The Old Stone Age

In southern France and northern Spain there are many caves. Dur­ing the last part of the great Ice Age many of these caves were used as homes by the people who lived in Europe in those days. These people we now call the cave men.

Several times during the Ice Age great sheets of ice pushed down from the north and then melted back. Scientists have discovered that there were people in Europe some 100,000 years ago, before the last great push of ice from the north. These people left many signs behind them.

As the ice pushed southward the climate grew colder and colder. The people had been living in the open. Perhaps they had simple shelters made of tree branches. But because of the cold they needed better shelters. They moved into the caves.

To live in the caves themselves they had to drive out giant cave bears and many other animals. They were able to drive out these animals partly because they knew how to make fire. A flaming torch was a very good weapon against an animal. Besides, they had weapons made of stone— stone axes and stone knives.

The early cave men had only one way of getting food—hunting. When they killed an animal, they brought it to the cave and cooked it. The bones they threw aside. When there were too many ashes around the fire, they pushed these aside, too, and covered up the bones. Once in a while a cave man lost one of his stone tools in the ashes. Scientists have been able to find out a great deal about the cave men by digging through the ashes left in the caves.

After the early cave men had lived in the caves for thousands of years, the ice began to melt back. Then a new people pushed into Europe from the south.

These later cave men were tall and strong. They were much more like the peo­ple of today. They had good brains—at least we can guess that they had from the size and shape of their skulls. They made some weapons of bone, but they still made most of their weapons of stone. They, too, got their food by hunting. They had not learned to tame any animals or grow plants. They did not make pottery. Their only clothing was made from animal skins.

But in one way they were far ahead of the early cave men. They drew excellent colored pictures of animals on the walls of their caves. Many of the pictures show animals which have not been in the region for a very long time. Among these animals are mammoths and bison.

To get to some of the rooms where the pictures are, one has to crawl through narrow passageways. Many of the pictures are on the ceilings.

The caves are so dark that the cave men must have had lights of some kind. Perhaps they burned dry moss or sticks.

These cave men also made models of animals. Some of them are so good that an artist of today would be proud to have made them. The handles of many bone tools were carved into animal shapes.

The time in which the cave men lived is often called the Old Stone Age. It is named from the crude stone weapons the cave men used. The Old Stone Age in Europe ended more than 8,000 years ago.

With the retreat of the ice, people could work out better ways of living. Other peo­ple moved into Europe and mingled with the cave dwellers. Better tools were developed, and homes more comfortable than caves were built. The New Stone Age began.

Who was Fulvia?

   FULVIA was a Roman woman of the first century B.C., of dissolute character. She was married first to P. Clodius, then to Q. Scribonius Curio, and lastly, in 44 B.C., to Mark Antony. In 40 B.C., during his absence in the East, she raised a revolt in Italy against Augustus, and was besieged in Perusia. On its fall she escaped, and joined Antony at Athens, but was coldly received by him, and in the same year she died at Sicyon. Cicero attacked her character in his Second Philippic.

When did the first divers appear?

The ancient Greeks and Turks have been called the "Modern Diving Fathers". They swam looking for sponges in the Aegean Sea more than 2,000 years ago, where they developed many techniques that are still useful for today's divers.

These ancient divers realized that the more air a diver could hold, the longer he or she could stay underwater. Some diver, no one knows exactly who, devised a way to carry more air with him, inside a type of bag or bladder. This bladder was made of goatskin, sheepskin or pigskin.

The bag was oiled to be waterproof, then all but a small opening were hermetically sewn together.

Before entering the water, the diver filled the bladder with air. Then the man tied a heavy stone around his waist to sink under the water and dive to the bottom. While working at the bottom of the ocean, he took sips of air from the inflated skin at intervals.

The sponges by which this ancient people dived look like plants, but in reality they are animals, with the remarkable ability to regrow the parts of their bodies that break.

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An airplane in the opposite direction?

On July 18, 1938, a U.S. pilot named Douglas Corrigan took off from New York on a flight supposed to be bound for Los Angeles, California.

But Corrigan made a mistake - he headed the other way, east instead of west. The next day, he landed in Dublin, Ireland, almost 10,000 kilometers from where he should have landed.

