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History
An influential series of books argues that the history of the world is the history of generations. Is it right?
In 1667, a core-collapse supernova happened right here in the Milky Way, invisible to all humans. ~350 years later, here's what JWST sees.
Thanks to protocols established centuries ago in Europe, world leaders no longer need to worry about having their heads bashed with an axe.
The clash of academic archaeology and what might be called folk archaeology comes into stark focus at Stonehenge.
Destruction of the Ukrainian dam unleashed a catastrophic flood—and surfaced centuries of cultural heritage. Now there’s a call not to rebuild it.
Bathtubs and toilets each got their own rooms until health professionals urged architects to put all the plumbing in one room.
Many countries' histories are governed by the familiar demographic story of growth, industrialization, and decline. But not France.
"Burke's the butcher, Hare's the thief, and Knox the man who buys the beef." Read the story of 19th-century Scotland's corpse dealers.
Tikal, one of the biggest cities the Maya ever built, was home to a vast and flourishing society.
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.
Discover how the threads of myth, legend, and artistry have been woven together by storytellers to craft history.
The young and healthy were not just as likely to die as the old and frail, according to a new analysis.
In war zones, aggressors steal art to eradicate the cultural heritage of others. Victims, meanwhile, sell stolen art in order to survive.
Was the terror of Biscayne Bay a man who escaped slavery, an African chieftain, or a marketing ploy that went viral?
Science and technology were making early modern Europe a better place to live, but at what cost?
His crime was so great, he was not only sentenced to death but his name was to be erased from memory.
Chemical changes inside Mars' core caused it to lose its magnetic field. This, in turn, caused it to lose its oceans. But how?
Because the milk was thin and had an unnatural, bluish tint, vendors stirred in additives such as chalk, flour, eggs, and Plaster-of-Paris.
Still, the author's main argument wasn't totally discredited.
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a medieval airship!
The One Ring has its own agency and sentience — and it opens up a wonderful philosophy of things beyond our comprehension.
The design was as intricate as that of modern-day, factory-fabricated denim jeans, and just as durable. The ancients had fashion.
The region of Catalonia has been at odds with greater Spain for over 300 years. The prospect of autonomy remains a distant and fading dream.
Never mind.
A clock, designed and built in Europe, ran hopelessly at the wrong rate when brought to America. The physics of gravity explains why.
The polymath used science to elevate his art.
Six hundred years in the history of trousers.
Explore how belief shapes destiny, from Oedipus Rex to modern geopolitics.
In Kannauj, perfumers have been making monsoon-infused mitti attar for centuries.
A 1.5-million-year-old hominin bone shows signs that the victim was eaten by lions — and humans.