Human evolution and tubers

Apollo's Nazi connections

Portrait of Hemi Pomara as a young man: how we uncovered the oldest surviving photograph of a Māori

With the recent urgent debates about how we remember our colonial past, and moves to reclaim indigenous histories, stories such as Hemi Pomara&…

Big gods came after the rise of civilisations, not before, finds study using huge historical database

A massive database, named after Seshat, the Egyptian goddess of record keeping, is helping researchers 

Finds in Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge reveal how ancient humans adapted to change

This is a clear sign that 2 million years ago humans were not constrained technologically and already had the capacity to expand geographic range

The earliest humans swam 100,000 years ago, but swimming remains a privileged pastime

This year the OECD reported that only one in four people in low-income countries can swim

Oldest human skull outside Africa identified as 210,000 years old

It could provide new evidence that our species left Africa much earlier than previously thought

Angkor Wat archaeological digs yield new clues to its civilization’s decline

By looking at the events associated with one particular temple, archaeologists are able to see a microcosm of some of the broader regional …

History of rational thoughts

Efforts by rationalists to spread scientific thinking have been scuttled by those in positions of power throughout history

Secrets of the water fort

Planners in the ancient city of Dholavira had conceptualised an amazing system of drains, dams and tanks to manage water. To conserve every drop …

The first predicted sighting

Pierre Gassendi became the first astronomer to catch a glimpse of Mercury on the basis of a prediction made by German astronomer Johannes Kepler.

Facile material

Book>> Uranium, War, Energy and the Rock That Shaped the World by Tom Zoellner, Viking Indian Price Rs 850

The icons of physics

Book>> Quantum, Einstein, Bohr and the Debate on the Nature of Reality • by Manjit Kumar • Icon Books • Rs 300

How Shell drums created music history

News Snippets

COVID-19: Lack of funds in new normal may push some North American ethnic cultures into extinction

Museums and art venues turn to virtual tours to stay afloat but need tech overhaul

Palaeontologist discovers ancient, enormous Caelocanth species by accident

It grew to be as big as a great white shark

When did early humans reach India?

Stone tools suggest a million years ago, previous assumption was 0.5 million years ago

No blood relation

Research has revealed that modern humankind has no genetic link with the Neanderthal people

Review of the book The corporation that changed the world

Cardboard history

From the blurbs

From the blurbs

'Jahangir's scientific contributions have been ignored by mainstream academia'

Ebba Koch is an art and architectural historian. Her area of specialisation is the period of Mughal rule in the Indian Subcontinent (1526-1857). …

The Tiger in Tamilakam

The striped big cat of Asia occupied a unique place in the psyche and ethical consciousness of the ancient Tamils, something which continues to …