Chile

Region close to where the Pleistocene footprint was discovered.

30 April, 2019 - 01:59 Ed Whelan

Discovery of 16,000-year-old Footprint That Could Change the History of the Americas

There are some discoveries that can change the way that we think about history. Archaeologists in Chile believe that they have made one such discovery. They have uncovered a human footprint that is...

The alignment of the rising sun on the winter solstice with the Saywas in the Atacama desert, Chile.

29 May, 2018 - 13:57 ashley cowie

Sun and Earth Aligned: Ancient Andean Calendar is Illuminated on the Atacama Desert

On the winter solstice of 2017 a dedicated historian at Chile’s Pre-Columbian Art Museum in Santiago, Dr. Cecilia Sanhueza, was following a hunch in the Atacama Desert, Chile. She observed “a row of...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Kanopolis Lake recently discovered vandalism to an ancient petroglyph and is seeking information from the public.

15 March, 2018 - 21:54 ashley cowie

Vandalism at Ancient Sites, Who Really Cares Anyway?

Sometimes it doesn’t rain, but it pours. This month has seen two vandals, separated by thousands of miles, completely destroying a range of ancient carved animals. But does anybody really care...

16 October, 2017 - 01:57 ancient-origins

Mystery Deepens As Study Finds Native Americans Did NOT Help to Populate Easter Island

Easter Island is a place of mystery that has captured the public imagination. Famous for ancient carved statues and a location so remote it boggles the mind, the island presents a captivating puzzle...

29 October, 2016 - 14:45 aprilholloway

Oldest Mummies in the World Are Turning into Black Slime

The Chinchorro mummies of Chile, which have been preserved for at least 7,000 years, are turning into black slime due to rising humidity levels causing bacterial growth on the skin. More than one...

A mummy unearthed in the Atacama Desert.

26 July, 2016 - 00:43 Alicia McDermott

Mummies Found in Chile Did Not Let Harsh Life Conditions Get Them Down

Despite apparent episodes of food shortage, disease, violence, and severe weather conditions, it seems that, at least for some people, life in Chile between 500-1500 years ago was not that stressful...

Easter Island

25 May, 2016 - 03:49 ancient-origins

The Loa Giants: Impressive and Enigmatic Geoglyphs in Northern Chile

Alberto Nadgar Rojas, researcher, visual artist, and photographer, defends the existence in northern Chile of an ancient civilization of giants as a hypothesis to explain what may be the biggest...

15 April, 2016 - 21:51 Marilo

The Ancient Inhabitants of Easter Island were not the Cause of the Deforestation on the Island

A team of Spanish scientists has managed to reconstruct the past 3,000 years of history of Easter Island. Their new findings show that deforestation of the island occurred gradually, and not in all...

Easter Island statues by Honey Hooper, Fig. 92. Obsidian Spear-heads

17 February, 2016 - 00:49 ancient-origins

New Study Asserts that Easter Island Was Not Destroyed by Warfare

By: Jack Phillips , Epoch Times The ancient civilization that inhabited Easter Island wasn’t destroyed by warfare, according to a recent study, contrary to what some researchers believe. Researchers...

The fall of Casto Méndez Núñez in May 2nd, 1866

1 February, 2016 - 03:36 Natalia Klimczak

Born for the Seas and Honor: Examining the Modest Life of the Spanish Navy Officer, Casto Mendez Nunez

The history of Spain is full of great stories about the brave sailors and won sea battles. One of the important players in these tales comes in the form of Casto Mendez Nunez. Casto Mendez Nunez was...

Illustration of a range of 'sea monsters' in Carta Marina (Ocean Map)

21 January, 2016 - 03:47 Natalia Klimczak

Aspidochelone: A Giant Sea Monster of the Ancient World and an Allegorical Beast

In ancient Greece there was a large and dangerous sea monster called the aspidochelone , which could be translated as asp-turtle . The people who described it for centuries probably just saw a whale...

6 April, 2015 - 01:18 aprilholloway

New study confirms ancient people of Chile died of slow poisoning from arsenic

Previous studies have established that people of numerous pre-Columbian civilizations in northern Chile suffered from chronic arsenic poisoning between 500 and 1450 AD, through consumption of...

The head of an ancient Chinchorro mummy from northern Peru

11 March, 2015 - 21:00 Mark Miller

7,000-year-old Chinchorro mummies are turning gelatinous

The Chinchorro mummies of Chile survived more than 7,065 years without deteriorating until about 10 years ago, when moisture began to allow bacterial growth that is making them turn gelatinous and...

7 August, 2014 - 23:58 dhwty

The 7,000-Year-Old Chinchorro Mummies of the Andes

The mummies of ancient Egypt are arguably the most famous mummies in the world. They are not, however, the oldest that we know of. The Chinchorros of South America began preserving their dead about 7...

28 May, 2014 - 00:48 aprilholloway

School children uncover 7,000-year-old mummy in Chile

A group of schoolchildren have discovered a 7,000-year-old mummy while on an archaeology field trip in northern Chile over the weekend, reported La Tercera . The mummy belongs to the Chinchorro...

Pages

Myths & Legends

The Epic of Gilgamesh. Source: Luca Oleastri / Adobe.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Searching For a Way to the Home Planet

In contrast to many theorists, this unconventional retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens.

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

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

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

The Nature and Dangers of the Legendary Kobold

The Menhune of Hawaii – Ancient Race or Fictional Fairytale?

Human Origins

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

Although it may be a long time (if ever) before pagans reclaim their Yule from Christmas or their Samhain from Halloween, it is worthwhile to explore these ancient religious traditions. The Wheel of the Year follows the cycle of pagan festivals.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

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

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

Ancient Technology

An ancient Roman road at Leptis Magna, Libya

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

It was not uncommon for the ancient Romans to travel long distances all across Europe. Actually during the Roman Empire, Rome had an incredible road network which extended from northern England all...

The incredible earthquake detector invented nearly 2,000 years ago

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

Mummy Brown – the 16th century paint made from ground up mummies

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

Ancient Places

Royal Palace at Ebla. Source: CC BY-SA 3.0

First Kingdoms: The Forgotten Mesopotamian Kingdom of Ebla

Spectacular things were happening in Mesopotamia in the period we call the Early Bronze Age, particularly in the southern part of it, commonly called Babylonia.

Sumer: Where Written Language, Arithmetic and Civilization Were Born

Explaining the Fall of the Great Akkadian Empire

Homer’s Iliad Casts Doubt on the Aegean Location of Troy

The Incredible Subterranean City of Kish

The Great Ziggurat of Ur

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.