Historic Eras
Historic eras—including prehistory, ancient and modern history—represent time viewed through the lens of human events
Snapshot: Tikal
A virtual vacation to Tikal National Park in Guatemala
July 01, 2007 |
By Maggie Frank
Reconstructing Petra
Two thousand years ago, it was the capital of a powerful trading empire. Now archaeologists are piecing together a more complete picture of Jordan's compelling rock city
June 2007 |
By Andrew Lawler
The Man Who Sailed the World
Ferdinand Magellan's global journey gave him fame, but took his life
June 01, 2007 |
By Haley Crum
Return of the Sun Cult
In Peru, scientists discover the oldest solar observatory in the Americas
May 01, 2007 |
By Eric Jaffe
Beyond Jamestown
After the colony was founded, 400 years ago this month, Capt. John Smith set out to explore the riches of Chesapeake Bay. With Smith's journals to guide him, a modern-day sailor retraces that historic voyage
May 2007 |
By Terence Smith
Saving Machu Picchu
Will the opening of a bridge give new life to the surrounding community or further encroach upon the World Heritage Site?
May 01, 2007 |
By Whitney Dangerfield
Lost City of Powhatan
The Algonquian settlement crucial to the survival of Jamestown 400 years ago has been found. Finally
April 2007 |
By Andrew Lawler
Raising Alexandria
More than 2,000 years after Alexander the Great founded Alexandria, archaeologists are discovering its fabled remains
April 2007 |
By Andrew Lawler
The Mystery of Easter Island
New findings rekindle old debates about when the first people arrived and why their civilization collapsed
April 01, 2007 |
By Whitney Dangerfield
Who Was Cleopatra?
Mythology, propaganda, Liz Taylor and the real Queen of the Nile
April 01, 2007 |
By Amy Crawford
Reading Between the Lines
Scientists with high-tech tools are deciphering lost writings of the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes
March 2007 |
By Mary K. Miller
Doctor Feelgood
Stricken by "vile melancholy," the 18th-century critic and raconteur Samuel Johnson pioneered a modern therapy
January 2007 |
By John Geirland
Pilgrims' Progress
We retrace the travels of the ragtag group that founded Plymouth Colony and gave us Thanksgiving
November 2006 |
By Simon Worrall
The Queen Who Would Be King
A scheming stepmother or a strong and effective ruler? History's view of the pharaoh Hatshepsut changed over time
September 2006 |
By Elizabeth B. Wilson
A Mystery Fit For A Pharaoh
The first tomb to be discovered in the Valley of the Kings since King Tut's is raising new questions for archaeologists about ancient Egypt's burial practices
July 2006 |
By Andrew Lawler
Interview with Andrew Lawler, Author of "A Mystery Fit for a Pharaoh"
Andrew Lawler discusses imperialism and the natural romance of studying ancient cultures.
July 01, 2006 |
By Amy Crawford
Odyssey's End?: The Search for Ancient Ithaca
A British researcher believes he has at last pinpointed the island to which Homer's wanderer returned
April 2006 |
By Fergus M. Bordewich
