The story of how the first cities rose from southern Mesopotamia has long fascinated scientists and historians. Many explanations point to fertile soil, farming, and trade networks as the engines of ...

New research suggests the Indus Valley Civilization was reshaped by centuries of river drought, migration, and climate stress ...

The Great Ziggurat of Ur dedicated to the Moon god. Ziggurats were massive structure typical for Mesopotamia. Sumerians believed that the gods lived in the temple at the top of the ziggurats. Woods ...

Laura Spinney is a writer based in Paris. Her latest book is Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global (2025). The Great Holocene Transformation: What Complexity Science Tells Us about the Evolution ...

The storm god Iškur is trapped in the netherworld. Without him in the sky, the rivers will dry up—the grasses, cows and people will die. A lone Fox volunteers to traverse worlds to rescue him, armed ...