beads

11 February, 2021 - 17:49 ashley cowie

Artifacts in Alaska Prove Pre-Columbian America-Europe Trade

The stunning discovery of pre-Columbian artifacts, originally from Europe, in Alaska could be definitive proof that ancient trade networks existed between Europe and northern Alaska in the mid-15 th...

4 December, 2020 - 13:56 Alicia McDermott

Glass Beads Help to Map Unknown Medieval African Trade Routes

For several decades, a team of researchers have been carrying out excavations at old cemeteries and villages at sites in central Mali and eastern Senegal. Over the years they’ve come across a handful...

Artifacts discovered at ritual platform discovered in Dûmat al-Jandal in northern Saudi Arabia. Source: ©Mission archéologique de Dûmat al-Handal / Antiquity Publications Ltd

12 June, 2020 - 22:49 ashley cowie

Ritual Platform Discovered in Saudi Arabia, With Egyptian Artifacts

While the megalithic stone monuments of northern Arabia remain largely unknown, the discovery of a vast ritual platform and Egyptian artifacts in northern Saudi Arabia has shed light on the evolution...

Ostrich eggshell beads have been used to cement relationships in Africa for more than 30,000 years. Source: John Klausmeyer, Yuchao Zhao & Brian Stewart / University of Michigan

10 March, 2020 - 17:55 ashley cowie

Prehistoric Ostrich Egg Unravels Clues to Human Life 33,000 Years Ago

A team of scientists have discovered 33,000-year-old ostrich egg beads in the Lesotho Highlands, about a 1,000 kilometers away from where ostriches roamed. This establishes hitherto unknown...

Main: Hopewell burial mounds in Ohio (CC by SA 3.0). Inset: One of the meteoritic iron beads found in a Hopewell mound.

2 July, 2018 - 15:13 Theodoros Karasavvas

Jewelry from Outer Space: Hopewell Culture Made Beads from Meteoritic Iron

A team of scientists has discovered the origins of the ancient Hopewell culture's meteorite jewelry. The beads were found in a burial mound in Havana, Illinois, in 1945. Many questions about the...

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...

10 March, 2017 - 18:55 Theodoros Karasavvas

How Were They Made? Unlocking the 500-Year-Old Secret to Gothic Miniature Boxwood Carvings

A mystery that lasted for nearly five centuries was finally solved with the assistance of modern technology. The magnificent 16th century miniature boxwood carvings that had been puzzling viewers and...

5 March, 2017 - 19:26 dhwty

High Fashion of Ancient Egypt: The Bead-Net Dress

Fashion trends are not just a modern construction. In ancient Egypt, looking fashionable was an important part of everyday life, especially for the elite members of society. One of the high class...

12 January, 2017 - 21:48 Alicia McDermott

Fascinating Artifacts Unearthed in TWO Newly Discovered Neighboring Anglo-Saxon Sites in England

Preparations for two new Cambridgeshire housing development projects have uncovered a fine collection of precious ornamental items and weaponry from Anglo-Saxon times and rare Roman era domestic...

Main: 1,500-year-old tomb holding the coffin and skeleton of a woman named Farong, in Datong City, China. Inset: Two gold earrings were found beside Farong's skull in Datong City, China.

17 August, 2016 - 21:50 aprilholloway

1,500-Year-Old Tomb Found in China with Incredible Golden Jewelry

A 1,500-year-old tomb unearthed in China was found to contain spectacular golden jewelry inlaid with gemstones and amethysts and a 5,000 bead necklace. A number of burials from the Northern Wei...

The area known as “street 9” in Lothal, Gujarat, India.

22 November, 2015 - 03:23 dhwty

The Extensive Indus Valley Sites of Gujarat

The Indus Valley Civilization is believed to have existed between the 3rd and 2nd millenniums BC. This civilization covered an area of around 1,210,000 square km (467,183.6 square mi). As a...

One of the newly-discovered graves in Demark containing a blue bead matching glass from an Egyptian workshop

14 December, 2014 - 22:25 Mark Miller

Glass beads link King Tutankhamun and Bronze Age Nordic women

Scientists working in Denmark have unearthed glass blue beads crafted in an ancient Egyptian workshop for King Tutankhamun that made its way north to Europe 3,400 years ago. The find helps prove...

6 December, 2014 - 00:48 lizleafloor

The Indus Valley Civilization: An ornamented past, revealed in 5,000-year-old artifacts and jewelry

The Indus Valley Civilization was rich with culture and tradition, revealed in its wealth of beautiful, intricate, and elaborate ornaments, jewelry and artifacts. These items and more are on exhibit...

20 August, 2013 - 03:26 aprilholloway

Origin of Ancient Egyptian Beads is Out of this World

A new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science has revealed that Ancient Egyptian beads found in a 5,000-year-old tomb were made from iron meteorites that fell to Earth from outer...

Myths & Legends

The Thirteen Legendary Treasures of Britain

The ancient Greek writer Hesiod once wrote that there were five ages of mankind – the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, the Heroic Age, and the Iron Age. Similarly, in Hinduism, there are...

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

The Dark Reputation of the Dunmore Cave of Ireland

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

Hidden in Plain Sight: The Pterodactyl of New Guinea

Legendary Black Knights: Mysterious Medieval Entities of Neutrality

Human Origins

Footprints, Fairies and even a Foreskin: 10 Bizarre Relics from History

From time immemorial, people had the need to venerate objects of great significance: religious relics, mythical symbols, or depictions of holy figures. And as if answering this need, the religious establishment has provided.

The Faces of Ancient Hominids Brought to Life in Remarkable Detail

Research Confirms that Neanderthal DNA Makes Up About 20% of the Modern Human Genome

Zecharia Sitchin and the Mistranslation of Sumerian Texts

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

The human skull that challenges the Out of Africa theory

Ancient Technology

The Man Who Stopped a Desert Using Ancient Farming

Desertification is a serious problem facing numerous countries in the world today. Various measures have been taken to counter the negative effects, with some providing better results than others. A farmer in Burkina Faso looked to his ancestors and came up with an innovative solution.

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

Catapult: The Long-Reaching History of a Prominent Medieval Siege Engine

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

The Kangyur Written with 9 Precious Stones

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

Ancient Places

The magnificent Boat of Khufu, Solar Boat Museum, Giza

The Great Boat of Khufu: The ‘Black Box’ to the Construction of the Pyramids

Perhaps this is not the first time that the reader will have heard of how in 1954 the Great Boat of Khufu was discovered, practically intact, at the southern face of the Kheops Pyramid, and how it is believed by the majority to have had cultic significance, although opinions vary within scientific circles. One belief was that the Sun sailed in such a vessel during the day, crossing over to another during the night hours.

Varna Man and the Wealthiest Grave of the 5th Millennium BC

Pavlopetri: 5,000-Year-Old Town Discovered Underwater in Greece

The tragedy of Queen Ankhesenamun, sister and wife of Tutankhamun

The 9,000-year-old underground megalithic settlement of Atlit Yam

Tollund Man – the preserved face from Prehistoric Denmark and the tale of ritual sacrifice

Opinion

Unearthing Ancient Magic in The Runes –Messages with Hidden Symbols and Powerful Numbers

The etymology of the word “rune” means: “to carve, or to cut.” In Low German the word is “raunen.” As the runes were cut and carved into wood, metal or stone, the word “rune” was analogous to the rune letters themselves.

Petroglyphic Features of Portable Rock Art

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?

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.