All societies have had ways of understanding nature based on their experiences of it. For example, farmers need to understand the seasons and weather to know when to plant and harvest their crops.

Our seven-day week originates from ancient Babylonian astronomy. Babylonians observed seven celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, and five planets). The seven-day week spread through conquest and cultural ...

Ancient astronomers were highly sophisticated observers of the night sky. Though they lacked telescopes or any kind of magnification device, stargazing is one of the only things you could do at night, ...

The Greeks built on Babylonian astronomy to make their observations of eclipses, and the word “ekleipsis” appears as early as the fifth century B.C. in Thucydides’s history of the Peloponnesian War, ...

A newly spotlighted artifact from ancient Mesopotamia is offering a rare window into how one of the world’s earliest civilizations imagined the Earth. Known as the Imago Mundi, this Babylonian world ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like ...

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to [email protected]. All societies have had ways of understanding ...