
Long before tobacco arrived from the Americas, ancient civilizations in the Old World were getting high off hemp smoke and opium.
The architecture and infrastructure found may well have required the greatest amount of skilled labor of any construction from the same time period in the entire continent.
In the Canaan religion, Yahweh was a lesser god, who was assigned the land of Israel. Here's how he became "God Almighty."
Digital nomads can fully immerse themselves in their surroundings while advancing their career and stimulating the local economy. But there is one potential downside.
The ancient Maya enjoyed filling their teeth with gemstones. A new study reveals how the procedure was done and how it didn't kill them.
The Mayan calendar is revered for its impeccable accuracy. Now, a recent excavation in Guatemala reveals how the system developed over time.
Presidential gravesites are spread out “democratically” — but this is more by accident than design.
Some question the ethics of sanctions aimed at cancelling Russian art and culture and punishing ordinary citizens.
The underground burial tombs were used at least as far back as 2500 B.C.
The Assam stone jars were described as early as 1929. Almost a century later, archaeologists still puzzle over their placement and purpose.
Most cities reeked of death, defecation, and industrial waste. Still, focusing only on stench means turning a blind eye (or nose) to the many other smells that helped shape human history.
While there is more to North Korean cinema than meets the eye, the country’s film industry ultimately amounts to little more than a mouthpiece for the ruling Kim dynasty.
From the tablets of the Babylonians to the telescopes of modern science, humans have always looked to the skies for fundamental answers.
Awe is a powerful force, a fact that is both exciting and terrifying.
John Templeton Foundation