baby

Infant drinking from a replica feeding vessel similar to the type investigated in the new study. Source: Helena Seidl da Fonseca, University of Vienna

26 September, 2019 - 14:15 Ed Whelan

Proof Infants Sipped Animal Milk From Prehistoric Baby Bottles

A study of some mysterious pottery vessels found in children’s graves from the Bronze and Iron Age period has made some remarkable findings. An international team of scientists now believe that these...

Illustration of a machi healing a patient, from ‘Atlas of Physical and Political History of Chile’ (‘Atlas de la historia física y política de Chile’), by Claudio Gay. A machi is a Chilean traditional healer. Since ancient times, tobacco has been a popular substance used in shamanic practices in Chile.

30 November, 2018 - 18:58 Alicia McDermott

Lethal Effects of Ancient Tobacco Consumption Identified in the Miscarried Baby of a Shamaness

2,400 years ago a shamaness suffered a miscarriage. The remains of that baby were found in a rock shelter in Northern Chile and have the earliest known traces of ancient tobacco found in biological...

The remains of the Egyptian woman with her unborn child

18 November, 2018 - 13:02 ashley cowie

A Mother, With Her Unborn Child Inside Her Womb, Surface in Egypt After 3,500 Years

Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities have announced that archaeologists have uncovered in Aswan, Egypt, the skeletal remains of a woman who died towards the end of her pregnancy, still holding the...

Medea with her children. The children became the focus of a hero cult in ancient Greece.

14 July, 2018 - 13:27 Carly Silver

Baby, Baby, Baby: Why Did the Ancient Greeks Turn Dead Children into Heroes?

When we use the term “hero” today while discussing Greek mythological figures, it usually designates a man whose superhuman exploits and semi-divine parentage make him a person of legend. But in real...

2 June, 2018 - 00:31 Alicia McDermott

Tiny, 2,300-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy Believed to be a Hawk is Actually a Human Fetus

Recently, surprised researchers discovered that a 2,300-year-old mummy that was once believed to be the remains of a hawk is actually a human fetus. Their estimation of the age of the fetus meant the...

The baby had been partially mummified and had green bones due to copper from a coin placed in its hand.

27 May, 2018 - 13:56 ashley cowie

Green-Boned Baby Clasps A Copper Ticket to The Afterlife

500 graves dated to between the 12th and 16th centuries were found in a cemetery at Nyárlőrinc, a village in southern Hungary. They contained a unique set of bones. In 2005, Dr. János Balázs, a...

Medieval burial showing the remains of a woman and a fetus in Bologna, Italy.

24 March, 2018 - 17:49 aprilholloway

Medieval Woman Gave Birth AFTER Her Death

A team of scientists in Italy have revealed that the 1,400-year-old remains of a woman and a fetus discovered in Bologna, is a rare case of a ‘coffin birth’, in which the pregnant woman gave birth to...

Left: The baby was found tucked under the arm of a woman in a grave in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands. Right: An artist's impression of the grave.

1 February, 2018 - 13:58 Alicia McDermott

Stone Age Grave of a Mother and Child is the Oldest Baby Burial in the Netherlands

Researchers working at an archaeological site in the Netherlands have made a startling Stone Age discovery. They have unearthed the earliest known example of a baby’s grave in the Netherlands...

Removing the lid of Roman sarcophagus found in Borough Market, London

19 July, 2017 - 23:02 Theodoros Karasavvas

Ancient Roman Sarcophagus of Great Archaeological Value Discovered in Central London

A remarkably rare Roman sarcophagus has been discovered at an ancient burial site in the Borough area of London, England. The stone coffin, has been described by experts as “the find of a lifetime”,...

A cocoon with a mummy of an adult was covered with copper plates head to toe. Picture: Alexander Gusev

16 July, 2017 - 22:53 ancient-origins

1,200-Year-Old Mummies of Adult and Baby Found Cocooned in Copper, Fur and Bark in Siberian Permafrost

By The Siberian Times reporter Mummified members of an unknown bygone civilization have been dug up from a permafrost necropolis on the edge of the Arctic. The discoveries at the Zeleniy Yar burial...

Witch of Eye was burned at the stake. Fire and witch

3 July, 2017 - 15:26 Charles Christian

Witch of Eye Burned Alive at the Stake: Did She Use Black Magic to Bewitch a King in a Game of Thrones-Style Plot?

For over 900 years, people have been telling stories of wicked witches who have used Black Magic to overthrow kings. Morgan Le Fay in Arthurian legends of the early 12th century is thought to have...

The Stone Age remains of a mother cradling her baby.

