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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Americas

Ancient places can be found all over America. Their fascinating histories and impressive artifacts open intriguing glimpses to times past, and open up a window on America’s history. Visiting such historical places in America can be an unforgettable experience.

Science is constantly discovering new archaeological places and uncovering more evidence into what we once thought we knew about our history, therefore offering new pieces to the ever changing puzzle of humanity’s past and altering how we interpret it. This section will present American history articles, highlighting the most interesting archaeological sites all over America, as well as new discoveries of ancient places that are worth paying a visit.

Structure I, one of the two pyramids at Calakmul.

Calakmul: Ancient Mayan City of the Two Pyramids and Three Stones

Calakmul is truly a lost ancient Mayan city. It is situated deep in the dense jungles of the Petén Basin of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Soon after it was abandoned, the impressive city was reclaimed...
The Maya site of Palenque, Mexico

Palenque and the Great Temple of the Inscriptions: A Site Built for a King

Hidden deep in the jungles of Mexico are the ruins of the great Maya city of Palenque. Known for its stunning architecture, sprawling temples, artwork and treasures, it has been luring explorers,...
The ‘Bird Man’, one of the mural paintings in Cacaxtla

Cacaxtla: Where the Rain Dies on Earth and Murals Tell Tales of Forgotten Lives

Warriors in jaguar skins stand over their defeated opponents dressed as quetzal birds, priests invoke the sacred avian and feline powers, and a merchant sets off on a journey with a pack full of...
The Temple of Kukulkan, Mayapan.

An Ancient Maya City Founded by a God and Conquered by a Death Cheating Despot

Mayapan is a Maya site located in the modern Mexican state of Yucatan , about 55 km (34 miles) to the southeast of Merida, the state’s capital. This reconstruction of the site’s history poses a...
Xochiquetzal, with flower (Codex Fejérváry-Mayer, page 29)

Xochiquetzal: Aztec Goddess of Beauty, Pleasure and Love… But Don’t Mess With Her!

According to the Aztecs, Xochiquetzal was the goddess of beauty, pleasure, and love. She is commonly associated with such beautiful things as flowers, plants, song and dance, which is quite distinct...
Magnificent columns in the form of Toltec warriors in Tula

Toltecs: Fierce Warriors Who Changed the Face of Mesoamerica for Good

The Toltec culture was a pre-Columbian culture that dominated the area of what is today central Mexico from the 10 th to the 12 th centuries AD. They ruled the region from their capital of Tollan (...
An inuksuk at Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada.

How Global Warming Is Destroying Our Best-Preserved Archaeological Sites

The Arctic is like a time capsule. What dies there can be preserved, like a snapshot of our past, literally frozen in time. Some of the greatest insights we’ve gotten into life, thousands of years...
Kukulkan as a snake deity at the base of the west face of the northern stairway of El Castillo, Chichen Itza

Kukulcan, the Snake God of the Maya, Remains as a Legacy of the Once-Powerful Civilization

Kukulcan was the all-powerful snake god worshipped by the Maya. While little information remains about the legends and mythology of Kukulcan – due to the tragic destruction of the Maya codices by the...
An early morning view of the Mound City Group. (NPS Photo / Tom Engberg) Hopewell copper antler headdress on a mannequin. (University of Nebraska Lincoln/CC BY NC 4.0)

The Liverpool Mounds in Illinois: Part 2 - Rediscovering Hopewell Ritual and Meaning

In part 1 of this article, the features of the Liverpool Mound group in Fulton County Illinois were described. This second half focuses on the possible meanings of the mounds and their contents and...
Hopewell Platform Frog Effigy Pipe

The Liverpool Mounds in Illinois: Part 1 - Rediscovering Hopewell Ritual and Meaning

“Archaeology seeks to explain the inner workings of cultures in which even baked clay jars were animated with their particular spirits. But, until as archaeologists we develop more than a little...
View of Pogačnik’s monolith in Itchimbia Park; close-up of monolith design. Itchimbia Hill actually lies slightly outside the central meridian; behind and to the left you can see El Panecillo, which lies directly on the main energy line.

Harnessing Energy Lines and Geocosmos in Ancient and Modern Quito

During the period 2002-2003, Marko Pogačnik, UNESCO Artist for Peace, oversaw the installation of eleven small monoliths and one bronze plaque in the city of Quito, Ecuador. The monuments run along a...
An ancient carved stone face of a megalithic statue in the San Agustín Archaeological Park, Colombia.

