Almanacs from the Civil War era reveal how two sides of an embattled nation used data from the natural world to legitimize their claims to statehood.

A Curious Reader asks: When and how did the handshake originate?

The noted archaeologist was targeted for his research and work on the ruins of Palmyra, an ancient semitic city dating back to the Neolithic age.

Records of excavations from before the current conflict with ISIS in Iraq can give us an idea of the former grandeur of Nimrud and Hatra.