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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Xuazang crossed the Gobi Desert and through Central Asia. Source: peerasit/By Adobe Stock

Charting New Territories: 8 Pioneering Ancient Expeditions That Reshaped the World

Expeditions have always been an integral part of human history, driving us to explore new frontiers and discover the unknown. From the ancient expeditions of our ancestors to modern-day scientific...
Early humans took detours to pleasant environments on their prehistoric route to Europe. Source: Kovalenko I / Adobe Stock

Humans Took Pleasant Detours on the Prehistoric Route to Europe

New research shows that the environment is a key factor in mapping the prehistoric routes that humans took when they headed out of Africa towards Europe. More favorable climates enticed Homo sapiens...
Excavation of archaeological deposits in Chagyrskaya Cave indicate long distance  nomadic Neanderthals traveled from Europe.

Stone Tools Reveal Epic Trek of Nomadic Neanderthals

Kseniya Kolobova et al / The Conversation Neanderthal ( Homo neanderthalensis ) fossils were first discovered in western Europe in the mid nineteenth century. That was just the first in a long line...
Reconstruction of Otzi the Iceman by Alfons & Adrie Kennis. (Thilo Parg/CC BY SA 3.0) View looking down westwards to the Ötzi site. (J.H. Dickson et al)

Moss Reveals New Route For Otzi's Death Walk

His 5,300-year-old mummy contained traces of 75 plant species and reveal that Ötzi (Otzi) the Iceman climbed through the Schnalstal valley in Italy. The naturally mummified, 5,300-year-old corpse is...
Exhibit in the Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Saint Brendan and His Epic Voyage: Was the Irish Saint the First European in the New World?

Saint Brendan (also referred to by his various epithets ‘the Navigator’, ‘the Voyager’, ‘the Anchorite’, and ‘the Bold’) was an Irish saint who lived between the 5th and 6th centuries AD known for...
Figurines representing three of the ten judges of Diyu and Red Maw

Journey to Hell, Featuring Torture and Never-ending Bureaucracy: Understanding the Underworld in Chinese Mythology

“Each of the criminals is bound to an iron pillar and the ox-headed demon is in the process of administering punishment—using iron or copper blades he peels the skin of the person's face, just as a...
Deriv; Marco Polo travels by camel caravan and a modern re-imagining of Marco Polo

Is Marco Polo a Fictional Character? Challenging the Historical Tale of the Merchant Traveler

Based upon historical analyses, it is unlikely that a person named Marco Polo who visited China in the 1200’s existed. Before presenting this argument, here is an analogy: if people do not know that...
Curse of the Buried Pearl: Ancient Magick and the Many Hazards of Treasure Hunting – Part II

Curse of the Buried Pearl: Ancient Magick and the Many Hazards of Treasure Hunting – Part II

No English translation exists of The Buried Pearl , although it is a rather strange fact that in 1901, the French archaeological mission in Cairo made a regular French edition. Strange, because its...
Clockwise from top left - Koh Ker, Cambodia (thomaswanhoff/CC BY SA 2.0), Pyramid of Khafre, Egypt (MusikAnimal/CC BY SA 3.0), El Castillo, Chichén Itzá, Mexico (Grand Velas Riviera Maya/CC BY SA 2.0), Pyramid of Cestius, Italy (Nicholas Laughlin/CC BY NC SA 2.0) Center: Replica of a wind rose from the chart of Jorge de Aguiar, 1492. (Alvesgaspar/CC BY SA 3.0)

The Pyramids Route: Was Knowledge of the Pyramids Spread by Ancient Castaways?

Jose Salvador Alvarenga was fishing off the coast of Mexico in late 2012 when a powerful storm sent his boat adrift. Marshall Islanders found the battered vessel nearly 16 months later, stuck on a...
“Full moon rising over Mount Shasta, as seen from northern valley.”

Mount Shasta: Inner Earth Realms and History of the Lava Beds

There are legends all over the world, found in every culture, which populate caves with spirits and supernatural guardians who dwell in a subterranean realm hidden just beneath surface of our own...
Photo of modern Azalai salt caravan.

Hippalos: Hazardous Journeys by Camel and Caravan – Part II

(Read Part 1, Hippalos: Early Navigation of Deep Sea Routes Between India and Egypt ) Assuming the presence of military was a deterrent to the local pirates, the Greek ship loaded with trade goods...
Hippalos: Early Navigation of Deep Sea Routes Between India and Egypt – Part I

Hippalos: Early Navigation of Deep Sea Routes Between India and Egypt – Part I

On the south-east or Coromandel Coast of India, about two miles (3.2km) south of the former French enclave of Pondicherry, there is a tract on the east known locally as Arikamedu, near the village of...
A reenactor dresses as a medieval pilgrim.

Would you take a Medieval Journey? Man recreates Pilgrimage across England with period supplies only

Many speak of observing the Christmas holidays with a return to more traditional or spiritual celebrations, but one man is taking that to heart by going on a medieval pilgrimage across England. He is...
Ancient Egyptians trading Nicotine

Did Ancient Egyptians Trade Nicotine and Cocaine With the New World?

It has long been said that Christopher Columbus was not the first foreigner to step foot in the Americas by the time he reached there in 1492. Among the theories put forward is that the Vikings,...