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Many early societies attributed abnormal behavior to the influence of evil spirits. (read more)

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Featured Article: Dolmen

Poulnabrone dolmen in County Clare, Ireland

A Dolmen (also known as cromlech, anta, Hünengrab, Hunebed, quoit, and portal dolmen) is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of three or more upright stones (megaliths) supporting a large flat horizontal capstone (table). Most date from the early Neolithic period (4000 B.C.E. to 3000 B.C.E.). Dolmens were usually covered with earth or smaller stones to form a barrow, though in many cases that covering has weathered away, leaving only the stone 'skeleton' of the burial mound intact.

Found in many parts of the world, the numerous still standing dolmens provide an opportunity to understand the values and beliefs of those who lived long ago. Their widespread appearance attests to a certain universality in human nature, particularly with regard to death and burial. They are evidence that even early cultures had the desire and ability to transport and place these enormous stones. Requiring great planning, coordination, and collaboration for their construction, dolmens are understood as burial markers for leaders and those of significance in the society. Additionally, they served as places of ritual and worship, with many still containing funerary artifacts that indicate belief in the afterlife and the possibility of communication with the spiritual world.

Popular Article: Kulintang

Kulintang

Kulintang is a modern term for an instrumental form of music composed on a row of small, horizontally-laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums. As part of the larger gong-chime culture of Southeast Asia, kulintang music ensembles have been playing for centuries in regions of the Eastern Malay Archipelago—the Southern Philippines, Eastern Indonesia, Eastern Malaysia, Brunei, and Timor.

Kulintang is believed to have evolved from a simple native signaling tradition, and developed into its present form with the incorporation of knobbed gongs from Sunda. Its association with the indigenous cultures that inhabited these islands prior to the influences of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or the West make kulintang the most developed tradition of Southeast Asian archaic gong-ensembles.

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