What the Barista is Brewing Today
Grab some espresso and dive in for some brewmination
A History of Free Speech during Wartime in America
Freedom of speech often suffers during times of war. Introduction Patriotism at times devolves into jingoism and civil liberties take a backseat to security and order. The pattern has been consistent in American history from the Revolutionary War to the modern-day War on Terror after the infamous terrorist strikes on U.S. soil on Sept. 11,[…]
The First 45 Words: How the First Amendment Came to Be
“Congress shall make no law . . . ” The words are plain, blunt and unequivocal — without literary frill or poetic flourish — a directive intended to put the natural rights of citizens above and beyond the punitive power of the new federal government: “Congress shall make no law . . . ” Read[…]
Cats in the Middle Ages
The cat lost its regal position through the efforts of the medieval Church which encouraged the association of the cat with devils and darkness. Introduction The life of a cat in the Middle Ages (c. 476-1500 CE) differed significantly from that of a dog owing primarily to its association with witchcraft, darkness, and the devil.[…]
Dogs in Ancient Persia
Dogs played a major role in religious rituals as recorded by Zoroastrian texts. Introduction Dogs have been an integral aspect of the human condition in virtually every world culture for thousands of years. Some of the greatest civilizations of the past have kept dogs as companions, for various chores, and featured dogs in their art,[…]
Twelve Ancient Persian Mythological Creatures
Introduction The mythology of any civilization reflects its core values, greatest fears, and highest hopes and so it is with the mythology of ancient Persia. The great heroes like Karsasp, Thraetaona, and Rustum express particularly Persian values but, as with all mythical figures, are recognizable to people of any culture as role models whose best[…]
Cyclops: The One-Eyed Giant of Ancient Greek Mythology
Hesiod (c. 700 BCE), writing in his Theogony, tells us that the Cyclopes were the children of Earth (Gaia). By Mark CartwrightHistorian Historian A cyclops (meaning ‘circle-eyed’) is a one-eyed giant first appearing in the mythology of ancient Greece. The Greeks believed that there was an entire race of cyclopes who lived in a faraway[…]
Women in the Mongol Empire
They had more rights than women in contemporary cultures to the east and west of Mongolia, some even reigning as regents. By Mark CartwrightHistorian Introduction Women in the Mongol Empire (1206-1368 CE) shared the daily chores and hardships of steppe life with men and were largely responsible for tending animals, setting up camps, childrearing, producing[…]
The Rise and Decline of the Medieval Mongol Empire
The descendants of Genghis each ruled a part of the empire – the four khanates. Introduction The Mongol Empire (1206-1368 CE) eventually dominated Asia from the Black Sea to the Korean peninsula following the initial conquests of its founder Genghis Khan (aka Chinggis, r. 1206-1227 CE), the first Great Khan or ‘universal ruler’ of the Mongol[…]
The Battle of Hydaspes: Alexander the Great Meets Indian King Porus
At Hydaspes Alexander met a formidable opponent in King Porus. Introduction For almost a decade, Alexander the Great and his army swept across Western Asia and into Egypt, defeating King Darius III and the Persians at the battles of River Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela. Next, despite the objections of the loyal army who had been[…]
Rhetoric and Reality: Ancient Greece and the Clash of Civilizations
The opposition between East and West, Europe and Asia, Us and Them stretches back into antiquity. The ‘clash of civilisations’ is a popular theme in today’s political rhetoric, positing the idea of an unbridgeable gulf between the West and the Rest. In domestic politics, the theme is raised in debates over migration and minority integration;[…]
The Bronze Bells of Ancient Korea
Bronze bells were first made in Korea in the Bronze Age. By Mark CartwrightHistorian Introduction The metalworkers of ancient Korea were highly skilled artists and some of their finest surviving works are the large bronze bells cast for use in Buddhist temples and monasteries. Both the Unified Silla kingdom and Goryeo kingdom produced bells, but[…]
Dolmens of Bronze Age Korea
They were constructed as tombs for elite members of the community. By Mark CartwrightHistorian Introduction Dolmens (in Korean: koindol or chisongmyo) are simple structures made of monolithic stones erected during the late Neolithic period or Korean Bronze Age (1st millennium BCE). In ancient Korea they appear most often near villages and the archaeological finds buried[…]
How Forceps Permanently Changed the Way Humans Are Born
Childbirth used to be a terrifying ordeal. But women were surrounded by others – mothers, aunts, sisters – who brought love and experience. But midway through the 19th century, this changed. Introduction Obstetric forceps look like ninja weapons. They come as a pair: 16 inches of solid steel for each hand with curved “blades” that[…]
Wombs and Tombs in the Ancient Roman World
Fertility cult, however loosely and often unhelpfully defined, has long been an accepted element of ancient religious practice. In 1988 Mark Golden set out to find what he considered the “correct answer” to a direct question: “Did the ancients care when their children died?” Drawing on cross-cultural parallels his conclusion was perhaps unsurprising: “we should[…]
Sulla’s Reforms as Dictator in the Ancient Roman Republic
The political climate was marked by civil discord and rampant political violence. By Jesse SifuentesHistorian Introduction Lucius Cornelius Sulla (l. 138 – 78 BCE) enacted his constitutional reforms (81 BCE) as dictator to strengthen the Roman Senate’s power. Sulla was born in a very turbulent era of Rome’s history, which has often been described as[…]
