Thousands of people visit Teotihuacan each year, drawn by its massive pyramids and wide stone roads. But behind the familiar ...

Researchers have made another major stride in understanding humanity’s origins of writing. In Mesopotamia, the birthplace of civilization, the earliest known writing system started around 3,000 BCE.

The recent unearthing of ancient Chinese relics has opened up new possibilities for the timeline of written communication. These artifacts, fascinatingly etched with intricate markings, provide a ...

Ann Patchett, who has written eight novels and five books of nonfiction, says that when faced with writer’s block, sometimes it seems that the muse has “gone out back for a smoke.” It doesn’t matter ...

Figure 1. 'Unicorn' stamp seal and modern impression. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access/Public domain In my previous post, I discussed the Indian subcontinent's first civilization and ...

From the cuneiform writing of Euphrates and Tigris to the pyramids along the Nile, from the urban grids of the Indus to the ...