Ancient (pre BCE)
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The Lost Tribes of Israel
Jacob had twelve sons, and the descendants of those sons became the twelve tribes of Israel. They settled in the promised land, then divided into to two kingdoms. Everyone was living happily, more or less, until the conquest of the northern kingdom. The Bible discusses the lost tribes of Israel in 2 Kings 17:6: “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.” The Assyrians conquered all of Israel and destroyed the First Temple. Once in exile, this left only the Tribe of…
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Enheduanna- Princess, Priestess, Poet
There have been authors since the first person told a story around a fire. The first in history that we can call by name is Enheduanna. Enheduanna was born the daughter of Sargon of Akkkad, the first ruler to unite central and southern Mesopotamia. For this he went down in history as Sargon the Great and can be argued to be the world’s first emperor. Her mother was a Sumerian priestess. Sargon was a son of a priestess. He describes his life as “My priestly mother conceived me; secretly brought me to birth; set me in an ark of bulrushes; made fast my door with pitch. She consigned me to…
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The Origins of the Wheel
The word wheel comes from the Old English hwēol, of Germanic origin, from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit cakra ‘wheel, circle’ and Greek kuklos ‘circle’.The oldest known wheel found in an archaeological excavation is from Mesopotamia, and dates to around 3500 BC, a relatively late chapter in the story of the development of human civilisation really.One of the reasons why the wheel was invented only at this point in history (The Bronze Age) is du [...]
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The Original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are the first known list of the most remarkable creations of classical antiquity; it was based on guidebooks popular among Hellenic sightseers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. The number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it represented perfection and plenty, and because it was the number of the five planets known anciently, plus the sun and moon. The Original Seven Wonders are listed below with a brief description: The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis…
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Native American Death Beliefs
Native Americans had many different beliefs when it came to death. They did however share the belief that they should focus on helping the deceased be comfortable and protect them in the afterlife. I will give a few examples below on what a few of the Native American nations did to honor their dead. Death rituals include placing food, weapons, jewelry, tools, or pots within the burial site for the use of the deceased in his afterlife. The Nez Perce Native American’s would even sacrifice the deceased’s horse, wives, or his slaves so they could be buried together. Other common Native American death rituals include: The medicine man or spiritual…
