Summer is winding down and kids are heading back to school. There are supplies to organize, bags to pack and school clothes to buy. But you also want to make sure they are ready to reboot from a long summer. We at AntiquityNOW are here to help. For the next two weeks we’re highlighting select cultures with a list of blog posts and links to help your child brush up on the ancient past and its enduring legacy today. Continue reading
Tag Archives: history
Summer Reading Recap: Rome
Posted in Blog
Tagged ancient history, ancient recipes, Ancient Rome, AntiquityNOW, back to school, history, Roman Empire, Roman history, Rome, social studies, summer reading
From Ancient Graffiti to Modern Street Art: Our Need for Self Expression Through Time
Maeshowe chambered cairn.
Update! This post was originally published on December 12, 2012. The post below explores humanity’s fascinating obsession with leaving our mark. Graffiti has been with us since before recorded history. It provides an incredible wealth of information about who we are as historical beings and where we’ve been. These ancient markings also cause us to reflect on the sweep of human endeavor and wonder what will remain of the 21st century that may intrigue, appall or inspire, much as ancient graffiti does today. Continue reading
Posted in Art, Blog, Communications, Culture, Public Life
Tagged ancient graffiti, ancient history, AntiquityNOW, communication, graffiti, history, Maeshowe, Pompeii, social media, Viking graffiti
Looking for Natural Skin Care Tips? Ancient Chinese Empresses and Concubines Share Their Recipes
1862 advertisement for Laird’s Bloom of Youth, claiming to preserve and beautify the complexion and skin. Source: Cosmetics and Skin.
UPDATE! This post was originally published on January 17, 2013. Skin care and that eternal search for youth are back in the news this month with a remedy that is both scandalous and ancient: blood. A new study has found that young blood does have powers of rejuvenation. The blood plasma from young mice was injected into old mice who then experienced improved learning and memory.[1] It isn’t a far leap to imagine applying this research to skin care and the possibility that blood may impart youth to the physical appearance as well. This is certainly not a new thought. History has several examples of people who believed blood was perhaps a fountain of youth. Continue reading
Posted in Beauty, Blog, Culture
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, china, history, pearl powder, skin care
Tattoos and the Body as Canvas
UPDATE! This post was originally published on March 14, 2013. One year later and ancient tattoos are back in the news due to a fascinating find and an exciting exhibit at the British Museum. Eight mummies from Egypt and Sudan have been subjected to CAT scanning, infra-red “reflectography” and carbon dating in an effort to develop a more complete picture of their ancient lives for the new exhibit called Ancient Lives: New Discoveries. The scanning has revealed previously unseen features from beneath their wrappings. One of the most interesting discoveries is a tattoo on the inner thigh of a 1,300 year old female mummy. The tattoo represents the symbol of the Archangel Michael and spells out in ancient Greek M-I-X-A-H-A (Michael). According to an article by Robert Mendick in The Telegraph, the woman was 20-35 years of age, died in about 700 CE and “lived in a Christian community on the banks of the Nile.”[1] Continue reading
Calling All Teachers! Showcase Your Best Ideas With AntiquityNOW!
Author: Shirley K. Gazsi, President of AntiquityNOW
As we all know, teachers are some of the hardest working, most dedicated
professionals around. In the last few days I saw firsthand the caliber and quality of this field at the National Council for the Social Studies conference.
St. Louis Gateway Arch
AntiquityNOW was selected from more than 90 proposals to give a poster session on our organization and our prototype Yesterday’s Child, which is a comprehensive, culturally immersive curricular series about ancient cultures and their legacies today. I also attended the conference to understand the prevailing issues in teaching social studies today and to gain an appreciation of how AntiquityNOW can serve as a resource to the educational community. At our poster session and the many gatherings I attended, I discussed collaborative opportunities with teachers as well as other folks from nonprofit organizations representing a broad array of interests. Continue reading
What’s That Baby T-Rex Doing in My Birdcage?
Guanlong wucaii
UPDATE! Originally published on December 12, 2012, this was AntiquityNOW’s first blog post! The dinosaur/avian connection is back in the news today with the announcement that Australia will be the first country to publicly display specimens of Guanlong wucaii, a relative of Tyrannosaurus rex that helped confirm the link between dinosaurs and birds. The Guanlong wucaii is the T-Rex’s oldest relative living around 90 million years before its gigantic relative. Unlike the more famous T-Rex, the Guanlong wucaii much more closely resembled our modern day birds as its body was covered in feather-like structures. Stephen Wroe, associate professor at University of New England and a palaeontologist, said, “It might be hard to imagine how Tyrannosaurus, with its huge size and famously tiny arms, could be related to birds. But Guanlong demonstrates earlier relatives of Tyrannosaurus were much more avian – more lightly built and with longer forelimbs.”[1] Continue reading
Posted in Biology, Blog, Science and Technology
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, birds, dinosaurs, history, paleontology
The History in our Language: Idioms from Ancient Times, Part 1
*Originally published on February 7, 2013, this is the first post in our Ancient Idioms series. Don’t miss Part 2 on Thursday!
It’s no secret that English is heavily influenced by Latin and Ancient Greek – especially if you’ve ever had to study vocab for the SATs – but it might surprise you to know that many of our current idioms have been around since ancient times. Idioms usually form based around the culture that speaks the language, yet the English language has several idioms that come from antiquity. They are a testament to how relevant history is to our lives today, and how we’re not so dissimilar to our ancient ancestors. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Culture, Public Life
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, history, language
It’s the Power of Love: St. Valentine and the Romantic Brain
It’s Valentine’s Day. Moonlight and roses, chocolate and Hallmark cards… ahhh, the power of love. But why do we love? What is that irresistible draw to the heart and soul of another human being?
For such a popular holiday, Valentine’s Day is marked by an interesting historical fact—we’re not really sure of its true origins. The actual St. Valentine is a martyred figure associated with three stories from the early Christian Church. In one, St. Valentine was a Christian priest thrown into a Roman prison for preaching his beliefs. On February 14, he was beheaded not only for disputing Roman deities but also for allegedly curing the jailer’s daughter of blindness—a miracle not looked kindly upon by the Romans trying to suppress the upstart religion. His farewell letter to the jailer’s daughter, signed “From your Valentine,” and the letters he received and sent from jail to the friends who cared for him supposedly began the exchange of notes of affection for this holiday. Continue reading
Posted in Biology, Blog, Holidays, Public Life, Science and Technology
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, brain, Claudius, history, Roman, St. Valentine, valentine's day
Super Bowl XLVII and the Superstars of Ancient Rome
Detail of the Villa Borghese gladiator mosaic, 4th century CE
The stadium is hot, packed with roaring fans ready to cheer for their favorite players. Above the din, vendors are screaming out what foods and souvenirs are for sale. The city is festooned with colorful advertisements sporting muscle-bound celebrities endorsing the latest products. Super Bowl 2013? Think again. It’s actually ancient Rome. As the doors open, the gladiators emerge, boldly strutting onto the field for the day’s games. The crowd goes wild, Roman BCE-style. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Celebrities, Culture, Public Life, Sports
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, football, gladiators, history, Pompeii, Super Bowl
Suffering the Flu? Be Happy It Isn’t the Plague!
This is the worst flu season since 2010, and we haven’t even hit the official peak of the season, which is typically in February.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is calling the outbreak an epidemic. According to Curtis Allen, spokesperson for the CDC, “When the H3N2 virus circulates, we tend to have a more severe season. It can cause more hospitalizations and kill more people ages 65 and over.” In fact, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency and ABC named Boston a “city under flu crisis.” Continue reading
Posted in Biology, Blog, Healing Arts, Science and Technology
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Athenian plague, CDC, history, influenza, Justinian plague, plague
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