Amphibian attack of spanish-tlaxcallan force

How Aztecs Reacted to Colonial Epidemics

Colonial exploitation made the indigenous Aztec people disproportionately vulnerable to epidemics. Indigenous accounts show their perspective.
A statue of Maya and Merit displayed in part in the permanent Egyptian collection at the National Museum of Antiquities or Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, Netherlands.

Hair, Gender, and Social Status in Ancient Egypt

Egyptian tomb chapels depict men, women, and children of different ranks in society. What can their hairstyles tell us about their lives?
"Nixon Tearing the Heart out of Indochina" by René Mederos

Anti-Imperialist Propaganda Posters from OSPAAAL

OSPAAAL, the international, pro-communist organization formed in 1966, decried American imperialism with powerful propaganda.
A protest during the Australian bicentenary

On Black Power in the Pacific

How the meaning of Blackness, and the social construction of race, varies across era and region.
A street during the plague in London

Plague and Protest Go Hand in Hand

Scholars of early modern England have shown how plague and protest are often correlated. The Black Death of 1348 laid the groundwork for the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, for example.
Sketch of a Mayan sacrificial stone, the engravings on the stone show men in ceremonial dress engaging in a blood-letting ritual.

Stingray Spines and the Maya

In Maya culture, rulers used stingray spines in bloodletting rituals. Researchers have ideas about why.
A pile of pots, pans, and kitchen utensils sits in front of a poster urging people to donate aluminum kitchen ware to help the US Air Force

The Environmental Costs of War

Using aluminum as a case study, a geographer shows how wartime "commodity chains" can devastate the Earth.
A swarm of locusts by Emil Schmidt

How the Soviet Union Turned a Plague into Propaganda

The fight against locust swarms allowed the Soviet Union to consolidate power over neighboring regions.
Teenagers in a Siberian village near Lake Baikal

The New Siberians

As heat waves induced by climate change roil the Arctic Circle, Siberians are articulating a distinct identity.
Marie Lafarge, c. 1850

The Arsenic Cake of Madame Lafarge

The first trial to use forensic toxicology electrified France in 1840 with the tale of a bad marriage and poisoned innards.