Scientists Investigate the Believed Remains of Two Christian Apostles – Here’s What They Found
A Roman church has since the sixth century AD held relics, believed to be the remains of two apostles. Now, they have undergone scientific analysis,…
History
A Black Computing Pioneer Takes His Place in Technology History at MIT
A brief history of a 1950s photo featuring Joseph Thompson, one of the original operators of MIT’s groundbreaking Whirlwind computer. The caption on a black-and-white…
Unsolved Mysteries: New Evidence That King Richard III Murdered “The Princes in the Tower”
King Richard III’s involvement in one of the most notorious and emotive mysteries in English history may be a step closer to being confirmed following…
Pelican Island: America’s First National Wildlife Refuge
A bird-loving farmer living near Florida’s Pelican Island helped spur the creation of a national system of wildlife refuges. Elaborate feathered hats—sometimes festooned with whole…
Medieval Injuries: Inequality in Cambridge Was “Recorded on the Bones” of Its Residents
Social inequality was “recorded on the bones” of Cambridge’s medieval residents, according to a new study of hundreds of human remains excavated from three very…
Ancient European Money: Hoards Full of Standardized Bronze Rings, Ribs and Axe Blades
Early Bronze Age cultures traded in bronze objects of standardized weight. In the Early Bronze Age of Europe, ancient people used bronze objects as an…
A Glimpse Into the Royal Purple Wardrobe of King David and King Solomon – 3000 Years Ago
Joint research by the Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University and Bar Ilan University. “King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of…
From Automobiles to Armstrong: Cleveland’s Urban Layout Has Evolved As Time and Technology Have Advanced
Cleveland, Ohio, and its expansive suburbs stretch inland from Lake Erie in this slightly oblique photograph taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station…
Changing Atlanta: Martin Luther King Jr. Came of Age in One of the Fastest Growing Cities in the United States
When Michael King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in a two-story house in Atlanta, the city had 715,000 residents. (His father changed his…
Scientists Identify Contents of Ancient Maya Drug Containers
Scientists have identified the presence of a non-tobacco plant in ancient Maya drug containers for the first time. The Washington State University researchers detected Mexican…
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance: A Non-destructive Method for Analyzing Ancient Egyptian Embalming Materials
Ancient Egyptian mummies have many tales to tell, but unlocking their secrets without destroying delicate remains is challenging. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Analytical Chemistry…
Analysis of Ancient DNA Reveals Asian Migrations and Plague Outbursts
Northeastern Asia has a complex history of migrations and plague outbursts. That is the essence of an international archaeogenetic study published in Science Advances and…
When Good Governments Go Bad: History Shows That Societies Collapse When Leaders Undermine Social Contracts
All good things must come to an end. Whether societies are ruled by ruthless dictators or more well-meaning representatives, they fall apart in time, with…
Chemical Analysis of a Black Spot in a Diary Sheds New Light on Legendary Polar Explorer’s Final Hours
The Denmark Expedition set out to explore unknown Inuit land in 1906. Three members died. Chemical analysis of a black spot in a diary sheds…
Elephant Island: The Incredible Survival Story of Ernest Shackleton and the Crew of HMS Endurance
When British explorer Ernest Shackleton and the crew of HMS Endurance lost their ship to crushing pack ice in the Weddell Sea in 1915, their…
Deconstructing an Ancient Jewish Parchment by Imaging Across the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Analyses of the materials in the scrolls helps put the object into a historical context and guides conservators in future restoration efforts. A picture may…
How Cold War Spy Satellite Images Allow Scientists to Analyze Historical Ecological Change
Researchers are using Cold War spy satellite images to explore changes in the environment, including deforestation in Romania, marmot decline in Kazakhstan and ecological damage…
Discovery of 66 New Roman Army Sites Reveals Clues About One of the Empire’s Most Infamous Conflicts
The discovery of dozens of new Roman Army sites thanks to remote sensing technology has revealed more about one of the empire’s most infamous conflicts….