General History Topics
By Ancient History Encyclopedia www.ancient.eu | A selection of articles and definitions which sweep across the whole ancient world to give a unique insight and comparison of ancient cultures.
King David
According to biblical tradition (and some say myth), David (c. 1035 - 970 BCE) was the second king in the ancient United Kingdom of Israel who helped …
Ancient HistoryCopper_in_Antiquity
Copper was probably the first metal used by ancient cultures, and the oldest artefacts made with it date to the Neolithic period. The shiny red-brown …
ArchaeologyPaleolithic
The Palaeolithic (‘Old Stone Age’) makes up the earliest chunk of the Stone Age – the large swathe of time during which hominins used stone to make …
AnthropologySilver_in_Antiquity
Silver had great value and aesthetic appeal in many ancient cultures where it was used to make jewellery, tableware, figurines, ritual objects and …
Ancient HistoryUluburun Shipwreck
The Uluburun shipwreck is a Bronze Age vessel discovered lying off the coast of Kas, Turkey. The ship, probably originally from Phoenicia/Canaan, …
Ancient_Amber
Amber, the fossilised resin of trees, was used throughout the ancient world for jewellery and decorative objects. The main source was the Baltic …
Denisovan
The Denisovans are an extinct group of fossil humans who, along with their sister group the Neanderthals, also share an ancestor with <i>Homo sapiens</i>. …
Woolly Mammoth
The woolly mammoth, <i>Mammuthus primigenius</i>, is an extinct herbivore related to elephants who trudged across the steppe-tundras of Eurasia and North …
Ancient Silk
Silk is a fabric first produced in Neolithic China from the filaments of the cocoon of the silk worm. It became a staple source of income for small …
Homo naledi
<i>Homo naledi</i> is an extinct species of human discovered in Rising Star Cave in South Africa in 2013 CE in what has become the biggest single-species …
The Neanderthal-Sapiens Connection
In May 2010, after years of intense discussions surrounding possible fossils of mixed <i>Homo sapiens</i> and Neanderthal descent floating around the …
Homo_floresiensis
<i>Homo floresiensis</i>, nicknamed ‘hobbit’ because it only stood about 1 meter tall, is an extinct species of fossil human that lived on the island of …
Ice Age
An ice age is a period in which the earth’s climate is colder than normal, with ice sheets capping the poles and glaciers dominating higher …
Early Human Migration
Disregarding the extremely inhospitable spots even the most stubborn of us have enough common sense to avoid, humans have managed to cover an …
Studying History Evaluating Sources
History (from the Greek ἱστορία, meaning ‘a learning or knowing by inquiry’) can be broadly taken to indicate the past in general but is usually …
Ancient HistoryThe Origin and History of the BCE/CE Dating System
In recent years, a persistent criticism has been leveled against the use of the BCE/CE system (Before the Common or Current Era/Common or Current …
Homo heidelbergensis
<i>Homo heidelbergensis</i> is an extinct species of human that is identified in both Africa and western Eurasia from roughly 700,000 years ago onwards …
Homo sapiens
<i>Homo sapiens</i> (‘wise man’), or modern humans, are the only species of human still around today. Despite having invented countless ways of labelling …
Chauvet Cave
The Chauvet Cave (also known as the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave) is a Palaeolithic cave situated near Vallon-Pont-d’Arc in the Ardèche region of southern …
Homo erectus
Who were they?<p>In the 1890s CE, fossils found by Eugène Dubois at the site of Trinil on Java, Indonesia, became the first to be classified as</i> …
Stone Age Tools
As the Stone Age covers around 99% of our human technological history, it would seem there is a lot to talk about when looking at the development of …
Prehistoric Hunter-gatherer Societies
Hunter-gatherer societies are – true to their astoundingly descriptive name – cultures in which human beings obtain their food by hunting, fishing, …
Neanderthal
When & where did they live?<p>Owing to the difficulties that the process of evolution adds to the classification of species, there is no clear-cut date …
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic, deontological, grass–roots, Jewish sectarian movement that focuses upon the life, teachings, and mission of Jesus of …
TheologyLascaux Cave
Lascaux Cave is a Palaeolithic cave situated in southwestern France, near the village of Montignac in the Dordogne region, which houses some of the …
The Monastic Movement: Origins Purposes
In 313 CE, Constantine the Great (272 – 337 CE) ended the sporadic-yet-terrifying Christian persecutions under the Roman Empire with his “Edict of …
The Eastern Perspective on the Trinity
All too often, the Eastern perspective on the Trinity is mistakenly overlooked by Western society in the study of Church History. This is …
Ptolemy's Letter to Flora
Although many Christians, theologians, and denominations have advocated for the idea that all biblical texts within the canon are one in spirit, …
Ignatius of Antioch His Letter to the Ephesians
For many people, the origins of the Christian church are shrouded in obscurity outside of the biblical narratives concerning Jesus Christ and his …