alaska

24 December, 2020 - 21:46 Mike Powell

Famous Dogs in History, from Ancient Greece until Today

History abounds with stories of the victorious humans who shaped the world into what it is today. But rarely do we stop and consider the dogs who worked, lived, and fought alongside these humans...

Siberian huskie sled dogs. Source: Konstantin / Adobe Stock

26 June, 2020 - 01:52 ancient-origins

Sled dogs are closely related to 9,500-year-old 'ancient dog'

Sledge dogs are much older and have adapted to Arctic conditions much earlier than previously thought. In a new study from the QIMMEQ project, researchers from the University of Copenhagen show that...

8 April, 2020 - 00:32 dhwty

Blue Babe: Would You Eat 36,000-year-old Bison Meat?

The Alaskan Gold Rush, which began around the end of the 19th century, brought many miners and prospectors to this American state. During their mining operations, many miners have come across the...

The fossil of a thalattosaur with a needle-sharp snout. Source: University of Alaska Museum of the North

13 February, 2020 - 23:56 ancient-origins

Ancient Pincer Nosed Killer Discovered in Southeast Alaska

Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have identified a new species of thalattosaur, a marine reptile that lived more than 200 million years ago. The new species, Gunakadeit joseeae , is...

llustration of an Aleut paddling a baidarka, with an anchored Russian ship in the background, near Saint Paul Island, by Louis Choris, 1817. The Chaluka site was inhabited by ancient Aleut people. Source: Public Domain

29 April, 2019 - 01:35 Ed Whelan

Chaluka: A Site so Remote, The Ancient Aleutians of Alaska Lived in Peace for Millennia

Alaska is often referred to as the last frontier because of its unspoiled nature and sparse population. Few people are aware of the long history of the indigenous people of the state and especially...

Researchers said the bones of this woman's twin fetuses are visible near her pelvis and thighs

1 June, 2018 - 03:08 Mark Miller

A 7,700-Year-Old Case of Death During Childbirth in Siberia

If childbirth is still today one of the most dangerous things a woman can do, imagine how dangerous it was 7,700 years ago, before modern medicine. The remains of a Stone Age Siberian mother and her...

University at Buffalo Ph.D. candidate Alia Lesnek works at Suemez Island.

31 May, 2018 - 01:54 ancient-origins

Clever Rock Science Provides New Possibilities for Migration to the Americas

When and how did the first people come to the Americas? The conventional story says that the earliest settlers came via Siberia, crossing the now-defunct Bering land bridge on foot and trekking...

Obsidian projectile point sourced to Batza Tena, Alaska.

4 February, 2018 - 22:41 ancient-origins

Reconstructing an Ancient Lethal Weapon

Archaeologists are a little like forensic investigators: They scour the remains of past societies, looking for clues in pottery, tools and bones about how people lived, and how they died. And just as...

A scientific illustration of what the Upward Sun River camp, where the remains of the ancient child were discovered, would have looked like. Source: Eric Carlson in collaboration with Ben Potter.

4 January, 2018 - 18:50 Theodoros Karasavvas

Ancient Infant DNA Rewrites the History of Humans Entering North America

Scientists claim that a genetic analysis of the 11,500-year-old remains of an infant girl from Alaska has shed new light on the populating of the Americas. The new finds suggest that the “Last...

Ketchikan, Alaska. Native American totem pole

6 June, 2017 - 02:00 dhwty

Witchcraft, Worship or Public Shaming? The Puzzling Purpose of Totem Poles in North America

Totem poles are a type of monumental structure carved from the trunks of huge trees, especially the Western Red Cedar. These monuments are found in North America, specifically along its north-western...

21 February, 2017 - 22:40 Theodoros Karasavvas

Enormous Skull Found in Alaska May Belong to the Legendary King Bear of Inuit Mythology

An enormous, elongated polar bear skull emerged in 2014 from an eroding archaeological site southwest of Utqiaġvik in Alaska. Experts claim that it is quite different from most modern polar bear...

Illustration of Paleoindians during a burial.

11 December, 2016 - 03:40 Kerry Sullivan

Children of the Upward Sun River: 11,500-Year-Old Remains Shed Light on Alaska’s Earliest Inhabitants

Upward Sun River is the name of an archeological site found in the Tanana River Valley in the interior of Alaska. The site was made famous in 2010 with the discovery of the remains of a young girl...

