Maya jade earflares were believed to open pathways to the divine

Experience Maya culture through art—both ancient and modern

This gallery showcases how Maya culture endures through both ancient monuments and modern artistic expressions, tracing visual traditions from pre-Columbian carvings and murals to contemporary works created by Maya artists.

Ritual Maya dental ornaments may have prevented tooth decay

Analysis of Maya dental sealants shows they used plant resins and gums—some derived from pine with antibacterial properties—suggesting gemstone tooth inlays may have helped reduce infection while serving ritual and symbolic purposes.

Who were the mirror-bearers of ancient Mayan civilization?

The Mirror-Bearer is a remarkable example of Early Classic Maya art, one of many discovered that were crafted from solid hardwood around 500 CE. The male figure is adorned in a knee-length woven skirt and shawl and once held a removable plaque, likely a mosaic mirror. It is a model of an actual Mirror-Bearer, likely a royal court dwarf, and depicts typical Maya courtly scenes. Learn more about the sculpture and its inspiration here.

An Aztec skull whistle discovered in the 1990s was mistaken for a toy

In the late 1990s, archaeologists unearthed a sacrificed man clutching two skull-shaped clay whistles at a Mexico City temple to the wind god Ehecatl (eh-HEH-kahtl). Initially dismissed as toys, the instruments produce a scream-like sound that modern brain scans show triggers fear and urgency responses in listeners. This podcast explores the discovery.

The medieval meaning of your birthstone

Medieval people viewed birthstones very differently from modern jewelry marketing. Rather than simply being decorative, gems were believed to possess extraordinary magical, medical, and mystical powers. This article breaks down some fascinating insights into medieval gemstone beliefs, including that diamonds could fend off insanity and nightmares.

A Maya creation myth begins with dwarfs

In the Popol Vuh—a foundational Maya creation text from Guatemala—an early age is marked by dwarves gifted with great vision and intellect. Their hubris led to destruction by flood, after which humans were created from corn with deliberately limited sight.

The Maya believed every person is born with a spirit companion

In Maya belief, each person is linked to a spirit or animal companion associated with one of the 20 sacred calendar day signs. Enter your birthday and discover your companion, which is believed to reflect your personality traits.

The Maya played a ballgame that symbolized the conflict between good and evil

Played on I-shaped courts across Mesoamerica, the Maya ballgame was a ritualized sport tied to cosmic struggle. Contrary to popular belief, the game did not involve mass sacrifice or basketball-style scoring.

Ancient Egyptian papyrus from 16th century BCE seems to reference tinnitus

Ancient Egyptians wrote that they treated "bewitched ear" with herbal concoctions that involved frankincense and other ingredients, which were placed in the ear.

To reach the afterlife, Egyptians lived in accordance with ma'at, or harmony

The ancient Egyptians held many beliefs about eternal life, fueling entire industries tasked with building tombs for the dead. Their leader, the pharaoh, was believed to be divine, and the lives of ordinary people were punctuated with ritual and myth. Learn more about their religion here.

Marigolds are an iconic symbol of Day of the Dead

The native Mexican flower performs several functions in Day of the Dead celebrations. Its vibrance and unique scent help guide wandering souls home, and its cheerful color reminds celebrants that death can still be joyful.

Beads are social currency during Mardi Gras

Historians believe krewes started tossing small items, colloquially called "throws," to onlookers sometime in the 1870s or 1880s. Eventually, shiny beads became the norm and were usually given to those offering something in return. (At times, that meant free booze or the flashing of breasts.) The early strings of beads were glass, though by the 1960s most were plastic.

The prophetic Oracle of Delphi held real power in ancient Greece

It was said to have a direct line to Apollo, the Greek god of various domains, including music and prophecy. The oracle was believed to be the most important job in the city and could only be held by women. After years of training, oracles-to-be would be assessed to see if they could become the Pythia—the single oracle who would communicate Apollo's will.

