Persistence hunting People have been hunting for a long, long time; the history of hunting is older than people. Even monkeys hunt meat with sticks. So men and women have been hunting since [...]
History of dogs: Footprints of a child walking next to a dog, Chauvet Cave, France, ca. 24,000 BC) Where do dogs come from? Dogs are a kind of wolf. They [...]
History of cats: Sumerian clay head of a cat (Iraq, ca. 3000-2000 BC) Evolution of cats Wildcats first evolved from earlier mammals in Europe during the late Tertiary period, about [...]
Chinese painting of kite-flying - Chinese kite project Who invented kites? The earliest kites were probably invented in China about 800 BC, during the Zhou Dynasty. People made these early kites [...]
History of gunpowder: Fireworks Who invented gunpowder? Like the idea of zero, gunpowder developed gradually over time. In 142 AD, during the Han Dynasty, a man named Wei Boyang was [...]
Chinese medicine: a Chinese village doctor treating a man by burning herbs on his back (Song Dynasty, ca. 950 AD., now in National Palace Museum, Taiwan) What's the earliest Chinese [...]
Chinese astronomy: A Chinese star chart possibly dating from the 600s AD, during the T'ang Dynasty The Chinese zodiac Chinese scholars began by thinking of the stars, the sun, and [...]
Nine Chapters: How to figure out the area of an isosceles triangle. A math textbook from Han Dynasty China The earliest Chinese mathematical textbook is called the Nine Chapters. It [...]
Along the River During Qingming Festival (Song Dynasty, 1100s AD) What is Qingming Jie? Like Chinese New Year, Qingming Jie is a Chinese spring festival marking the beginning of spring [...]
Han Dynasty dancer (a clay figurine). Her long sleeves are part of the dance, and also show that she doesn't have to do any practical work. Gaozu starts the Han [...]
