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Historical records offer us a broad understanding of past events, yet they often fail to convey how individuals from earlier times truly experienced the world around them. For instance, we still lack clarity on what popular music sounded like in ancient Greece, and our knowledge of ancient Chinese alcoholic beverages remains limited.
Thanks to advancements in technology, we are gradually able to answer these questions and more, bringing us closer to experiencing history as it was lived. Here are ten remarkable examples of how science has helped us relive the past.
10. Ancient Greek Face Reconstruction
It's easy to assume that people from different parts of the world have always looked the same throughout history, but that's not the case. Facial structure and appearance are influenced by various factors, including immunity to diseases, fashion trends of the time, and diet.
While we still don't have a complete picture of what people looked like throughout history, some scientists have made efforts to reconstruct the appearance of individuals from ancient Greece. It's important to note that we’re not just talking about the classical “ancient Greece” we typically envision, but the broader region of Greece, one of the oldest continuously inhabited areas in the world.
In 2018, researchers reconstructed the face of a teenage girl who lived 9,000 years ago, using her remains along with technologies like CT scanning and 3-D printing. Interestingly, she had a strong jawline and more masculine features compared to women from that region today. The researchers speculated that this might have been due to chewing on animal skins to make leather, and they suggested that she likely suffered from anemia and possibly scurvy.
9. The Tragic Destruction of Pompeii
Unless you've been living under a rock, you’re probably aware of the catastrophic destruction of Pompeii in ancient Rome. Once a thriving hub of culture and trade, Pompeii was obliterated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. While we're still uncovering the full extent of the destruction caused by the eruption, it's clear that Pompeii was devastated, with many of its residents perishing in the event.
If you're curious about what the disaster may have looked like to someone who lived through it, you can experience it. In a 2009 exhibition at the Melbourne Museum, a theater installation featured a short animated video recreating the event, created by historians using all the available information about the eruption at that time.
8. Ancient Greek Music
Surprisingly, we know a lot about music in ancient Greece compared to other civilizations from the same era. We’re familiar with the types of instruments they played, and through works by figures like Homer and Euripides, we understand how they composed their music. Despite having this knowledge, we couldn’t decipher the musical compositions for a long time, as their notation system was completely different from ours, with strange symbols that were once unintelligible. That is, until modern times.
Thanks to recently discovered and compiled documents, we now have a clearer understanding of how music composition worked in ancient Greece. Using these insights, several teams of researchers and musicians have successfully recreated the sounds of ancient Greece. As more information is uncovered by historians and archaeologists, many other experts are working towards perfecting this ancient sound.
7. Hittite Feast
The Hittite Empire, which spanned the Asian region of what is now Turkey, was a dominant force in the area from approximately 1600 to 1200 BC. This dominance was due in part to its status as the primary power in the region during the Bronze Age. Historical records reveal that the Hittites placed a strong emphasis on their culinary practices, even going as far as imposing the death penalty for anyone who entered the kitchen without proper hygiene. A bit extreme, but certainly telling of their dedication.
In 2015, a Turkish archaeologist and chef collaborated to recreate ancient Hittite cuisine. Unlike modern bread-making, the Hittites didn’t use yeast in their bread, and their festive meals often featured cold meat served with cooked onions and bread. To ensure authenticity, the team replicated their ancient cooking techniques, using only a knife and no modern kitchen tools.
6. Chinese Beer
Ancient China boasts an expansive, rich history that dates back thousands of years. While much of this history is known through cave paintings and written records, there's still much we don't know about what life was truly like in ancient China.
To uncover more, a team of researchers from Stanford University teamed up in 2017 to recreate a beer recipe from around 5,000 years ago. The recipe was based on inscriptions found inside pottery from that era, resulting in what might be the oldest beverage we've ever had the opportunity to taste.
The beer, crafted from grains such as millet and barley along with Job’s tears (an Asian grass), had a distinctly sweeter and fruitier flavor compared to modern beers.
5. Neolithic Dog
The domestication of dogs, our loyal companions, has been a defining event in human history. Not only did dogs help us accomplish more tasks, but they also enabled individuals to live more independently, without needing others to alert them of approaching dangers.
While we often picture dogs as they are today, that hasn’t always been the case. The earliest domesticated dogs resembled wolves more than modern dogs, as they hadn’t yet undergone the extensive artificial breeding that shaped their appearance over time.
To recreate the appearance of these ancient dogs, a forensic artist used a 4,000-year-old dog skull discovered through excavation, along with 3-D modeling and images from other archaeologists. The resulting reconstruction—carefully crafted with input from history experts—depicts a creature that blends characteristics of both a wolf and a contemporary dog.
4. Beer At King Midas’s Funeral
The story of humanity is, in many ways, the story of alcohol, as we’ve mentioned before. Alcohol has influenced civilization more than any other invention, and by examining ancient drinking habits, historians can uncover significant details about past cultures.
Patrick McGovern, an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania, has dedicated much of his career to studying ancient alcoholic beverages and recreating them. By analyzing remnants of ingredients found in ancient cooking tools, he has managed to bring many old drinks back to life. Among his proudest achievements is recreating the beer served at the funeral of King Midas, the ruler of Phrygia (now part of Turkey) during the eighth century BC.
If you’re curious to taste some of these historical beverages, you can visit Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware, where they brew and package the drinks McGovern has resurrected.
3. Roman Concrete
Roman concrete stands as one of the most durable materials ever created by humans. The structures built with it still endure throughout the former Roman Empire at the peak of its power. Unfortunately, the recipe for this remarkable concrete was lost over time, prompting scientists to seek its secrets ever since they learned of its existence.
Thanks to the work of researchers from the University of Utah, however, we may have uncovered its mystery. Roman concrete was made using volcanic ash, and it was the seawater that contributed to its legendary strength. By examining a pier and other structures constructed with this material, they discovered that seawater interacts with the concrete’s ingredients, forming interlocking minerals that enhance its durability—minerals which are difficult or expensive to synthesize in a laboratory.
With sea levels rising globally, there is an urgent need for improved technology to build seawalls and other structures to combat the ocean’s impact, and this discovery could be the breakthrough we’ve been searching for.
2. Egyptian Ale
Ale was a staple in daily life in ancient Egypt, often consumed with every meal. It wasn’t because ancient Egyptians were constantly celebrating, but rather because ale was seen as a safer choice than water, as water purification methods were not advanced during that time.
Until recently, we had no idea what Egyptian ale actually tasted like. In 2019, a team of researchers from Israel examined ancient jugs excavated from the area and managed to isolate six strains of yeast from the kitchenware. The yeast had remained preserved in the pores of the pottery, which was a surprising discovery.
While other researchers might have simply sent these samples to the lab for analysis, these scientists decided to take a more exciting approach. They used the yeast to ferment their own beer, giving us the first-ever taste of alcohol from ancient Egypt.
1. Aphrodite’s Perfumes
Recreating ancient scents is a significantly more challenging endeavor than reviving ancient beverages or sounds. The elements that make up a fragrance are much harder to preserve throughout history. However, it's not entirely unfeasible, as descriptions of these smells have been preserved in the writings of cultures, particularly the Greeks, who were known for their meticulous documentation.
In 2018, chemists from the National Archaeological Museum of Athens used inscriptions from the Mycenaean period—the earliest Greek records we have—to recreate some of the perfumes linked to the goddess Aphrodite for the museum’s 150th anniversary. A standout among these was Aphrodite’s Rose, a fragrance celebrated in ancient writings. The recreation process took over 18 months and involved traveling across Greece to gather authentic ingredients.
