Did you know that kites were invented 2,300 years ago? A Chinese philosopher, Mo Di, who lived from 468-376 BCE, designed the very first kite in the shape of an eagle.[1] It was not made out of paper, because paper had not been invented yet. Instead, he used wood. Imagine how hard it must have been to fly a wooden kite! Amazingly, he did manage to keep it in the air for a whole day. His student, Gongshu Ban, later nicknamed Lu Ban, learned how to build kites from Mo Di. He even improved upon his mentor’s design, making a bamboo kite in the shape of a magpie, which is a bird common on the Eurasia continent. Lu Ban was able to keep his kite in the air for up to three days.[2] Continue reading
Category Archives: Public Life
KIDS’ BLOG! Chinese Kites Soar Throughout History
Posted in Blog, Communications, Culture, Kids Blog, Kids: Art, Kids: Communications, Kids: Culture, Kids: Public Life, Kids: Science and Tech, Public Life
Tagged ancient history, ancient kites, AntiquityNOW, box kites, Chinese engineering, Chinese kites, General Hsin, history of kites, Lu Ban, military kites, Mo Di
KIDS’ BLOG! Rain, Rain Go Away: Ancient Weather, Modern Predictions
Update! This post was originally published on June 25, 2013. Hurricane season 2014 has been pretty quiet so far, but you never know when a tiny little storm system can gain momentum and become a full-fledged hurricane. Ancient civilizations had to face threats from weather just like we do today, but they didn’t have the amazing technology we have that can track and predict storms. Read our post and learn more about ancient weather and take advantage of our all new activities after the post! Continue reading
Posted in Kids Blog, Kids: Meteorology, Kids: Natural Disasters, Kids: Public Life, Kids: Science and Tech, Meteorology, Natural Disasters, Public Life, Science and Technology, Uncategorized
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Greek mythology, Hurricane Season, meteorology, Native Americans, storms
Bon Appetit Shark Week! Eat Like the Ancient Shark Callers with Papua New Guinea’s Chicken Pot
Grey Reef Shark off Papua New Guinea. Image courtesy of Marc Tarlock.
In honor of Shark Week we’re bringing you a recipe from the island of Papua New Guinea where people continue to practice the ancient practice of shark calling. The Chicken Pot is a simple dish imbued with the flavors of the islands and reminiscent of the meals the ancient villagers would have eaten. All of the ingredients can be found on the islands and are still eaten today. Before we dig in to a delicious meal, let’s learn more about the shark callers of Papua New Guinea. Continue reading
A Brief History of the Timeless Dilemma of Censorship and America’s Response
Image courtesy of Tyler Menezes on Flickr.
The life of Socrates is in the hands of 500 reticent jurors. He stands trial for poisoning the minds of Athenian youth and inspiring rebellion with anti-democratic teachings. Silently, the jurors cast their ballots into one of two urns that represent guilt or innocence…
Socrates was found guilty and sentenced to death. Shielding the public from dangerous ideas outweighed one man’s right to free expression on the scales of Athenian justice. Throughout history, society’s weighing of public good against individual rights has shaped the history of censorship. It’s a dilemma both ancient and familiar. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Communications, Crime, Culture, Education, Human Rights, Law, Literature, Politics, Public Life
Tagged American legal system, ancient history, ancient law, AntiquityNOW, book burning, censorship, Jewish Law, Plato, Roman Law, Socrates
Exploring LegacyQuest 2014! The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat: Ancient Olympics—ESPN Style
Our featured video this week comes from The Baldwin School in Pennsylvania and received an Honorable Mention at this year’s festival. It’s ESPN Sports antiquity-style: Get all the latest sports news from the ancient world and learn how our modern sports compare to the ancient ones. This film was created by middle school students Leah, Maria, Bradleigh, Meghna and Jennifer with the help of their teacher, Jeannette Keshishian. Continue reading
KIDS’ BLOG! Seeing Ancient Invisible Ink Through Modern Eyes
Image by Noel Hidalgo Tan, Antiquity Publications.
Invisible ink, such a simple and yet crafty way to keep secrets. You may know that it was used in wars such as the American Civil War, the American Revolutionary War and both World Wars, but did you know it was being used thousands of years ago by ancient civilizations? In the first century AD, Pliny the Elder wrote in his Natural History, an early encyclopedia, about how the milk of the tithymallus plant could be adapted as an invisible ink. Ovid spoke about secret ink in his Art of Love. Ahmed Qalqashandi, a medieval Egyptian writer and mathematician, described several types of invisible ink.[1] And recently an article published in LiveScience explored a startling new discovery at Cambodia’s famous Angkor Wat temple regarding invisible ink.[2] Ancient invisible ink didn’t always start out as invisible and in this case the ancient artists probably had no idea that their stunning works would one day be hidden to the naked eye. Continue reading
Graffiti From Ancient to Modern Times: Memorialization, Human Expression and the Art That Will Not Die
Credit: Lincolnshire Medieval Graffiti Project
Graffiti has been around since time immemorial. From ancient caves to carved mountainsides to splendiferous murals, pictures have been splashed and carved on walls and surfaces throughout time and across cultures. Self-expression, political agitation, vendettas, advertisements—all reasons for some to bring out the paint and depict what moves them most. There is something inherently primal in the need to memorialize one’s self and time. Indeed, graffiti’s immediacy and rawness of expression can astonish, whether found deep in the caves of Lascaux or in the modern day artistic gyrations of the anonymous British artist Banksy. Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Origins, Art, Blog, Communications, Culture, Public Life
Tagged ancient graffiti, ancient history, Ancient Origins, AntiquityNOW, education, Lincolnshire, medieval graffiti
Exploring LegacyQuest 2014! Your Own VIP Pass to an Ancient Fashion Week
This week’s featured video is another Honorable Mention from The Baldwin School in Pennsylvania. Complete with ancient models, ancient advertisements and most importantly ancient fashion, viewers get a VIP pass to an ancient Greco-American Fashion Week. This clever film was created by middle school students Alexa May, Lindsey, Caroline, Anna and Sasha with the help and inspiration of their teacher, Jeannette Keshishian. Continue reading
Mulan: The Journey From Ancient Tale to Disney Blockbuster
In our blog series on the historic origins of Disney films, we’ve found that being literary archaeologists pays off. Digging into these films reveals layer upon layer of historic events and tales from all over the globe, each serving as inspiration for the next generation of storytellers, and culminating in the present-day retellings that we now experience at the movies. Continue reading
Exploring LegacyQuest 2014! Building a 21st Century Soccer Stadium Using Tips From 1st Century Rome
This week’s featured video is from The Baldwin School in Pennsylvania and received an Honorable Mention. Viewers are taken to a modern construction site where the architectural features of the past are shown to inspire the present. The ingenious film was created by middle school students Margaret, Emma (Karly), Charisma and Paige with the help and inspiration of their teacher, Preston Bannard. Continue reading
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