15 June, 2016 - 00:48 Marilo

Eurasian Metals Discovered in Alaska from Centuries Before the Arrival of Europeans to the New World

A new study of two bronze objects discovered in northwest Alaska shows that they provide the first known evidence of the presence of metals from Eurasia in prehistoric North America. The artifacts...

Boundary Range, Alaska

12,300-Year-Old Bone Pendants discovered in Alaska

13 May, 2015 - 14:26 lizleafloor

12,300-Year-Old Bone Pendants May be Oldest Artwork Ever Discovered in Alaska

Carved bone pendants have been found at a prehistoric site in Alaska that may prove to be the very first known examples of artwork in the northern region of North America. Two pairs of pendants were...

Archaeologists working in the 1,000-year-old house at the Rising Whale site at Cape Espenberg, Alaska.

17 April, 2015 - 22:03 aprilholloway

Ancient Bronze Artifacts in Alaska Reveals Trade with Asia Before Columbus Arrival

An incredible archaeological discovery in Alaska provided evidence that trade was occurring between Asia and the New World centuries before Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492...

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Myths & Legends

The Real Story of Medusa: Protective Powers from a Snake-Haired Gorgon

In ancient Greek mythology, Medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters known as the Gorgons. The earliest known record about the story of Medusa and the Gorgons can be found in Hesiod’s...

Did Visayan Raiders Plunder the Coast of the Song Dynasty?

Is This the Real Reason Why Pirates Wore Eyepatches?

The ‘Dynastic Race’ and the Biblical ‘Japheth’ – Part I: After the Deluge

The Powerful Symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000 Year History

Craniums and Controversies of the Chachapoya Cloud Warriors

Human Origins

Representational image of human skeletons. The discovery of anomalous skeletons suggests humanity may be older than we think.

Ancient Anomalous Human Skeletons: Humanity Could be Much Older Than We Think

There are many reported human skeletal finds which are in discordance with current evolutionary beliefs dating back to anomalously ancient geological periods in the distant past, way before it is accepted that human beings ever existed.

The ‘Dynastic Race’ and the Biblical ‘Japheth’ – Part I: After the Deluge

Rh-Negative Blood: An Exotic Bloodline or Random Mutation?

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

The Faravahar: The Ancient Zoroastrian Symbol of Iran

Return of the Ancient Gods: The Resurgence of Paganism

Ancient Technology

Romans Mastered Nanotechnology and Used it for Eye Catching Decoration

A strange chalice made its way into the British Museum’s collection in the 1950s. It is a 1,600-year-old jade green Roman artifact called the Lycurgus Cup. The image on the chalice is an iconic scene with King Lycurgus of Thrace...

Norimitsu Odachi: Who Could Have Possibly Wielded This Enormous 15th Century Japanese Sword?

Egyptian Blue – The Oldest Known Artificial Pigment

Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked!

Han Purple: A 2,800-year-old artificial pigment that quantum physicists are trying to understand

150,000-Year-Old Pipes Baffle Scientists in China: Out of Place in Time?

Ancient Places

The Colossal Hand of Hercules, So Where is the Rest of Him?

The Hand of Hercules is the name given to a massive fragment of an ancient statue that was unearthed by archaeologists in Amman, the capital of Jordan. This fragment is believed to have once been a...

The Colossal Head of Decebalus, King of the Dacians

Ancient Pyramids in an Icy Landscape: Was There an Ancient Civilization in Antarctica?

Mule Canyon: Ancestral Pueblo Village of the Anasazi

Unravelling the Lesser-known Laser-sharp Cuts of Megalithic Japan

Remembering the Future: How Ancient Maya Agronomists Changed the Modern World

Opinion

Petroglyphic Features of Portable Rock Art

Paleo rock art from around the world ranges in style, method, and age, and includes cave paintings, petroglyphs, pictographs, polished and engraved stones such as effigies, stone sculptures, and portable ceremonial objects.

The Northern Mysteries Current: Futhark and Mystery Schools of the Viking Age

Was There Ever a Trojan War?

Floki and the Viking Discovery of Iceland

Messiah on Temple Mount: Are We Nearing the End of Time?

3 Problems to Remember When Trying to Find Atlantis

Our Mission

At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there exists countless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts that have yet to be discovered and explained.

The goal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe.

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By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings.