Harmonia Philosophica

Category: Past

  • , , , , , ,

    Viking warriors… Women warriors…

    Viking warriors have a historical reputation as tough guys, with an emphasis on testosterone. But scientists about a year ago said that DNA had unveiled a Viking warrior woman who was previously found in a roughly 1,000-year-old grave in Sweden. Until then, many researchers assumed that “she” was a “he” buried with a set of…

  • , , , ,

    Tar. Adhesive irrelevancy.

    Neanderthals seem stuck with unflattering reputations. The entire species of early human ancestors has long been reduced to a pejorative for describing someone who isn’t very bright, despite growing evidence of the sophistication of Homo neanderthalensis. And recent research suggests another overlooked mark of their ingenuity: they made the first glues in the form of…

  • , ,

    Echoes from the past… Ghosts in the machine…

    Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have produced the first direct evidence that parts of our brains implicated in mental disorders may be shaped by a "residual echo" from our ancient past. The more a person's genome carries genetic vestiges of Neanderthals, the more certain parts of his or her brain and…

  • ,

    Dead songs… Lingering in the air…

    The Unesco Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger is a melancholy document, charting the 3,000 or so languages that experts predict will vanish by the end of this century. In that context, a growing number of composers are turning their attention to languages that are extinct, endangered or particular to tiny groups of speakers…

  • ,

    Acheloos. Greece. Old gods. Long forgotten…

    Recently, the tomb of an Iron Age Celtic prince has been unearthed in a small French town. The 'exceptional' grave, crammed with Greek and possibly Etruscan artefacts, was discovered in a business zone on the outskirts of Lavau in France's Champagne region. The prince is buried with his chariot at the centre of a huge…

Verified by ExactMetrics