Archaeology

c. 1250–1050 BCE

Oracle Bones: What the Shang Asked Their Ancestors

Questions about illness, harvests, warfare and childbirth survive on Shang oracle bones. These inscriptions reveal a royal court seeking guidance from ancestors and divine powers.

5 min readLibradia Editorial

c. 250–900 CE

Water for a Maya City: The Reservoirs of Tikal

Discover how Tikal collected and stored water, what mineral evidence suggests about filtration, and why water quality varied across the Maya city.

6 min readLibradia Editorial

c. 100–600 CE

Life in Roman Stobi: Streets, Spectacles and Belief

Explore Stobi through its theatre, streets, residences and religious buildings, following the changing uses of a Roman provincial city.

6 min readLibradia Editorial

c. 700–1500 CE

Coins, Beads and Porcelain: What Objects Reveal About Trade

Read the Swahili coast through small finds: locally made coins, beads of different materials and ceramics whose uses changed after arrival.

5 min readLibradia Editorial

c. 700–1500 CE

From the African Interior to the Coast: Following the Trade Routes

Connect Great Zimbabwe, Mapungubwe and coastal landing places through the objects and African communities behind long-distance exchange.

5 min readLibradia Editorial

AI-generated illustration

c. 3500–2700 BCE

Uruk: How an Early City Worked

Explore early Uruk through its buildings, waterways and clay tablets. Discover how archaeology helps explain life in one of Mesopotamia’s earliest cities.

5 min readLibradia Editorial

AI-generated illustration