askhistorians

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What are the origins of the drag subculture/performative cross-dressing in the United States?	23
Is there any historical or archeological evidence that the mythical Xia Dynasty of China actually existed?	22
Why were the Gullah-Geechee people of the South Atlantic coast able to preserve their distinctively West African cultural heritage?	21
Has there been any consensus amongst historians as to what the ancient psychoactive substance referred to as Soma/Haoma in Vedic and Zoroastrian texts consisted of?	20
Is there any relationship between the fish-based liquid condiment known as garum in the Ancient Roman World and the fish sauces used in the cuisines of Southeast Asia to the present day?	20
How high was the child mortality rate during the Roman Empire? Did it remain constant or did it change throughout the centuries as the fortunes of the Empire ebbed and flowed?	20
How expensive, labor-intensive and time-consuming to make were medieval illuminated manuscripts such as bibles, gospels, books of hours, breviaries, bestiaries, apocalypses, etcetera?	19
The excavations of Roman sites like Pompeii have uncovered many examples of ancient graffiti. Has graffiti been found in the remains of other ancient civilizations?	19
I was reading a Thai biography about a Siamese prince that married a Russian woman, which made me wonder: what was the relationship like between Imperial Russia and Siam? Did the two countries interact much in terms of diplomatic or trade functions?	18
Ancient Aztec society seems like it was highly-stratified and had strictly proscribed social rules, especially when it came to gender roles; is there any evidence in Aztec sources of women who broke societal conventions by doing traditionally male jobs or by behaving in “unwomanly” ways?	18

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