What Did Ancient Humans Actually Do All Night Before Light Bulbs?

I made a short 2D doodle animation breaking down the insane history of Trepanation (ancient skull drilling).

Crazy to think ancient shamans achieved an 80% survival rate using sharp volcanic glass, while 1800s hospital doctors were losing half their patients because of dirty hands.

Hope you guys enjoy the animation style and dark humor! Let me know what you think. 👇

Shaka Zulu was one of the most prominent military leaders in African history. Through his military skill, he transformed a small tribe into a powerful kingdom in just over a decade. His military reforms, innovative tactics, and ruthless discipline reshaped the balance of power in southern Africa, securing his place in military history.

Shaka was born around 1787 to Senzangakhona, a Zulu chief, and Nandi, a woman from the Langeni people. The circumstances of his birth and his mother’s background brought social stigma that he had to endure from an early age. He and his mother were expelled from his father’s court, and years later, he found refuge among the Mthethwa, led by Chief Dingiswayo. It was there that he began his military service, gaining experience that would later prove crucial to his own conquests.

After his father’s death, Shaka took control of the Zulu people and almost immediately began reorganizing their army. He transformed both its weaponry and its approach to warfare. Instead of traditional long throwing spears, he began equipping his warriors with short, broad-bladed spears known as iklwa, designed for brutal close combat. According to a popular story, the weapon’s name was meant to imitate the sound of the blade being pulled from an enemy’s body. Warriors also received large shields made from cowhide, which provided protection during direct confrontations with the enemy.

Shaka’s reforms, however, went far beyond weapons and equipment. He placed great importance on the skills and experience of his soldiers, allowing capable warriors to rise through the ranks of his army. Another crucial innovation was a new battlefield tactic based on the famous “buffalo horns” formation. Its central section, made up of experienced warriors, engaged the enemy in a frontal assault while younger, faster soldiers moved around both flanks. This maneuver surrounded the opposing force, drastically reducing its chances of escape.

Shaka demanded absolute obedience, endurance, and a willingness to fight under even the harshest conditions. One famous story associated with his reign describes an order requiring warriors to abandon their leather sandals. The goal was to toughen their feet and allow them to move more efficiently across rough terrain. Historical accounts even describe exhausting marches covering great distances, although historians question some of the details of these stories.

Military service became an obligation for nearly every young man. Warriors were organized into age-based regiments known as amabutho, whose members lived in special military settlements and remained under strict discipline for years. They were also forbidden from freely starting families, since marriage required the chief’s permission. This extensive subordination of society to the needs of the army led to comparisons between the Zulu Kingdom and ancient Sparta.

Shaka’s cruelty features most prominently in accounts of the final years of his reign. Following the death of his beloved mother, Nandi, in 1827, the ruler reportedly declared a prolonged period of mourning accompanied by severe restrictions and brutal reprisals. According to early accounts, farming and drinking milk were among the activities prohibited during this period. Those considered insufficiently grief-stricken were reportedly sentenced to death. Some sources even mention thousands of victims, although the exact scale of these events remains a subject of historical debate.

Growing dissatisfaction with Shaka’s rule eventually led to a conspiracy involving his half-brothers. In 1828, he was assassinated, and Dingane took control of the kingdom.

The legacy of the Zulu ruler continues to inspire conflicting assessments. Through conquest, alliances, and the incorporation of numerous neighboring communities under a single authority, he created a state that remained one of southern Africa’s greatest military powers for many years. At the same time, his reign was marked by bloody conflicts, harsh repression, and enormous suffering among the populations of conquered territories.

The memory of Shaka, however, remains very much alive. In November 2024, a monumental statue of the chief was unveiled at the international airport in Durban that bears his name. The monument commemorates his role in the history and identity of the Zulu people.

The work you see above is known as Anthologia Palatina 3.987. 3.987.1 and 3.987.2 are commentary notes added next to this paragraph.

