Posts by Madeleine Muzdakis

Madeleine Muzdakis

Madeleine Muzdakis is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met and a historian of early modern Britain & the Atlantic world. She holds a BA in History and Mathematics from Brown University and an MA in European & Russian Studies from Yale University. Madeleine has worked in archives and museums for years with a particular focus on photography and arts education. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, film photography, and studying law while cuddling with her cat Georgia.
Archeology
June 23, 2024

Missing Head of Ancient Greek Statue Unearthed After 2,100 Years

Ancient Greeks immortalized their gods in many ways, but most notably in elegant, magnificent stone statues. Many of these statues survive today, whole or in pieces, and offer insight into a lost world of worship and art. Archeologists continue to discover new examples of statues in new places. Recently, archeological work in ancient Laodicea on the Lycus, now modern-day Turkey, unearthed two exciting finds.

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Archeology
June 17, 2024

Vogelherd Horse: The World’s Oldest Known Horse Carving From 32,000 Years Ago

Horses have been central to human life for millennia, even before they were domesticated and utilized. Ancient wild horses roamed Europe and Asia, where they were hunted by the earliest humans. As a valuable and notable food source, the horses were immortalized in cave drawings, most notably in the prehistoric Lascaux caves. But even older artists depicted horses. The oldest known sculpture of a horse created by modern humans dates back about 32,000 years.

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Archeology
June 13, 2024

130,000-Year-Old Carved Bear Bone May Be the Earliest Neanderthal Art

Neanderthals, our ancient human cousins, left behind many remnants of their now-extinct existence. Some left footprints now fossilized in Spain from steps they took 100,000 years ago. Others left handprints and cave art on the walls of earthen hideouts. But a fragment of bone discovered in the 1950s in a Polish cave may indicate these ancient humans created art 130,000 years ago.

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Archeology
June 8, 2024

Gardener Discovers Rock With Ancient Irish Writing System in His Yard

Gardening is good for the soul, its fans argue, but it also can be as adventurous as a journey through time. In May 2020, during the isolated times of the COVID-19 quarantine, an Englishman named Graham Senior was digging in his garden in Coventry when he encountered a rock. Typically, rocks in gardens are more annoying than exciting, but Senior noticed unusual markings on the stone once he unearthed it.

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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.