Peoples

Modern humans probably evolved in Africa about 300,000 years ago. About 70,000 years ago, they began to move to other parts of the world. By about 15,000 years ago, they had spread...

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples, also known as aboriginal peoples or native peoples, are ethnic groups who are descended from the original inhabitants of an area—in contrast to the...

Languages

People first developed languages to communicate with one another. Languages spread and changed as people moved to new lands. There may be up to 7000 different languages spoken in...

Writing and alphabets

Thousands of years ago, as languages became more established and civilizations developed, people needed to write things down. The earliest forms of writing used pictures or symbols...

Languages and writing A-Z

Festivals

Thousands of festivals—celebrations of special events or times of the year—take place all over the world every year. Singing, dancing, ritual (a religious or other ceremony)...

Traditional homes

There is an enormous variety in the style of houses built in different parts of the world. Local conditions play an important part in the design of houses. In regularly flooded...

Traditional homes A-Z

Who are the Romani?

The Romani (also called Romany or Roma) are a group of nomadic peoples living across Europe and Asia—and the Americas, to where their ancestors emigrated in the 19th century...

Why do we have Easter eggs at Easter?

In the early years of Christianity, Easter eggs symbolized the empty tomb of Jesus after his resurrection. Early Christians dyed chicken eggs with a red colouring, in memory of the...

What do Americans celebrate on Thanksgiving Day?

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a public holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States of America. It has been celebrated as a national holiday...