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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

Araucaria over a Nothofagus forest, Araucania Region, Chile.

Critically Endangered South American Forests were Planted by Ancient Peoples

Critically endangered South American forests thought to be the result of climate change were actually spread by ancient communities, archaeologists have found. Huge swathes of land in Chile, Brazil...
Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Heng, Emperor Wen of Han, or Cao Pi, King of Wei. (Public Domain) Background: Dahuting tomb banquet scene, mural detail, Eastern Han Dynasty. (Public Domain)

Part II: The End Comes Slowly - The Last Han Dynasty Emperors

Read Part I Here Wang Mang’s usurpation of the throne and the establishment of the Xin Dynasty brought the Han Dynasty to a temporary end. Displeasure with the Xin Dynasty, however, caused rebellions...
The ‘Made in China’ inscription (highlighted here) indicates that this piece may have been made in the Wang family workshop Jianning Fu Prefecture.

‘Made in China’ Mark Names the Source of Java Shipwreck Cargo

Experts at the Field Museum in Chicago have made a discovery regarding a Chinese treasure trove that lay strewn on the ocean floor in the Java Sea. The trove was from a sunken ship that carried...
Dogon ritual dance, Mali.

The Dogon’s Extraordinary Knowledge of the Cosmos and the Cult of Nommo

France, 1920: Marcel Griaule is a young man who is very well-established in his studies, especially in mathematics. He has recently served as a volunteer in the French Air Force and aspires to attend...
One side of the ancient alphabet primer.

Ancient Language Learning: This May be the Oldest Example of Not One, But Two Alphabet Primers

A studious ancient Egyptian may have been trying his hand at learning not one, but two different languages some 3,400 years ago. New research on a limestone tablet found near Luxor suggests that it...
An old peach pit. Are the thousands of peach pits found in Japan the remains of fruit eaten in a lost kingdom?

Peach Pits, Peach Boy and the Lost Kingdom of a Shaman Queen

Thousands of peach pits have been found at a Japanese archaeological site. It seems there is more to the story than simply a fondness for the fruit - sources suggest that the ancient peaches were...
The charcoal drawings found at Chauvet show a high degree of detail. Copy of the Lions Panel of the Chauvet Cave.

How Our Ancestors with Autistic Traits Led a Revolution in Ice Age Art

The ability to focus on detail, a common trait among people with autism, allowed realism to flourish in Ice Age art, according to researchers at the University of York. Around 30,000 years ago...
Belisarius by Francois-Andre Vincent 1776

Did Antonina Use Witchcraft to Enslave the Mighty Byzantine General Belisarius?

Flavius Belisarius (500 - 565 AD) personified the perfect example of what a general of a powerful empire ought to have been. He was almost invincible in battle as he restored the influence of the...
Reconstruction of Arkaim archaeological site in Russia.

Arkaim: Aryans, Advanced Astronomy and Untold Secrets of a Russian Citadel

Arkaim is a mysterious site located in Russia . Experts believe the citadel, not necessarily the oldest feature of the site, was built between the 17th and 16th century BC. But there are several...
Was Wang Mang a visionary, or a murderous villain – or both? (Wang Mang art italkcafe.com, The Analects of Confucius; Deriv)

The Emperor is Dead, Let Confucianism and Chaos Reign! The Rise and Fall of Wang Mang and the Xin Dynasty

Some saw Wang Mang as an evil usurper – others a selfless visionary. Either way, an emperor lay dead, and a learned Confucian scholar sought to bring peace and harmony, but the dynasty would descend...
Maria Reiche measuring the Nazca Lines.

Maria Reiche: The Governess of Nazca

Today, the birthday of the German lady who contributed greatly to our understanding of the famous Nazca Lines in Peru, is being marked by Google Doodle and others. Maria Reiche was a talented...
Burnt skeletons found at excavations in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Three Burnt Skeletons: Gruesome Evidence of Gothic Fires that Razed a 3rd Century Bulgarian City

Everywhere they turned they saw flames. The two adults didn’t know where to seek safety…if not for themselves at least for the three-year-old child they desperately wanted to protect. Yelling,...
Cleopatra's Needle, NYC (CC BY-SA 3.0); Cleopatra's Needle Obelisk in the Hold of the Steamship Dessoug, 1880. (Public Domain); Bob Brier in Egypt. (Sharon Janet Hague)

Bob Brier and the Hunt for the New York Obelisk

Bob Brier is arguably the world's most famous Egyptologist. Professor at Long Island University in New York, where he has tenure, he teaches both philosophy and Egyptology. A popular host on Learning...
Tiberius as Jupiter – II.

