All  

Store Banner Mobile

Store Banner Mobile

Ancient Technology

Dating back thousands of years are numerous examples of ancient technology that leave us awe-struck at the knowledge and wisdom held by people of our past. They were the result of incredible advances in engineering and innovation as new, powerful civilizations emerged and came to dominate the ancient world. These advances stimulated societies to adopt new ways of living and governance, as well as new ways of understanding their world. However, many ancient technology mysteries were forgotten, lost to the pages of history, only to be re-invented millennia later. Here we feature ancient technology history and dozens of amazing artifacts that reflect the brilliance of ancient minds.

A large hand axe found in the Wadi Dadsa.
30 December, 2017 - 02:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

Ancient Stone Artifacts Could Tell the Story of When Early Humans Spread Out of Africa

A team of archaeologists has announced the discovery of over a thousand stone artifacts, with some of them being up to 1.76 million years old. The discovery took place at Wadi Dabsa, in southwest...
Medieval style bathing depicted in calligraphy of a book circa 1400.
25 December, 2017 - 00:19 dhwty

Medieval Hygiene Might Have Been Better Than You Think

The Medieval period is usually perceived as a time in Europe during which the greater part of the continent was in decline. In many aspects of Medieval society, the quality of life was inferior as...
The four-handled tureen adorned with dragons, birds and spikes
15 December, 2017 - 13:56 Theodoros Karasavvas

Bronze Artifacts Found in 3,100-Year-Old Tomb Tell of Dynastic Take Over

Chinese archaeologists have discovered ritual tureen and “soup bowls” next to a badly decomposed body in a Zhou dynasty-era tomb. Among the remains there were also uncovered two wine vessels, which...
Romanian Postage stamp design 1989 with Conrad Hass, Austrian military engineer with an early rocket design.
4 December, 2017 - 22:55 dhwty

Conrad Haas’ Flying Javelin: Yes, It Is 16th Century Rocket Science

Conrad Haas was a military engineer who lived during the 16 th century. Not much is known for certain about Haas’ life, in fact, he was largely forgotten by history. But this changed in 1961, when a...
Terracotta Warriors, Xi’an, China.
29 November, 2017 - 01:58 johnblack

Terracotta Army Weapons Were Genuine, Military Grade and State of the Art

In 1974 in Xi’an, China, one of the world’s most phenomenal archaeological discoveries occurred. It was the moment when more than 8000 full scale warriors cast of clay were rediscovered after been...
The Viking weaver’s sword found at the South Main Street dig in Cork
28 September, 2017 - 14:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

1,000-year-old Viking Sword in Extraordinary Condition Discovered in Ireland

A 1,000-year-old wooden Viking weaver’s sword has been unearthed by archaeologists at the historic site of the former Beamish and Crawford brewery in Cork city, Ireland. Experts describe the sword as...
A cowboy boot in a horse’s stirrup.
23 September, 2017 - 13:59 dhwty

Giddyap! How the Stirrup Revolutionized Horseback Riding and Helped Build Empires

Seemingly simple, yet oh so significant - the stirrup is an invention that changed the history of the world. The emergence of the stirrup revolutionized the way horses were ridden and consequently re...
Tar collected in a birch bark container from the pit roll experiment, a technique which uses glowing embers placed over a roll of bark in a small pit.
5 September, 2017 - 01:52 ancient-origins

How Neanderthals Made the Very First Glue 200,000-Years-Ago

The world's oldest known glue was made by Neanderthals. But how did they make it 200,000 years ago? Leiden archaeologists have discovered three possible ways and published their findings in...
Five carved stone spheres from Scotland held at the Ashmolean Museum
22 August, 2017 - 23:06 Hugh Newman

Geometric Stone Spheres of Scotland: Part 2 – Explanations From Platonic Solids to Sexual Healing

The purpose of these, predominantly Scottish in origin, spheres is unknown, although simple theories range from projectiles to predictive devices and more. But the sophistication of their design and...
Figure 1. Geometric stone spheres. (Photo Credit: Martin Morrison, taken at Hunterian Museum, Glasgow)
21 August, 2017 - 19:01 Hugh Newman

Geometric Stone Spheres of Scotland: Part 1 – More Than A Projectile - What Possible Purpose 5,000-years Ago?

“O nly in the period when Megalithic Man was setting out the sophisticated stone rings has a sufficiently high standard of mathematical knowledge and skill ever been reached before the fifteenth...
Detail of a rattle, 1100-1470 AD, Chimu, north coast Peru, gold or gold-plated silver - Art Institute of Chicago.
11 August, 2017 - 02:01 aprilholloway

Golden Years: Metal Coating Techniques Used 2000 Years Ago Outshine Modern Methods

Ancient technology used by craftsmen 2000 years ago to apply thin films of metal onto their statues surpassed modern standards for producing DVDs, solar cells, and electronic devices. It makes you...
The Medieval ring found in Kavarna, Bulgaria (Image: Kavarna Municipality)
3 August, 2017 - 02:02 aprilholloway

Jewelry to Die For: 14th-Century Bulgarian Ring with a Killer Dose

When a medieval ring was uncovered by Bulgarian archaeologists excavating the remains of the medieval fortress on Cape Kaliakra, near the town of Kavarna on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, they were...
Photo of camping bed found in Tutankhamun tomb. By Harry Burton
2 August, 2017 - 23:01 Theodoros Karasavvas

Why did King Tut Have Possibly the First Three-Part Folding Camp Bed Ever Made?