11 May, 2017 - 01:52 Kerry Sullivan

Mother Found Still Cradling Baby After 4800 Years

Oftentimes, few people are interested in the findings of archeological digs – broken pots, scattered bones, it usually takes a sign of cannibalism or extraordinarily old carbon dating to draw the...

Artistic representation of an Australopithecus family. Australopithecus afarensis like “Lucy” may have required some help in childbirth.

27 April, 2017 - 23:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

The Evolution of Human Birth: An Incredible Story a Million Years in the Making

A team of scientists claim that they have found a mask depicting an Australopithecus afarensis, a human ancestor that could have possibly given birth in a way that combines the childbirth practices...

: Portraits of Akhenaten and Nefertiti from the workshop of Thutmose, the royal sculptor. Tell el-Amarna. Neues Museum, Berlin. (Photo: Heidi Kontkanen)

6 February, 2017 - 16:15 anand balaji

The Dakhamunzu Chronicles: End Game of the Sun Kings—Part I

The history of the dying days of the Eighteenth Dynasty remains shrouded in mystery. The late Amarna succession and its aftermath remain an unsolved conundrum. Out of the mist of this perplexity...

19 January, 2017 - 00:44 Natalia Klimczak

Unravelling the Mystery of the Maronite Mummies: Why Were Medieval Mummies Hidden in a Cave?

When archaeologists found a cache of medieval mummies in a Lebanese cave, the amazing discovery took their breath away. The remarkably well-preserved bodies of eight people who were buried in Qadisha...

13 January, 2017 - 17:49 aprilholloway

Mummified Head of Newborn Baby with Extremely Elongated Skull Found in Peru

The mummified elongated head of a newborn baby belonging to the ancient Paracas culture has been found in Peru. The finding is suggestive of a genetically elongated skull, since the process of...

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Myths & Legends

Glastonbury Tor. Source: vlorzor / Adobe. Inset: Representational image of a skeleton.

The Glastonbury Giant: Who Did the Mystery Bones of A Nine Foot Skeleton Belong To?

When researching the reality of giants in the past, one story which has survived the ages is the apparent discovery of the ‘Glastonbury Giant’ which was allegedly unearthed in 1190, on orders of King Henry II, following rumors that the legendary King Arthur was in fact buried at that specific location.

Batman Existed in Mesoamerican Mythology and His Name Was Camazotz

Ragnar Lothbrok: A Real Viking Hero Whose Life Became Lost to Legend

Enki: The Epic Mesopotamian Water God Who Saved Humanity

Lilith: Adam’s First Wife in Eden or a Diabolical Demoness?

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

Human Origins

Chichén Itzá’s shadow revealed during the spring equinox on Kukulcán.

Chichen Itza's Shadows: Unexpected Light Shed on Ancient Maya

What we see is not always what we expect, whether from nature or man-made. This is often true with archaeological remains of cities or human settlement, when new discoveries shed unexpected light on...

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

The Secret Life of an Ancient Concubine

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

Easter Island’s Birdman Cult: A Story of Struggle and Survival

Sky Burial: Tibet’s Ancient Tradition for Honoring the Dead

Ancient Technology

Two small figures guard the table holding the Buddha’s relics. Are they spearmen, or robots?

Robots Guarded Buddha’s Relics in a Legend of Ancient India

As early as Homer, more than 2,500 years ago, Greek mythology explored the idea of automatons and self-moving devices. By the third century BC, engineers in Hellenistic Alexandria, in Egypt, were building real mechanical robots and machines.

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

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

Was the Baghdad Battery a medical device?

Mysterious GodSelf Icon Found Worldwide: Lost Symbol of an Ancient Global Religion?

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

Ancient Places

Chichen Itza's Shadows: Unexpected Light Shed on Ancient Maya

Competing for the Title of the Oldest House in England - Luddesdown Court and Saltford Manor

The Lost Gardens of Heligan: Rediscovering a Centuries-Old Paradise

Populating Palmerston Island: One Man, Three Wives and A Desert Island Paradise

Pindai Caves, Once Home to the Lapita People and Extinct Species

The Macabre Capela dos Ossos: Why was it Decorated with the Dead?

Opinion

Naupa Iglesia: An Egyptian Portal in the Andes?

Halfway up a near-vertical ravine in the Andes, someone carved an inverted V-shaped entrance into the mountainside. Then they sliced the bedrock with great precision to create a shallow door that...

The Nephilim: Giant Offspring of the Sons of God and the Daughters of Man?

Mount Shasta: Spirits and Danger on a Sacred California Mountain

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

Changing Colors and Scampering Across the Night Sky: What Did the Ancients Say about Sirius?

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.

We’re the only Pop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives.

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.