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Cuneiform Lexical Lists
Lexical lists are compilations of cuneiform signs and word readings written on clay tablets throughout Mesopotamia. From the late 4th millennium BCE up to the 1st century CE, scribal communities copied, modified, and passed on these cuneiform...
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Indo-European language family tree
Partial tree of Indo-European languages. Branches are in order of first attestation; those to the left are Centum, those to the right are Satem. Languages in red are extinct. White labels indicate categories / un-attested proto-languages...
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John Winthrop & Anne Hutchinson
John Winthrop and Anne Hutchinson, the antagonists of the Antinomian Controversy (1636-1638 CE). Left: Portrait of Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop (l. c. 1588-1649 CE). It was held in the Winthrop family until the 19th...
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Top 10 Ancient Roman Inventions
Throughout history, inventions have defined civilizations and changed the way we live our lives. The ancient world was full of possibilities when it came to making life easier since there was so much to invent and discover. Ancient Rome is...
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Ancient Egyptian Literature
Ancient Egyptian literature comprises a wide array of narrative and poetic forms including inscriptions on tombs, stele, obelisks, and temples; myths, stories, and legends; religious writings; philosophical works; wisdom literature; autobiographies...
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Index of Prohibited Books
The Index of Prohibited Books (Index Librorum Prohibitorum) was a list of written works condemned as heretical or injurious to the Christian faith by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent in 1563. It remained in effect until 1966 when...
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The Printing Revolution in Renaissance Europe
The arrival in Europe of the printing press with moveable metal type in the 1450s CE was an event which had enormous and long-lasting consequences. The German printer Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1398-1468 CE) is widely credited with the innovation...
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Script
Script is the written expression of a language. Cuneiform, the first script, was invented in Sumer, Mesopotamia c. 3500 BCE, hieroglyphics sometime prior to the Early Dynastic Period in Egypt (c. 3150-2613 BCE), and Sanskrit in India during...
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The Plague at Athens, 430-427 BCE
In the second year of the Peloponnesian War, 430 BCE, an outbreak of plague erupted in Athens. The illness would persist throughout scattered parts of Greece and the eastern Mediterranean until finally dying out in 426 BCE. The origin of...
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Etymologiae
The Etymologiae (Etymologies) is a Latin work by Isidore of Seville (l. c. 560 - 636 CE), compiled in the early 7th century CE and published in its final form shortly after his death. The book is a type of medieval encyclopedia and is a survey...