"Wrongway" Corrigan justified himself by saying that a wrong reading on the compass led him to the wrong size.

Corrigan's explanation is not very satisfactory, especially if we consider that between New York and Los Angeles there is not an ocean, as if there is between New York and Dublin. What did Corrigan think when he saw so much water?

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What was the longest boxing match in history?

In the 19th century, boxing fights had no time limit. The fight continued until one of the boxers was knocked out or surrendered.

The first boxing bout with three-minute rounds did not happen until 1872, in England, and the first bout for the heavyweight championship that was fought with three-minute rounds and gloves did not happen until 20 years later.

Before that, in 1855, a couple of boxers were engaged in a bout in Australia that lasted 6 hours 15 minutes. And in 1825, two boxers in England fought a total of 276 rounds!

But the boxing assaults were also different in those days. A round ended as soon as one of the boxers fell or was knocked out momentarily. The longest fight in history that had three-minute rounds was a fight held in 1893 in New Orleans, between Andy Bowen and Jack Burke. This fight lasted 110 rounds, or seven hours and 19 minutes, and ended in a tie when both boxers would not continue!

A boxing ring is called a 'ring' because in ancient times, Roman boxers fought on a circular platform.

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Did the ancient Romans have running water in their homes?

It can be said that in some households it was, although not in most of them.

During the days of the Roman Empire, in the city of Rome the water was supplied by means of aqueducts, some canals commonly underground, but that also were constructed, depending on the unevenness in the land, on bridges with arches.

The aqueducts brought water from the mountains to the city's public water sources, where most citizens were supplied with the water they needed.

Some wealthy Romans connected their homes directly to the city's water network allowing them to have fresh water all the time.

However, the water did not go beyond the first floor of a building, which meant that a large part of the Roman population, who lived in multi-story buildings, did not have that privilege.

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The importance of the Rosetta Stone in understanding Egyptian texts

The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian artifact that was crucial in the modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing.

The stone itself is a stele from the Ptolemaic period with a carved text in three languages: two scriptures in Egyptian language (hieroglyphics and demotic) and one in classical Greek. The stone was discovered by the French in 1799 in the Egyptian locality of Rashid (called by the French as Rosette), which contributed significantly to the decipherment of the principles of hieroglyphic writing in 1822 by the British scientist Thomas Young and the French scholar Jean-Francois Champollion.

Comparative translations of the stone helped to understand some indecipherable examples of hieroglyphic writing. The text of the Rosetta Stone is a decree of Ptolemy V, announcing the revocation of various taxes and instructions to erect new statues in temples.

Apart from classical Greek, the decree was ordered to be published in the language of the gods (hieroglyphics) and in the writing of the people (demotic).

The stone is 114.4 cm at its highest point; 72.3 cm wide and 27.9 cm thick. Its weight is 760 kg. The Rosetta Stone has been on display in the British Museum since 1802.

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Great facts about Machu Picchu

 The historic site of Machu Picchu in Peru is located at an altitude of 2,400 meters above sea level.

Once known as the "Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is today the best known symbol of the Inca Empire.

The site is one of the Seven New Wonders of the World.

The place was built in 1460 by the Inca Pachacutec, but was abandoned a century later.

The site of Machu Picchu was forgotten by the world until 1911, when it was discovered by Hiram Bingham, an American historian.

Was declared a Historic Sanctuary of Peru in 1981.

Was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983.

The city of Machu Picchu was built in the classic Inca style, with carved stone walls.

Its main buildings are Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Temple of the Three Windows.

Machu Picchu received world attention for the first time, when the National Geographic Society magazine dedicated its entire April 1913 issue to the newly discovered city.

An area of 325.92 kilometers around Machu Picchu was declared Peru's 'Historic Sanctuary' in 1981.

The place is probably the most important archaeological site in South America and an unavoidable tourist attraction in Peru.

This historic site comprises about 140 structures.

The name Machu Picchu means "Old Mountain".

The Intihuatana Stone located in the site is one of the many ceremonial stones found in South America.

Researchers believe that the Intihuatana Stone was built as an astronomical clock or calendar.

When in 1911, Machu Picchu was discovered, people were found living there, as well as some ancient mummies.

