Updated Articles and Resources

By K. Kris Hirst, About.com Guide since 1997

Edgefield Pottery Created: Monday, May 27, 2013 Updated: Wednesday, June 12, 2013
The Edgefield pottery, or Edgefield district, is the name of an important set of potters in the 19th century, who together created an international amalgam of stonewares.
Exporting Chinese Porcelains - A History Created: Tuesday, June 11, 2013 Updated: Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Chinese porcelains were produced and exported from kilns to the outside world beginning in the 13th century AD, an early example of how international trade began.
Jingdezhen (China) Created: Monday, May 27, 2013 Updated: Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Jingdezhen is the name of a famous ceramic production center in China, where a veritable army of potters created fabulous porcelains for the emperors of the Ming, Qing, Yuan and Song dynasties.
Père d'Entrecolles Created: Saturday, June 08, 2013 Updated: Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Père d'Entrecolles was a French missionary in China, whose letters back home transformed the commercial production of ceramics
Dave the Potter Created: Sunday, June 02, 2013 Updated: Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Dave the Potter was an important American ceramist, who worked in the Edgefield potteries of South Carolina, first as a slave, then as a free man.
Peak Sanctuaries Created: Friday, July 04, 2008 Updated: Saturday, June 08, 2013
A peak sanctuary is a type of shrine, a cult or ritual space associated with the Minoan cultures of the Bronze Age Aegean.
Minoans Created: Tuesday, October 09, 2007 Updated: Saturday, June 08, 2013
The Minoan civilization is what archaeologists call the early part of the prehistoric Bronze Age of Greece.
Vathypetro (Greece) Created: Tuesday, October 09, 2007 Updated: Saturday, June 08, 2013
Vathypetro is the name of a small Minoan settlement located about 10 kilometers south of the palace at Knossos on the island of Crete.
The Palace of Minos at Knossos Created: Sunday, June 26, 2005 Updated: Saturday, June 08, 2013
The Palace of Minos, excavated by Arthur Evans, is a standard Minoan palace of extraordinary size, begun during the prepalatial period of the Minoan civilization.
Goats (Capra hircus) Created: Monday, October 09, 2006 Updated: Wednesday, June 05, 2013
Beginning about 10,500-10,800 years ago, Neolithic farmers in the Near East began keeping small herds of goats for their milk, meat, dung, as well as for materials for clothing and building: hair, ...
Heuneburg (Germany) Created: Monday, August 04, 2008 Updated: Monday, June 03, 2013
Heuneburg is the name of an early Iron Age (Hallstatt period) urban center, one of the oldest centers north of the Alps.
Hallstatt Culture Created: Friday, March 18, 2011 Updated: Monday, June 03, 2013
The Hallstatt culture refers to the early Iron Age of central Europe.
European Iron Age Created: Monday, March 14, 2011 Updated: Monday, June 03, 2013
The European Iron Age is that period in Europe when the production of iron created a burgeoning growth of urban dwellings.
Journey of the Universe and Journey of the Universe: Conversations Created: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 Updated: Saturday, June 01, 2013
The videos Journey of the Universe and Journey of the Universe Conversations explore the intersection of science and religion to provide what the producers call "a story" for human society.
The Library of Alexandria (Egypt) Created: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Updated: Friday, May 24, 2013
The Library of Alexandria was Alexander the Great's dream of scholarly pursuits, housed in his capital city on the Nile Delta of Egypt.
The Ancient Art of Making Organic, Edible Flour Created: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 Updated: Friday, May 24, 2013
Flour is one of the oldest kinds of processed foods ever made: at least 30,000 years old and perhaps older still.
100,000 Year Old Paint Pots at Blombos Cave Created: Friday, October 14, 2011 Updated: Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Blombos Cave is an important key to understand the beginnings of early modern behaviors: the latest discoveries there of tool kits for making pigment are detailed in this photo essay.
Cotton (Gossypium) Created: Friday, November 19, 2010 Updated: Monday, May 20, 2013
Refer to this page to learn more about the origin of cotton domestication and cultivation
Secrets of the Dead: Caveman Cold Case Created: Sunday, May 12, 2013 Updated: Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The episode of Secrets of the Dead called Caveman Cold Case is an excellent discussion of two Neanderthal cave sites and what archaeologists have learned about our not-so-distant cousins.
Chichén Itzá (Mexico) Created: Sunday, July 08, 2007 Updated: Monday, May 13, 2013
New Seven Wonders Chichén Itzá - Mexico
Lisht Created: Sunday, January 15, 2006 Updated: Monday, May 13, 2013
A brief description of the pyramids at Lisht: ancient egyptian culture egyptology resources kingdom egypt nile river glossary definition
La Draga (Catalonia, Spain) Created: Friday, November 11, 2011 Updated: Sunday, May 12, 2013
La Draga is an early Neolithic village, occupied between 5300-5100 BC on the shore of Lake Bayoles in Catalonia, Spain.
Neanderthals at Gorham's Cave, Gibraltar Created: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 Updated: Saturday, May 11, 2013
Researchers working on the Gibraltar promontory have amassed a suite of about 30 AMS radiocarbon dates from stacked Neanderthal occupations at Gorham's Cave that suggest Neanderthals were still liv...
El Sidrón (Spain) Created: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 Updated: Saturday, May 11, 2013
El Sidron is an archaeological site in the Asturias region of northern Spain where the remains of at least 12 Neanderthals have been recovered.
Sago Palm - Metroxylon sagu Rottboell Created: Wednesday, May 08, 2013 Updated: Friday, May 10, 2013
The sago palm was likely domesticated in Papua New Guinea perhaps 2,000 years ago.
What is the Aztec Calendar Stone? Created: Saturday, March 05, 2011 Updated: Thursday, May 09, 2013
The Aztec Calendar Stone, known more properly as the Aztec Sun Stone, is a basalt sculpture with carvings related to the sun god Tonatiuh and other calendar symbols
Charlie Lake Cave (Canada) Created: Sunday, March 30, 2008 Updated: Thursday, May 09, 2013
Charlie Lake Cave is a stratified rockshelter in northeastern British Columbia located within the so-called "Ice Free Corridor".
Damascus Steel - Sword Makers of the Islamic Civilization Created: Thursday, November 30, 2006 Updated: Thursday, May 09, 2013
Damascus steel, the legendary steel blade scimitar of the Islamic side in the Crusades, was a formidable piece of weaponry for the middle ages. Modern science has given us new insights into how thi...
Archaeology of North America Created: Saturday, December 03, 2005 Updated: Thursday, May 09, 2013
Archaeology of the world, from your About.com Guide
Plant Domestication Created: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Updated: Wednesday, May 08, 2013
A collection of plant histories, when and where humans domesticated them, with a table of dates and places and links to the stories themselves.
Khmer Empire Created: Monday, May 06, 2013 Updated: Tuesday, May 07, 2013
The Khmer Empire is the name of a large and complex civilization which ruled a major chunk of Southeast Asia for five hundred years between 800 and 1300 AD.
Roman Empire in the Netherlands Created: Sunday, March 24, 2013 Updated: Sunday, May 05, 2013
The Roman Empire had lasting effects on the Iron Age cultures of Europe, not the least of which is the low country of Netherlands.