Month: December 2024
Has the Tomb of Saint Nicholas, the Inspiration for Santa, Been Found in Turkey?
This is a big one, especially at this time of year: excavations at the Church of St. Nicholas in Demre, on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, have found a sarcophagus. And…
Ben Franklin, and All Those Bodies They Dug Out of his Basement
Benjamin Franklin is a figure of historic importance. He is what used to be called a “man of letters” and a polymath, but this only goes so far in explaining how important…
Man’s Best Friend: Human-Dog Ties in the Americas are 12,000 Years Old
A new study has revealed that the cooperative bond between humans and canines in the Americas may date back as far as the Late Pleistocene, some 12,000 years ago. This pushes back…
The Harpe Brothers: The First Serial Killers in American History
The United States has had more serial killers than any other nation in modern history. US law enforcement communities even found it necessary to define the term, back in the 1960s. Before…
Gak Attack! Barbarians Snorted Drugs Before Battle, Study Finds
If you are facing battle, it is generally a good thing if the soldiers on your side are alert, or maybe confident, and even downright reckless in their disregard for danger. The…
Homo Juluensis: “Bigheads” Join the Growing List of Proto-Humans
Something new in the field of paleoanthropology: researchers have discovered a new species of human. Well, not human exactly but a close relative of Homo sapiens, which has been named Homo juluensis…