cannibalism

Reproduction of a prehistoric cave painting showing hominins hunting

12 May, 2019 - 14:45 ashley cowie

Million-Year-Old Cannibals Took Advantage of the Easy Calories

Research scientists have discovered that almost one million years ago an ancient human relative, Homo antecessor, ate humans “in preference” to other animals. Inhabiting hunting planes in what is...

Skull cup, found in Gough's cave, Somerset, England. About 14,700 years old, this skull bears cut marks inflicted shortly after death to remove soft tissues and shape the skull into a cup.

29 March, 2019 - 13:01 Ed Whelan

Human Skull ‘Cups’ and Butchered Bones Lead Archaeologists to One Conclusion – Neolithic Cannibals

Archaeologists in Spain have made a grim discovery in a deep cave in the south-west of the country. They believe that they have found the remains of some Stone Age people who were butchered and...

‘Hercules Fighting Death to Save Alcestis’ (1869-1871) by Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton. Many ancient death rituals seem very odd or macabre to modern minds.

10 November, 2018 - 19:01 ashley cowie

Bizarre, Brutal, Macabre And Downright Weird Ancient Death Rituals

Any parent must agree that one of the greatest hardships experienced around the death of a family member is having to explain to children what happened and what happens next? Should you tell them the...

A Fore tribesman of Papua New Guinea holding a skull

16 June, 2018 - 00:36 Robin Whitlock

Diet of human brains helped Papua New Guinea tribe to resist disease

The investigation of a Papua New Guinea tribe, formerly infamous for eating human brains as part of their elaborate funerary rights, has provided insights into the development of mad cow disease and...

Hyena and Neanderthal teeth on hyena background.

9 February, 2018 - 14:00 ashley cowie

Were Cannibal Leftovers Really Swallowed by an Ancient Hyena?

About 65,000 years ago, a large carnivore, probably a hyena, consumed someone’s face, new scientific data published this week has proven. And, according to the scientists who made this discovery,...

Cannibal feast on the Island of Tanna, New Hebrides by Charles E. Gordon Frazer (1863-1899).

8 April, 2017 - 02:01 ancient-origins

Our Ancestors Were Cannibals – and Probably Not Because They Needed the Calories

James Cole / The Conversation In the recently released horror movie Raw , a lifelong vegetarian teenager arrives at a veterinary school and, after being forced to consume a rabbit kidney at a student...

29 November, 2016 - 14:58 Alicia McDermott

Evidence of Gruesome 9,500-Year-Old Funerary Rites Found in Brazil

Evidence of complex and gruesome funeral rites found in the Lapa do Santo cave in Brazil have shocked researchers yet again. The researchers have discovered evidence of the mutilation of corpses,...

26 November, 2016 - 21:45 Kerry Sullivan

Cowboy Wash: The Mystery of the 7 Cannibalized Victims in an Abandoned Anasazi Village

For over 2,000 years, ancient Pueblo peoples (Anasazi) occupied a vast region of the south-western United States. Chaco Canyon was a major centre of ancestral Pueblo culture between 850 and 1250, and...

8 November, 2016 - 14:44 dhwty

9,000-Year-Old Cheddar Man Has Living Descendant Still Living in The Same Area

Cheddar Man is the name given to the remains of a man that was found in Gough’s Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, England. Cheddar Man was discovered around the turn of the 20 th century, and has been...

25 October, 2016 - 00:46 Natalia Klimczak

The Prehistoric Feast of the Cannibals of Gough’s Cave

A new study that examined cut marks on bones in order to distinguish between cannibalism and ritualistic defleshing practices have determined that a very morbid feast took place 15,000 years ago in...

4 October, 2016 - 14:28 Kerry Sullivan

The Mystery of Herxheim: Was an Entire Village Cannibalized?

Beginning in 5300 BC, a Linearbandkeramik or Linear Pottery culture (LBK) developed in the region of Herxheim in southwest Germany, one that could be described as an idyllic Stone Age settlement. The...

Aztec burial of a sacrificed child at Tlatelolco

17 July, 2016 - 15:01 valdar

Bizarre Rituals of Blood and Death That Are Rooted in the Ancient World

Throughout history, there are many rituals that individuals and groups participate in which could be considered strange or unusual by others. The following is a short overview of some of the uncanny...

