A century ago, UChicago scholars argued a controversial idea: Western civilization had its roots in the ancient Middle East—not in Greece or Rome. Today, scholars at the OI and across the University ...

Archeologists beam lasers from the sky to unearth ancient settlements hiding in plain sight. Lidar uses laser pulses to penetrate dense vegetation, revealing human-built structures underneath. The ...

When discussing the ancient world and how it impacts us today, there’s perpetually a massive tunic-clad and public-bathing elephant in the room: the Roman Empire. According to a recent social media ...

The Indus Valley civilization, located in present-day Pakistan and India, went through four periods of intense drought, which ...

One of history's biggest questions is: "How does an entire civilization disappear?" One can comprehend how an object or even a city is lost, buried, or destroyed, but an entire group or nation of ...

Our understanding of ancient civilizations is constantly challenged by newly discovered ruins that defy mainstream historical and archaeological explanations. These fascinating remnants of the past ...

Annalee Newitz is the author of “Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age.” But the historical record shows that reports of the end times always turned out to be wrong. “Barbarians” didn’t ...

Ancient civilisations demonstrated remarkable ingenuity in managing water resources, integrating a blend of hydraulic engineering, urban planning and socio‐cultural practices to support densely ...

In this inaugural episode of Ancient Civilizations, we explore the Garden of Eden with several scholars who have peered past the accepted tales to reveal a forgotten history of the birth of humanity.