Fulgurites are glass sculptures made by lightning vaporizing sand

Sometimes referred to as fossilized lightning, these tube-like structures are formed when high-temperature electrical currents fuse mineral grains into crystals, which can feature branching patterns resembling filaments of current. Their name derives from "fulgur," the Latin word for lightning.

Near-death experiences have been reported across cultures across for millennia

This collection of ten of the earliest recorded NDEs gives an idea of how pervasive the phenomenon really is. Stories range from ancient Greek philosopher Plato telling the story of a soldier named Er to a first-century Japanese monk who claimed to have visited both heaven and hell.

How the Inca used threads to communicate

One of the great mysteries of ancient Peru is that the Inca did not have a system of writing, but communicated with a system of strings tied with knots. This 4-minute video explores its possible uses.

Most custom earmolds for in-ear hearing aids are made using 3D printing

The technology has also been utilized for behind-the-ear and receiver-in-canal hearing aids, allowing for the creation of structures tailored to the patient's anatomy for enhanced effectiveness. 3D printing has also been used to print retinal eye cells and custom eyeglass frames.

The dragon has been central to Chinese culture since ancient times

One of the most recognizable symbols in Chinese culture, the dragon is known as a mighty yet often benevolent creature. The dragon is capable of interacting with gods in the heavens; it can turn invisible, shape-shift, and control the weather. These features made the mythological creature hugely significant to the Chinese people because if they could summon dragons, other aspects of their life could improve.

Early timekeeping tools included sundials, water clocks, and astrolabes

Astrolabes also provided a person's latitude based on the height of the stars in the sky, thus aiding in navigation. Incense and candle clocks relied on the constant burning rate of fire to track the passage of time based on premarked locations with equal-interval spacing.

Humans have used geothermal resources for thousands of years

In North America, Indigenous peoples viewed hot springs as sacred places and used them for medicinal purposes, cooking, and surviving cold weather. The ancient Greeks and Romans also viewed them as sacred, partaking in hot mineral baths to relieve ailments and using them for space heating.

Surfer's ear, from repeated cold water exposure, leads to new bony protrusions in the ear

Frequent exposure to icy cold water, typical in surfing, can cause tiny bony growths to develop in the ear canal, informally called surfer's ear. While the exact cause for these growths is unknown, it may be the body's protective response to shield the ear drum from the cold. These protrusions can heighten the risk of swimmer's ear, lead to wax buildup, and result in hearing loss.

Sun Ra, a free jazz legend, claimed he was an angel

Sun Ra is one of jazz's most storied cult acts, with a career that spans multiple decades, dozens of hard-to-find self-released albums, and a sound that challenged even the most adventurous listeners. Ra, born Herman Blount, claimed to be from Saturn and once told an interviewer that "Star Wars" was "very accurate."

Voyager carries Earth's hopeful greeting into deep space as a message of peace

Along with scientific instruments, each Voyager carried a golden record containing multilingual greetings—ranging from Sumerian and Akkadian to Thai and Cantonese—music, and sounds of Earth intended for any intelligent life that might find it.

Jeep culture, explained

Jeeps originated as all-purpose vehicles in World War II and have since become the most common off-road vehicle. Owners greet each other with a wave, but there's a pecking order. Drivers of younger, less-modified models are expected to initiate the wave to older, vintage Jeeps. Also, all those rubber ducks are tokens left on that particular Jeep from admirers.

Luxury Advent calendars now include fine china, jewelry, and rare whisky

Advent calendars have shifted sharply upmarket, with retailers offering versions filled with bone china ornaments, gold jewelry, premium beauty products and even rare whisky. Some cost hundreds or thousands of pounds, including a £10,000 whisky calendar and Dior's £570 perfume-filled set.

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

Planeterrellas create artificial auroras that mimic the atmospheric displays of light by setting up an electric field between two metal balls in a jar filled with a small amount of air.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.