During the 8th century CE, warfare and failing agriculture forced Maya people to move north, to hotter, drier Yucatán. Because of its freshwater access, Chichen Itza became the most powerful Maya city, with nearly 50,000 citizens at its...

We’ve talked a lot about black holes, but there are other kinds of space holes out there that deserve some time in the spotlight!

Craft curator Nora Atkinson takes us on a trip to Nevada's Black Rock Desert to see the beautifully designed and participatory art of Burning Man, revealing how she discovered there what's often missing from museums: curiosity and...

There are just six weeks left until the celestial odometer that is the Mayan calendar clicks over to the next b'akt'un, but in the meantime, scientists have been trying to solve the mystery behind the collapse of the Mayan civilization....

Michael Aranda relays the latest in science news, including an archaeological discovery about the earliest days of Buddhism, a new species of Brazilian wildcat, and new insights into the effects of fecal transplants.

After months of travel, you've arrived at Duonia, home to the famous temple that's the destination of your pilgrimage. The walk from the welcome center to the temple isn't a long one ... but there's a problem. Can you outsmart the city's...

In the first mission of its kind, Deep Impact’s goal was to teach us about the interior of comets...by blowing a hole in the side of one!

We use seismographs to record the time, location and magnitude of earthquakes as they happen. But in the last three decades, a new field of study has emerged that is learning to track these details about earthquakes of old using the...

It was dark when two mysterious, shrouded figures appeared in a hillside village. The strangers knocked on every door in town, asking for food and shelter. But, again and again, they were turned away. Soon, there was just one door left:...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Die Zauberflote" ("The Magic Flute") is widely regarded as one of the most influential operas in history. And while it may seem like a childish fairytale at first glance, it's actually full of subversive...

To design the Baha' Temple of South America, architect Siamak Hariri focused on illumination -- from the temple's form, which captures the movement of the sun throughout the day, to the iridescent, luminous stone and glass used to...

The year is 1400 BCE. At the temple of the fisherman, the morning is unusually still and this is just the latest in a series of troubling signs for Quexo, the village shaman. The villagers live off the sea, but this year the winds have...

Hank talks about the Maya, and helps dispel some myths about their historic civilization, revealing how, ultimately, they were just like us: smart, flawed, and awesome.

On the dusty roads of a small village, a traveling salesman was having difficulty selling his wares. As he wandered the outskirts of town in the hopes of finding some new customers, he heard a high-pitched yelp coming from the edge of...

Someone has tripped the magical alarms in the Element Temple. When you and the other monks arrive on the scene, you know you have a disaster on your hands. Four young apprentices broke into the temple’s inner chamber to steal the sacred...

It's 1762 BCE. As dawn breaks in the Babylonian city of Sippar, Beltani— a priestess and businesswoman— receives an urgent visit from her brother. He makes a troubling accusation: her tavern keeper has been undermining the business...

The year is 432 BCE. As dawn breaks over Athens, Pheidias is already late for work. He is the chief builder for the Parthenon — Athens' newest and largest temple— and when he arrives onsite, city officials accuse him of embezzling gold...

Along the Nile River, in what is now northern Sudan, lay the ancient civilization of Kush. Though they were once conquered by a powerful neighbor, the kings and queens of Kush would go on to successfully challenge two of the most...

In which John Green teaches you the history of Christianity, from the beginnings of Judaism and the development of monotheism, right up to Paul and how Christianity stormed the Roman Empire in just a few hundred years. Along the way,...

Xu Xian had just received an invitation to the opening ceremony of a new temple. His wife, Bai Su Zhen, warned him not to attend, but Xu Xian, a devout Buddhist, felt obligated to make an appearance. What they didn't know was that these...

The Ziggurat at Ur, constructed around 2100 B.C.E. by King Ur-Nammu, served as a monumental tribute to the moon deity Nanna and stood as the tallest structure in the ancient city of Ur, visible from great distances.

This World Cultures instructional video shows how the Inca created a Mountain Empire.

This video provides a detailed overview of the archaeology of the Mayan ruins, focusing on the challenges faced by archaeologists in uncovering and studying these ancient structures. It discusses the historical context of the Mayan...

Howcast - According to Jewish tradition, after the Maccabees’ victory over the Greeks, there was only enough oil to burn for one day in the Temple. Miraculously the oil burned for eight days. Lighting the Hanukkah menorah commemorates...