It’s hot out there, folks! In the northern hemisphere, we’re all searching for the best way to cool down. We turn to all of our modern techniques: air conditioning, electric fans, cooled swimming pools, ice packs and more. But did you know that the ancients had their own ways of cooling off? From fans to fountains and even the first air conditioner, antiquity never ceases to surprise and amaze. Check out our post, It’s Hot, Hot, Hot! Ancient Methods of Keeping It Cool, for more fascinating info on the history of chilling out. Continue reading
Category Archives: Engineering
Throwback Thursday! Ancient Ways to Cool Off
Author PJ Hodge Presents “The Viaduct (A Ghost Story)”
It’s that time of year again that with frissons of delight we delve into the dark world of ghosts and goblins. And again we turn to author P J Hodge as he takes us on a tale of trauma and memory in the English countryside. His stories often draw from ancient themes that transcend time and culture, where the dimensions of existence blur between this world and what lies beyond. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Culture, Engineering, Holidays, Literature, Public Life, Science Fiction
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, aqueduct, ghost stories, ghost story, Roman aqueducts, scary stories, scary story, viaduct
It’s Hot, Hot, Hot! Ancient Methods of Keeping It Cool
It’s August, and that means the summer days are dwindling. Yet the soaring temperatures, hazy skies and dripping clothing tell another story. Summer still has us in its grip. Yes, it’s really sweltering out there. And if there’s one thing we modern folks love during these dog days of summer, it’s our air conditioning. Continue reading
Buildings of the Future With Foundations in the Ancient Past
UPDATE! This post was originally published on December 16, 2014. In the post below we discussed some ancient building techniques that are being employed in creative and practical ways. These techniques, while thousands of years old, are being utilized in modern constructions because they are sturdy, economical, efficient and sustainable. Today we’re bringing you one more ancient innovation: bamboo. Bamboo is one of the oldest building materials and has been used extensively in South America, Africa and especially Southeast Asia, all areas where it grows in abundance. Incredibly, even though bamboo is strong, beautiful and plentiful, in ancient times it was thought of only as a building material for the very poor.[1] Those who could not afford more lavish materials were forced to pull from their surroundings, and since bamboo was always at hand, it became the most employed. Even today in China, bamboo is referred to as “the poor man’s timber” and is not “accepted as a modern building material.”[2] However, this opinion is rapidly changing as forward-thinking architects around the world have begun to praise bamboo’s unique and valuable qualities. For example, bamboo is light and flexible, and bamboo buildings have been found to withstand earthquakes far better than those made from other more modern materials.[3] Also, while wood can take several decades to mature and be harvested, most bamboo can be harvested after growing for three to six years. In fact, there is one species that only takes two months to mature.[4] Compared to other building materials, bamboo can be processed with relatively little energy and only a limited amount is needed to build an entire house.[5] It can be combined with plywood and steel to create uniquely strong buildings able to withstand natural disasters.[6] Continue reading
Qin Shi Huang’s China: The Secret Tomb of the First Chinese Emperor Remains an Unopened Treasure
A kneeling crossbowman from the Terracotta Army assembled for the tomb complex of Qin Shi Huang (r. 221–210 BC)
The history of China can be likened to a majestic tapestry threaded with innovative technologies and embellished with the exquisite artifacts of a prolific culture. Intertwined in this more than 4,000-year-old history are the wars and periods of peace that have lent definition to the complex evolution of this most populous modern nation. Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Origins, Architecture, Blog, Culture, Engineering, Politics, Public Life, Science and Technology, War and Violence
Tagged Ancient China, ancient engineering, ancient history, ancient mysteries, Ancient Origins, ancient tombs, AntiquityNOW, Qin Shi Huang, Qin Shi Huang tomb, social studies curriculum, Terracotta Army
The Fable of “The Sheep and the Horses”: Take a Listen to the 6,000-Year-Old Language of Our Ancestors
UPDATE! This post was originally published on February 25, 2014. The post below reveals the amazing technology that is helping linguists rediscover languages from our past that were lost long ago. Specifically, it discusses the discovery of a Proto-Indo-European language that was spoken over 6,000 years ago. Today’s update is about saving a language before it becomes extinct. Some young people in Louisiana, United States, are fighting to preserve the language of their people, a little known Native American tribe called the Houma. Continue reading
Posted in Art, Blog, Communications, Computer Technology, Culture, Engineering, Public Life, Science and Technology
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Eurasia, language, linguist, Native American languages, Native American tribes Louisiana, Proto-Indo-European, The Sheep and The Horses, translation, United Houma Nation
Strata: Portraits of Humanity, Episode 2, “Metalla Oiassonis: Roman Mining in Northern Spain”
We are pleased to bring you “Metalla Oiassonis: Roman Mining in Northern Spain,” which is Episode 2 of the new documentary series Strata: Portraits of Humanity, produced by AntiquityNOW’s partner, Archaeological Legacy Institute.
“Metalla Oiassonis” is a film by Felix Ugarte Elkartea of Spain that introduces us to the complex world of ancient mining that the Romans developed at the ancient port city of Oiasso. Oiasso is situated within the modern city named Irun in Spanish and Gipuzkoa in Basque, which is located in Spain near the French border. In the western foothills of the Pyrenees next to the Bay of Biscay stands the granite massif called Aiako Harria in Basque and Peñas de Aya in Spanish. On these slopes one of the chief mining centers of the Iberian Peninsula lasted until modern times. Continue reading
Maps, Part 3: Defining and Explaining our Past, Present and Future
“Gaia spacecraft” by ESA–D. Ducros, 2013
In Parts 1 and 2 of Maps: Defining and Explaining our Past, Present and Future, we explored how the ancients mapped the heavens and how modern space programs capture data today. Amazingly adept we humans have been at duality, both mythologizing and demystifying the worlds around us through time. As we calculate and calibrate and chronicle, we push the boundaries of our known existences and challenge ourselves to see where the impossible can become the possible. Take a look at the Gaia Probe that will map out the Milky Way using a billion pixel camera and two telescopes. The Milky Way was the stuff of dreams for millennia. Now the Milky Way will be rendered with a precision that boggles the mind and unlocks the mysteries that have intrigued the human imagination for centuries. Continue reading
Maps, Part 2: Defining and Explaining our Past, Present and Future
3,600 year old Nebra Sky Disc.
From time immemorial humans have looked to the heavens for the sustenance given by sun and rain, for the celestial bodies that calibrated sowing and reaping, for the gods that needed adulation or appeasement, and for signs that there is a greater power that makes existence more than a throw of the dice. What is it that humans seek in mapping the ground under their feet, the seas that swell up before them and the heavens that arch high above? Continue reading
Saving the Past With 3D Printing: An Interview with Dr. Bernard Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory
Click to view the video interview or scroll down to view it on this page.
In this June 2014 video interview AntiquityNOW spoke with Bernard Means, PhD., who heads up the Virtual Curation Laboratory and is an Instructor of Anthropology and Advisor for the Virtual Archaeology Scanning Team (VAST) at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He discusses what archaeologists are doing to document information and why 3D technology holds a unique place in preservation efforts. In this wide-ranging and lively interview you’ll learn how 3D printing can help preserve ancient sites in areas of conflict and the amazing possibilities afforded in bringing the past alive to teachers, students and those who treasure our global heritage. Continue reading
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