Sources · 23 in all

Sources

Everything the site says comes from one of these. Each page also lists its own sources at the foot, numbered as they are cited.

  1. Aubert, M., Setiawan, P. and others (2018). Palaeolithic cave art in Borneo. Nature 564, 254–257. doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0679-9Used for: Lubang Jeriji Saléh, Borneo: an animal painting at least 40,000 years old and hand stencils at least 37,200 years old. Checked 11 November 2026.
  2. British Library, Asian and African Studies blog (2014). The Couling-Chalfant collection of oracle bones in the British Library. britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/asian-and-african/2014/06/the-couling-chalfant-collection-of-oracle-bones-in-the-british-library.htmlUsed for: Shang oracle bones as the oldest known Chinese writing, and the ancestor of today’s characters. Checked 11 November 2026.
  3. German Archaeological Institute, Göbekli Tepe Research Project (2016). How old is it? Dating Göbekli Tepe. www.dainst.blog/the-tepe-telegrams/2016/06/22/how-old-ist-it-dating-gobekli-tepe/Used for: Radiocarbon dates placing the oldest enclosures in the 10th millennium BC. Checked 11 November 2026.
  4. Hoffmann, D. L., Standish, C. D. and others (2018). U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art. Science 359, 912–915. doi.org/10.1126/science.aap7778Used for: The claim that paintings in three Spanish caves, including hand stencils at Maltravieso, are older than 64,000 years and so made by Neanderthals. Checked 11 November 2026.
  5. Hublin, J.-J., Ben-Ncer, A. and others (2017). New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens. Nature 546, 289–292. doi.org/10.1038/nature22336Used for: The Jebel Irhoud fossils as early members of our species, and the debate around them. Checked 11 November 2026.
  6. NASA. Apollo 11 mission page. www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-11/Used for: The first Moon landing, 20 July 1969. Checked 11 November 2026.
  7. Natural Earth, 1:110m and 1:50m land, public domain, via the world-atlas package by Mike Bostock (ISC licence). www.naturalearthdata.com/Used for: Every coastline drawn on this site. Checked 11 November 2026.
  8. Newcastle City Council, Sitelines (Tyne and Wear HER 196). Hadrian’s Wall. sitelines.newcastle.gov.uk/SMR/196Used for: The Wall’s length (about 73.5 miles, Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway) and the start of building, about AD 122 to 126. Checked 11 November 2026.
  9. Northumberland County Council, Keys to the Past (Historic Environment Record N6566). Vindolanda Roman fort (Chesterholm), Henshaw. keystothepast.info/Site-Details?PRN=N6566Used for: The sequence of forts at Vindolanda, their dates, sizes and garrisons, and the finding of the writing tablets. Checked 11 November 2026.
  10. Oktaviana, A. A., Joannes-Boyau, R. and others (2024). Narrative cave art in Indonesia by 51,200 years ago. Nature 631, 814–818. doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07541-7Used for: The painted scene at Leang Karampuang, Sulawesi, at least 51,200 years old. Checked 11 November 2026.
  11. Oktaviana, A. A., Joannes-Boyau, R. and others (2026). Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi. Nature 650, 652–656. doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09968-yUsed for: The hand stencil in Liang Metanduno, Muna, dated to at least 67,800 years ago. Checked 11 November 2026.
  12. Pike, A. W. G., Hoffmann, D. L. and others (2012). U-series dating of Paleolithic art in 11 caves in Spain. Science 336, 1409–1413. doi.org/10.1126/science.1219957Used for: El Castillo: a red disc at least 40,800 years old and a hand stencil at least 37,300 years old; how uranium-series dating gives a minimum age. Checked 11 November 2026.
  13. Richter, D., Grün, R. and others (2017). The age of the hominin fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, and the origins of the Middle Stone Age. Nature 546, 293–296. doi.org/10.1038/nature22335Used for: The age of the Jebel Irhoud fossils, about 315,000 years (give or take 34,000). Checked 11 November 2026.
  14. Roman Inscriptions of Britain online. Tab. Vindol. 291: Birthday invitation of Sulpicia Lepidina. Translation after A. K. Bowman and J. D. Thomas. romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/TabVindol291Used for: The text, date, handwriting and present home of the birthday invitation. Checked 11 November 2026.
  15. Saturno, W. A., Stuart, D. and Beltrán, B. (2006). Early Maya writing at San Bartolo, Guatemala. Science 311, 1281–1283. doi.org/10.1126/science.1121745Used for: Maya writing at San Bartolo, about 300 to 200 BC. Checked 11 November 2026.
  16. The International Football Association Board. Laws of the Game, Law 1: The Field of Play. www.theifab.com/laws/latest/the-field-of-play/Used for: Pitch sizes for international matches: 100 to 110 m long, 64 to 75 m wide. Our comparison uses 105 by 68 m, inside that range. Checked 11 November 2026.
  17. The Vindolanda Charitable Trust. Roman Vindolanda Fort and Museum. www.vindolanda.com/roman-vindolanda-fort-museumUsed for: Who runs the site and visiting. Checked 11 November 2026.
  18. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas (inscribed 1999). whc.unesco.org/en/list/936Used for: Cueva de las Manos, Patagonia, and its hand stencils. Checked 11 November 2026.
  19. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Frontiers of the Roman Empire (Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall). whc.unesco.org/en/list/430Used for: Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall as frontiers of the Roman Empire. Checked 11 November 2026.
  20. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Göbekli Tepe (inscribed 2018). whc.unesco.org/en/list/1572Used for: Göbekli Tepe as one of the earliest known monumental sites. Checked 11 November 2026.
  21. Walker, M., Johnsen, S. and others (2009). Formal definition and dating of the GSSP for the base of the Holocene using the Greenland NGRIP ice core. Journal of Quaternary Science 24, 3–17. doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1227Used for: The end of the last ice age, dated to 11,700 years before AD 2000. Checked 11 November 2026.
  22. White, R., Bosinski, G. and others (2020). Still no archaeological evidence that Neanderthals created Iberian cave art. Journal of Human Evolution 144, 102640. doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102640Used for: The case against the 2018 Spanish dates. Checked 11 November 2026.
  23. Woods, C. (ed.) (2010). Visible Language: Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East and Beyond. Oriental Institute Museum Publications 32. Exhibition story on Google Arts & Culture. artsandculture.google.com/story/rwWhZTdobl0nLAUsed for: Four independent inventions of writing; the Uruk tablets, 3400–3200 BC; Egypt by the end of the 4th millennium BC; China in the 2nd millennium BC; Mesoamerica by the mid 1st millennium BC. Checked 11 November 2026.