Ancient Man = Toddlers

Ancient Man = Toddlers

Have you ever noticed that our expectations for ancient man are similar to those for toddlers?   Hear me out:1. They aren’t allowed to use power tools.2. They can’t be motivated by practicality.3. They must believe in Santa Claus and bogeymen under the bed. Yes, I know, it sounds weird, but let’s look at Gobekli Tepe. Discovered in 1994, this site…

Reading Ancient Mail isn’t Snooping, Right?

Reading Ancient Mail isn’t Snooping, Right?

Late in the fall of 1896, Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt, scholars fresh from Oxford took the steamer to Cairo. They wanted to become Famous Archaeologists during a period when the British were fascinated by ancient Egyptian artifacts. So fascinated that said artifacts were disappearing from Egypt like sliced grapes from a toddler’s plate.  They decided to dig…

Terra Preta – The Extraordinary Potting Soil of the Ancient Amazonians

Terra Preta – The Extraordinary Potting Soil of the Ancient Amazonians

When you think about ancient technology, how often does potting soil come to mind? Well, it should.  The soil of the Amazon is generally poor, acidic, and leaches nutrients like a sieve. Growing food there is a nightmare—unless you happen upon, or go looking for, some of the intensely fertile, beautiful black gold put there…