Researchers have analyzed a model of King Tutankhamun's bed and they have concluded that this was the first ever three-part folding camp bed in history. Experts suggest that the bed provides an...
Representation of a group of Neanderthals.
28 July, 2017 - 01:52 aprilholloway

Toolmaking Teachers? Surprising Skills Shared Between Neanderthals and Modern Humans

50,000-year-old tools made from deer ribs suggest modern humans may have learned tool-making from Neanderthals. Found in the southwest of France, these artifacts add to a growing body of evidence...
All images courtesy of Dr Rita Louise
24 July, 2017 - 18:56 Rita Louise

The Vajra: An Ancient Weapon of War

The vajra is the most important ritual implement of Vajrayana Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the word vajra is defined as something hard or mighty, as in a diamond. It symbolizes an impenetrable, immovable...
Could the Egyptian Ankh Symbol Be Spawned of the Viscera of Bulls?
18 July, 2017 - 18:46 Caleb Strom

Could the Egyptian Ankh Symbol Be Spawned of the Viscera of Bulls?

The ankh symbol has for centuries been a symbol of eternal life, the universe, the divine, and other religious and metaphysical ideas. It was originally used as a symbol in ancient Egypt to represent...
Clay accounting ball with calculi, counters, and evolution of cuneiform. Exhibit in the Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
15 July, 2017 - 02:01 aprilholloway

The Solution to the 5,500-year-old Mesopotamian Clay Ball Enigma

In late 2013, interesting fresh evidence dating back five and a half millennia was found, giving insights into the enigma of the Mesopotamian clay balls. Through use of CT scanning to peer into the...
Ötzi’s Ancient Axe is from Tuscany, Giving Firm Evidence of Neolithic Travel and Trade
11 July, 2017 - 22:48 Theodoros Karasavvas

Ötzi’s Ancient Axe is from Tuscany, Giving Firm Evidence of Neolithic Travel and Trade

Scientists have officially verified that copper used to make Otzi the Iceman’s axe blade did not come from the Alpine region as was initially suggested, but instead it came from southern Tuscany in...
The Flammarion engraving.
9 July, 2017 - 23:12 Sam Bostrom

The Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: Were Humans the First? Part 3: Science in Antiquity

The achievements by modern science are phenomenal. But with our background of spaceships, skyscrapers, wonder drugs, and atomic reactors we are apt to minimize the scientific accomplishments of the...
Part of an ancient Egyptian statue
30 June, 2017 - 01:49 John Tuttle

Boats, Bowling and Moldy Bread: Curious Achievements Ancient Egypt Shared With the World

Ancient Egypt is one on the oldest civilizations in the world and it was also home to many of the ancient world’s greatest achievements. Without their creativity and innovative approach to the world...
10 Innovative Medieval Weapons: You Would Not Want To Be At The Sharp End Of These!
28 June, 2017 - 18:50 Veronica Parkes

10 Innovative Medieval Weapons: You Would Not Want To Be At The Sharp End Of These!

Long before modern warfare, there was a time of knights in shining armor atop equally armored horses fighting for the hand of a maiden or in pitched battle. However, the weapons that these knights...
Water for Camp, depicting the everyday life of Native American women, Charles M. Russell
27 June, 2017 - 14:01 Theodoros Karasavvas

Could Plastic Bottles Made by Ancient Americans be the Cause of their Health Decline?

According to Wired , scientists believe that ancient Native Americans living in California made their own plastic water bottles. However, they probably didn’t know how toxic the manufacturing process...
New Revelations When 3,000-Year-Old Prosthetic Toe is Examined with Cutting Edge Technology
22 June, 2017 - 22:50 Theodoros Karasavvas

New Revelations When 3,000-Year-Old Prosthetic Toe is Examined with Cutting Edge Technology

Egyptologists from the University of Basel have discovered details of production techniques and usage of one of the oldest prosthetic devices in history after re-examining it with the help of other...
Glass beads of all colors found in the ancient city of Ile-Ife.
14 June, 2017 - 23:01 Theodoros Karasavvas

1000-year-old Glass Beads Provide First Evidence of Glassmaking Development in Sub-Saharan West Africa

A newly found treasure trove of more than 10,000 colorful glass beads and evidence of glassmaking tools, makes scientists think that an ancient city in southwestern Nigeria was one of the first...

Pages