Was Emperor Tiberius Simply Destined to Rule?

Tiberius was a Roman emperor who ruled the empire during the first half of the 1st century AD. As he was the successor of Augustus Caesar, his adoptive father, he was the second ruler of the Roman...
A portrait painting of Emperor Gao of Han (Liu Bang), from an 18th-century Qing Dynasty album of Chinese emperors' portraits. (Public Domain) Background: A tomb painting of a late Eastern-Han period lively banquet.

A Golden Age of China, Part I: Early Han Dynasty Emperors

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty in Chinese history. This dynasty was a long one – it was established during the 3rd century BC and lasted all the way until the 3rd century AD. It was...
Felice Varini artwork on Carcassonne Citadel, France.

Controversy Over Art Installation on the Stonework of one of France’s Greatest Medieval Sites

There has been a decidedly mixed reaction to an artist attaching geometric aluminium ring strips to, Carcassonne Fort one of the most famous medieval sites in France. Reports claim that the artist’s...

From Religion to Reality: “One Ring to Rule Them All”

Saturday, May 26, 2018 - 16:00
Searching for meaning in the world of religion… 40,000 years ago, across Europe and Asia, our ancestors felt the need to crawl deep underground, braving the depths and darkness, to paint magnificent images on the walls of caves. Why? The incredible megalithic temple called Gobekli Tepe was built 11,600 years ago, before the Agricultural Revolution, before humans had discovered how to grow their...

The Art of Peacemaking

Wednesday, May 23, 2018 - 00:45
What does peacemaking mean, and how do we embody peacemaking in our own lives? Mandaza carries the honorary title of Peacemaker. He will talk of what that means, how that is rooted in African tradition (many people these days have heard about the principle of Ubuntu which is a Peacemaking principle) and how this can be applied in our lives. Through dreams and visions Peacemakers reconnect with...
Knights of the Holy Ghost embarking on the crusades. After a miniature in a manuscript of the XIVth Century in the museum of the Louvre.

The Seven Most Deadly Weapons of the Crusades, or Were There Eight?

By Cam Rea / Classical Wisdom Any weapon can be deadly when properly used, so by no means is this list all inclusive. The timeline of the Crusades spans from 1096 AD to 1272 AD, with the 9th Crusade...
Great Hall of the Bulls, 15,000–13,000 BCE, Paleolithic rock painting, Lascaux, France ©Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication

Famous Lascaux Rock Art of France Comes to Africa in Ultra-Realistic Replica

For the first time in history, Africans will be treated to a never-to-be-repeated opportunity to experience the cave art of the famous Lascaux Caves, near the village of Montignac in Dordogne,...
pper part of a gypsum statue of a Sumerian woman. The hands are folds in worship.

Nammu: A Forgotten Tale of the Sumerian Mother of Gods

Nammu was the primeval Sumerian mother goddess who gave birth to the gods and created humanity. Despite her extremely important role, much of her story is wrapped in mystery. Some information can be...
The remains of an ancient Roman horse have been found in Pompeii

2,000-Year-Old Remains of Horse Killed by Pompeii Volcano Found in Tomb Raider Tunnel

Donkeys, pigs, and dogs have all been found amongst the ruins of Pompeii , but the remains of a carbonized horse are the first example archaeologists have come across of that animal. While the...
Neanderthal man at the Natural History Museum London

Spectacular Science! Lab-Grown Mini Neanderthal Brains Could Explain What Makes Humans Different

We’re living in an age when many people believe there are no limits to what technology can do. Apply that to paleogenetics and you’ll see research into ancient disease, the domestication of animals,...
The Woolly Mammoth at the Royal BC Museum, Victoria, British Columbia

Could Resurrecting Mammoths Help Stop Arctic Emissions?

If you managed to time travel back to Ice-Age Europe, you might be forgiven for thinking you had instead crash landed in some desolate part of the African savannah. But the chilly temperatures and...

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