Bharat ki Chaap gets a new identity
The TV serial of the late 1980s is now available as a video series. Although its message of self-reliance is a bit dated, it still is a useful …
Two academics traces India's green history
This Fissured Land Madhav Gadgil and Ramachandra Guha Publisher: Oxford University Press, New Delhi Price: Rs 290
The famine syndrome
THE DEMOGRAPHY OF FAMINES: AN INDIAN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE·Arup Maharatna· Oxford University Press· 1996·Price Rs 545
Pre-history revisited
The discovery of fossil tracks in Madhya Pradesh by an Indian scientist may turn back life's clock by 500 million years
One big family
As we peek into our past, the number of our ancestors seems to double in every generation. For every human being has two parents, four …
Centuries before Americas hosted sophisticated agrarian civilisations
Book >> 1491, New Revelations Of The Americas Before Columbus by Charles C Mann Vintage Books 2006
Mint tales
Book>> The Ascent of Money, A Financial History of the World By Niall Ferguson, Allen Lane London 2008 Price Rs 595
The track lover
Book>> Blood, Iron and Gold • by Christian Wolmar • Transatlantic Books • Rs 90
Sweet cruelty
Sugar plantations were run by African slaves who were tortured, but they also revolted against their masters
The Ice Story
Amit Shanker talks about a random photograph that helped him reveal how Americans kept British cool.
The earliest humans swam 100,000 years ago, but swimming remains a privileged pastime
This year the OECD reported that only one in four people in low-income countries can swim
Finds in Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge reveal how ancient humans adapted to change
This is a clear sign that 2 million years ago humans were not constrained technologically and already had the capacity to expand geographic range
Portrait of Hemi Pomara as a young man: how we uncovered the oldest surviving photograph of a Māori
With the recent urgent debates about how we remember our colonial past, and moves to reclaim indigenous histories, stories such as Hemi Pomara&…
Oldest human skull outside Africa identified as 210,000 years old
It could provide new evidence that our species left Africa much earlier than previously thought
Angkor Wat archaeological digs yield new clues to its civilization’s decline
By looking at the events associated with one particular temple, archaeologists are able to see a microcosm of some of the broader regional …
Big gods came after the rise of civilisations, not before, finds study using huge historical database
A massive database, named after Seshat, the Egyptian goddess of record keeping, is helping researchers
History of rational thoughts
Efforts by rationalists to spread scientific thinking have been scuttled by those in positions of power throughout history
Secrets of the water fort
Planners in the ancient city of Dholavira had conceptualised an amazing system of drains, dams and tanks to manage water. To conserve every drop …
The first predicted sighting
Pierre Gassendi became the first astronomer to catch a glimpse of Mercury on the basis of a prediction made by German astronomer Johannes Kepler.
Facile material
Book>> Uranium, War, Energy and the Rock That Shaped the World by Tom Zoellner, Viking Indian Price Rs 850
The icons of physics
Book>> Quantum, Einstein, Bohr and the Debate on the Nature of Reality • by Manjit Kumar • Icon Books • Rs 300
India is many, not one; has assimilated ideas from everywhere: Upcoming report
Experts on genetics, archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, philosophy and history will prepare a 600-page report on 12,000 years of India’…
Tracing the history of farming across Africa gives clues to low production outputs
The focus must move from what the developed world dictates to what Africa needs. This requires countries developing production systems and …
The Tiger in Tamilakam
The striped big cat of Asia occupied a unique place in the psyche and ethical consciousness of the ancient Tamils, something which continues to …
Past lessons, future strategies
Studying the history of human interaction with nature can be very useful in formulating resource management policies. It can also provide a …