We bring you all the latest historical news and archaeological discoveries relating to ancient human history. Read more history news from around the world here at Ancient Origins.
Neolithic cooking pots can tell you a lot about life in the culture that used them; if you have the right tools on hand. New research on such pottery by the University of Bristol has uncovered how...
Head-hunting, as a way of establishing power and veneration of the head as the throne of the soul and the body’s spiritual engine, began in Europe as far back as Mesolithic times, approximately 13,...
Mythologies, philosophies and religions around the world are bolted together with stories, poems and songs offering moral messages which we hope our children will to aspire to live by. So often,...
Archaeologists high five in Orkney as a large number of 5,000-year-old stone axes were discovered among 30,000 artifacts, including “pottery, bones and tools” according to a recent report by The BBC...
Local authorities in Egypt have announced the discovery of an ancient sphinx statue between two of the best known ancient temples in the country – Karnak and Luxor. The discovery was made by chance,...
There is a cave in southern Mexico where the distant past, more recent past, and the present intertwine. It is referred to as the Cave of Ancestors, where locals continue to honor their distant...
Archaeologists in Bulgaria are fighting a battle against looting in the Black Sea town of Primorsko. Unfortunately, it seems grave robbers are getting ahead of the experts in the number of graves...
Long bouts of bad weather have been blamed as a cause for the downfall of ancient civilizations around the world. Now, researchers have proposed a hypothesis that seems to support the idea that the...
Last week, Ancient Origins reported on the fascinating discovery of a golden treasure left by the ancient Saka people in a burial mound in Kazakhstan. It was called one of the most significant finds...
Archaeologists had no idea of the immensity of the project they had begun when they started excavating an archaeological site in Sântana, Arad county, Romania almost a decade ago. They’ve now...
Pia Purra / University of Helsinki The prehistoric settlement submerged under Lake Kuolimojärvi provides us with a clearer picture of the human occupation in South Karelia during the Mesolithic and...
The Icelandic Sagas tell of Erik the Red: exiled for murder in the late 10th century he fled to southwest Greenland, establishing its first Norse settlement. The colony took root, and by the mid-12th...
In northern Morocco the great ancient city of Volubilis is rising again and is becoming a major tourist attraction. The city that was once neglected and half-forgotten is now being opened to the...
A surprising Google Doodle has greeted users of the search engine in the UK. The image celebrates the 1038th birthday of Persian polymath Ibn Sina. For many in the West, this may be the first...
An amateur treasure hunter has made a ‘stunning’ find from the Roman era in the south-west of England. With the help of a metal detector, the man discovered a golden ring at a site being investigated...
The director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, Massimo Osanna has announced another momentous discovery at the ruined city. Archaeologists have unearthed a house that belonged to a member of the...
As many parts of the world are fighting scorching heat waves and fire outbreaks, several weeks of extraordinarily heavy rainfall in the northern region of China have collapsed a newly renovated...
The severity of drought conditions during the demise of the Maya civilization about one thousand years ago has been quantified, representing another piece of evidence that could be used to solve the...
Despite over a century of intense study, we still know very little about the people buried at Stonehenge or how they came to be there. Now, a new University of Oxford research collaboration,...
The Great Pyramid of Giza is without question the most famous building of the ancient world. Completed around 2560 BC during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu, this enigmatic monument is a central feature...
Workers have made an extraordinary discovery in the German city of Cologne. It is believed that they have unearthed the walls of a large Roman library. The ruins are those of the oldest known public...
Archaeologists excavating near a fort in the Shimoga district of Karnataka state in southern India have unearthed more evidence to demonstrate just how powerful an 18th-century warrior king was. They...
The Kazakhstan government has announced a very exciting archaeological find in a remote mountainous area of the country. A team of archaeologists has unearthed a huge trove of golden objects and...
A major discovery has been reported by archaeologists in the Yucatan Peninsula, in south-eastern Mexico. A team of experts has discovered some astonishing cave paintings deep in a remote jungle. The...