Prehistoric

Interview excerpt

Since the dawn of humanity, countless civilizations have engaged in ritual sacrifice. Often, these sacrifices involved other humans, and were so common they were considered a normal aspect of life. In some cultures, it was even an honor to be the one chosen for sacrifice!

For thousands of years, lithophones - a term to denote musical instruments crafted from stone - have captivated audiences around the world. Much like a xylophone or a marimba, lithophones produce musical notes when struck. They come in all shapes and sizes, with the stones carved or shaped to create a variety of pitches and tones.

For those in the Northern Hemisphere, March 20 this year marks the vernal, or spring equinox, while for those in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the time of the autumnal equinox. It marks the day when the sun passes over the celestial equator and the length of day and night is roughly equal, thus the word ‘equinox’, which means ‘equal night’ in Latin.

Roughly 18,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers in New Guinea loved nothing more than a good fried egg and a lump of roasted bird meat. To enjoy these treats more easily, they turned to bird breeding. What is surprising is that they bred one of the deadliest birds on the planet: the deadly cassowary.

We’ve all created associations between certain foods and ingredients with particular places and cultures. But the history of the origin of foods is complicated and ascertained only thanks to serious academic and scientific study. Read on to discover the lesser-known origins of popular foods.

One of the most intriguing and perplexing legends of the Australian Aboriginal people is that of the Wandjinas, the supreme spirit beings and creators of the land and people. The land of the Wandjina is a vast area of about 77,220 square miles in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia. This region has continuously been important for indigenous culture since at least 60,000 years ago, and probably much longer.

A perplexing question that often arises is: why did our ancestors undertake chthonic journeys into the deepest bowels of the earth to express themselves through art against the uneven walls of the darkest caves? Why not paint rock art in more accessible locations?

What do you think about when you are about to visit the Great Pyramid, one of the most iconic ancient monuments in the world? The answer, as you traverse the uneven bedrock towards its elevated location, is its extraordinary size. However big you imagined it to be, it is never enough to fully appreciate its enormous size.