Ancient Origins presents how human origins are explained through three different perspectives: a) science and scientific evidence, b) religions and creation stories and c) folklore and mythology.
The Olympian gods are well known to most people in the Western world. A lesser-known deity is Theia. Theia is the primordial Greek goddess of light. She was considered one of the Titans. She is said...
For centuries, the shores of Lake Superior have held countless secrets, hidden in the depths of the lake and the surrounding wilderness. Recently, a team of archaeologists and linguists stumbled upon...
The biblical Levites were a group of people from the tribe of Levi set apart for religious service in ancient Israel. The most famous Levite was Aaron, Moses 's big brother and the first priest. The...
A multi-year series of excavations at a site near Lake Victoria in Kenya unearthed a collection of Oldowan stone tools that are likely the oldest ever found on Earth, dating back to the Pliocene...
A long time before the Inka reigned, there were in those parts men in the manner of giants, as grown as they showed the figures that were sculpted in the stones. Pedro de Cieza de León Crónica de...
New evidence has emerged that Neanderthals were more advanced hunters and gatherers than previously thought. A study published in Science Advances reveals that these ancient humans hunted and...
Home DNA testing has exploded in popularity in recent years, with millions of people around the world using these kits to learn more about their ancestry and genetic health risks. However, while...
Ground-breaking new evidence has emerged from South Africa that suggests that Homo sapiens may not have been the first species to use controlled fire. Fossil remains of Homo naledi were discovered in...
The Norse people were the ancient tribal communities of Scandinavia, who in the modern day are often referred to or thought of as the Vikings (who were actually a subset of them). Like many other...
A new study based on cutting-edge genetic analysis has revealed startling new information about South American migration patterns. By carrying out a complete genetic sequencing of DNA provided by...
I’ve had an affinity for the Maya civilization for almost 30 years, and between working with native elders, vacations, and leading tour group visits to Mexico, I can vouch for the mystical nature of...
A team of chemists from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana have discovered a mechanism that could explain how the fundamental ingredients of living cells were first created in the...
Nothing sparks the human imagination quite like the question, what came before? Philosophers, theologians, and countless religions have spent millennia pontificating on what came before humanity as...
It is no secret that in dating, timing is everything. When studying the past, whether finding coins, bones, or pathogens buried in a mound – the question of when they are from makes the difference...
Of all the Olympian gods and goddesses, Athena was arguably one of the most fascinating. The goddess of war, wisdom, and crafts, Athena was known for her many passions and abilities that made her...
Genome sequencing of a human Late Pleistocene Fossil in southwest China dating back around 14,000 years is helping shed light on the ancestry of the very first Americans . The mystery surrounding the...
During the British Neolithic, circa 4000-2500 BC, we witness the appearance of numerous ceremonial and domestic monuments dominating the prehistoric landscape. Providing an absolute total of how many...
About 60,000 years ago, a human had a sexual encounter with a Neanderthal. Now, a genetic scientist has claimed that this single sexual act caused the deaths of up to a million people during the...
At the beginning of the 20th century, a team of international paleontologists prepared to excavate a cave located in a limestone formation known as Dragon-Bone Hill, a few hours outside of Beijing...
Believe it or not, fake eyes have existed for thousands of years. Besides improving the physical appearance of the patient needing the artificial eye, fake eyes also prevent tissues in the eye socket...
In a place before time, life somehow emerged on Earth. It grew and flourished. It changed. It split, and some of it went its different ways. There was life in the water and life on the land. Some...
Most people will recognize Mecca as the name for the Holy City of Islam. Do you know where the Holy City is? Do you know where it should be? Did it get lost? Was it ever found? Believe it or not,...
The ancient city of Nippur is one of the most interesting holy cities in the Middle East. Now only known as a dilapidated, prehistoric town, Nippur was once recognized as an essential religious...
Ezekiel’s Daniel could be a real person, or he could be the Danel of ancient Ugaritic legend, and evidence points both ways. In the Biblical prophecies of Ezekiel, Daniel is characterized as paragon...