The latest wonders from the Polyhistoria library.
Anthropology, Boundaries, Cartography
Aaron Carapella, a self-taught mapmaker in Warner, Okla., has designed a map of Native American tribes showing their locations before first contact with Europeans.
Healing, Medical History, Scientific Investigations
Makeshift, Powering Up, Video Electives
Akhshar Varziyev used old mining machinery to turn the power of a mountain river into electricity for his village.
Makeshift, Powering Up, Video Electives
Anthropology, Linguistics, Video Electives
Anthropology, Harvest, Trade, Video Electives
For over 50 years Baltazar Ushca has harvested the glacial ice of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo.
Communication, Makeshift, Trade
Original stories about the ancient past where people are surprisingly familiar.
Ancient vs Modern, Laws & Orders, Student Article
Ancient vs Modern, Boundaries, Cartography, Student Article
Ancient vs Modern, Culinary Adventure, Harvest
It has long been argued that bread is what led humans to begin sowing fields, settling down, and abandoning their hunter-gatherer ways.
Ancient vs Modern, Levity, Metascholarship
Ancient vs Modern, Cartography, Exploration
What did the United States look like to the Ottomans?
Ancient vs Modern, Historia, Humanity
Ancient vs Modern, Anthropology, Archaeology
Ancient vs Modern, Cuneiform, Laws & Orders, Student Article
Cyrus (Khūraš) the Great was known for his humane treatment of conquered subjects. He also wrote the world’s first declaration of human rights.
Forget Carpe Diem. Start Dropping Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam Instead.
Ancient vs Modern, Historia, Oddities
Ancient vs Modern, Historia, Medieval
Looking to learn about the history of Anglo-Saxon England? Here is our playlist of Youtube videos about England between the fifth and eleventh centuries.
Ancient vs Modern, Historia, Metascholarship
“A person of learning always has wealth on their own.”
Here’s one of my favorite cuneiform letters translated to English. It’s a letter written by a boy who was away at boarding school…
Over the past few years, I’ve experimented with growing different “heirloom” wheat varieties that have come down to us through the ages from antiquity…
Comparing medieval to modern brewing, using the same base recipe.
Ancient vs Modern, Ex-Libris, Oddities
This word is used by Gilgamesh and Enkidu of each other.
The greatest moments of learning about the ancient past are those where people are surprisingly familiar…
How we teach, learn, share, barter, steal, warn, court, threaten, trade and of course, just talk. This is Communication.
Communication, Makeshift, Trade
“Are You Sure” is a service designed to quell violence via text message, by confirming or denying rumors of ethnic strife.
Communication, Linguistics, Trade
b’ejekoteem = caminar llevando muchas cosas dentro de la ropa = to walk carrying many things underneath one’s clothes
A trove of intriguing books in PDF format free to download for dedicated curiosity-seekers.
Ex-Libris, Resources For Curious Minds
Ex-Libris, Resources For Curious Minds
Ex-Libris, Resources For Curious Minds, Resources For Parent Educators
Ex-Libris, Resources For Curious Minds
Cuneiform, Ex-Libris, Resources For Curious Minds
Ancient vs Modern, Ex-Libris, Oddities
An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements. Think of it as the intellectual’s equivalent to wasting time browsing Instagram or Facebook.
Ancient vs Modern, Levity, Metascholarship
Organizers founded the modern Olympic Games in 1896, and they hadn’t quite got the hang of things by 1904.
This is the best footnote on a research paper I have ever seen.
Historia, Humanity, Levity, Oddities
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, we’re told explicitly that the creature is “gigantic”; at his birth at Ingolstadt he’s described as 8 feet tall.
Mexico’s shock vendors jolt you for a price
The joy of small things lost in translation…
International Relations, Levity
Normal Historian: Slavery caused the Civil War
Me: Did you know that there’s a woman who dated BOTH Pauly Shore AND John Legend?
If Netflix hires historians to be talking heads, why can’t it run the final visuals by them?
Curious stories about dead languages, rough translations, forgotten cants, mysterious codes, and uncracked ciphers from around the globe.
