The food industry, with its massive production of uniform foodstuffs, seems to be at odds with the manual preparation of local specialties. But the chickpea dip hummus owes its popularity as Israels national, artisanal dish precisely to such industrial mass production. Hummus is an indispensable in
Hugo Chávez will achieve an icon status among Latin American left-wing groups that could rival that of Che Guevara within a few years. The whole of Latin America is starting a new page in its history. Patricio Silva, professor of Latin American history, sheds light on the death of Hugo Chávez, presi
It will come as no surprise that books were read in the Middle Ages. However, it is less widely known that these books were very often not produced in monasteries. Research indicates that from the thirteenth century onwards, there was a well-organized book trade, where manuscripts were written, deco
Theodoros is a well-known tragedy actor from the fourth century BC, the peak time of classical Greek theatre. Among the ancient Greeks, this performer is especially loved for his amazing vocal talents. His name literally means Gods gift and he can relate to that. Kennislink will discuss acting in Cl
At the beginning of this year, the Meertens Institute launched a new database on migration in the Netherlands in the twentieth century. How did this database come about and what can you look up in it? Researcher Gerrit Bloothooft answers these questions. Bloothooft works as an onlooker at Utrecht Un
Greek actors in classical antiquity almost always wore a mask. Because of those masks, their theater was a very different experience than ours. Moreover, the masks reflected the cruel arbitrariness that, according to the ancient Greeks, governed their society. Facial expressions are one of the most
The Italian historian Gerolamo Conestaggio (1540-1611) is mentioned in few historiographical surveys. Nevertheless, he was a widely read and influential author in his day. One of his most important books describes the beginning of the Dutch Revolt. The work, which is critical of Spanish behavior, wa
Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau… Almost everyone knows the names of the most infamous concentration camps from the Second World War. But they are just the tip of a horrific iceberg. American researchers are now busy mapping all Nazi camps. It turns out that there were more than 42,500. But Nazi cam
Change in aviation is slow. And there have been discussions for decades about how the ancestors of birds once chose the skies. What do we know about the origin of flies and what will the future look like? An episode of Labyrinth. The evolution of flying How dinosaurs — the ancestors of birds — once
This year, the Nobel Peace Prize did not go to an individual, but to an organization:the European Union. The EU received the award because it has contributed to the promotion of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe for more than 60 years. The Nobel Prize Committee pointed
The world famous Stonehenge is still full of secrets. New research now shows that the mysterious monument in prehistoric times only needed to be viewed and approached from one specific direction. And that is yet another proof that Stonehenge had an important astronomical function. For those who wal
They were accidentally discovered in the National Archives in London in 1980:thousands of handwritten letters from Dutch ships captured by the English in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Unique research material for historians and linguists alike, as few personal documents have survived fro
In connection with the theme Poor &Rich for the Month of History, an interview with historian Auke van der Woud, author of the groundbreaking book Kingdom full of slums. “I was struck by the sheer scale. The slums occurred in all cities and in the countryside. The predominant image is that the Neth
Leiden linguists Alwin Kloekhorst and Alexander Lubotsky made a major discovery this summer. They deciphered several dozen inscriptions on potsherds found in Daskyleion (northwestern Turkey) as Phrygian and Lydian, thus proving the presence of the Phrygians and Lydians in that area. Sensational The
A guest column appears on Kennislink every two weeks. The columnist is always a different researcher, who writes from his or her field about the science behind an event in society or from our daily lives. This week in the context of History Month:Historian Henk Looijesteijn on rich and poor in the G
Potters in prehistoric China were there even earlier than we knew. Potsherds dating back 20,000 years have been found in a cave. That is more than 10,000 years before the discovery of agriculture. But what was this prehistoric tableware for? Not long ago, scientists thought that the art of ceramic
“Re-examine Dutch military violence in the Indies”, headlined De Volkskrant today. In an opinion piece, three directors of leading historical research institutes call for a re-examination of Dutch actions during the Indonesian war of independence. What is there to add to all the historical research
The NWO-funded project Cultures of Collecting:The Leiden Anatomical Collections in Context investigated the cultural context in which eighteenth-century anatomical specimens were made and collected, using the specimens themselves as the starting point. The results are surprising:the preparations app
Tight training schedules, special diets and preparations, physiotherapy, massages and the latest scientific developments. It sounds like the preparation of top athletes for this sports summer. Yet all this was not strange to the ancient Greeks. Sport – and with it the athlete – took an even more imp
Once again an age record for prehistoric art has been broken. Cave paintings have been found in northern Spain that must be more than 40,800 years old. Now the question is who made them. An ordinary early hominin or the long-extinct Neanderthal? The cover of the prestigious magazine Science you don
Dante Alighieri In 800 Cesare Lombroso, the controversial inventor of criminal anthropology, attributed the frequent falls and dream visions of which Dante Alighieri claimed to be often prey to epilepsy, but according to a recent study, the great poet was instead narcoleptic. narcolepsy
In 1861 in Germany, John Ross Browne, an American traveler and writer, witnessed an unusual event. In the city of Hanau, he watched the execution of a local murderer, sentenced to beheaded for manslaughter. It would be no different from other similar shows if it were not for a few people waiting for
For Hindus the caste organization is their club, their business union and their benevolent and human-loving society. Due to the caste system, there is no poor or correctional in India, there is no need for it. – Sidney Low, A Vision of India. The ancient Indian Aryans were called Hindus because t
The Savoy family wanted the crown jewels kept at the Bank of Italy, claiming that they belong to them. So lets make a historical discussion about those jewels to understand who they belong to and if there is a basis of legitimacy in the requests made by the former royal family. I state that the