Posted inArchaeology

A Network of Parallel Ceremonial Roads Aligned with the Winter Solstice, Found in New Mexico

The Gasco archaeological site, located south of the iconic Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, has revealed a fascinating network of parallel ceremonial roads that, far from being mere functional infrastructure, embody deep ritual connections with geography and the cosmos. A recent study led by Robert S. Weiner and other researchers, published in Antiquity, explores how […]

Posted inModern Era

The Battle of Lake Erie: The Naval Clash Between Americans and British That Prevented an Invasion From Canada

Dear General: We have met the enemy and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. This telegram might not resonate with most readers, but among enthusiasts of Anglo-American naval history, it holds a certain fame. On September 10, 1813, Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry sent this message to his superior, U.S. […]

Posted inSecond World War

Black Panthers: The African American Soldiers of the 761st Tank Battalion Who Fought at the Battle of the Bulge

They made a good first impression, but I have no faith in the inherent fighting ability of the race. This was what General Patton declared after inspecting the 761st Tank Battalion in 1944, on the eve of their baptism of fire. The renowned military leader was merely reflecting the prevailing opinion among U.S. commanders regarding […]

Posted inSecond World War

The Invasion of Saint Pierre and Miquelon in 1941, the Only Nazi Germany-loyal Territory in North America, Lasted 20 Minutes

Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon), a French archipelago of two islands located in North America about twenty-five kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland, is the last remaining vestige of the former Viceroyalty of New France (which encompassed parts of what are now Canada and the United States, such as Quebec and Louisiana). Like other territories, […]

Posted inModern Era

Jeannette Rankin, the First Woman Elected to the U.S. Congress, Voted Against Entering Both World Wars

The National Statuary Hall is a semicircular room in the U.S. Capitol originally built to host sessions of the House of Representatives (the lower chamber of Congress) but repurposed in 1864 to house statues of prominent historical figures from the country. There are over a hundred statues, including one of Spanish friar Junípero Serra, but […]

Posted inAge of Exploration, Archaeology

Nature of the Enigmatic “Armas de la tierra” of the Coronado Expedition in the 16th Century Revealed

Recent research has unveiled the nature of the weaponry used by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s expedition (which crossed the present-day U.S. states of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas), referred to as Armas de la tierra (weapons of the earth), which had until now remained an enigma. This study, led by Deni J. Seymour, […]

Posted inArchaeology, Science

A Fossil Found in Utah Reveals the Origin of the Earth’s First Vertebrates

The history of life on Earth dates back more than 500 million years, when complex-structured organisms emerged during the Cambrian period. A recent discovery in the western Utah desert sheds light on this crucial period in the evolution of vertebrates, the group that includes all animals with a backbone. In a geological area known for […]

Posted inModern Era

The World’s Richest Man in the First Half of the 19th Century Was a Chinese Merchant Who Lent Money to American Millionaires

If we asked who the wealthiest person in the world was in the first half of the 19th century, many would likely think of Queen Victoria or an American multimillionaire like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Morgan, or Ford. But the queen did not ascend the throne until 1837 and thus needed decades to amass her fortune, estimated […]