Prehistoric

For those looking to taste out of the box, chicha—a fermented beverage from Latin America—may not be the obvious choice. The drink encounters some resistance, largely due to the fermentation process associated with it, which involves chewing starch-rich ingredients—such as corn and yuca—before spitting them into a container to ferment.

The Choctaw creation story, as told by Isaac Pistonatubbee at the end of the 19th century and recorded “word for word in his native tongue” by Henry Halbert who published the story in volume 4 of the Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, begins with a vivid depiction. According to Pistonatubbee, the narrative of these tribes' emergence from Nanih Waiya—a sacred site in Choctaw tradition—unfolded as follows:

Hundreds of books have been written about the advanced astronomical knowledge of the ancient Egyptians. Similar efforts have been made to identify the astronomical obsessions that motivated the builders of Stonehenge, and to explain the details of the complex Maya cosmology. But there have been few systematic attempts to record the astronomical achievements of the Indigenous people of the world, which is what Australian astrophysicist Duane Hamacher set out to correct.

Mammoths became extinct on mainland Alaska just under 12,000 years ago. Or at least that’s the current consensus. This timeline supports the argument that the arrival of humans at the end of the last Ice Age, around 14,000 years ago, played a pivotal role in their demise.

Interview excerpt

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.