See a day in the life of an Aztec midwife

Aztec mythology informs the Day of the Dead

The ancient people believed the dead journeyed to Mictlán, the Land of the Dead. To get there, they had to travel for four years through nine underworld levels, with the final being occupied by Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of death, and his wife Mictecacíhuatl.

Watch a traditional Aztec fire-serpent dance rooted in Mexica mythology

This video captures a performance of a Xicauhuatl—or fire-serpent—dance, rooted in Mexica beliefs that these serpents carried the sun across the sky. The performance highlights the fire serpent’s central role in Aztec ritual and storytelling.

What were the Aztecs really like?

Does the society live up to its blood-thirsty stereotype? Archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma answers this question and more in this short article. Moctezuma was the principal excavator of the major Aztec archaeological site Templo Mayor in the 1970s. He shares how the culture grew from a combined emphasis on war and agriculture, and ruled one of the world's largest cities at the time.

Using AI to rewrite and revive Aztec tales

Despite being vanquished by the conquering Spaniards in the 16th century, the Aztecs' culture endured through their descendants and rituals, as well as texts that escaped destruction at the hands of the Europeans. These texts, known as codices and preserved in part by Christian monks, revealed intimate details of life as an Aztec in the Middle Ages. Today, AI programs allow students to learn the Aztec's language, Nahuatl, further preserving their heritage.

See how the elite warriors of the Aztec Empire trained

This video explores the Aztec military’s elite Eagle and Jaguar warriors, known for their courage and combat skills, and highlights their rigorous training regimen. It concludes with a workout routine modeled on their methods.

The Aztecs synced their solar calendar with a complex 260-day ritual cycle

Researchers have uncovered how the Aztecs aligned their agricultural solar calendar with a symbolic 260-day ritual calendar, utilizing celestial tracking and monuments. Evidence from ruins and writings explains why their new year corresponded to February 23 on the Gregorian calendar.

How women ascended the ranks in the highstakes world of Maya politics

Two bloodlines attained near total supremacy of the Maya civilization in contemporary central America: the lords of Tikal and the Kaanul Dynasty. The Kaanul, or snake, dynasty often used marriage to expand their empire, wedding their sorcerer queens to low-ranking rulers of desired lands. Read this Archaeology Magazine article to learn more about these Maya snake queens.

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

Sacagawea endured personal hardships during the expedition

Despite her critical role as interpreter and guide, Sacagawea faced immense challenges on the journey—including caring for her infant and dealing with her abusive husband, Toussaint Charbonneau.

Is the Inca maiden the world's best-preserved mummy?

Found atop a snowy peak in the Andes, this teen mummy is at least 500 years old. Watch this four-minute video to see the Inca maiden, a mummy so well-preserved that small details, such as her many braids, are clearly defined.

Reconstructing an average day in ancient Egypt

Egyptologists can reconstruct the intimate details of everyday life in the ancient civilization by studying the archaeological material preserved in tombs, monuments, and partially intact neighborhood layouts. Watch a comprehensive tour of the daily habits and lifestyles of ancient Egyptians with expert Dr. Joann Fletcher.

Watch the annual three-day revamp of the Q'eswachaka bridge

Rebuilt every year since the Inca empire, this bridge still is used today by locals who want to traverse the 120-foot-wide gorge that runs beneath it. This three-minute video shows just how much effort goes into its restoration.

Investigating 'the city that kills women'

For nearly three decades, thousands of women have disappeared near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Some were mutilated in ways that led authorities to suggest it the work of a serial killer, some were trafficked into slavery, and others have never been found. Opening with a hail of bullets, this 10-part podcast series hopes to uncover those responsible for the femicides.

Tattoos suppressed during colonization are experiencing a revival

A few decades ago, the distinct facial tattoos worn by Maori people were on the brink of disappearing. Then, Maori artists brought the cultural practice back into the spotlight. This TVNZ story follows one reporter’s mother as, at 59 years old, she receives tā moko from a Maori artist.

The story of the most prolific mother ever

An 18th-century Russian woman gave birth to 69 children through 27 pregnancies, with an unbelievable 16 pairs of twins, seven triplets, and four quadruplets.

Works of art on motherhood at the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City contains one of the world's most prestigious collections, and this page draws together classic and contemporary works created around the theme of motherhood.

Puebla holds an annual battle reenactment on Cinco de Mayo

Each May 5, the city of Puebla marks the anniversary with festivals and a full military reenactment of the 1862 battle. While Cinco de Mayo is barely observed elsewhere in Mexico, it remains a ceremonial source of local pride in the state where the battle was actually fought.

Pompeii’s ruins expose the brutal realities of Rome’s sex trade

Drawing on graffiti, slave collars, brothel art, and the story of “Eutychis, a Greek lass with sweet ways,” this piece reconstructs the violent, coercive world of Pompeii’s enslaved prostitutes—and how their owners controlled, renamed, and exploited them.

A day in the life of a Roman soldier

In 15 CE, Roman legionary Servius Felix was eight years into a 25-year career as a warrior for the Empire. Born to a poor farmer who hoped to retire and receive several acres of land, Servius served amid fights with Germanic tribes from the north. He hopes to marry a woman back home and mourns the loss of his fallen friends.

The science and ethics of artificial wombs

Artificial wombs may be able to help preterm babies survive their early entry into the world and possibly curb the long-term adverse health effects associated with such premature birth. This article dives into the current ethics and science behind artificial wombs and ectogenesis, which is when a fetus develops in artificial conditions.

Explore this week-by-week visualization of pregnancy

This graphic illustrates how development proceeds during each week of pregnancy, tracking what shifts and milestones typically occur during each stage of the process. It also includes typical weights of the fetus throughout.

Wedding photographers and other vendors have tailored their services to social media in recent years

In this podcast interview with Xochitl Gonzalez—a former luxury wedding planner who wrote the viral The Fake Poor Bride article in 2023—you'll learn a lot about how the wedding-industrial complex has evolved over the past few years and how modern additions, such as the rise of wedding styling services for "wedding weeks," have driven costs up.

See how Advent traditions vary widely around the world

Advent is celebrated in distinct ways across countries—Chinese Christians hang colorful lanterns, Mexicans reenact Las Posadas processions, Germans light weekly wreath candles, and Hungarians attend dawn matins—reflecting how local cultures shape the season’s preparation.

A day in the life of a leafcutter ant

Among the fascinating world of insects, leafcutter ants form some of the most complex and dynamic social ecosystems. All part of an effort to keep a colony alive, worker ants toil tirelessly, dragging bits of leaves and vegetation back to their...

The 'Book of Judith' is a noncanonical Hanukkah story of deliverance

Though the text was not considered a core part of the Hebrew Bible, the medieval Jewish tradition placed her tale within that of the broader Hanukkah story, integrating it into the story of the Maccabees. Scholars view her more as a legendary, inspirational figure.

The Easter story in paintings from the National Gallery

Walk through the entire narrative of Holy Week, painting by painting, from the "Agony in the Garden" to the "Supper at Emmaus" from masters like Titian and Caravaggio.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

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

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

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Watch the cumbersome, but necessary, precautions healthcare workers must take to care for and protect themselves while caring for Ebola patients.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

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

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Coral reefs get their colors from zooxanthellae—microorganisms that line corals' digestive tracts and provide them with sugars in exchange for a home within this protective tissue.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

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

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.