Cultural Practices

Cultural Practices

A character in a starfleet uniform with a distinctive ridged forehead, who speaks invented languages, stands against a backdrop of stars.
NuqneH! Saluton! A linguistic anthropologist (and creator of the Kryptonian language, among others) studies the people who invent new tongues.
A map of antarctica with the word west antarctica.
The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 prohibited nations from making new land claims on the continent. But it never mentioned claims from private individuals.
A painting of a woman with a hat on an orange background.
6mins
Biology plays an important role in emotional reactions, but neuroscientist Kristen A. Lindquist posits that our culture is just as influential.
Unlikely Collaborators
A collage featuring two images of Mr William Crompton, the oldest knocker-upper in Bolton in 1939.
Meet the people paid to rouse the workers of industrial Britain.
Stonehenge in england.
The clash of academic archaeology and what might be called folk archaeology comes into stark focus at Stonehenge.
An old black and white photograph of a bathroom.
Bathtubs and toilets each got their own rooms until health professionals urged architects to put all the plumbing in one room.
The rocky horror show poster.
"Time Warp" all the way back to 1800s spiritualism, magic performances, and spook shows.
A painting of a man with a hat and fruit.
Using peach and eggplant emojis as shorthand for sex may seem like a new thing, but Renaissance artists were experts at using produce to imply intercourse.
A group of artistic men in suits playing saxophones with genius skill.
The answer may lie in the power to see far, far beyond yourself.
A group of men studying Japanese philosophy.
Traditionally, the long history of Japanese thought has not been viewed as “philosophy” — even by Japanese scholars. It’s time for a rethink.
A man is taking a bath in a Thermae Romae-style bathtub.
In ancient Rome, collective bathing was the norm. In the West today, it’s the exception — and that’s too bad.
A painting of a man washing his hands.
France’s notorious disregard for washing gradually changed as military authorities and public schools promoted a modern regime of cleanliness.
A painting of a group of people around a table with an air pump.
Science and technology were making early modern Europe a better place to live, but at what cost?
Historians have been able to piece together a clear picture of how the average Roman citizen spent their waking hours.
A model of a temple inspired by Herostratus.
His crime was so great, he was not only sentenced to death but his name was to be erased from memory.
A Chinese philosophy book with open pages.
Dive into China's profound intellectual legacy through five seminal texts that have shaped millennia of thought.
A group of people engaging in sobremesa at a table.
Quality down time is important for relationships. Here are three practical suggestions to create more of it.
A cloud over Mount Shasta with a mountain in the background.
The mountain can generate lenticular clouds, which may contribute to its supernatural reputation.
A monochromatic illustration of individuals seated at a table.
Legend holds that newly elected popes in the Middle Ages had to present their genitals for inspection to confirm that they were male.
oldest trousers
The design was as intricate as that of modern-day, factory-fabricated denim jeans, and just as durable. The ancients had fashion.
A happy woman rewilding onsite, surrounded by baskets.
"The more I unleash myself from the tethers of domestication, the happier I feel."
A Japanese painting portraying a bushido woman wielding a sword.
According to bushido, your life is of secondary importance to key virtues, like honor, loyalty, and justice.
A painting of a man with a turban and a map.
The history of cartography might have been very different if the Latin version of Muhammad al-Idrisi's atlas had survived instead of the Arabic one.
A man is using mitti attar on a clay pot in front of a fire.
In Kannauj, perfumers have been making monsoon-infused mitti attar for centuries.
A woman poses in front of the letter x in a black and white photo.
The use of the letter x as an unknown is a relatively modern convention.
A group of silver balls resembling mercury surrounding a statue of a man influenced by Maya culture.
Today, many Maya sites are polluted with toxic levels of mercury. The contamination likely originated from cinnabar paints and art.