National Geographic History

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FROM THE EDITOR

National Geographic History

New Research Reveals World’s Oldest Mummy • A fresh look at a 60-year-old excavation uncovers the world’s earliest known mummifications in Mesolithic Europe.

Champollion: Hieroglyphic Hero • Two hundred years ago, the French linguistic genius made a series of brilliant insights to pull off the code-cracking triumph of the century.

Peril in the Pine Barrens: The Jersey Devil • Tales of a winged beast stalking the woods of southern New Jersey have panicked residents for centuries, but the Jersey Devil’s origins may lie in the religious disputes of the 1600s.

Confessions of a Werewolf: The Trial of Peter Stump • Werewolf panics struck 16th-century Germany, where one farmer admitted to being a murderous werewolf and faced a savage execution.

WIVES AND GODDESSES WOMEN IN ANCIENT GREECE • The lives of ancient Greek women were once thought to be simple and hidden, but new research is revealing how their lives were more rich and complicated than previously thought.

DANTE 700 YEARS OF THE INFERNO • Seven centuries since the death of Dante Alighieri, the first part of his Divine Comedy, Inferno, still horrifies. This hellscape of abysses and frozen lakes is populated by Dante’s fellow Florentines, who bring the passions and vices of medieval Italy vividly to life.

ENCOUNTERS WITH THE DAMNED • Dante uses the damned as a means to voice his opinions on the politics and society of his time. The encounters inspire a range of emotions in the poet: affection, pity, and even humor. The works of 19th-century artist Gustave Doré make these encounters all the more vivid.

TOWER OF LONDON GUARDIAN OF BRITAIN • Built to impress and intimidate, the Tower of London has stood for nearly a thousand years as a symbol of royal power and prestige.

THE TOWER OF LONDON, A MILLENNIAL FORTRESS • Built almost 1,000 years ago, the Tower of London has had few structural changes since the 13th century, though it is no longer a prison or a fortress.

THE FORBIDDEN CITY • From the 15th century until the fall of the Qing dynasty in the 20th, this vast palace complex was home to 24 Chinese emperors and served as their seat of power. Access to the compound’s palaces, temples, and gardens was forbidden to all except each emperor and his inner circle.

A WALK THROUGH THE FORBIDDEN CITY • The following pages describe six main areas of the Forbidden City, moving from the Meridian Gate at the south end, passing the three great ceremonial halls in the center, through the Imperial Garden, and finishing at the Gate of Divine Prowess at the north end.

LIFE ABOARD THE SPANISH GALLEONS • Spanish migrants setting sail for the New World in the 16th and 17th centuries faced a hazardous Atlantic crossing and an uncertain future.

SEVILLE, PORT OF THE INDIES • The wealth of the Americas and Asia flowed into the port on the Guadalquivir River. The bustle of each neighborhood is captured in a 16th-century oil painting attributed to Alonso Sánchez Coello. Museum of the Americas, Madrid

ROUND TRIPS

SUNKEN TREASURE

Tito Bustillo Cave, Ice Age Art Gallery • A fortuitous discovery in northern Spain yielded a cave full of Paleolithic treasures in 1968. Occupied for 26,000 years, the cave is covered with vivid works of art, revealing the breadth of humanity’s Ice Age imagination.

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