A preview of the latest book by Chinese history expert Charlotte Brooks

Rituals serve psychological functions that go far beyond mere habit or tradition.

The hospital where Rainn Wilson’s wife and son nearly died became his own personal holy site. There, he discovered that the sacred can exist in places we least expect it. During his talk at A Night of Awe and Wonder, he explained how the awe we feel in moments of courage and love is moral beauty — and following it might be the start of our spiritual revolution.

Language is a huge part of human development, even the language we keep to ourselves. Three experts explain how words and beliefs can change our brains and our lives:

Grab a sword, a small plate, and a young child. We've got a demon to summon.

Tikal, one of the biggest cities the Maya ever built, was home to a vast and flourishing society.

Historians have been able to piece together a clear picture of how the average Roman citizen spent their waking hours.

Never mind.

Grief never ends. There is no closure, but there are things we can do to mitigate the feeling of loss.

The Te’omim Cave in the Jerusalem Hills is filled with skulls and oil lamps — objects a new study says may have been used in dark rituals.

Lean, green, and serene.

Zombies aren't a modern-day obsession. Throughout history, fear of the undead led to bizarre burial rituals all over the world.

At this event, you’ll be around to hear the eulogy.

Experimental neuroscientist Patrick McNamara on how we can harness spiritual experiences to explore alternate realities in our minds, and transform our models of the self.

Modern robotics are creating a kind of cultural paradox, where the best religion is the one that eventually involves no humans at all.

Brian C. Muraresku, New York Times best-selling author of "The Immortality Key," unpacks ancient evidence for the widespread ritual use of psychoactive plants.

Researchers discovered something modern humans had never before seen—a flashy Neanderthal horn collection.

Yoga is more than just standing on your head. It's about uniting with the divine.

Archaeologists turn to other scientific fields to fill in the picture of how victims lived and why they died.

Democratic freedom, rapturous religion, and newspapers created a hotbed for social experimentation in 19th-century America.

If you get married in South Africa, don't be surprised if someone shows up to the ceremony dragging along a smelly goat.

Why do so many cultures celebrate holidays at the same time of year?

"Oosouji" or "big cleaning" is much more than a chance to tidy up.

Who's for dinner?

Scallop shells have accompanied pilgrims to and from Santiago de Compostela for centuries, for more than one reason

Civilization was built on ceremony.

Long before tobacco arrived from the Americas, ancient civilizations in the Old World were getting high off hemp smoke and opium. 

Three out of four Russians accused of witchcraft were men.

Human sacrifice appears to be as old as humanity itself. Still, experts disagree on how and where the practice first originated.

A toxicological study shows that the victims of human sacrifice consumed coca leaves and ayahuasca before they were killed, but not for reasons we originally thought.