Necropolis of Warriors and Gods: The Ancient Statues of San Agustín, Colombia

The world’s largest necropolis, filled with gods, mythical animals, and heroes, rests in the southwestern Andes of Colombia The largest collection of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures in...
Restored statue platform with standing moai on the south coast of Rapa Nui. Note that one of the moai is adorned with a red scoria pukao.

How the Easter Island Statues Received Their Hats: Final Report

How do you put a 13-ton hat on a giant statue? That's what a team of researchers is trying to figure out with their study of Easter Island statues and the red hats that sit atop some of them. "Lots...
Stone faces in the walls of the Tiahuanaco temples

Was Tiahuanaco the Seat of the Mightiest Ancient Civilization in the Americas?

In Bolivia at 4000 meters above sea level, right in the middle of the Andean plateau, stands the megalithic city of Tiahuanaco, which represents a fascinating enigma and one of the most important...
Recreated Viking helmet and weapon

Vikings in Ireland: Traces of Warriors Not Just Buried Beneath the Ground, They Are in the DNA

As science progresses and archaeologists are forging new positive relationships with developers around Irish heritage, more secrets from Ireland’s Viking past are coming to light, and they are not...
Two Sides to Every Story: The North American Martyrs Shrines and Indigenous/ Roman Catholic Relations – Part II

Two Sides to Every Story: The North American Martyrs Shrines and Indigenous/ Roman Catholic Relations – Part II

Read Part 1 Jerome Lalemant, the second Superior of the Huron mission, said there were so few converts because no Jesuit had been martyred yet. It is stated more than once that if the “glorious crown...
Pomo Tule Canoe (Edward Curtis).

Stone Hatchet Man & The Troubling Unfinished Journeys to the Spirit World for Native American Bones

It was July of 1923, and a hot day in Clearlake Park, California. Charles Hesse had been excavating a pit for his new septic tank all morning. Just before lunch, Charlie dug a good-sized, waist deep...
Serpent Mound

Symbolism of the Great Serpent in the Adena and Hopewell Cultures – Part II

Recently, a debate has developed in the Ohio archaeological community over the age and cultural affiliations of the Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio. So, what does the evidence really show...
Aerial View of Serpent Mound.

Symbolism of the Great Serpent in the Adena and Hopewell Cultures – Part I

Recently, a debate has developed in the Ohio archaeological community over the age and cultural affiliations of the Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio. So, what does the evidence really show...
Amazon jungle from above.

Lost Amazonian Tribes: Why the West Can’t Get Over Its Obsession with El Dorado

A number of ancient settlement sites were recently discovered in the Amazon’s Upper Tapajós Basin. This is no El Dorado – although you’d be forgiven for thinking so. The press coverage demonstrates a...
Yaxchilan contains hundreds of ancient structures, a labyrinth, tunnels, chabmers. What secrets do they keep? (Photo: ©Marco M. Vigato)

The House of Darkness & Secret Caverns—The legendary Yucatan Hall of Records found at Yaxchilan? Part II

Far from the crowds of Palenque and other Maya sites, the ruins of Yaxchilan are found today still very much in the same conditions as they were first described by Maudslay and Maler in the early...
Devils Tower Star Trails. S

Devils Tower: Born From the Earth After a Bear Mated with a Woman

Devils Tower in Wyoming, USA holds both historical and ancestral importance. This magnificent geological feature has long been considered sacred by the many of the Native American tribes who have...
Quiriguá Zoomorph P.

The Marvelous Mayan Zoomorph Monoliths of Quiriguá

Elaborate designs adorn unique monoliths in an ancient Mayan site in Guatemala. There are immense stelae hailing past rulers and huge stones carved with majestic beasts and curious creatures. The...
Part of the Cochasquí archaeological site. (Santiago Martinez/ L. Ortiz) A mask found at the site. (Alicia McDermott)

Cochasquí: The Immense Pyramids of Ecuador Provide Evidence for a Forgotten Civilization

The archaeological sites in Ecuador are often overshadowed by more popular locations in neighboring Colombia and Peru. However, archaeology enthusiasts have a wealth of options including more than...

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