Ancient Traditions (Page 49)

13 June, 2016 - 00:37 Natalia Klimczak

Deities or Vampires? Hecate and other Blood-Drinking Spirits of Ancient Times

Vampires are a relatively recent creation. However, most of the ancient world knew of the practice of consuming blood. It seems that this was a fascinating ritual centuries before the term ''vampire...

9 June, 2016 - 00:44 Liza Knox

Drugs in Ancient Cultures: A History of Drug Use and Effects

The battle against drugs and drug usage rages on today and for good reason. However, with the near constant limelight that the ‘drug war’ receives today, it can seem like the most common drugs have...

20 May, 2016 - 00:46 Alda S

The Icelandic Kvöldvaka: Cultural Phenomenon in the Twilight Hours

Iceland’s strong love of literature is a source of amazement to many people. In an era of declining book sales around the world, this small North Atlantic island continues to publish and sell more...

11 May, 2016 - 03:44 dhwty

Exposing the Shady Secrets of Charon's Obols: Spirit Coins of Ancient Greece

Charon’s obols were coins supposedly used by the ancient Greeks for funerary purposes. More precisely, the belief is that these coins were used by the shades (roughly equivalent to the concept of ‘...

9 May, 2016 - 03:50 dhwty

Kemari: Revival of a 7th Century Japanese Football Game in Modern Times

Kemari is an ancient ball game that has its origins in Japan, and has some similarities to the modern sport known as association football (more commonly known as football in the UK or soccer in the...

6 May, 2016 - 14:45 Natalia Klimczak

Unravelling the Spellbinding Story of the Inuksuit – Mysterious Structures from the Prehistoric Arctic

While the first pyramids were being built on the sands of the desert in Egypt, people in the cold north were creating a very different civilization. They produced a mysterious system of communication...

15 April, 2016 - 03:49 dhwty

Serpent Stones: The Vishap Steles of Armenia as a Symbol of Rock Art and Rich Heritage

A vishap stele (known also as vishapakar and vishap stone) is a type of stone monument that can be found in Armenia. These steles may be identified by the carvings on them, usually of fishes or...

14 April, 2016 - 14:53 Chris Morgan

The Egyptian Goddess Isis, Found in India

One of the great, largely untold adventure stories of late antiquity is the journey to the East, from Egypt’s Red Sea ports, across the open ocean for 40 days and 40 nights, to the legendary entrepôt...

Deriv; Silbury Hill, Avebury, UK. Inset, the humble earthworm

7 April, 2016 - 21:26 Colin Berry

Was Neolithic Silbury Hill Designed as a Welcoming Home for Omnivorous, Upwardly-Mobile Earthworms?

Silbury Hill, said to be the largest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe, looms over the landscape. Yet so little is understood about this enigmatic British site. However, surprising as it may seem...

6 April, 2016 - 14:48 Adrienne Mayor

The Eagle Huntress: New Generations of Eagle Huntresses in Kazakhstan and Mongolia – Part II

Nomad Women Have Hunted with Eagles since Antiquity The ancient practice of eagle hunting is carried on today by a few hundred nomadic Kazakhs in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Xinjiang (...

FIG 1.2. Tuva monument, mounted nomad archeress and falconer

5 April, 2016 - 14:45 Adrienne Mayor

The Eagle Huntress: Ancient Traditions, and Evidence for Women as Eagle Hunters – Part I

Evidence that Nomad Women Hunted with Eagles since Antiquity "A fast horse and a soaring eagle are the wings of a nomad." --Kazakh proverb Falconry, training raptors to hunt for game, is particularly...

Egyptian couple wearing formal wigs of the 4th of 5th dynasties.

7 March, 2016 - 03:55 Natalia Klimczak

Changing Beauty: The Use of Elaborate Wigs in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptians are known by many as a historical symbol of ancient beauty, vanity, and hygiene. Appearance was very important in the country near the Nile River. The way people looked was a symbol...

22 February, 2016 - 14:49 dhwty

Songlines: Mapping the Journeys of the Creation Ancestors in Australia

Songlines (known also as dreaming tracks) are believed by the Aboriginal people of Australia to be the journeys taken by the creation ancestors (or creator-beings) across the land during the Dreaming...

