The Mahabharata is one of the cornerstones of Hindu mythology and I have talked about it a LOT in this blog. So starting today, I will summarize this great epic in short snippets, so let’s go to the beginning. Our story starts with Shantanu, the king of the Kuru kingdom. Once, when Shantanu went hunting,Continue reading “Mahabharata I – Shantanu”
Category Archives: Anthropology
Soma: Psychedelics in the Ancient World and India
Drugs are one of the foremost problems in our modern-day society. Drugs bolster all kinds of criminal organizations, and are nothing but a detriment to society. They destroy lives, families, and whole cities, even. The moral of the story? Don’t take drugs, kids! It may surprise you, though, that drugs have been consumed in formContinue reading “Soma: Psychedelics in the Ancient World and India”
Sapiens: A Review + Essay
The book Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind by Israeli author Yuval Noah Harari has both captivated and frenzied readers since its publication in 2011. A controversial and famously cyniecal book on the history of human society and culture, Harari’s writings have been subject to both admirant praise and harsh criticism from those who argueContinue reading “Sapiens: A Review + Essay”
A Comparison of Indo-European Legends
Greek mythology – and its close equivalent Roman mythology are some of the most popular ancient myths that people know of today. Norse mythology, or the stories of the Germanic peoples are also popular today – mainly because of the rise of modern-day children’s books like the Percy Jackson series, which offered kids a modern,Continue reading “A Comparison of Indo-European Legends”
The Younger Dryas – was there civilization in the Ice Age? Part I: Itihasas
We are taught in school that the earliest civilizations rose 6,000 years in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley. However, the mainstream academia has said that the earliest signs of civilization stretch further back to at least 8,000 BCE, or 10,000 years ago. And yet, there are some fringe scientists who disagree, who say (withContinue reading “The Younger Dryas – was there civilization in the Ice Age? Part I: Itihasas”
How “wheat (and other grains) domesticated us”
You read the title right! Wheat, in fact, domesticated us. Well, if you look at it in a certain way. Let me explain. This article was inspired by author Yuval Noah Harari, whose words I have paraphrased here, who proposed a really interesting argument that, while it sounds absurd at first, has a lot ofContinue reading “How “wheat (and other grains) domesticated us””
Us and Them: When we first met our siblings
Homo sapiens evolved in relative isolation in the south of Africa, so when we met our cousins the Neanderthals and Denisovans for the first time, it was quite the shocker. After all, even today we like to discriminate against those who are slightly different from us, and other hominins certainly fit the box of tooContinue reading “Us and Them: When we first met our siblings”
Out of Africa
We aren’t the only human species to have migrated out of Africa. In fact, our cousins have done it already, albeit to a lesser degree. The first time occurred just after the time our ancestors’ brains grew significantly and when we mastered the art of fire and was carried out by a species called HomoContinue reading “Out of Africa”
Australopithecus – before Man
Last time we left off with Ardipithecus ramidus, the first bipedal ape, around 4.4 million years ago. Let’s fast-forward a bit to Ethiopia, 3.3 million years ago, where a 4 foot tall, apelike creature walks the savanna. The Australopithecus afarensis is the most famous species in its genus, known for having one of the mostContinue reading “Australopithecus – before Man”
The Last Common Ancestor
In the last blog post I mentioned Sahelanthropus, who was potentially the first creature more human than ape. That leads us to a question that has had scientists scratching their heads for decades: What was the last common ancestor of us and chimps? Or, put more simply, what was the last species to evolve thatContinue reading “The Last Common Ancestor”
Anay Ganesh 