buddha statue, egypt, silk road

Lost in Time: The Intricate History of a 2000-Year-Old Buddha Statue

Imagine the surprise when a team of researchers stumbled upon a remarkable artifact, a 2000-year-old Buddha statue, during an archaeological excavation in Egypt. The discovery raised numerous questions about how such an object ended up in a land far from its origins. Archaeological discoveries can rewrite history and shed light on ancient civilizations. The unearthing ...

Viena Abdon

The Buddha statue found in Egypt.

Cannabis Spread Across the Early Silk Road in the First Millennium B.C.

A chemical residue study of incense burners from ancient burials at high elevations in the Pamir Mountains of western China has revealed psychoactive cannabinoids. This study provides some of the earliest unambiguous evidence for the use of cannabis for its psychoactive compounds, and the awareness of higher THC-producing varieties of the plant. Cannabis has been ...

Troy Oakes

A brazier and burned stones.

A Maidservant Becomes China’s First Female Diplomat

It certainly was a unique sight to behold — a woman dressed in Han Dynasty clothing, an Imperial Decree in hand, traveling by horse-drawn carriage… This woman, who had begun life as a humble maidservant, went on to make history by becoming the first official diplomat to the Western Regions — the regions of Central ...

Helen London

Feng Liao.