The Royal Ballet of the Dowager of Bilbao's Grand Ball, 1626.

20 February, 2016 - 03:52 dhwty

Displaying Sophistication with Masks and Curtsies: The Early History of Ballet

Ballet has been described as an art form created by the movement of the human body . It is a type of dance performed on a stage in front of an audience. The word ballet is derived from the French...

Detail of altar frontal (antependium}, France or Italy, 1730-1740. Silk satin with silk and metallic-thread embroidery, guipure and gaufrure.

13 February, 2016 - 03:47 Natalia Klimczak

Stitching the Story of Cutwork Embroidery, One of the Most Luxurious Goods in Europe

Different types of embroidery are known in the history of every single civilization. It seems that people liked to create beautiful personal adornments almost since the beginning of time. Cutwork is...

Detail from an illustration of a body in its coffin that starts to bleed in the presence of the murderer during a cruentation 1497.

11 February, 2016 - 03:47 ancient-origins

The Bizarre Importance of Bleeding Bodies in Medieval Trials

The history of criminal justice and forensic science is really interesting because of all the absurd rituals and superstitions courts relied on to determine guilt or innocence right up until the 19th...

Carvings depicting the Chinese Zodiac on the ceiling of the gate to Kushida Shrine in Fukuoka, Japan.

9 February, 2016 - 00:35 dhwty

The Whimsical Legend of How the Chinese Zodiac Animals were Chosen

According to Chinese culture, each year is related to an animal or 生肖 (‘Sheng Xiao’, which literally means ‘birth likeness’). There are 12 animals, and together, they make up the Chinese zodiac. The...

Painting of an ancient Egyptian woman being served beer.

3 February, 2016 - 14:46 dhwty

Provocative Yet Sacred: The Ancient Egyptian Festival of Drunkenness

The Festival of Drunkenness is a religiously significant celebration that was held annually (said to be biannually in some places) by the ancient Egyptians. The background story for the celebration...

Goddess Council 4900-4750 BC Neolithic Culture of Cucuteni-Tripolye exposed in Cucuteni Museum of Piatra Neamt

30 January, 2016 - 21:57 ancient-origins

Ancient Ink: How Tattoos Can Reveal Hidden Stories of Past Cultures

The English word tattoo is commonly said to be derived from the Polynesian word tatau or tatu . This Polynesian word means ‘to mark something’. Additionally, this word is an onomatopoeia, and is...

30 January, 2016 - 03:48 Natalia Klimczak

Gladiatrix: Female Fighters Offered Lewd Entertainment in Ancient Rome

Female gladiators (gladiatrix) were just a thing of legend for many years. However, decades of research have made it possible to finally confirm their existence and importance in the Ancient Roman...

Stone ‘mushroom’ formations in Bulgaria.

29 January, 2016 - 03:50 Carl Ruck

Mushroom Monuments of Thrace and Ancient Sacred Rites

Throughout northeastern Greece, western Turkey, and Bulgaria, in the region known in antiquity as Macedonia, Anatolia, and Thrace, there are numerous megalithic natural rock formations that resemble...

A traditional imzad instrument, made by local craftswomen and played only by women.

25 January, 2016 - 21:52 Mark Miller

Reviving the Music of their Foremothers: A Traditional Tuareg Instrument for Women Makes a Comeback

A traditional stringed gourd instrument of the Tuareg people in Africa, played only by women because of the threat of a curse upon men who play it, is making a comeback. Only two women were known to...

23 January, 2016 - 00:49 Theodoros Karasavvas

Pankration: A Deadly Martial Art Form from Ancient Greece

Pankration was one of the most popular combat sports in ancient Greece. It combined two other popular sports of antiquity, wrestling and boxing, but kicking was allowed as well. The name Pankration...

Re-creation of the port at Eridu, an ancient “Court of the King of the World”.

14 January, 2016 - 03:42 MarkPinkham

The Royal Road of the King of the World, and the Ancient Center of the Earth

The Royal Road of the King of the World is a 20-degree band around the Earth that has 30 degrees north latitude as its center. This band is not, technically, the geographical center of the Earth,...