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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Two parrots spreading their flight feathers. Source: ondrejprosicky/Adobe Stock

New Rule for Flight Feathers Could Reveal Which Dinosaurs Could Fly

Birds can fly— at least, most of them can. Flightless birds like penguins and ostriches have evolved lifestyles that don’t require flight. However, there’s a lot that scientists don’t know about how...
Red feathers. Source: Thewonderalice / Adobe Stock.

Red Feathers Were More Valuable Than Gold in Ancient Hawaii

From the gold coins of the Roman Empire to the jade treasures of ancient China, every culture has its emblem of wealth and status. But in the lush landscapes of ancient Hawaii , an unlikely item...
Ancient Roman feeding chicken. Source: AI generated.

Ancient Romans Used Chickens to Predict Battle Outcomes

Few tales capture the peculiarities of ancient Roman beliefs as much as that of the sacred chickens. These were not ordinary birds but revered animals, consulted as avian oracles before significant...
A raven at the Tower of London. Source: Sid10 / Adobe Stock.

Ravens Have Protected the Tower of London for Hundreds of Years

Standing on the north bank of the River Thames, the Tower of London is not just an iconic historic castle with tales of treachery and power. It is also home to a historic legend – if the Tower’s...
Falconer with a hawk on one hand. Source: zorandim75 / Adobe Stock.

The Ancient Art of Falconry is Keeping Planes Safe (Video)

Falcon Environmental Services has responded to the demands of the modern aviation industry by embracing the revival of an ancient art: falconry , a practice with origins dating back to 3000 BC. This...
Avian artwork reproduced in facsimile painting from the Green Room found at Amarna’s North Palace. Source: Public domain

Exquisite Avian Artwork Created Sensory Relaxation Chamber for Egyptian Queen

Back in the 1920s, archaeologists working at Amarna’s North Palace in Egypt uncovered a “masterpiece of ancient Egyptian art.” This was the palace of Meritaten, the daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and...
Added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2014, Pergamon, Turkey’s ancient northern Hellenistic city (Dimitri / Adobe Stock)

Ancient Tomb of Bird Oracle Priest Found in Turkey’s Pergamon

The ancient city of Pergamon (or Pergamum) in Turkey has yielded several interesting finds recently. The latest in this series of finds is the tomb of the bird oracle priest Markos. Based on the...
The southern cassowary. Source: mountaintreks / Adobe Stock

Ancient Humans Bred Dangerous Cassowaries 18,000 Years Ago for Their Lunch

Roughly 18,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers in New Guinea loved nothing more than a good fried egg and a lump of roasted bird meat. And to enjoy these treats more easily, they turned to bird breeding...
Neanderthal hunting birds in a cave at night. The latest study, using role play, has shown that Neanderthals were likely also nocturnal hunters, which is a completely new aspect for our ancient cousins.		Source: Gorodenkoff / Adobe Stock

Researchers Role Play Neanderthals Hunting, In the Name of Science

A recent research study published in the online journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution has thrown up exciting new evidence about collaboration on complex tasks amongst our closest ancient human...
Feather Blanket Proves Importance of Turkeys to Pueblo Indians

Feather Blanket Proves Importance of Turkeys to Pueblo Indians

Research has shown that the humble turkey played a very important role in Pueblo Indian societies in the southwestern United States. Experts have been able to study an exceedingly rare feather...
Battle Of The Pterosaurs! Britain vs China In Dinosaur Wrangle

Battle Of The Pterosaurs! Britain vs China In Dinosaur Wrangle

The word “pterosaur” translates to “winged lizard” and these creatures existed during most of the Mesozoic period : from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to 66 million years ago)...
Ancient Egyptians Went Wild for Bird Mummy Offerings

Ancient Egyptians Went Wild for Bird Mummy Offerings

Researchers studying the mummies of birds from Ancient Egypt, used at the time as votive offerings to the gods, have made an important discovery. French experts, from the CNRS, the Université Claude...
New Caledonia Cave. Credit: damedias / Adobe Stock

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

New Caledonia, in the South Pacific , is a special collectivity of France. Not only does it have a fascinating history and unique culture, the islands also have one of the most important...
The Sacred and Ancient Legacy of our Feathered Friends

The Sacred and Ancient Legacy of our Feathered Friends

Although lions, tigers and other ferocious man-eaters were hunted and subsequently ritualized by shamans who attempted to internalize the energy of these different animals, throughout the ages birds...
Nazca Hummingbird identified as Source: / CC BY-SA 4.0

Have Japanese Ornithologists Cracked the Mystery of the Nazca Lines?

The Nazca Lines are among the most mysterious archaeological sites in all of Latin America. However, a team of Japanese experts has published a study in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports...
The Odinov culture shamans graves that have been found in Western Russia. Source: Image: Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, The Siberian Times

Bronze Age Bird Beak Burials Found In Russia

By The Siberian Times Reporter The bizarre find of a skeleton with what seems to have been a collar or armor constructed from birds beaks has Russian archaeologists scratching their heads as to the...
Window with a portrait of Harald in Lerwick Town Hall, Shetland

A Military Life for Clever King Harald: Serving the Empire and Stopping the Pirates – Part I

In 1015, Harald Sigurdsson was born. He was the youngest of three sons born to Sigurd Syr, who ruled over a petty kingdom in Ringerike, located in the region of Buskerud. Harald’s upbringing is not...
A photo inside the Sunland Big Baobab.

Fancy Sipping a Pint in a 1700-Year-Old Tree? You Can at The Baobab Tree Bar

The Sunland Big Baobab is a bar nestled inside the hollow of a baobab tree. This bar is located on the Sunland Farm in South Africa. As baobabs begin to hollow on the inside as they age, empty...
Hhunter gatherers

Sharks, bees and humans use same mathematical pattern to hunt

A mathematical pattern of movement called a Lévy walk describes the hunting behaviour of many animals, including sharks, birds and honeybees, and now for the first time it has been shown to describe...