cave art

12 April, 2019 - 18:45 Martin Sweatman

Prehistory Decoded at Gobekli Tepe: From a Cataclysmic Event Dawns the Origin and Perhaps the End of Civilization

Around 13,000 years ago, the Earth burned. A swarm of comet debris from the Taurid meteor stream had blasted the Americas and parts of Europe; the worst day in prehistory since the end of the ice age...

Digital tracing of Bison featured in rock art.

11 April, 2019 - 18:55 ancient-origins

Archaeologists Identify First Prehistoric Figurative Cave Art in Balkans - It’s Symbolic!

There was an explosion of symbolism in human culture during the Paleolithic period. Around the world, examples of cave art, some of it rather strange , began cropping up over 35,000 years ago. But...

7 March, 2019 - 19:01 Philip Jamieson

Uncovering the Truth Behind Matriarchal Societies in the Ancient World

A theme common amongst the mythology of ancient cultures is a belief in the existence of a Golden Age , when humans lived uncorrupted, in peace and harmony, experiencing prosperity and societal...

Key images from the top human origins stories of 2018: Sophisticated tools and large, all-purpose handaxes from the Olorgesailie Basin in Kenya. (Human Origins Program, Smithsonian) Drawing of a Neandertal mother and a Denisovan father with their child, a girl, at Denisova Cave in Russia. (Petra Korlević) Neanderthal cave art in La Pasiega, Spain (C.D Standish, A.W.G. Pike and D.L. Hoffmann) Photograph of a footprint beside digitally-enhanced image of the same feature. (Duncan McLaren) The left hemi-maxilla

21 January, 2019 - 13:48 Sarah P Young

Five Things We Learned About Our Human Origins in 2018

The question of what makes us human is one that is fascinating to most of us, and for many the answer lies in looking back to our roots as a species. 2018 was a fantastic year for learning new and...

A piece of hematite found in Denisova cave was used as a crayon for art work in the cave.

16 December, 2018 - 14:13 ancient-origins

Ancient Colored ‘Pencil’ Up To 50,000-Years-Old Found in Siberia

Cave-dwellers used hematite crayon for art work in Altai Mountains, say archeologists investigating a latest find in Siberia. The pre-historic artists were not Homo sapiens but Denisovans - a long-...

Hand images at Cosquer Cave. Researchers believe that Upper Paleolithic cave art depicting hands missing fingers may be explained by prehistoric ritual amputation practices.

6 December, 2018 - 13:50 ashley cowie

Does Upper Paleolithic Cave Art with Missing Fingers Really Provide Evidence for Ritual Amputation?

In a research paper published in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, three scientists: Brea McCauley, David Maxwell, and Mark Collard from the Simon Fraser public research university in British...

Some of the world's oldest cave paintings have revealed people had an ancient, yet advanced, astronomy. Animal symbols represent star constellations in the night sky, and are used to mark dates and events such as comet strikes, analysis from the University of Edinburgh suggests.

28 November, 2018 - 13:57 ancient-origins

Wild Animals in the Sky? Prehistoric Cave Art Suggests Ancient Advanced Astronomy

Some of the world's oldest cave paintings have revealed how ancient people had relatively advanced knowledge of astronomy. The artworks, at sites across Europe, are not simply depictions of wild...

Figurative art depicting wild cattle, dated at about 40,000 years old, in a cave in East Kalimantan, Borneo.

9 November, 2018 - 18:48 Ed Whelan

Figurative Art Discovered Deep in Indonesian Cave is the Oldest in the World

Cave paintings offer an invaluable insight into the lives and minds of early humans. Experts, working in Borneo, Indonesia have made a potentially historic discovery in a remote karst cave system...

Uluru, also referred to as Ayers Rock, is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area. It has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site.

27 August, 2018 - 23:46 Robin Whitlock

Aboriginal languages could reveal scientific clues to Australia’s unique past

The loss of Australian aboriginal languages could obstruct access to unique scientific information regarding Australia’s ancient geological history, according to a story reported this week by BBC...

Hand prints, animals and human forms found in Yucatan cave. Source: Sergio Grosjean / Youtube Screenshot

31 July, 2018 - 23:00 Ed Whelan

Uncertain Origins of Ancient Cave Paintings Found in the Yucatan Peninsula

A major discovery has been reported by archaeologists in the Yucatan Peninsula, in south-eastern Mexico. A team of experts has discovered some astonishing cave paintings deep in a remote jungle. The...

