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.
Birthing a human child is always painful and can be a drawn-out process threatening the lives of both mother and baby. The ordeal sometimes even lasts for days. However, chimps have a much easier job...
A controversial new proposal might see Swedish state schools dropping history classes from the national education curriculum to make space for “postmodernism and democratic values”, such as gender...
A long-lost Roman fort has been uncovered during a construction project in the British town of Exeter. The discovery stunned archaeologists as there was no record to indicate that there was a...
Archaeologists have derived volumes of new data from a series of ancient megastructures found in a giant prehistoric Ukrainian settlements. Maidanetske is a village located within the Talne Raion (...
Human remains found at what is thought to be a Pictish-era cemetery near Muir of Ord on the Black Isle in the north east of Scotland, have led archaeologists to believe they belong to an ancient...
Archaeologists have found a Viking burial house in central Norway. It was located in an area which is revealing many archaeological treasures, including a Roman-era bronze cauldron. The mausoleum is...
Fossil animal droppings, charcoal from ancient fires and bone fragments litter the ground of one of the world's most important human evolution sites, new research reveals. The latest evidence from...
A study of some mysterious pottery vessels found in children’s graves from the Bronze and Iron Age period has made some remarkable findings. An international team of scientists now believe that these...
Drones are becoming ever more present tools for archaeologists looking to add to their survey and excavation toolkits. They’ve been used to get some great aerial views of archaeological sites and...
Inequality became rooted in ancient societies with the rise of ox-drawn plows. Ancient societies across Eurasia as far back as 7000 years ago experienced the rise of an upper class. And according to...
Scans of a 2,000-year-old crocodile suggest the reptile was hunted for mummification rites. Mummified animals have been recovered from many, if not most, ancient Egyptian tombs and while today we...
The ancient Inca sanctuary of Machu Picchu is considered one of humanity's greatest architectural achievements. Built in a remote Andean setting atop a narrow ridge high above a precipitous river...
Archaeologists at a Macedonian graveyard in Greece have been ecstatic to find that graverobbers had far from cleaned out the ancient resting place. The burial ground was looted in ancient times and...
One of the first things many kids – or even adults – may do when they are on a beach or dune is to make patterns in the sand or sculptures in the form of sandcastles. Many generations of humans have...
Two ancient Egyptian sarcophagi containing mummies, that are to be restored and displayed at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Cairo, were recently unpacked and witnessed by...
A group of extreme Christian missionaries is causing irreversible trouble in outback Wangkatjungka, in Australia, by burning sacred Aboriginal objects because they are “all from the devil”, while...
The Scottish public is being consulted on a proposed national memorial in Fife for people condemned as witches. Scottish records inform that between the 16th and 18th centuries there were at least 1,...
At Tiwanaku, Bolivia , archaeologists have excavated a number of vessels that are believed to be 1,400 years old making them amongst the very oldest artifacts to be found at the site. Tiwanaku is one...
Sitting in plain sight but unnoticed for centuries, Rujm el-Hiri - an unusual megalith near the Sea of Galilee - has stumped experts. An ancient monument comprised of enormous stone circles dating to...
Based on ancient DNA methylation patterns, a portrait of a juvenile female Denisovan has been recreated. Only two weeks ago I wrote a news piece for Ancient Origins in which I listed all of the known...
In the Hebrew Bible , the Edomites were the descendants of Jacob's brother Esau, but did an ancient Egyptian invasion trigger technological innovations within this biblical kingdom? Erez Ben-Yosef,...
Farming caused the human heart to evolve less “ape-like” and be better for endurance and stamina. New research suggests human hearts significantly changed when we dropped hunting and began leading...
Archaeologists working on the Spanish holiday island of Majorca (Mallorca) have made a surprising discovery. They came across a 3,200-year-old sword, completely by accident at a Bronze Age site. It...
The Acheulian culture endured in the Levant for over a million years during the Lower Paleolithic period (1.4 million to 400,000 years ago). Its use of bifaces or large cutting tools like hand axes...