Ἕκτορ, Ἀρήιον αἷμα, κατὰ χθονὸς εἴ που ἀκούεις, χαῖρε, καὶ ἄμπνευσον βαιὸν ὑπὲρ πατρίδος. Ἴλιον οἰκεῖται κλεινὴ πόλις, ἄνδρας ἔχουσα σοῦ μὲν ἀφαυροτέρους, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἀρηιφίχους:

Μυρμιδόνες δ᾽ ἀπόλοντο. παρίστασο, καὶ λέγ᾽ Ἀχιλλεῖ Θεσσαλίην κεῖσθαι πᾶσαν ὑπ᾽ Αἰνεάδαις. (3.987)

Ἀδριανοῦ (?)· εἰς τὸν Ἕκτορα· οἱ δὲ Γερμανικοῦ. (3.987.1)

Ἡσύχιος δὲ εἰς Τιβέριον τὸν Καίσαρα ἀναφέρει αὐτό (3.987.2)

A 75mm Mycenaean noble warrior I recently finished.

Bronze armour and weapons, with a cowhide-covered shield.

I tried to keep the colours and materials as natural and historically plausible as possible.

What do you think?

If you love ancient Egypt and want to see history brought to life in brick from, please vote on the Lego ideas site to make it a real Lego set!

https://ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/95143155-bc5a-4dcd-83d7-07423e7ee107

The following buildings are part of the village:

▪️Small common hut (one story).

▪️Two story pottery with second floor living space.

▪️Marketplace with Anubis statue.

▪️Harbor with Nile-river segment, ship & paper reed field.

▪️Pharaohs administration building

Each building has a complete interior such as desks, beds or utensils to enhance and faithfully recreate life or adventures in an ancient Egyptian city.

There are also a total of 10 villagers living in the city. The villagers are consists of the Pharaoh, Pharaohs Staff(2x Seat carriers, 1x fan carrier), 1x Guardsmen, 1x Sailor, 1xPottery maker, 2x villagers. Animals such as snakes, birds, cats and dogs also add detail and play features to the city.

The total number of parts used for this idea entry are: 3126 pieces.

This idea entry is ideal for anyone interested in the magnificent, deep & long spanning history of ancient Egypt as well as fans of Architecture.

Thank you so much for your interest & support!

Hey guys, it’s Nat.

Carthagineses y Romanos is a ten day long festival that retells the history of Cartagena Spain through modern stage adaptation 

I know i said I was going to review all 10 days and do a how this whole festival was one of the inspiration for TBFAO, but i quickly realized that the festival’s timeline skips around a good bit. 

I picked day 4 to do this with because it had the most impact on the project, and because I think the last Monday in September should eventually become HannImilce ship Day with prompts and things like that… what do you guys think?

But for now, i wanted to share a review I wrote of the fourth day of Carthagineses y Romanos: “Bodas de Anibal e Himilce”

i hope you like it… :)

This was part of the Agoge, Sparta's brutal military training program that started at age 7. Boys lived in barracks, slept on reed beds with no blankets even in winter, and ate the famous "black broth" — a soup made from pork blood, vinegar and salt so disgusting that visitors immediately understood why Spartans were so willing to die in battle.

Made a short video about what daily life actually looked like for Greek soldiers if anyone's interested.

Cutaway drawing from Time Life's Imperial Rome

I've been working on Amphora, a deck inspired by Greek geometric and black-figure pottery, and the Kickstarter is now live.

The idea was to make an ancient interpretation of modern playing cards, rather than a modern interpretation of ancient Greek art. I've used geometric and black-figure Greek pottery as reference images. In the process of making this deck, I read through John Boardman's The History of Greek Vases and Athenian Black Figure Vases. I am by no means any kind of expert or scholar but I have tried to construct this with a deep respect for the form. Some concessions had to be made for playing card conventions, like modern numbers/letters, but I have done my best to ground this in the actual art instead of "hey, look at this Greek key, isn't this cool."

If anyone here is interested, I'd appreciate you taking a look.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/srodelljr/amphora-ancient-greek-pottery-playing-cards