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Do all roads lead to Rome?

The answer is yes, or at least it was at the time of the Roman Empire. The intricate land communications system built by the Romans stretched from East Africa to the Germania forests, from the Iberian Peninsula to the Caucasus and from England to the Persian Gulf. Nearly 400 roads, more than 70,000 kilometers long, linked Rome with the most remote areas of its Empire.

The Romans built this network of roads mainly for military and administrative reasons. In many cases, it was the legions themselves that mapped the roads. These took their name from the function they performed - the Via Salaria was related to the transport of salt - from the places of destination - the Via Tiburtina died in Tibur or Tivoli - and from their builders - the Via Apia was commissioned by Celius Claudius the Blind.

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What is Universal Time?

Pope Gregory XIII

The Gregorian calendar we use in the western world is closely related to the Earth's orbit around the Sun.

The effort to unify all measures of time has led to the establishment of a "universal time" according to which all the official clocks of the world that are governed by our system are adjusted.

That time is the result of the measurements of powerful atomic clocks that are only wrong one second for every million years.

The responsibility for their care and adjustment lies with the Office of Weights and Measures of Sèvres in France. Another factor in weighting the exact time is the measurement of the displacement of the planet that is carried out at the International Service for Earth Rotation Measurements in Paris.

A FACT

Did Cervantes and Shakespeare die on the same date?

Cervantes died, officially, on April 23, 1616... of the Gregorian calendar, which was already in force in Spain. And Shakespeare also did so, in effect, on April 23... but from the Julian calendar (May 3 in the Gregorian calendar), still in force in England.

In other words, they actually died 10 days apart.

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The great Palace of Romulus and Remus

Not long ago the remains of an ancient palace were discovered under the forum of Rome, which support the legend of the foundation of the Eternal City by Romulus and Remus, the twin brothers who according to tradition were suckled by a she-wolf.

The discovery is dated to 753 B.C., the time of the foundation of Rome according to legend, which is the first archaeological confirmation that behind the history of Romulus and Remus there could be a real basis.

Until now researchers had only found remains of humble huts in the strata beneath the sanctuary of Vesta, dating from the eighth century BC, but the discovery made by the team of archaeologist Andrea Carandini shows an extraordinary construction, a palace of 340 square meters, of which more than a hundred were covered and the rest were courtyards. An authentic palace, ten times bigger than the rest of the huts, with a monumental entrance, as well as elaborate ceramics and other ornaments.

"It could not be anything other than a royal palace,'' said the archaeologist, who stressed that it was ''a construction of extraordinary dimensions, previously unknown''.

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Some facts about beautiful women of history

Many women in history became famous, not only for their deeds but especially for their beauty. Here are the names of some of them.

Nefertiti... is one of the few beauties of the most remote antiquity that most rightly bears that name, because unlike others of which only legends are heard, there is a portentous bust of her that is proof of the beauty of her face. And, besides, she was a pharaoh of much power.

Cleopatra... There is only one profile of her on an ancient coin, the one that shows her - for modern tastes - with a plump face and an aquiline nose. But for Julius Caesar and Mark Antony she was the most seductive woman of her time.

Helen of Troy... She has been called ''the face that threw a thousand ships into the sea,'' because her rescue by the Greeks (after she escaped with her lover Paris) was what caused the Trojan War.

Frine the courtesan... Her beauty was so beautiful that in a trial to which she was subjected in Alexandria, the judges, admired, immediately absolved her when she undressed in front of them and revealed ''her innocence''.

Simonetta Vespucci... The lover of Guiliano de Medici and cousin of Américo Vespucio was the great beauty of Renaissance Florence. Its delicate beauty can be seen today in the paintings of Botticelli ''The Spring'', ''The Birth of Venus'', in the gallery of the Uffizi, in Florence.

Madame Du Barry... King Louis XV fell madly in love with her when he first saw the face of this assistant hatter. Besides being beautiful, she was intelligent and knew how to take advantage of her precious face, because the King made her the most powerful woman in France and one of the richest. What a pity that such a beautiful head ended up under the guillotine!

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What is the legend of St. Patrick and the Clover?

