Social structure: Did you mean...?

This infographic illustrates the Varna caste system in ancient India. First mentioned in the Rig Veda's Purusha Sukta c. 1200–1000 BCE, it shows society divided into four groups that emerged from the sacrifice of Purusha, a transcendent and...

A representation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, oil on canvas by Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier, c. 1789. Musée Carnavalet, Paris.

An 1819 painting titled The Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull. Various figures such as George Washington are shown presenting the Declaration of Independence of the 13 colonies from British rule to Congress. (United States Capitol...

A Roman coin depicting a citizen voting, silver denarius of L. Cassius Longinus, 63 BCE. Archaeological Museum, Tarragona, Spain.

Thinking Big: How Evolution of Social Life Shaped the Human Mind, by Drs. Clive Gamble, John Gowlett, and Robin Dunbar, explores the prehistoric and ancient origins of our social lives in a mere 224 pages. Divided into seven chapters, Thinking...

A ziggurat is a form of monumental architecture originating in ancient Mesopotamia which usually had a rectangular base and was built in a series of steps up to a flat platform upon which a temple was raised. The ziggurat was an artificial...

Scythian women garnered leadership roles and a raised level of status in their day, which is perhaps without parallel until recent times. While many female figures rose to pivotal roles in history, their rise was not a reflection of systemic...

The Crisis of the Third Century (also known as the Imperial Crisis, 235-284 CE) was the period in the history of the Roman Empire during which it splintered into three separate political entities: the Gallic Empire, the Roman Empire, and...

Female gladiators in ancient Rome – referred to by modern-day scholars as gladiatrix – may have been uncommon but they did exist. Evidence suggests that a number of women participated in the public games of Rome even though this practice...

Roman Baths were designed for bathing and relaxing and were a common feature of cities throughout the Roman empire. Baths included a wide diversity of rooms with different temperatures, as well as swimming pools and places to read, relax...