About 18 million years ago, the plains of North America were filled with a wide range of large mammals, including one now called Daeodon. The term means “terrible pig”, and from the fossils found, they probably lived up to their name. Experts have found that from their teeth, these animals were probably omnivores, though they more than likely lived on scavenged meat. They were about the size of modern day bison, and were heavily muscled. From evidence left on fossilized bones, these creatures may have fought over mating rights, territory, or even meals, as many of the skulls found from these beasts show puncture wounds and serious scrapes. Several Daeodon skeletons have been found around a dried up river bed at Agate Springs, Sioux County, Nebraska.

In the days when the Egyptians and the Hebrews ruled the ancient world, there was a kingdom in the desert that rivaled that of any major civilization. They were known as the Kushite and lived in what we now call Nubia. Archaeological evidence suggests that the first Kushite societies began to take shape before 3100 BC. Most of what we know of these people come from the ancient Egyptians themselves, however, the Kushites are mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. In the 8^th century BC, a Nubian king by the name of Piye took advantage of the warring rulers of Egypt and conquered the land, becoming the first Kushite Pharaoh of Egypt. Kushite rulers also built pyramids in the desert, but had their own style in doing so. Out of the 220 pyramids built by this amazing culture, 14 were made specifically for their queens.

The ancient Mayan’s were a highly sophisticated people from what is now Guatemala. The Mayans were highly skilled in agriculture, architecture, and astronomy. Though many of the books written by the Mayans were burned by Christian monks in the 1500’s, a few survived, including one known as the Dresden Codex. The Dresden Codex is a Mayan book made from tree bark, detailing astronomical phenomena in their days. The codex is 11.5 feet in length, made up into 39 sheets. One of the biggest problems in modern times with the Dresden codex, is that many scholars have tried to place specific dates in correlation with dates on the Christian calendar. Today, the Dresden codex is housed in a state library in Dresden, Germany. An exact replica is housed in the National Archaeological Museum in Guatemala City.

Celebrating the new year has been a tradition since the time of the ancient Babylonians. However, the new year was always observed on the first day of spring. In those times, spring was thought to be the most important time of year, as this was the beginning of the planting cycle. It wasn’t until 153 BC that January 1^st was deemed the first day of the year by the Romans. Each emperor would change certain days and by the time of Julius Caesar, the calendar was so messed up that it took a full 445 days to rectify the problem. In the middle ages, January 1^st was still seen as the first day of the year, but wasn’t celebrated because church officials saw it as a pagan holiday. Western civilizations have only been celebrating the coming of the new year for the past 400 years.

Between 292 and 280 BC, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world was built on a small island off the coast of modern day Turkey. The monument was deemed the Colossus of Rhodes. Though this statue was said to be some 100 feet tall, it only stood for about 50 years before it was toppled by an earthquake. Throughout the years, many artists depicted the Colossus as a huge figure straddling the harbor, with one foot planted firmly on either side. However, modern experts believe that this is merely artistic merit, as a statue of this size could never stand that long and in that position due to its own weight. It is now thought that the Colossus stood at one side of the harbor, much like the Statue of Liberty does today. The remains of the Colossus of Rhodes remained on the ground for some 800 years before the Arabs invaded the country and sold all the remaining pieces, which took a total of 900 camels to carry off.

Many cultures from the ancient world were as keen on precious stones and metals as we are today. One of the most prized stones to the ancient Babylonians was a blue stone known as Lapis Lazuli. Today, it’s better known as Lazurite, but to the ancients, this stone was used in a wide variety of ways, including as pieces of jewelry, carved into small idols, and the ancient Egyptians even crushed the stone up and used it in cosmetics. Lapis Lazuli was also buried with the dead, as it was thought that this stone had mystical and magical proportions. Many Egyptians carvings of scarabs have lapis lazuli insets in them, as it was believed that this stone was holy and a gift from the gods. One mine in Afghanistan has been in use for some 6400 years.

Throughout the centuries, many legends have come down to us from the Ancient Greeks. Tales of heroes and monsters, and of course, gods and goddesses. One such tale was about a Greek king named Minos, who had a labyrinth and a monster within known as the Minotaur. During excavations of the isle of Crete, several palaces were unearthed with highly decorated walls. Many of the scenes depicted young men boxing and some were shown as jumping over a bull. It is thought that this society worshiped bulls, and there is even an alter with what look like bull horns on its top. Though experts aren’t very sure as to what happened to the Minoan civilization, there is some speculation that they were overtaken, and then absorbed, into the Mycenae people, a culture said to have fought in the Trojan war.

Around 350 BC, the king of Halicarnassus passed away and was entered in to one of the most elaborate tombs ever made, the Mausoleum of Maussollos. In fact, this is where we get the term Mausoleum today. The mausoleum was built by the Queen, Artemisia. Not only was she his wife, but she was also his sister. In her grief over his passing, she had the most beautiful tomb built for her husband that the world had seen up to that point. The tomb was so opulent, that it was written about by many ancient historians, and was deemed one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Halicarnassus lies in what is now modern day Turkey. The tomb of Maussollos stood firm until the 13^th century when it succumbed to an earthquake. Then, in the late 1400’s, the Knights of St. John used the remaining stones in construction of their castle. Today, little remains of this once grand mortuary.