ancient customs

7 Stories

Where This Mound Stands Was a City Larger Than Paris

Exploring what remains of Cahokia in modern-day Illinois

(Newser) - What drove the rapid decline of the largest city of North America some seven centuries ago? Annalee Newitz takes an up-close look for Ars Technica after traveling to the outskirts of East St. Louis, Ill., this past summer to help archaeologists dig up what evidence they can of Cahokia, which...

Mauritanian Girls Force-Fed for Marriage

'Torture' returns as ideal of large women makes a comeback

(Newser) - A military coup in Mauritania has erased years of advances in women's rights, bringing a resurgence of the practice of force-fattening young girls to prepare them for marriage, the Guardian reports. "A woman's size indicates the amount of space she occupies in her husband's heart," explains an activist,...

Scientists Sniff Out Ancient Stash of Pot

2 lbs. of green plant material found in 2700 year-old grave

(Newser) - Scientists excavating a grave in China’s Gobi desert have found what they believe is the world’s oldest marijuana stash, reports Discovery News. Two pounds of still-green plant material were found in a 2,700-year-old grave belonging to a Caucasian man researchers believe may have been a shaman.

Dirty Jokes of the Ancients Unearthed

Academics discover 3,000-year-old Sumerian fart joke

(Newser) - Academics studying ancient texts have discovered bawdy jokes that wouldn't be out of place in a Farrelly brothers movie, the Daily Telegraph reports. "What hangs at a man’s thigh and wants to poke the hole that it’s often poked before?" asks a thousand-year-old Anglo-Saxon manuscript. "...

11 Travel Faux Pas to Avoid
 11 Travel Faux Pas to Avoid 
TRAVEL
Jun 21, 2008 1:39 PM CDT

11 Travel Faux Pas to Avoid

Touching is too intimate in some Asian nations

(Newser) - A great pleasure of this wide world of ours is the multiplicity of cultures and customs. That diversity can also get you into a heap of trouble. So, when traveling, here’s what not to do, and where not to do it, from Travel and Leisure.
  • Touching: Too intimate in
...

Evangelicals Turn Back to Ritual
Evangelicals Turn Back
to Ritual
Mar 8, 2008 12:51 PM CST

Evangelicals Turn Back to Ritual

Some adopt previously shunned confession, communion, Lent

(Newser) - Evangelical Christians are increasingly turning to long-shunned traditions as a means of practicing their faith, reports the Washington Post. In a trend some call “worship renewal,” some are reviving Catholic customs such as fasting for Lent, going to confession, and weekly communion. “Evangelicalism is coming to point...

Wealth Doesn't Always Aid Health
Wealth Doesn't Always
Aid Health
Feb 18, 2008 3:17 AM CST

Wealth Doesn't Always Aid Health

UN finds child mortality rates uneven in developing nations

(Newser) - Citing new child mortality statistics, analysts say a nation's wealth doesn’t always translate into better health for its youngest citizens, the BBC reports. Every year, 10 million children die before their fifth birthday, with 99% of the fatalities occurring in the developing world. But even when conditions improve, survival...

7 Stories