When we think about cutting-edge technology, we usually picture Silicon Valley startups or futuristic labs. But here's the thing - some of the most mind-blowing innovations weren't dreamed up in the ...

Human civilization has a remarkable tendency to pat itself on the back for “inventing” things that ancient people figured out thousands of years ago. We celebrate our smartphones, our central heating, ...

Roman, Egyptian, and Chinese civilizations had many different ingenious inventions. Chocolate was a big aphrodisiac for Mesoamerican civilizations and used for energy. The first earthquake detector is ...

Earthquake monitoring, steam engines, surgery, and advanced materials: A journey through ancient inventions that were ahead of their time—and did not survive. In the year 138 AD, in the imperial court ...

We tend to dismiss the ancient world way too quickly. History gets compressed and when we look back, we often see a blur of stone tools, togas, sandals, and people squinting at the stars. But an ...

Ancient wildfires may have inspired pottery by showing early farmers how fire could transform ordinary clay into a hard, durable material.

The human capacity for invention is unparalleled. We have developed technologies that have allowed us to survive and thrive far beyond the ecological niches that constrained our ancestors. While our ...

Ancient inventors were working without computers, electric tools, or modern laboratories, yet some of what they produced remains surprisingly difficult to explain. Researchers can often identify what ...

African origins of farming -- Africa and the age of metals -- African musical instruments and pottery -- African pottery -- African recording and writing systems -- African mathematics, weights and ...