Neanderthals beat their hand axes with a ferruginous mineral to make fire. After extensive research for traces, this is the surprising conclusion of a Leiden archaeologist. With this he found the oldest, common, tools with which fire is made. Neanderthals could not make fire and depended on natural
Who does not know Lady de Winter, the femme fatale from the Three Musketeers? She is based on Lady Carlisle, a real female double agent from the seventeenth century. And this lady was far from an exception, according to the recently released book Invisible agents . Spying is a mans job, was the ide
1981. Amsterdam is the gay capital of the world. Everything is possible and everything is allowed. But then a gay man is hospitalized seriously ill. The doctors have no idea what is going on and soon the man dies. He was the first AIDS patient in the Netherlands, according to the AIDS exhibition in
This year the Donders Institute is celebrating the 200th birthday of Franciscus Donders, founder of cognitive brain research. On the occasion of this anniversary, language psychologist Ardi Roelofs repeated the groundbreaking experiment with which Donders showed 150 years ago that thinking takes tim
Danish swords from the Bronze Age, French cave drawings from prehistoric times or Roman finds from Hungary. They belong to the almost forgotten collection of Old Europe of the National Museum of Antiquities. Curator Luc Amkreutz investigates the collecting history of this collection. Notification:un
Historian Beatrice de Graaf of Utrecht University is one of the winners of the Stevin Prize, a prize from science financier NWO for research with a high social impact. She receives the prize for her contribution to the fight against terrorism. What can we as a society learn from her insights? The S
On July 1, we celebrate Keti Koti, literally breaking the chains. On that day in 1863, the Netherlands officially abolished slavery in Suriname and the Antilles. How we should now deal with this legacy is a hot topic in the debate. Historian Alex van Stipriaan sheds light on the struggle. Alex van
Sara Haverkamp wins the KNAW Education Prize for her profile paper on the media under Putin and Trump. A strong and very extensive piece of work that shows how journalism is increasingly getting into trouble, also in the United States. Trump won the American election in 2016 and the Russian media p
Sperm, urine, blood… In the eighteenth century, scientists started to look differently at the functions of these body fluids. Historian Ruben Verwaal discovered the reason during his PhD research. The Dutch eighteenth century has long been called the century of decline. It would contrast sharply wi
The Iceland national football team was the big surprise at the 2016 European Championship and the 2018 World Cup. In an excellent book, a scientist examines how Iceland started a successful rise. For years the game of the Icelandic national team was not to be seen. Like Andorra, Luxembourg and Malt
Drought as a result of climate change, with all its consequences, is increasingly in the news. Drought also threatens our archaeological heritage. This has been going on for decades, but more dry periods give it an extra boost. We all notice it, our summers have been extremely dry and warm in recen
Can science give us advice on everyday problems? In the podcast NEMO knows what to do!, scientists provide surprising insights. In this podcast from NEMO knows what to do! Lizzy and Iris ask scientists for advice about switching jobs. If youve been in the same job for ten years… isnt it time to loo
Can science give us advice on everyday problems? In the podcast NEMO knows what to do!, scientists provide surprising insights. In the first episode, Lizzy and Iris ask science about love for advice. What can you do if you are in love with two people? The Faces of Science Jakob van den Eijnden, Kar
Classical languages, the writing system of the ancient Greeks; it sounds like a clear case. What kind of news is there left to discover? A lot, according to recent research. Willemijn Waal and Luuk Huitink will tell you more about this for the Week of the Classics. Ancient Greek, we also call it a
For decades it was a little disputed fact:bystanders often fail to come to the rescue in emergencies on the street. Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaards research shows that things are different. During conflicts on the street, passers-by almost always intervene to calm things down. New York, March 27, 196
An unknown and deadly disease from Asia reaches our country. The discussion soon breaks out about exactly how the disease spreads and how contagious it actually is. Due to the quarantine measures, people get into economic difficulties and they start to murmur. Corona? No, cholera! The newspapers we
Starry Night and Night Watch are the official names for a star and planet in the northern sky as of last December. They got the label with the help of the Dutch public. Who names the rest of the stars? Since December 17, there has been a star called Happiness, the translation of the official name G
For a long time we thought that the confrontation with modern man cost the Neanderthals the head. However, no archaeological evidence for this has ever been found. New research shows their extinction was likely a natural phenomenon. “The fact that Neanderthals are said to have died out because they
Researchers use a micro-CT scanner to decipher cuneiform writing thousands of years old for the first time. NEMO Kennislink spoke with technicians from Delft and an Assyriologist from Leiden who made new discoveries through a combination of specialisms. While our ancestors built the last Dolmens, i
It is pointless to dismiss men from the seventeenth century as sexists – historical research should ensure understanding, says historian Els Kloek. This year, the theme of the Month of History is just right for her:She/He. While she used to be scorned by male teachers who didnt understand why there
Quite recently we wrote about the inhabitants of besieged Leningrad, who in their desperate struggle for their lives did not shy away from cannibalism. Before this happened, however, the city authorities somehow tried to feed hundreds of thousands of starving people. When practically everything was
We have something special for you on the anniversary of the Battle of the Ardennes. We have prepared an expert ranking of the most interesting museums commemorating this great battle. If you ever hit the Ardennes, you wont be wandering in the dark - like Colonel von der Heydtes paratroopers thrown i
Cannibalism, so condemned for ethical and moral issues contemporaries, was a habit existing throughout history. Far from an old connotation that associates the consumption of human flesh with some type of religious ritual, cannibalism is a practice with different motivations and characteristics over
In Christian Europe, bigamy was officially forbidden, and for the wedding to be valid, it had to be solemn. So much in theory. Practice - especially among the poorest - was governed by its own rules. Concluding a marriage contract in an inn and other controversial customs did not surprise anyone ...