Machines, not humans, still define civilisation
The notion that science and technology are the indicators of a nation's development has helped establish white superiority through the ages and …
Checking population growth through the ages
The concept of family planning control dates back to the ancient Greeks. Though many scientific advances have been made in the field since then, …
Tantrums of the "Christ Child"
A weather event which Peruvians once regarded as a boon is now recognised as causing terrible global disasters
The dying kitchen story
Book>> Cooked: A Natural History Of Transformation • by Michael Pollan • Penguin • Rs 1,400
The world of french fries and potato salad
The potato, native to South America, invaded England in 1588, the year Elizabeth I's devil-may-care sea-dogs vanquished the Spanish Armada. It …
The Unnatural World: The Race to Remake Civilization in Earth's Newest Age
A travelogue with that good human epoch in mind, a trip around the world to meet people working out new ways for humanity to live as well as …
Frontiers of Environment: Issues in Medieval and Early Modern India
The complex nature of environmental history and debates on environmental issues have related primarily to contemporary times.
The Matter of History: How Things Create the Past
The Matter of History argues that three powerful things - cattle, silkworms, and copper - helped to drive these previously diverse nations …
Where have all the Indians gone?
Until we shed our communal, regional and caste identities, the quintessential Indian will remain a rare species
All the hair in place, just in time
Examining hair fibres could help determine when South Americans graduated from hunting vicunas to herding llamas
In the past lies the future
From being a romantic quest for treasures and lost civilisations, archaeology has now come down to earth, increasingly associated with …
Timeless pursuits
A new interpretation of texts from a civilisation that flourished 1,000 years ago reveals its uncanny similarity with modern times
Kitchen gadgets
Book>> Consider The Fork • By Bee Wilson • Basic Books • Rs 500
Colonial straitjacket
Book>> Becoming India Western Himalayas under British Rule by Aniket Alam Foundation Books, Delhi 2008
Assam and its notion of nationhood
Book>> Empire’s Garden: Assam And The Making Of India •by Jayeeta Sharma • Permanent Black • Rs 695
The ancient mariners
Book>> Beyond The Blue Horizon • by Brian Fagan • US $10 • Bloomsbury
Did ecological impropriety lead to the end?
Historians generally agree that the death of the Indus Valley civilisation did not occur because of a single dramatic event, but came about due …
The dark side of 'racial science'
Angela Saini exposes how some scientists even today use race to define intelligence, behaviour, predisposition to diseases and even creativity
Indigenous or not: the Uyghurs and their claim to Xinjiang
The Chinese narrative of Uyghur history shows that China has made sustained efforts to keep Xinjiang within its orbit, which has geopolitical, …
Feat of filigree
Even modern technology cannot equal the uniformity discovered in fine gold and silver threads found in a 17th century Mughal tent
How much of the world did the muskox see?
Recent evidence suggests that the muskox, believed to have become extinct 10,000 years ago, may have actually survived till much later.
Ancient Mexican script yields up its secrets
A hieroglyphic script in which the earliest Central American texts were written has been partly deciphered, thanks to an engraved slab found by …
Brain versus brawn
THE RUNAWAY BRAIN· Christopher Wills·Flamingo, London·Price US $7 (paperback)
Fantastic workers of the terrain
About 4,000 years ago, people in Lothal showed us how best to integrate land and water management practices
Whose science should we focus on?
The current debate over ancient India's scientific feats is less about science and more about a cultural `feel good' factor