Phil Plait

Bad Astronomy

SMBC on the brain

Drunk hypothesis in ancient society

Learn how alcohol became a vital tool in the evolution of early societies and what drinks ancient people enjoyed at feasts and ceremonies.

The Drunk Hypothesis Claims Ancient Societies Were Built With Alcohol

Part of the sermon mentions Wade in Peterhouse MS 255. The word 'Wade' appears 4 lines up, 3rd word from right. 'Lupi' (wolf) appears in the bottom line, 5 words from the left. (Image Credit: The Master and Fellows of Peterhouse / University of Cambridge)

Part of the sermon mentioning Wade Poem 

Learn how a new reading of an 800-year-old medieval sermon has revealed fresh insights into the famous English poem 'Song of Wade.'

A Medieval Preacher’s Meme Helps Solve a 130-Year-Old Literary Mystery

Four jadeite tubular beads showing live and dead spider monkeys.
(Image Courtesty of Caracol Archeological Project/University of Houston)


jadeite figures

Learn more about Te K’ab Chaak, the first Maya king from Caracol whose tomb is rewriting the history of Maya-Mesoamerica relations.

1,600-Year-Old Tomb of Maya King Wearing a Jade Death Mask Discovered in Belize

The British Royal Regalia - Crown Jewels (Image Credit: Lwsi Cox/Shutterstock) 

The British Royal Regalia - Crown Jewels

What is the British Royal Regalia? Learn more about the British Crown Jewels and how they are replaced medieval renditions after anti-monarchists destroyed them. 

More than 100 Items in the British Royal Regalia Symbolize Power and Tradition Through the Ages

Alignments of Carnac 
(Image Credit: Bettina Schultz Paulsson)

Alignments of Carnac

Learn how a rescue excavation revealed the definitive date of the Carnac megaliths and gave new clues to their function.

Ancient Stone Alignments in France Confirmed as Europe’s Earliest Megalithic Region

Stone alignments revealed an ancient temple, called Palaspata after the native name for the area. The temple complex is approximately 125 meters long by 145 meters wide — about the size of a city block — and includes 15 quadrangular enclosures arranged around a rectangular inner courtyard. This is a digital reconstruction of the temple. (Image Credit: Jose Capriles/Penn State/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Digital reconstruction of ancient Palaspata temple

Recent archaeological discovery expands our knowledge on complex Indigenous societies in South America.

Ancient Temple Ruins Shed Light on Life of Tiwanaku, a Thriving Pre-Inca Civilization

SMBC on the brain

Newsletter