askhistorians

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In the biblical story of the Flood, Noah takes two of every animal onto his ark to ride out 40 days and nights of flooding. Do we have any idea how many animals bronze age hebrew people were aware of? Do we know of any examples of ancient jewish natural philosophy?	2511
In the biblical story of the Flood, Noah takes two of every animal onto his ark to ride out 40 days and nights of flooding. Do we have any idea how many animals bronze age hebrew people were aware of? Do we know of any examples of ancient jewish natural philosophy?	976
What evidence do we have that yearly "topsy turvy" holiday traditions in medieval Europe, like appointing a "lord of misrule" or "boy bishop" at Christmas, really functioned as "safety valves" to release social tension in a safe way?	246
In the 1910s, did anyone feel anxiety about increasingly widespread and affordable electronic lights?	222
[Literature] They say Alexander the Great slept with a copy of the Iliad by his side, so great was his love of Homer. Assuming this is true, what form would his copy take? How did he get a hold of it?	143
Without being too stereotypical, there are many regions in Africa and Asia that tend to have a "spicier" palate than many parts of Europe, where people regularly enjoy foods considered intensely spicy by Euro standards. Was this true before the Columbian exchange introduced chili peppers?	126
I've heard that in the ancient world, there were numerous cases of sedentary societies, even large empires, having interactions with nomadic hunter gatherers. Did anyone in these societies argue that the hunter gatherer lifestyle was superior to their own settled lifestyle?	73
In Imperial Rome, did Freemen and Freewomen tend to remain within the household of their former enslaver or try to strike out on their own? What opportunities and perils did they face in choosing either option or perhaps others?	73
In the biblical story of the flood, Noah takes two of every animal onto his ark to ride out 40 days and nights of flooding. Do we have any idea how many animals bronze age hebrew people were aware of? Do any examples of ancient jewish natural philosophy exist?	71
In Robert Graves's novel "Claudius the God" the eponymous narrator refers to the God of the Jewish people as the strangest God he's ever heard of. Did Roman people actually believe, having encountered so many foreign faiths, that Judaism was particularly unusual?	67

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