History from a science fiction fan's perspective
Check any standard reference on the history of the Lombards and you’ll most likely find very few facts about their origins but much speculation — speculation which, when considered carefully, makes very little sense. Traditionally the Lombard tribal name is ….
If you have ever been curious about old languages you have probably browsed special dictionaries — of which many may be found online — that “translate” ancient or medieval languages into modern English. If you have studied J.R.R. Tolkien’s literature ….
The Economist has reported on a recent linguistic study by Dr. Quentin Atkinson, of the University of Auckland, in New Zealand. Dr. Atkinson compared phonemes from over 500 languages around the world and used each language’s phoneme complexity to triangulate ….
Scientists in Saudi Arabia disclosed this week the discovery of artifacts from a lost 9,000-year-old culture that has been dubbed the “Al-Maqar Civilization”. Al-Maqar is a region in central Saudi Arabia that, until now, had not attracted much scientific interest. ….
In a lengthy discussion titled Africa 60,000 Years Ago: The Age of Adam SF-Fandom founder Michael Martinez proposed an interpretative reading of a growing body of signals from the past 30-120,000 years of human existence in and near Africa. DNA ….
We don’t think about the multi-generational consequences of the innovations we develop but the long-term impacts of advances in human activities have had a profound impact on both our health and our own development. A study published last year suggests ….
Bronze-age warfare in northern Europe is difficult to study. We have no surviving epic poems from that era. Nor do we have any major archaeological sites such as lost cities which may reveal clues about ancient wars. Nonetheless, through the ….
The Daily Mail reports that a recent book is claiming to make the case for identifying the historical figure behind the legends of Robin Hood. Historian David Baldwin’s book, Robin Hood: The English Outlaw Unmasked, was published in 2010 and ….