All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

History & Archaeology

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.

Top left to Bottom Left: Serpent artifact, (Author), Single serpent, Kukulkan, (Jose Miguel, Almeyda), Serpent model, (Author), Serpent heads Kukulkan, (Jose Miguel Almeyda)

A Serpent Raises its Head in Georgia: Is this Evidence of an Aztec Connection?

A recently discovered artifact in Northern Georgia is a testament to the importance of religious art in the spiritual lives of the area’s ancient Indigenous residents. What can such an oddly placed...
Access ramp at Qal'at al-Rahiyya, view toward the north-west.

Discovery of a 4,000-year-old military network in northern Syria

The discovery of more than a thousand sites in Syria has revised our understanding of the settlement of the steppes during all periods in the history of the Near East. Recently, analysis of aerial...
Wooden Tablets Verify China's First Emperor’s Obsession with Immortality

Wooden Tablets Verify China's First Emperor’s Obsession with Immortality

New archaeological finds shed light on Qin Shi Huang’s (first Emperor of China) quest for eternal life. According to 2000-year-old texts written on thousands of wooden slats, the Chinese Emperor did...
Two views of the broken skull of a young girl who was a probable victim of human sacrifice

Dismembered Remains Tell Horrifying Tale of Ritual Human Sacrifice in Ancient Crete

In the distant past, earthquakes shook not only lands, but also the ancient perspective on how to interact with the world, the gods, and each other. During a recent lecture at the Archaeological...
Prehistoric skeleton buried adorned with copper alloy goods.

Experimental Color Chart Reveals the Original Beauty of Prehistoric Copper Goods

An international team of Serbian and UK researchers claim to have developed a Cu-As-Sn (Copper-Arsenic-Tin) color ternary diagram, which will help scientists to uncover the original colors of ancient...
Tahai - Ahu Ko Te Riku, moai adorned with a pukao.

Pukao Study Claims Easter Island had a Cooperative Community Not A Warrior Culture

Analysis of these giant stone hats found on Rapa Nui, Chile (Easter Island) provides evidence contrary to the widely held belief that the ancient civilization had a warrior culture. According to a...
Some of the artifacts discovered in the ancient city of Jericho.

5,000-Year-Old Jewelry and Eyeliner Highlight the Power of Ancient Jericho

2017 proved to be a fruitful excavation season at the archaeological site of Tell es-Sultan on the West Bank. A collection of unique Egyptian artifacts unearthed at the site shows that the ancient...
Some of the artifacts recovered from smugglers in Turkey.

Operation Zeus Stops Smuggling Ring from Stealing Over 26,000 Artifacts from Turkey

With over 26,000 relics seized from smugglers, Turkish authorities have made he largest haul of recovered artifacts in the country’s history. The precious pieces were created by the Anatolian, Greek...
Rock art in central Northumberland, northern England. (Author provided)

What Neolithic Rock Art Can Tell Us About the Way Our Ancestors Lived 6,000 Years Ago

The British and Irish countryside is often celebrated for its wealth of unique places of heritage, significance and interest. But not many people know that this heritage includes thousands of ancient...
A D-shaped structure built by the Wari culture, found near Cusco in Peru.

Peruvian Archaeologists Unearth Silver Artifacts, a Massive Temple and an Astronomical Observatory Near Cusco

An astronomical observatory, massive Inca stone walls, ruins of a huge temple, and artifacts left by elite members of the Wari culture are some of the fascinating elements found at a Pre-Hispanic...
The stones can fit in the palm of a hand or pocket. Pictured isone from a 2014 excavation

New Symbolism Noticed on Denmark’s “Sun Stones”

A total of 300 small stones believed to have been engraved with designs almost 5,000 years ago, have been discovered during an archaeological excavation on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic...
Drone aerial shot of the ancient Turkish ruins on Dongoin shiree. (North at the top.) Segments of the inscriptions and sarcophagus excavated from the hole at the center of the ruins can be seen.

Monumental Mongolian Burial Discovered Includes 14 Giant Inscribed Pillars

A joint excavation team from Osaka University and the Institute of History and Archaeology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences discovered the ruins of a unique monument surrounded by 14 large stone...
Left, A stone piece bearing the painting of a human face and found in Kikonai, Hokkaido (Yoshinori Toyomane) Right. A Sketch of the impression.

