Prehistory
Tărtăria Tablets: Neolithic Symbols from Transylvania
Three small clay tablets bearing incised signs became the centre of a long debate about whether Neolithic Europe had a form of proto-writing.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Prehistory
Bhimbetka Rock Shelters: India's Prehistoric Painted Caves
Recognised as one of the richest rock-art landscapes in the world, the shelters were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.
Prehistory
Florisbad Skull: An Early Human Ancestor from South Africa
The partial skull, named Homo helmei in 1935 and directly dated in 1996, became a key example of the late archaic to early modern humans of Africa.
Prehistory
Archaeopteryx (1861): The Fossil Linking Birds and Dinosaurs
The first Archaeopteryx fossils revealed a Late Jurassic animal with both reptile and bird features, later recognised as key evidence that birds descend from dinosaurs.
Prehistory
The Boring Billion: Earth's Quiet Middle Age in the Proterozoic
Climate, ocean chemistry and oxygen levels stayed relatively stable for roughly a billion years while eukaryotes diversified only slowly, before the upheavals of the Neoproterozoic.
Modern Era
Tunguska Event (1908): The Siberian Explosion Explained
A cosmic body exploded in the air above the taiga, flattening an estimated 80 million trees over about 2,000 sq km without leaving a crater.
Modern Era
Hundred Regiments Offensive (1940): China's Communists Strike
Heavy damage to Japanese railways and mines in north China, followed by severe Japanese reprisals against Communist base areas.
Modern Era
Brusilov Offensive (1916): Russia's Greatest WWI Success
Major Russian victory over Austria-Hungary, but huge losses on both sides and no decisive breakthrough.
Modern Era
British Raj (1858-1947): Crown Rule in India Explained
The British Crown ruled India directly for almost ninety years, building a centralised colonial state that lasted until independence and partition in 1947.
Modern Era
Rebellions of 1837-1838: Uprisings in Upper and Lower Canada
Both uprisings were crushed, but the Durham Report led to the union of the Canadas in 1841 and responsible government by 1848.
Modern Era
Otis Safety Elevator (1854): The Invention Behind Skyscrapers
Otis showed that a falling lift could be stopped automatically, making passenger elevators acceptable and opening the way to tall buildings.
Modern Era
Assassination of Spencer Perceval (1812): A Prime Minister Shot
Perceval died within minutes; Bellingham was tried, convicted and hanged within a week, and Lord Liverpool became prime minister.