It turns out the Dark Ages weren’t all that dark! According to new research, medieval medicine was way more sophisticated than previously thought, and some of its remedies are trending today on TikTok. A new international research project featuring faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York reveals that people in the Middle Ages…
Denisgo/Getty Images Everyone everywhere eats for survival, and hopefully sometimes for enjoyment. Food is universal, and it unites us. Food is part of our cultural identities, an element of religious rites, and an always significant component of celebrations. In some cases, the foods we eat today have not changed much since those their origins. Grains…
According to today’s newspaper, Spain is expected to lose some 30% of its population over the next 75 years, based on current birth rate projections, a loss of over eight million inhabitants—too great to cover through the influx of migration (La Vanguardia, 17 May). And what about other European countries? The study cited above predicts…
From ancient Greek sapphism to the lesbian renaissance, this is how one word endured the centuries Over 2500 years ago, on an island cradled between Greece and Turkey, a poet called Sappho was born. Alcaeus, her countryman and contemporary, described her as “violet-haired, pure, honey-smiling”, Philodemus of Gadara as “the tenth Muse”, and Socrates as…
The ‘Barbarian Conspiracy’ of 367 CE was one of the most severe threats to Rome’s hold on Britain since the Boudiccan revolt three centuries earlier. Contemporary sources indicate that components of the garrison on Hadrian’s wall rebelled and allowed the Picts to attack the Roman province by land and sea. Simultaneously, the Scotti from modern-day…
Climate change presents an urgent global challenge, manifesting in rising temperatures and extreme weather events with severe societal impacts. The Eastern Mediterranean, warming faster than the global average, faces immediate repercussions. Climate literacy emerges as pivotal, empowering individuals to comprehend climate science and act accordingly. This study delves into climate literacy, attitudes, and ‘greening’ behaviours…
This study aims to use a rich, millennia-long anthracological dataset to observe the role of Olea europaea L. in the Early and Middle Holocene woody vegetation used by prehistoric groups in the circum-Aegean area. A synthesis of previous and new data obtained in the context of ERC project PlantCult, reflects variations in the distribution and…