ancient

The ultimate US ghost towns: exploring ancient Native Americans’ settlements and culture, and camping under the stars

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I have visited similar reminders of ancient civilisations, such as Cambodia’s city of Angkor and Peru’s Machu Picchu, which are integral to their modern country’s sense of identity. This time, I am in a nation with a far less developed sense of its own history: the United States. The Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National … Read more

Opinion | How Taylor Swift’s Singapore effect could only have been achieved in ancient China by one singer, who briefly soared before losing everything

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I also don’t know much about Taylor Swift’s work – besides one song, “Shake It Off”, from 2014 – but I’m impressed by the building “Tay Tay cray” in anticipation of the concerts. While I like a few recording artistes like Kate Bush, Björk and (please don’t judge me) Madonna, I have never reached that … Read more

Nasa opens $1-billion canister of 4.6bn-year-old asteroid dust |

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Nasa‘s Johnson Space Center is in celebration mode after finally opening a canister filled with ancient asteroid dust, an endeavor that has challenged the team since the canister landed in Utah’s desert four months ago.“It’s open! It’s open! And ready for its closeup,” NASA’s planetary science division posted on X. The removal of two stubborn … Read more

Ancient Chinese traffic rules: speeding on horseback could get one flogged, youth gave way to the old, nobles had right of way – thankfully there were no zebra crossings

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I am lucky to have lived in four cities: Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shenzhen and Singapore. Whenever I mention this, almost everyone wants to know how they compare and which city I prefer, especially insecure Hongkongers who are obsessed with the Hong Kong-Singapore rivalry, which exists mostly in their heads. Each city has things that … Read more