Is There a Witch Bottle in Your House?
In the 16th-18th centuries, vessels filled with nails, thorns, hair, and other materials, were used as a form of ritual protection against witches.
Witches’ Marks Protected Spaces from Evil
Throughout history, people tried to protect spaces from evil with apotropaic marks, ritual concealments, and other charms.
An Ancient Egyptian Funerary Vessel Heads to Outer Space
Tavares Strachan's “Enoch” was launched into space on December 3rd, 2018. It's the latest in a long line of artworks inspired by Egyptian canopic jars.
A Mesoamerican Ball Game Returns
An ancient ball game called Ulama is making a comeback in Mexico. What do we know about the earlier iteration of the game?
Henges, Barrows, and Tombs: Ireland’s Archaeology
A drone flying over a field in Ireland was able to make out the outline of an ancient henge, a circular enclosure that may have had ritualistic purposes.
What About the Art in “Apesh*t”?
Beyoncé and Jay-Z's new music video was filmed entirely at the Louvre museum. What messages hide in the histories of the featured artworks?
How Ancient Peoples Fed the Dead
4,000 years ago in what is now Jerusalem, someone was buried with a jar of headless toads. In fact, many ancient graves included food for the afterlife.
A Natural History of the Wedding Dress
The history of the wedding dress is shorter than the history of weddings, and even shorter still than the history of marriage.
A Brief History of Prosthetic Limbs
Prosthetics have come a long way from the wooden big toe found on a a 3000-year-old mummy, or the Etruscan bridgework made of human teeth.
Have Humans Been in the Americas Longer Than We Thought?
Humans may have inhabited the Americas much longer than initially suspected. But questions like who these people were remain unanswered.