J. W. BarlamentJun 234 minSolving the Mystery of the Venus FigurinesThey really need little introduction. The Venus figurines, as they’ve come to be called, are some of the most famous relics from our...
J. W. BarlamentJun 235 minYour Story of the Start of Civilization is All WrongThe story of agriculture is simple and obvious. The people of the Fertile Crescent, having been hunter-gatherers for hundreds of...
J. W. BarlamentJun 135 minThe Temple of Ba’al and Astronomy in the Ancient WorldJust this year, a new discovery made it even clearer that astronomy is about to revolutionize archaeology. The island-city of Motya, just...
J. W. BarlamentJun 138 minArcheoastronomy: 12 Facts About the Night Sky in HistoryIt’s no secret that various systems of astronomy and astrology have been practiced by cultures across the globe for thousands of years....
J. W. BarlamentJun 117 minWhy Were Ancient Pagan Gods All So Petty?Ancient pagan gods seem to strike modern people as exceptionally petty. The myths of the ancient Greeks and Romans are often found...
J. W. BarlamentJan 296 minDid Rome Really Steal Zeus?The idea that ancient cultures could “steal” each other’s myths, rites, or gods is very prevalent these days. It’s easiest to point to...
J. W. BarlamentJan 234 minWhy Nostalgia Seems More Prominent NowNostalgia seems a more prominent phenomenon now than ever. Crucially, it might be coming on quicker, too. History seems like it’s been...
J. W. BarlamentJan 223 minRinglorn: The Longing for the Grandeur of the PastJohn Koenig’s “Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows” has been serving up the Internet slews of new, completely self-made words, since 2009. Most...
J. W. BarlamentOct 30, 20214 minAstronomical Myths from the Depths of the Ice AgeThe history of men making myths from the stars is already known to be an ancient one. And yet, most people can’t fathom half of its true...
J. W. BarlamentFeb 13, 20213 minKoinophobia: The Fear of the Ordinary LifeDoesn't the ordinary life just sound so much better on paper? Spend your first years in a brilliantly bright new life. Leap into the...
J. W. BarlamentFeb 5, 202121 minThe Oldest Story Ever Told: Unraveling OrionThe Magdalenian Mystery: We in today’s techy age tend to forget just how similar our ancestors were to modern men. It’s understandable,...
J. W. BarlamentJul 13, 20202 minWill Is A LieOur ability to know our limitations is, in and of itself, a limitation. Mankind is a mass of lazy bastards with a sprinkling of...
J. W. BarlamentMar 1, 20203 minLiberosis: The Yearning to be FreeThe world of today is a suffocating thing. Modernity has humanity in a chokehold, and the collective mind of mankind is starting to...
J. W. BarlamentFeb 28, 20203 minEllipsism: The Melancholy of Missing Out on the FutureThe Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is filled to the brim with invented words of unexpected poignancy. Every once in a while, however, it...
J. W. BarlamentFeb 12, 20209 minWhy Your Ancestors were Better than YouIntroduction- Prehistoric man is an enigma to his modern progeny. We tend to think of life in the distant past as an unenviable thing;...
J. W. BarlamentDec 14, 20193 minHumanity is Inherently LimitedAs intimidating of a thought as it may be, it is undeniably true. We can never know everything. Our insatiable desire for knowledge will...
J. W. BarlamentDec 2, 20194 minDistinguishing Between Knowledge, Intelligence, and WisdomWe all tend to use the terms "knowledge", "intelligence", and "wisdom" interchangeably. But should we? Of course not. I would not have...