When St. Patrick preached the Gospel in Ireland 1500 years ago, the Irish peasants asked him: "You tell us that there are three gods in one, how is this possible?"

To answer them, the saint cut a clover leaf and said to them: "Do you see how this wild plant has three leaves joined into one stem? In the same way you must believe me when I tell you that there are three people in one God.

Historians have relegated many of the stories about St. Patrick to the field of legend; but despite this, the clover continues to be the emblem of Ireland, and the Irish collect it in large quantities on March 17 of each year, the feast of their patron saint. The real Irish clover (seamrog, a word meaning three leaves) looks very much like the common or white that is found in large numbers in all the meadows of temperate countries; but its flowers are yellow and not white, and its leaves are bluish-green. Each year, large shipments of Irish clover are sent from Ireland to North America to celebrate the feast of St. Patrick.

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What were Julius Caesar's last words?

 How did Julius Caesar die?

 "Even you, my son?" are the words, according to Suetonius, who spoke Julius Caesar to his protégé Brutus, when he and other senators assassinated him in the Curia Pompeii.

Mark June Brutus was unhappy with Julius Caesar because of some measures he had implemented in Rome, which increased his power as a dictator.

Brutus' brother-in-law, Gaius Cassius Longinus and some senators also took part in the conspiracy.

Not everything went well for the murderers, as Rome held Julius Caesar in high esteem, so they had to flee to the East.

Some time later, in the Battle of Philippi, Brutus committed suicide to avoid being captured by the armies of Octavian and Mark Antony.

Where is Darius' tomb?

 The tomb of Darius facts for kids

Persepolis, one of the ancient capitals of Persia, is now located in Iran, north of the Persian Gulf. Nearby, on the slopes of a mountain, in Naqsh-Rustam, are the graves of the Persian kings.

The largest of the Persian tombs in Naqsh-Rustam is that of Darius I, called by his people "king of kings". This tomb was excavated and carved out of the same stone and lies behind a grandiose façade carved in the form of a cross. Four false columns frame the door of the tomb and support a frieze of lions, crowned by 28 giants, who are the bearers of the royal throne. These giants represent the different provinces of the kingdom and symbolize the strength and authority of Darius. An important series of bas-reliefs in each of the tombs have helped to reconstruct the life and customs of a people whose history goes back nine centuries before our era.

Facts about Roman Caesars

Caesar Augustus

   The Caesars were rulers of ancient Rome. The words "czar" and "kaiser" both came from the word "Caesar." "Caesar" was at first the last name of a famous ruler, Julius Caesar. Then it became a title that meant "emperor."
   Julius Caesar was a great warrior. He conquered all the part of Europe that is now France. He even marched his armies into Britain. He also took them to the east and conquered part of Asia.
   After one of his battles in Asia, Caesar sent back a famous message to Rome. It is famous because it told so much in so few words. The message was Veni, vidi, vici. Translated into English the message is, "I came, I saw, I conquered."
   Julius Caesar was more than a good warrior. He brought about many changes that were good. For one thing he made a new calendar. It has come down to us almost as he made it. The month of July was named for him.
   The month of August was named for an-other famous Caesar—Augustus. Augustus was the ruler of the great Roman Empire when Christ was born. It was an order of his that sent Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. But Augustus did not have any idea that people in later centuries would think that the birth of Jesus was the most important happening in his reign.
   The real name of Augustus was Octavius. The Romans gave him the name Augustus because they admired him so much. "Augustus" means "admired" or "revered." Some of his people even thought that he was a god.
   Augustus was a good ruler. He ruled for 45 years. This long reign was one of the bright spots in the history of Rome.
   There were other Caesars. Some were good. Some were bad. At least under them the Romans had peace and prosperity for two centuries.

