Patrick Wyman+

The Human Sacrifices of the Shang Dynasty

Mei kept his head high as he ascended the steps of the platform, eyes forward and not on his bare feet scraping the compacted earth.

Christopher Nolan's Collapsing Worlds

The Odyssey and the Bronze Age Collapse

The Tomb of Fu Hao and the Rise of the Shang Dynasty

Mountains soared on either side of the pass.

Past Lives: A Quick Guide to Ancient Egypt

Be sure to subscribe to the Past Lives Patreon for tons of great bonus content, including Q&As, interviews with amazing scholars, and much more.

Gebelein Man and the Roots of Ancient Egypt

Be sure to subscribe to the Past Lives Patreon for tons of great bonus content, including Q&As, interviews with amazing scholars, and much more.

My New Book, Lost Worlds, Is Out Today!

Today is the day - my new book, Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World - is finally out!

Check Out a Sample Chapter of My New Book "Lost Worlds

It's out May 5th!

Anzick-1, the Clovis People, and Life at the End of the Ice Age

Be sure to subscribe to the Past Lives Patreon for tons of great bonus content, including Q&As, interviews with amazing scholars, and much more.

Matilda McCrear, the Clotilda, and the Last Survivors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Be sure to subscribe to the Past Lives Patreon for tons of great bonus content, including Q&As, interviews with amazing scholars, and much more.

Moll and the Indian Slave Trade in Colonial America

Be sure to subscribe to the Past Lives Patreon for tons of great bonus content, including Q&As, interviews with amazing scholars, and much more.

Saint Patrick, Slavery, and the Fall of the Roman Empire

Be sure to subscribe to the Past Lives Patreon for tons of great bonus content, including Q&As, interviews with amazing scholars, and much more.

Crixus, the Spartacus Rebellion, and Resistance to Slavery

Be sure to subscribe to the Past Lives Patreon for tons of great bonus content, including Q&As, interviews with amazing scholars, and much more.

My Dad and History

Subscribers to the Past Lives Patreon have access to an audio version of this essay, along with tons of other great bonus content.

Neaira and Sex Work in Ancient Athens

The Life of a Hetaira in the 4th Century BC

Past Lives Episode 1: On Historical Storytelling (text version)

Hi, everyone!

One Week Out

Past Lives launches December 3rd!

New History Podcast: Past Lives

Past Lives launches December 3rd - subscribe now!

A day in the life of an Archaic Greek woman, c. 770 BC

(This is an old introductory scene from a Tides of History episode - Season 5, Episode 13, “The Roots of Archaic Greece.” These scenes are fun as a kind of sociological storytelling, an attempt to humanize a major trend or summarize a moment from a human perspective.

Ordinary People Do Terrible Things

Evil acts are easily normalized

How to Think About Climate Change

A Really, Really Long-Term Perspective

Welcome (Back) to Perspectives

Let's talk about some interesting stuff

Welcome to "The Pursuit of Dadliness"

Patrick has a new podcast!

"The Verge" is out today!

Please, please get my book!

The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World

I wrote a book!

Dragon Man Emerges

A new species of archaic human?