The Court System in Ancient Homeric Greece
Examining the main flaws in the court system in the days of Homer. By Dr. Alexandr LoginovProfessor of LawKutafin Moscow State Law University, Moscow Abstract The research investigates the court system in Homeric Greece. This period was characterized by a declining culture and scarce works that described those times. Hence, the court procedures of those[…]
Ancient Human Migration after Out-of-Africa
How examining migration in the distant past provides new insights into human history. By Dr. Daniel Shriner, et.al.Staff ScientistCenter for Research on Genomics and Global Health Abstract The serial founder model of modern human origins predicts that the phylogeny of ancestries exhibits bifurcating, tree-like behavior. Here, we tested this prediction using three methods designed to[…]
The Great Prehistoric Human Migration
Why humans left their African homeland 80,000 years ago to colonize the world. Seventy-seven thousand years ago, a craftsman sat in a cave in a limestone cliff overlooking the rocky coast of what is now the Indian Ocean. It was a beautiful spot, a workshop with a glorious natural picture window, cooled by a sea[…]
Bureaucracy and Corruption: A Lesson from Ancient Rome
The history of the Roman Empire offered many vivid examples of how absolute power could corrupt absolutely. By William Henry ChamberlinHistorian and Journalist Introduction Overview The greatest collapse of a mighty state, a large human society and a fruitful civilization of which we possess a reasonably accurate record, has been immortalized by Edward Gibbon’s historical[…]
The Lust for Power and the Decline of Ancient Rome
Power, and the desire for more, is always corruptive, as illustrated by the life of Gaius Marius. Introduction Rome, as the old saying goes, wasn’t built in a day. It wasn’t ruined in a day, either, nor by a single person. In the Epilogue to his Caesar and Christ (1944), historian Will Durant noted that,[…]
The Great Jewish Revolt against Rome in 66 CE
By Harry OatesHistorian Introduction The Roman Empire in the early 1st century CE was often regarded as the perfect empire. The outstanding military prowess of the Romans was used to expand the empire, and once the territories were acceptably pacified, Roman political power was installed from the capital of the empire to the local governments[…]
Ancient Judaean Technology
Archaeological remains attest to a rise in urbanization in the 10th century BCE as reflected in building technologies. Introduction Though the kingdom of Judah was not particularly notable in terms of technological developments, technology, nonetheless, played a central role in its rise as a political power in the region. Emerging in the 10th century BCE, it[…]
The Neolithic Period: The ‘New’ Stone Age
Introduction The term Neolithic Period refers to the last stage of the Stone Age – a term coined in the late 19th century CE by scholars which covers three different periods: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic. The Neolithic period is significant for its megalithic architecture, the spread of agricultural practices, and the use of polished stone[…]
The Paleolithic Period: The ‘Old’ Stone Age
The Stone Age as a whole makes up around 99% of humanity’s technological calling card. By Emma GroeneveldHistorian Introduction The Palaeolithic (‘Old Stone Age’) makes up the earliest chunk of the Stone Age – the large swathe of time during which hominins used stone to make tools – and ranges from the first known tool[…]
A Message Too Far: The House Reprimand of Theodore Roosevelt in 1909
Only four representatives dared to speak up in his defense. The Speech Laughter flooded the House Chamber, rising from both sides of the floor and cascading down from the crowded galleries. Atop the marble rostrum Speaker Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois, looking to regain order, banged his gavel so hard that he cracked the top[…]
National Politics and the Populist Party at the End of the Nineteenth Century
From the perspective of farmers, the legal system was being commandeered by attorneys representing railroads and trusts. Rise of the Populist Party During the 1880s, farmer’s collective organizations known as the Grange declined, as did the Greenback Party. However, the twin ideals of monetary reform and legislation beneficial to farmers were carried on by a[…]
Who Wrote the Declaration of Independence?
The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson was not then credited with its authorship. By Matthew Wills The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. We now credit Thomas Jefferson with the Declaration’s authorship, but that was not the case on that[…]
The 1776 ‘Christmas Riot’ at Fort Ticonderoga and Colonial Division
Something went dangerously wrong at Fort Ticonderoga during that bitter cold winter as the Revolutionary War was just beginning. By Brian Mann A couple of weeks before Christmas Day, modern day re-enactors in Revolutionary War-era uniforms gathered below the walls of Fort Ticonderoga, on the shore of Lake Champlain about an hour’s drive north of[…]
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – Digitally Reconstructed
Six of the ancient wonders have vanished – and that’s if they existed in the first place. By John Cole The Wonders of the Ancient World remain cornerstones of human culture, and the concept is regularly referred to in casual conversation as well as in the academic sphere. But how many people can actually name[…]
Stone Age Tools
It must be recognized that stone was by no means the only material used for tools throughout this time. By Emma GroeneveldHistorian Introduction As the Stone Age covers around 99% of our human technological history, it would seem there is a lot to talk about when looking at the development of tools in this period.[…]
