Parma Cathedral, 2019. Photo by author. The phrase I have chosen to call myself may conjure up images of someone poring over placidly smiling Madonnas or gazing skyward at towering cathedral pillars. And while I do enjoy both of these activities, and many more related to the study of religious art and architecture, I want to clarify that this is not what I mean. For me, the study of history is nothing more or less than sacred. I do not mean to say that I only study that which

Celebrating the Fourth of July in Williamsburg, VA. We’ve spent this weekend celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with fireworks and food and patriotic flags, but what is it, exactly, that we are celebrating? As we know, America is not two hundred and fifty years old. It is older than any historical record, and its first nations of Indigenous peoples developed governments and defined the civic duties of their citizens well before Spanish, English, and French explorers ev

What do the painted bison of Altamira and their fellows teach us about early humans? Photo from Wikimedia Commons (Daniel Villafruela). Over thirty-thousand years ago, the first humans figured out that they needed a few essential things to survive life on this harsh planet. Most are self evident: a semi-dependable source of food and water, shelter from the elements, including the warmth of fire, and a tribe in which to move and protect one another. But at this time in history