Why don’t people of color swim?
A Tibetan swimming contest in the Kyichu River (1695 AD) In most of the world, people kept on swimming after 1500 AD pretty much the same way they had before [...]
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06, 2017
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06, 2017
When was backgammon invented?
Royal Game of Ur (2600 BC; British Museum) Backgammon's from older board games Backgammon is descended from much older board games from Africa and West Asia like Senet and Tabula [...]
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06, 2017
Wine-making and wine presses – History
Roman slaves treading grapes Wine-making started out pretty simple: you picked the grapes and put them in a big concrete box, and then barefooted people - usually enslaved people - [...]
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06, 2017
History of dates (food) – West Asia
History of dates: Two dates Dates are from West Asia Wild dates probably evolved around 50 million years ago, as a way for date palms to get animals to eat [...]
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06, 2017
Where do almonds come from? West Asian food
History of almonds: Almonds drying after harvest (Southern Spain) Where do almonds come from? Wild almonds are related to peaches and apples. Almonds probably evolved about the same time, around five [...]
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06, 2017
When did people start riding horses?
Riding horses: Assyrian archer on horseback, ca. 650 BC Riding horses Near the beginning of the Iron Age, about 800 BC, people in Central Asia began riding horses more instead of [...]
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06, 2017
Who was the African god Bes?
The Egyptian god Bes An African god Beginning about 2500 BC, near the end of the Old Kingdom period in Egypt, people started worshipping a new god, Bes. Nobody knows [...]
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06, 2017
When did the Persians rule Egypt?
Cambyses II capturing the Egyptian pharaoh Psamtik, from a seal (500s BC) The Persian king Cambyses II conquered Egypt in 525 BC. Libyans attacked from the east, but the Persians fought them off. [...]
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06, 2017
Chicken history – Where are chickens from? India and China
Chicken history: Clay hen whistle from Mohenjo Daro (ca. 2700 BC, now in Brooklyn Museum) Where are chickens from? Long ago, lots of wild chickens lived in India and East [...]
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06, 2017
A day in Mesopotamia – food, costumes, activities
Molded bricks form an archer at ancient Susa, in Iran If you're a teacher, parent, or day camp counselor thinking of spending a week or so on ancient West Asia [...]
