History

November 17, 2024

British Library Exhibit Reveals Lives of Medieval Women

Medieval European life was very different than life today. Thanks to the plague, there was significantly more death, monarchs held absolute sway, and everyone thought the world was flat. However, many things were much the same as today. People loved their pets, wore sentimental jewelry, and roamed many city streets that still exist. Another similarity between modern and medieval times was the critical contribution to the economy and rich social lives of women.

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November 8, 2024

Archaeologists Unearth 3,500-Year-Old Wooden Spade Preserved in British Wetlands

During recent excavations for The Moors at Arne project, Wessex Archaeology uncovered one of Britain’s oldest and most complete wooden tools—a rare discovery that sheds light on how Bronze Age communities interacted with the wetlands along England's southern coast. Pottery and stone artifacts are relatively common finds during excavations, but intact wooden artifacts are much rarer since wood usually disintegrates over time.

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October 14, 2024

Día de los Muertos: How Mexico Celebrates Its Annual “Day of the Dead”

Throughout history, cultures across the globe have adopted creative ways to deal with death. In ancient China, they crafted funerary sculptures to fill complex mausoleums. During the Dutch Golden Age, artists touched on mortality in their memento mori still life paintings. And, in modern Mexico, people celebrate Día de los Muertos, a colorful holiday dedicated to the dearly departed. Though this festival has evolved over centuries, it remains one of Mexico's most historically and culturally important events.

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September 29, 2024

Compelling Video Shows How the Fotoplayer Added Music and Sounds to Silent Films

Back in the day, silent films weren't limited to accompanying music. Thanks to a very clever instrument known as the photoplayer or fotoplayer, pictures got diegetic sounds such as thunder, bird chirps, doorbells, and gunshots, as well as a whole orchestra-worth of musical instruments. These instruments appeared in 1912, falling out of fashion with the arrival of “talkies” in the late 1920s.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.