4,300-Year-Old First Face Offers a Glimpse of Ancient Japanese Culture

Archaeologists in Japan have discovered what appears to be the first piece of stone painted that depicts a human face dating from the mid-Jomon Pottery Culture (2500–1500 BC). Experts describe the...
Cuneiform tablet known as Letter ZTT 22. (Credit: Ziyaret Tepe Archaeological Project)

Archaeologists Uncovered an Archive that Narrates Ancient Assyria’s Fall

A group of archaeologists digging at the site of Ziyaret Tepe in southeastern Turkey, has uncovered a unique cuneiform tablet that narrates a tale of exasperation and disappointment reported by an...
Latest Bronze Age grave found near Loch Ness, left with soil, right after excavation.

“Special Site” for Bronze Age Burials Discovered Near Loch Ness

Archaeologists claim that they have found a 'special site' – as they described it – for Bronze Age burials near Loch Ness, after the discovery of a second 4,000-year-old peculiar grave containing a...
A satellite image shows a 17th century caravanserai (outpost) which served people traveling the Silk Road.

Going Where Archaeologists Cannot, Spy Satellites Reveal Thousands of Forgotten Ancient Sites in Afghanistan

Ancient sites may come into in the line of fire when war breaks or a building project begins. Destruction and looting could be prevalent at such times, but archaeologists often believe there is...
The skeleton of a child between the age of 6 and 9 found with various grave goods.

3,500-Year-Old Child Burials Unearthed at Ancient Egyptian Work Site

A team of archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed four ancient child graves at Gebel el-Silsila, the site of a former Egyptian quarry that dates back 3,500 years. The finding provides new insights on...
A fitting, probably from a book. The style is typical of Celtic and Irish areas and dates from the 800s. Silver with traces of gilding. Image Credit: Åge Hojem, NTNU University Museum

Archaeologists in Search of Beer End Up Discovering Valuable Viking Trove

A team of archaeologists searching to find beer and other brewing materials, ended up discovering something way more valuable; a trove of amazing Viking artifacts, including an out of place Celtic...
The four-handled tureen adorned with dragons, birds and spikes

Bronze Artifacts Found in 3,100-Year-Old Tomb Tell of Dynastic Take Over

Chinese archaeologists have discovered ritual tureen and “soup bowls” next to a badly decomposed body in a Zhou dynasty-era tomb. Among the remains there were also uncovered two wine vessels, which...
The mummy ‘Hen’ has been sent for a hospital CT scan for the second time.

CT Scan Conducted on 2,000-Year-Old Mummy Reveals the Cancer that Killed Him

A team of astonished doctors at Crouse Hospital in New York, had the rare opportunity to examine and scan a 2000-year-old mummy. How does it feel to examine a perfectly preserved ancient Egyptian...
An upside-down Christmas tree.

A Tradition Revived? Inverted Christmas Trees May Have Pagan Roots

Hanging a Christmas tree from the ceiling makes some sense – it can keep your floor space clear and may protect your pets or young children from harm – but it is not common. The costly trend of...
“Lord Rama got fed up with asking a non-responding Varuna (God of the oceans) to help him and took up the Brahmastra.” (Fair Use) Ram Setu – a natural phenomenon or perhaps a manmade bridge built to save a queen?

Is Ram Setu Really a Manmade Construction Bridging an Ancient 20 Mile Gap? New Studies May End the Controversy

Built by a king and his army to save a queen from the clutches of a rival? Or maybe a bridge to a land which led Adam to his atonement? While both of these ideas are far-fetched, current research...
Tron Bon Lei cranium, photographed during excavation. Fish-hook A and perforated bivalve to the north of the mandible.

World’s Oldest Funerary Fish Hooks Indicate Women Fished in Ancient Indonesia

Fishing was an important part of life, and apparently death as well, in the Pleistocene on Indonesia's Alor Island, northwest of East Timor. The collection of fish hooks placed alongside the remains...
Map of sites and postulated migratory pathways associated with modern humans dispersing across Asia during the Late Pleistocene.

Updates on Out of Africa – Revising the Story of the Dispersal of Modern Humans Across Eurasia

Most people are now familiar with the traditional "Out of Africa" model: modern humans evolved in Africa and then dispersed across Asia and reached Australia in a single wave about 60,000 years ago...

Pages