Painting of Neanderthals by Charles Robert Knight, 1920

7 July, 2016 - 14:47 Mark Miller

Neanderthal Group Cannibalized their Dead and Used Human Bones as Tools

Evidence shows Neanderthals were killing each other and eating the remains about 40,000 years ago in a cave in Belgium, new research shows. They apparently extracted marrow from the bones and used...

Some of the finds presented at the Jan Dekerta Lubuskie Museum in Gorzów Wielkopolski.

30 March, 2016 - 21:53 Natalia Klimczak

Family Discovers a Collection of Rare Bronze Age Artifacts in Poland

A collection of bronze artifacts has been discovered in Lubuskie Province, in Poland. The objects are associated with the Lusatian culture, which was one of the most influential cultures of the...

31 January, 2016 - 13:00 dhwty

The Wendigo: A Terrifying Beast With an Insatiable Hunger for Human Flesh

The Wendigo is a horrifying creature of Algonquian Native American legends that would devour human flesh to survive a harsh winter. But are they only myth, or are there really cannabilistic humanoids...

Cut marks observed on the femur of the Neanderthal child. Credit: M.D. Garralda et al. Representational image only.

24 July, 2015 - 23:07 lizleafloor

100,000-year-old Thigh Bones of Child in China Reveal Bite Marks

The bones of a child from 100,000 years ago display gnawed tooth marks, and researchers are trying to determine if this is evidence of cannibalism in the prehistoric Xuchang Man of China. The two...

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Myths & Legends

Camazotz Maya style Batman suit created by Mexican designer Kimbal

Batman Existed in Mesoamerican Mythology and His Name Was Camazotz

As social media is abuzz with who might be cast in the next Batman movie, with concerns that some of the candidates might not be menacing enough to fill those big black boots, it might be time to...

The Powerful Symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000 Year History

Magic and Mayhem of Japanese Legend: Don’t Try To Out-Trick A Tengu!

‘First Kings’ Myths From Around the World: How Do They Compare?

Legendary Black Knights: Mysterious Medieval Entities of Neutrality

47 Ronin: The Samurai Warriors that Sought to Avenge the Death of their Master

Human Origins

They’re Alive! Megalithic Sites Are More than Just Stone

It doesn't take much to stimulate the human body's electro-magnetic circuitry, in fact a small change in the local environment is enough to create a change in awareness. People who visit ancient...

‘First Kings’ Myths From Around the World: How Do They Compare?

Return of the Ancient Gods: The Resurgence of Paganism

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

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Mount Shasta: Spirits and Danger on a Sacred California Mountain

Ancient Technology

6 Advanced Ancient Inventions Beyond Modern Understanding

We’ve lost the secret to making some of history’s most useful inventions, and for all of our ingenuity and discoveries, our ancestors of thousands of years ago are still able to baffle us with their ingenuity and discoveries. We have developed the modern equivalent of some of these inventions, but only very recently.

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

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

They’re Alive! Megalithic Sites Are More than Just Stone

The Discovery that Revealed Ancient Humans Navigated the Seas 130,000 Years Ago

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

Ancient Places

Plastico di Roma imperiale at the Museum of the Roman Civilization. Source: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra / CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Plastico di Roma Imperiale Wasn’t Built in a Day: Accurate Mini Rome Model Took 35 Years

The Roman Empire dominated most of Europe and parts of Africa and the Middle East for over thousand years

The Mystery of the Miniature Pyramids of Sudan

Ashurbanipal: The Oldest Surviving Royal Library in the World with Over 30,000 Clay Tablets

The Great Serpent Mound of Ohio, the Largest Earthen Effigy in the World

Why Isn’t This Map in the History Books?

Return of the Ancient Gods: The Resurgence of Paganism

Opinion

Mount Shasta: Spirits and Danger on a Sacred California Mountain

Mount Shasta, located near the Oregon border in northern California, holds the distinction of being one of the world’s preeminent sacred mountains. It is recognized as an eligible Native American...

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?

Cracking the Code to Discover Ancient Tarot Symbolism and Forgotten Universal Knowledge

The Secret Strategic Plans of Darius the Great

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.

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