Lingua Obscura, Video Electives
The word barbarian was coined by the Greeks to cover all people who didn’t speak Greek.
The joy of small things lost in translation…
In 1777, British General Sir Henry Clinton sent this message to his fellow officer John Burgoyne…
Historia, Lingua Obscura, Oddities
These stories feature tax-savvy shoppers, houses from recycled boats, bureaucracy-beating apps, and tales of migrant ingenuity – creative workarounds for a world crisscrossed by boundaries.
Anthropology, Boundaries, Cartography
Aaron Carapella, a self-taught mapmaker in Warner, Okla., has designed a map of Native American tribes showing their locations before first contact with Europeans.
Ancient vs Modern, Boundaries, Cartography, Student Article
Refugee Doctor Provides Care In Calais ‘Jungle’ When NGOs Leave
One-fifth of Venezuelan fuel exports leave the country illegally. Find out why and how smugglers move fuel across borders in this animated breakdown.
Boundaries, Linguistics, Resistance
Boundaries, Global, Resistance
From trucker art in Japan to bamboo bikes in Africa, these stories take you on a tour of how people move themselves and their possessions at the street level.
A Creative Greek Farmer Living Next To A Refugee Boat Graveyard
Only 5% of Cubans currently have internet access, but semi-legal information peddlers have figured out how to make internet travel by foot.
Zambikes provides alternative transportation solutions in Zambia using the abundant bamboo that grows around their workshop.
Original stories grounded in academic research, plus clever curation from around the web.
Anthropology, Harvest, Trade, Video Electives
For over 50 years Baltazar Ushca has harvested the glacial ice of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo.
Communication, Makeshift, Trade
Culinary Adventure, Historia, Trade
Centuries ago, in England, lots of cheeses had a natural yellowish-orange pigment.
Communication, Linguistics, Trade
b’ejekoteem = caminar llevando muchas cosas dentro de la ropa = to walk carrying many things underneath one’s clothes
Culinary Adventure, Oddities, Trade
Mexico’s shock vendors jolt you for a price
One-fifth of Venezuelan fuel exports leave the country illegally. Find out why and how smugglers move fuel across borders in this animated breakdown.
Until the 1990s it was arguably legal to purchase stolen goods in London’s Bermondsey Market without fear of prosecution.
Only 5% of Cubans currently have internet access, but semi-legal information peddlers have figured out how to make internet travel by foot.
Everyone’s gotta celebrate. Shake loose, rejoice, jump for joy, shout to the skies, and revel.
Organizers founded the modern Olympic Games in 1896, and they hadn’t quite got the hang of things by 1904.
The town of Glacier View, Alaska, doesn’t get dark enough for fireworks on the Fourth of July. So they drive cars off a cliff.
With a mass jousting event involving hundreds of charging horsemen, the Sumbanese celebrate the advent of harvest and arrival of sea worms.
Spark your intellectual curiosity with these original, thought-provoking videos. Watch, learn, share, debate. Only through questioning the world around us, can we come to better understand it.
Makeshift, Powering Up, Video Electives
Akhshar Varziyev used old mining machinery to turn the power of a mountain river into electricity for his village.
Makeshift, Powering Up, Video Electives
Anthropology, Linguistics, Video Electives
Anthropology, Harvest, Trade, Video Electives
For over 50 years Baltazar Ushca has harvested the glacial ice of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo.
Hannibal always remained an enemy of the Roman people, even after his defeat at Zama by Scipio Africanus.
Lingua Obscura, Video Electives
The word barbarian was coined by the Greeks to cover all people who didn’t speak Greek.
These comprehensive resources for parent educators include summaries of history and art, maps, lesson plans, and activities for learners.
Resources For Parent Educators
Resources For Parent Educators
Resources For Parent Educators
Resources For Parent Educators
This is a comprehensive resource for parent educators, which includes summaries of ancient Egyptian history and art, maps, lesson plans, and learner activities.
Ex-Libris, Resources For Curious Minds, Resources For Parent Educators