A carving of an extinct deer in the Asphendou Cave on Crete.

13 April, 2018 - 13:58 Alicia McDermott

Greek Art Goes Palaeolithic: Cretan Cave Art Includes an Animal Extinct for 11,000 Years

More than 11,000 years ago, an Ice Age artist carefully carved the images of deer into the floor of a cave on Crete. Others would follow this person’s lead and soon the engravings became a jumble of...

Ancient art in the Altai Mountains, Russia. While the world’s best-known cave art exists in France and Spain, examples of it abound throughout the world.

14 March, 2018 - 00:40 ancient-origins

Did Humans Speak Through Cave Art? Ancient Drawings and Language's Origins

When and where did humans develop language? To find out, look deep inside caves, suggests an MIT professor. More precisely, some specific features of cave art may provide clues about how our symbolic...

Paintings in the Kapova cave (Southern Urals).

29 November, 2017 - 23:01 Alicia McDermott

A Double-humped Camel Provides Clues to Long-distance Paleolithic Travel

Researchers have discovered an unexpected painting after graffiti was removed at a cave in the Southern Urals – a double-humped camel. Now they are explaining what it means about Upper Paleolithic...

Bison from Magdalenian occupation of Altamira Cave. In black charcoal, c. 16500 – 14000 years ago.

25 April, 2017 - 01:43 Natalia Klimczak

A Pearl of Prehistoric Spain in Danger of Disappearing: Can the 35,600-year-old Art of Altamira Cave be both Witnessed and Preserved?

The cave located at Altamira was inhabited thousands of years ago and contains remarkable examples of sophisticated art from Prehistory. The first paintings appeared there most probably around 35600...

A replica of a painting of an aurochs in Lascaux cave in France. Scientists have estimated these paintings may be 20,000 years old.

2 January, 2017 - 00:59 ancient-origins

Scientists Have Almost Completed the Resurrection of Extinct Aurochs and Plan to Reintroduce Them to the Wild

A group of scientists is attempting to re-wild 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres) of European lands, and one of the keys in the circle of life will be reintroducing the fierce, huge, wild...

17 November, 2016 - 02:09 nrushton

Shamanic Explorations of Supernatural Realms: Cave Art - The Earliest Folklore

“The neuropsychological and ethnographic evidence that I have adduced strongly suggests that, in these subterranean images, we have an ancient and unusually explicit expression of a complex shamanic...

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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...

Kombucha: Revered For Millennia, But Is It Really A Life Saving Brew?

The Disturbing True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin

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

La Llorona: The Terrible Truth About Mexico's Weeping Woman

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

Human Origins

Representational image of human skeletons. The discovery of anomalous skeletons suggests humanity may be older than we think.

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

There are many reported human skeletal finds which are in discordance with current evolutionary beliefs dating back to anomalously ancient geological periods in the distant past, way before it is accepted that human beings ever existed.

The Pagan Wheel of the Year: What Elaborate Rituals and Events Mark this Sacred Cycle?

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

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

The Secret Life of an Ancient Concubine

The Takenouchi Manuscripts and the Story of Humanity Never Told

Ancient Technology

Example of an ancient calendar. The ancient Egyptians created a calendar with 365 days in a year.

Why Are There 365 Days in a Year? Organizing Dates with an Ancient Egyptian Calendar

The calendar is one of mankind’s most important inventions. Calendars allowed societies to organize time for religious, social, economic, and administrative purposes. The calendar, or rather, two sets of calendars, were invented by the ancient Egyptians. One was the first with 365 days in a year.

Does ‘New Evidence’ Prove Noah’s Ark Is Buried on a Turkish Mountain?

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

The Great Pyramid at Giza and Noah’s Ark: Are we coming closer to an understanding of the Ancient Mind? Part II

Eerie Ancient Wax Sculptures for Hexing Enemies, Destroying Demons, and Remembering the Dead

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

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.

The Chrysanthemum Throne: A Two and a Half Millennia History of Divine Imperial Rule in Japan

Masyaf Castle, the Seat of the Assassins

The White Slaves of Barbary

Explaining the Fall of the Great Akkadian Empire

The enduring mystery of The Lady of Dai mummy

Opinion

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

There are many accounts of a land of immortality and eternal youth in world myths and legends, as well as shamanic and indigenous spiritual traditions. Mysterious Worlds Writing in his recent work,...

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

The Secrets of the Kabbalists Garden

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.