Ancient

Nobles of the powerful Mesoamerican civilization conjured gods and ancestors in rituals centered around the objects.

Floralia was a celebration of spring, flowers, and so-called prostitution.

Who put the Marie in "bain-Marie"?

The former undertaker collects human brains, talks to them, and hopes they won’t haunt her.

Total solar eclipses were an omen of death for rulers of the Assyrian Empire. The fix? Install a fake king and then kill him.

Vapors from the delicious food have a surprising effect.

From a first-century poet to a Roman consul’s wife.

They still can’t fully crack the mystery.

From bow-wielding Amazons to the trash-talking, 18th-century “Mother of Boxing.”

Whatever you call it, early February's cross-quarter day reconnects us with ancient astronomical timekeeping traditions.

And had some pretty bad oral health.

From a complaint logged on an ancient tablet to the birth of jazz in a tiny New Orleans public square.

Unlike Sun-focused Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments, Tomnaverie and similar stone circles hint at the Moon's importance to ancient people.