culture

Traditional Tammari people village of Tamberma at Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba, Kara region, Togo.

28 April, 2019 - 22:55 Ed Whelan

Koutammakou, Togo: Unparalleled Batammariba Life and Unique Architecture

Koutammakou, the land of the Batammariba people, has many unique architectural and ethnographic attractions found nowhere else. The harmonious integration the Batammariba have with nature is rarely...

Mold used by the Maya to make figurines. Credit: Dr Brent Woodfill, Winthrop University.

23 April, 2019 - 18:52 ashley cowie

Largest Ever Maya Figurine Workshop Discovered Accidentally in Unexplored Mound

In May 2018, heavy machinery excavating outside the city of Coban, in the highlands of Guatemala , sliced into a large earthen mound that was found to contain millions of parts from Classic Maya...

Traditional hand-made bread (gosphotodesign / Adobe Stock)

18 April, 2019 - 18:59 Ed Whelan

History Buff Bakes Ancient Egyptian Bread Using 1,500-Year-Old Yeast Scrapings

A history enthusiast has baked loaves of ancient bread based on an ancient Egyptian recipe and using an ingredient that was 1,500 years old – yeast scrapings taken from ancient Egyptian bread pots...

Kalash woman. Kalash people have a fascinating history and culture.

16 April, 2019 - 23:01 dhwty

Are the Distinctive Kalash People of Pakistan Really Descendants of Alexander the Great’s Army?

The Kalash (also known as the Kalasha) are an indigenous people living in what is today Pakistan. Although Pakistan is an Islamic Republic, with more than 95% of its population being adherents of...

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...

A Sámi family in front of goahti and lavvu housing, early 1900s, Norway

4 April, 2019 - 02:05 Alicia McDermott

The Sami People: Reindeer Herding and Cultural Survival in the Far North

The Sámi are the northernmost indigenous people of Europe. For thousands of years they have lived in an area called Sápmi - the northern sectors of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula...

Page 632 of "Annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1895" disks cut from sherds of stoneware from the South Appalachian region.

21 February, 2019 - 18:31 ancient-origins

Pottery Reveals America's First Social Media

By Jacob Lulewicz / Science Daily Scientists have recently studied pottery produced by people living across southern Appalachia between 800 and 1650 AD. The unique symbols were stamped onto the...

15 January, 2019 - 00:38 Ed Whelan

The Comoros Archipelago and An Aged Tradition of Public Spaces

The Comoros is an archipelago of islands located off the East Coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean and north of Madagascar, and yet, one of the least known countries in Africa. Because of its relative...

30 December, 2018 - 23:02 Caleb Strom

The Maori: A Rich and Cherished Culture at the World’s Edge

New Zealand was one of the last landmasses to be colonized by humans. When Pleistocene megafauna had gone extinct elsewhere in the world, New Zealand was still inhabited by the moas, giant flightless...

A Las Vegas culture skull excavated in Loma Atahualpa, Ecuador in 2018 is part of the oldest burials found in the country to date.

28 November, 2018 - 23:00 Alicia McDermott

Newly Discovered 10,000 Year Old Las Vegas Culture Burials are the Oldest in Ecuador

Las Vegas doesn’t just refer to the ‘city of lights’; for archaeologists in Ecuador Las Vegas also denotes an ancient culture that once thrived on the Pacific coast. But just because a culture is...

21 November, 2018 - 01:53 ancient origins

Did Climate Change Cause the Demise of the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization?

The Indus civilization was the largest—but least known—of the first great urban cultures that also included Egypt and Mesopotamia. Named for one of their largest cities, the Harappans relied on river...

The 5,500-year-old fingerprint (left) and the funnel beaker (right)

27 September, 2018 - 00:23 Robin Whitlock

Finger print found on ceramic bowl is over 5,000 years old

When Danish archaeologists started to survey the site of the proposed Femern Belt link tunnel in 2015, they discovered a 5,500 year old ceramic vessel imprinted with the fingerprint of the craftsman...

5 September, 2018 - 16:47 Joanna Gillan

Israeli town of Yavneh had thriving drug culture 3,000 years ago

Archaeologists discovered traces of hallucinogenic substances used over 3,000 years by the Philistines living in ancient Yavneh, Israel, revealing a drug culture that is believed to have revolved...

3 August, 2018 - 22:42 Riley Winters

The Misnomer of Gypsies: The Real History of the Romani People

Colloquially, and rather insultingly, known as 'gypsies', the history and culture of the Romani people is surrounded by stereotypes and misnomers, none more damningly pervasive than Esméralda from...

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...

16 April, 2018 - 22:55 Birdog

Stone Hatchet Man & The Troubling Unfinished Journeys to the Spirit World for Native American Bones

It was July of 1923, and a hot day in Clearlake Park, California. Charles Hesse had been excavating a pit for his new septic tank all morning. Just before lunch, Charlie dug a good-sized, waist deep...

Pages

Myths & Legends

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

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

The Epic of Gilgamesh is regarded as one of mankind’s greatest literary and historical works. Many authors have studied the text in an effort to explain the nature of Gilgamesh’s tyranny and his erratic behavior.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

Decoding Viking Signs: Nine Norse Symbols Explained

Skaði, The Norse ‘Giantess’ with a Godly Vendetta

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

The Menhune of Hawaii – Ancient Race or Fictional Fairytale?

Human Origins

Work using the Statue of Gilgamesh and Lamassu. Source: CC BY 4.0

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

Part 1 of this interpretation of the epic told of the birth of Gilgamesh, his tyrannical rule and the creation of a being to rival his power and also become his companion.

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

Unity in Diversity: Studies Reveal Surprising Stories for the Genes of Ancient Hindus and Jews

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

Drugs in Ancient Cultures: A History of Drug Use and Effects

Ancient Technology

The passage of carts over decades could cause ruts (like the one shown), particularly in high-traffic areas of Pompeii.

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

The buried city of Pompeii continues to provide many insights into Roman society , economy, and culture. The ash and pumice , that fell on Pompeii from Mount Vesuvius , froze the city in time. A...

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

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

The Evidence is Cut in Stone: A Compelling Argument for Lost High Technology in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Places

The destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria

Alexandria, one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, was founded by Alexander the Great after his conquest of Egypt in 332 BC. After the death of Alexander in Babylon in 323 BC, Egypt fell to...

Explaining the Fall of the Great Akkadian Empire

The Ain Dara Temple and the giant footsteps of the Gods

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

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

The Construction of Venice, the Floating City

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.

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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.