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Unlike today, where shipbuilding is based on science and where ships are built using computers and sophisticated tools, shipbuilding in ancient Rome was more of an art relying on rules of thumb, inherited techniques...

In the 5th century BCE, the Carthaginian explorer Hanno sailed beyond the Pillars of Hercules, out of the Mediterranean and into hitherto unknown territory down the Atlantic coast of Africa. In his search to find new...

The Dialogue of Pessimism (c. 1000 BCE) is a Babylonian poem featuring a master and his slave in ten exchanges during which the master proposes an action, and the slave gives reasons for and against its pursuit. The piece...

Ancient China had seen little Western contact before the 16th century CE, the language, culture and science all being allowed to develop independently of foreign influence. By the time European Jesuit...

The Medicine Arrows and the Sacred Hat is a short essay by anthropologist George Bird Grinnell (l. 1849-1938) explaining the origin and significance of the medicine arrows and buffalo hat, central to Cheyenne...

The Mandan Buffalo Dance is a ceremonial ritual observed in the modern era to honor the spirit of the buffalo and preserve Native American cultural traditions and was performed in the past for the same reasons just prior to...

Egyptian law was based on the central cultural value of ma'at (harmony and balance) which was the foundation for the entire civilization. Ma'at was established at the beginning of time by the gods when the earth...

The Dun Horse is a Pawnee tale about a poor boy and his grandmother, who find an old horse and take it in. The horse turns out to be magical, however, and improves their fortunes considerably. Like many Pawnee legends – and Native...

Abolitionist author, orator and statesman Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) is well-known for his speeches, autobiography, and other works addressing the issue of slavery in the United States...

Wihio tales are the Cheyenne legends featuring the trickster figure Wihio, who appears, variously, as a wise man, fool, villain, or hero and is associated with the spider. Wihio Tales continue to be as popular with the Cheyenne today...