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Essays and videos on social issues, history, political life and the future

Animals and humans Anthropology Archaeology Automation and robotics Cities Demography and migration Economic history Economics Education Environmental history Fairness and equality Future of technology Gender Global history History History of technology Human rights and justice Information and communication Making Nations and empires Politics and government Poverty and development Progress and modernity Public health Race and ethnicity Religion The ancient world The environment The future War and peace Work

Black and white photo of ancient Egyptian artefacts in storage, including statues, chests, chairs, and bundles, within a room.

video

Archaeology

What did the first people who entered Tutankhamun’s tomb see?

5 minutes

Photo of a street sign reading ‘Gipsy Lane’, mounted on a brick wall with green foliage behind, and a car in the background.

video

History

There are fragments of Romani Gypsy history all over the UK – if one knows where to look

3 minutes

A man and a woman smiling with their hands on the shoulders of a Neanderthal figure with long hair and a beard but in modern clothes.

video

Genetics

Why it took a century to work out that humans interbred with Neanderthals

22 minutes

An ancient, broken clay tablet with a circular design and various inscriptions, displayed on a dark background.

video

Archaeology

How researchers finally solved the puzzle of the oldest known map of the world

18 minutes

Ancient Mayan ruins, including a prominent stone pyramid, surrounded by dense green jungle under a cloudy sky.

essay

Archaeology

Beyond kingdoms and empires

A revolution in archaeology is transforming our picture of past populations and the scope of human freedoms

David Wengrow

Ancient cave painting depicting bison and other animals, primarily in red and black hues, on a textured stone surface that shows visible cracks.

essay

Archaeology

Why make art in the dark?

New research transports us back to the shadowy firelight of ancient caves, imagining the minds and feelings of the artists

Izzy Wisher

Painting of four solemn figures wearing ornate and colourful robes, holding items like shields and staffs, with animals in the foreground.

essay

Archaeology

The secret life of Druids

The Greeks and Romans portrayed these elusive priests as bogeymen who bathed in their victims’ blood. Who were they really?

Miranda Aldhouse-Green

A baby in a high chair waves a yellow toy while a woman in a pink top opens a sauce bottle at a table with plates of food.

essay

Human evolution

How to grow a human

Our childhood is preposterously long compared to other animals. Is it the secret to our evolutionary success?

Brenna Hassett

Ancient Roman fresco depicting two figures engaging in an intimate moment on a bed, with a background of earthy tones and visible cracks in the surface.

essay

The ancient world

The horrors of Pompeii

The name ‘Eutychis’ was etched into a wall 2,000 years ago. Finding out who she was illuminates the dark side of Rome

Guy D Middleton

A group of four people in primitive clothing, standing in a rocky landscape with large animal bones in the background.

essay

Archaeology

Children of the Ice Age

With the help of new archaeological approaches, our picture of young lives in the Palaeolithic is now marvellously vivid

April Nowell

Ancient cuneiform script inscribed on a worn, rectangular clay tablet set against a black background.

essay

Archaeology

What the tablets say

Some 3,700 years ago, an enslaved girl, a barber, and a king crossed paths in a city by the Euphrates. This is their story

Amanda H Podany

essay

The ancient world

The other Cleopatra

Daughter of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, she became the influential queen of a mysterious, abundant North African kingdom

Jane Draycott

Person in blue coat and wellies, kneeling and picking up items from a pebbled ground, wearing gloves and a wristwatch.

video

Archaeology

From Roman pots to glass eyes, the shore of the river Thames teems with surprises

8 minutes

Footprints on a sandy desert landscape with sparse bushes, distant mountains, a cloudy sky, and an antenna structure in the background.

essay

Archaeology

Finding the First Americans

Archaeology and genetics can’t yet agree on when humans first arrived in the Americas. That’s good science and here’s why

Jennifer Raff

Golden Egyptian statue with intricate details, holding a staff, is displayed in a dark room.

essay

Archaeology

The pharaoh’s trumpet

The truly wondrous treasures of Tutankhamun’s tomb are not made of gold. They are the mundane things of everyday life

Toby Wilkinson

A vast heathland landscape with purplish-brown vegetation under a partly cloudy sky, featuring a distant hill on the horizon.

essay

Deep time

Mutual entrapment

As Neolithic people transformed prehistoric forests, they stumbled into an ecological trap. Domestication goes both ways

Mette Løvschal

Close-up of a lifelike statue’s face with realistic yellowish-brown eyes, detailed eyebrows, and a neutral expression on a reddish-brown background.

video

Archaeology

Ancient Greek sculptures were colourful. Why does the white marble ideal persist?

6 minutes

View of a misty forest with green trees seen from inside a dark cave, with stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling.

essay

Human evolution

Out of the forest

We have thought of humans for a century or more as creatures of the savannah, shaped in every way by grassland life. Not so

Patrick Roberts

Ancient clay tablet with inscriptions in an unknown script, featuring cracks and a missing corner, displayed on a light background.

essay

The ancient world

Cracking the Cretan code

Linear B has yielded its secrets, but Linear A remains elusive. Can linguistic analysis unlock the meaning of Minoan script?

Ester Salgarella

A snow-covered traditional Chinese village with grey rooftops and leafless trees, set against a backdrop of green trees and distant buildings.

essay

Cities

Energised crowding

To understand why early cities thrived, look not to the temples of kings but to their subjects’ bustling neighbourhoods

Michael E Smith

Ancient Greek inscription on fragmented stone slabs with some letters highlighted in blue against a black background.

video

Computing and artificial intelligence

How machine learning can help historians decode ancient inscriptions

7 minutes

A man in a striped shirt holds a white mask, with a red, grey, and black patterned background.

video

Art

From archaeology digs to display cabinets: how museums bring exhibits to life

37 minutes

Bust of an ancient Egyptian queen with a tall blue headdress and a serene expression, set against a dark background.

essay

Archaeology

Nefertiti’s bust

How did this ancient and enigmatic sculpture of a beautiful Egyptian queen end up as fortune’s hostage in Germany?

Joyce Tyldesley

Ancient, tattered pair of trousers displayed with four fabric samples on the right, showcasing various woven patterns and textures.

video

History of technology

Unravelling the surprisingly epic story of the world’s oldest pair of trousers

45 minutes