Feudalism

   Feudalism is a group of institutions used to carry on government on a local basis. Feudalism originated in medieval Europe in places where there was no central government or organized state after the fall of the Roman Empire. It was later developed by the Franks into a complicated political system and was adopted in most of Europe. From this basis an entire social and economic system developed.
   Feudalism, probably the most important institution of the Middle Ages, was based upon the rule of the military class. After the collapse of the empire of Charlemagne in the 9th century, government fell into the hands of counts, who were regional commanders. To strengthen their own position and to keep peace among the lesser lords of their regions, the counts became lords to these lesser men, who became vassals. It was the duty of the lord to protect the vassal, and he frequently gave the vassal a fief, a piece of land either to be rented or to be held in perpetuity. The vassal paid homage and swore fealty, or fidelity, to the lord and had to help the lord in battle. The vassal or vassals of a lord sat in court with the lord to decide legal cases in the district. If two vassals of a lord claimed the same village or piece of land, the lord decided whose claim was valid. If the lord fell into the hands of the enemy, the vassals had to pay for his release.
   Both the vassals and the lords derived their livelihood from their fiefs, which included one or many manors. But some portion of their lives was spent in fighting on horseback. Meanwhile, their serfs worked the fields of the fiefs at home. Peasants did not participate in war. The churchmen, or first estate, could become lords and could have their private armies if they wanted to.
   The more powerful lords, with more vassals to help them, soon began to extend their fiefs by defeating smaller lords with fewer vassals. In 987 the great lords of France chose Hugh Capet as their king, and all became his vassals. The rulers of England and what later became Germany were chosen similarly. Later on the English kings became for a while vassals to the French kings because they held some fiefs in French territory.
   The feudalistic system of government was based upon mutual rights and obligations among kings, lords, and vassals. The peasants, or serfs, were excluded from government. The kings could discipline their disobedient vassals, but if a king violated the rights of a vassal, all the vassals could join against such a king. Under feudalism no one had absolute authority. The kings, lords, and vassals together made up the nobility.

Who was Attila?

In 433 Attila and his brother Bleda became joint rulers of the Huns, wild tribes living in southeastern Europe. Eleven years later Attila had Bleda killed. Then he set out on a march of conquest. After conquering lands to the east and south, he started westward. Attila was so cruel a warrior that he was known as the "scourge of God."
At first his army swept everything before it. But Flavius Aetius, a great Roman general, joined forces with Theodoric, the king of the Visigoths, and met Attila and his army at Chalons. The fighting was so fierce that legends say the dead warriors continued the battle in the sky. About 250 thousand men were killed. In the end Attila was defeated.
In 453 Attila was preparing to march on Italy. But suddenly, just before his troops were ready to set out, he died.
The body of Attila was put in a coffin of gold. The gold coffin was put in a coffin of silver. The silver coffin was put in a coffin of iron. Men were sent to bury Attila. When they came back they were killed. No one must ever know Attila's burial place.

Who were the girondists?

   GIRONDISTS were one of the chief revolutionary parties which arose during the course of the French Revolution. They first appeared in the Legislative Assembly of the year 1791, several of their leaders being returned for the department of the Gironde. They were at first closely allied with the Jacobins. The leading figures were Brissot, Vergniaud, Buzot, Isnard, Pétion, Barbaroux, Condorcet, and Roland; and from the first the beautiful and talented Madame Roland had a great, though usually an indirect, influence with them. A Girondist ministry was appointed in March, 1792. They had some share, of a secret kind, in bringing about the movements of June 20 and Aug. 10, 1792, which resulted in the overthrow of the monarchy, but probably were innocent of complicity in the September massacres. They were overthrown in June, 1793, and many of them were subsequently guillotined.

Who was Simon Girty?

   Simon Girty, known as the Great Renegade, 1741—1818, American frontiersman, was born near Harrisburg, Pa., was captured (1756) and held prisoner by the Indians for three years. After being an interpreter in the vicinity of Fort Pitt (1759—74), he was with Simon Kenton in Dunmore's War. The Continental Congress used him as an interpreter (1776), but soon discharged him, and in 1778 he deserted the Americans and went to Detroit, becoming an interpreter for Hamilton. He was active in Indian skirmishes against the Americans and was known for his cruelty, allowing the Indians to torture captives and standing by while Col. William Crawford was burned at the stake, though he saved the life of Simon Kenton. At the close of the war he fought with the Indians in the Ohio country against the Americans and opposed the Indians making peace. He went to Canada when the British surrendered Detroit (1796), fleeing in 1813 to a Mohawk village when Harrison invaded Canada. He later returned to Canada.