disease

Preparation of a corpse, Florentine Codex Book 3

21 February, 2017 - 13:54 Mark Miller

New Study Finds Salmonella Brought by Europeans Caused Epidemic that Wiped Out 80% of the Aztecs

For years, historians and scientists have said that much of the population of the New World died from infectious diseases brought by Europeans, for which the natives had little or no natural bodily...

18 February, 2017 - 02:04 Alicia McDermott

Have Researchers Discovered What Caused the 16th Century Mexican Epidemic That Killed Over 80% of the Population?

A pair of recently published studies point the finger at a deadly form of salmonella as the cause of millions of deaths in a 16th century Mexican epidemic outbreak. This cocoliztli (pestilence in...

8 February, 2017 - 19:07 Veronica Parkes

Said to Cure Everything but Death, These Seeds are an Ancient Miracle Cure

The black cumin seed or “Nigella Sativa” has been revered as a miracle cure for a vast amount of illnesses and ailments throughout the ages and across many cultures. The plant is indigenous to the...

6 February, 2017 - 21:09 Veronica Parkes

The Ancient ‘Plant of Immortality’ That Treats Over 50 Medical Conditions

Known as “the plant of immortality” by the Ancient Egyptians, and treasured by numerous subsequent cultures, aloe vera it still known today for its many health benefits. For millennia it has been...

31 January, 2017 - 02:00 dhwty

When Millions Were Dropping Dead From the Plague, The 14 Holy Helpers Were Summoned to Intercede

The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together in the Roman Catholic Church. Veneration of this group of saints (known also as auxiliary saints) began during the 14th century, as...

16 January, 2017 - 21:49 Theodoros Karasavvas

Explorers That Found Ancient Lost City of the Monkey God Almost Lose Their Faces to Flesh-Eating Parasite

The group of explorers that discovered the remains of an ancient city in the jungle of Honduras while hunting for the legendary lost city of La Ciudad Blanca (‘White City’), otherwise known as City...

30 December, 2016 - 00:49 Theodoros Karasavvas

Ancient Chinese Remedy Could Wipe Out Tuberculosis

A team of researchers have recently found that centuries-old herbal medicine, discovered by Chinese scientists to cure malaria, could also aid in tuberculosis treatment and even slow drug resistance...

7 December, 2016 - 03:47 Mark Miller

Researchers Find Evidence for Deadly Malaria in Imperial Rome 2000 Years Ago

Biologists and other academics have long debated whether there was malaria in ancient Rome, and recent analysis of teeth of human remains from the time has confirmed it, says a story just published...

Aerial view of Thebes' Ramesseum, showing pylons and secondary buildings and the Medical Papyri.

2 December, 2016 - 14:50 Natalia Klimczak

Revealing the Ramesseum Medical Papyri and Other Remarkable Finds from the Temple of Ramesses II

The mortuary temple of Ramesses II is one of the most magnificent temples in the Theban necropolis in Upper Egypt. It was discovered by Jean-Francois Champollion, the same man who deciphered the...

22 November, 2016 - 21:52 Mark Miller

Experts Try to Solve Mystery of Thousands of Ancient Clay Body Parts Strewn Across Italy

Not quite two centuries after researchers and healers started making huge strides in medicine, some diseases stubbornly elude cures. In these cases, many people resort to imploring God to heal...

The embellished mummy case containing the remains of the priest Iret-hor-iru

29 July, 2016 - 00:55 Natalia Klimczak

CT Scans of Mummy of an Ancient Priest Reveal He Was Stricken with Modern Diseases

The mummy of an ancient Egyptian man from 2,200 years ago was recently scanned by researchers. The results proved that the man, who lived during the reign of the Ptolemies, had weak bones and tooth...

A 16th century bezoar in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienne

24 July, 2016 - 22:25 Mark Miller

Bezoars: The Sought After Ancient Jewels Made from Animal Stomach Growths

There is an urban legend fueled by the movie Beverly Hills Cop that people have around 5 pounds of undigested meat in their stomach by the time they are middle-aged. Not so. But bezoars, which are...

15 April, 2016 - 00:49 ancient-origins

Neanderthals May have been Infected by Diseases carried out of Africa by Humans, say Researchers

A review of the latest genetic evidence suggests infectious diseases are tens of thousands of years older than previously thought, and that they could jump between species of ‘hominin’. Researchers...

14 April, 2016 - 00:56 Marilo

Research Suggests that Monogamy Took Hold Due to Sexually Transmitted Diseases

In the animal world, monogamy refers to a pair that have an exclusive sexual relationship during the period of breeding and rearing of offspring. With respect to humans, it is a model of affective-...

Mummy portrait of bearded man, encaustic on wood, Royal Museum of Scotland. Excavated in Hawara, Egypt in 1911.

15 February, 2016 - 21:54 Natalia Klimczak

Fayum Mummy Portraits Expose Information About Precise Painting Techniques and Possible Neurological Disorders

A group of researchers has uncovered telling clues about the underlying surface shapes and colors of 15 Fayum mummy portraits created during the Greco-Roman and Coptic periods in Egypt. Their...

The new study says that Neanderthal DNA influences many physical traits in people of European and Asian heritage.

12 February, 2016 - 21:52 Mark Miller

Study Casts New Light on Diseases We Inherited from Neanderthals

Feeling depressed? Can’t kick the tobacco habit? Sun causing skin lesions? Allergies bothering you? Some people of today may blame their Neanderthal ancestry in part for some of these health problems...

Pages

Myths & Legends

Quetzalcoatl, detail. Source: Manzanedo/Deviant Art

The Real Story of the ‘Bearded God’ Named Quetzalcoatl

Many myths have cropped up in the centuries since Columbus landed upon the shores of Hispaniola. While some of these myths have come to be seen for what they are, many more persist in the zeitgeist as fact.

Cossack-Sorcerers: The Secretive and Magical Warrior Society of Ukraine

Of Runes And Sacrifice: The Initiation Ritual Of Odin in Norse Myth

The Last of the Siberian Unicorns: What Happened to the Mammoth-Sized One-Horned Beasts of Legend?

Unravelling the True Story of the Legendary Trojan Horse

The Jade Emperor: Taoist Ruler of Heaven - and Celestial Bureaucrat

Human Origins

Rembrandt - Christ with Hands Folded (Public Domain), and Nivedita, Sister - the Departure of Siddhartha

The Christ And The Buddha: How Can You Explain the Uncanny Similarities?

Buddhism and Christianity arose independently of each other, separated as they were by almost 3,000 miles and at least 500 years. In terms of religious belief systems they are even farther apart.

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

Religion Isn’t The Enemy of Science: It’s Been Inspiring Scientists for Centuries

Asherah: God’s Forgotten Wife

The Theory of ‘Three Human Species’

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

Ancient Technology

Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked!

Although we still cannot accurately predict earthquakes, we have come a long way in detecting, recording, and measuring seismic shocks. Many don’t realise that this process began nearly 2000 years...

An Unbreakable Story: The Lost Roman Invention of Flexible Glass

Romans Mastered Nanotechnology and Used it for Eye Catching Decoration

Egyptian Blue – The Oldest Known Artificial Pigment

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

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

Ancient Places

The circular structure was first detected in a sonar survey of part of the sea in the summer of 2003.

Enormous Underwater Structure in the Sea of Galilee is a Mystery to Archaeologists

A gigantic monument at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee, as well as several mysterious structures, including a gigantic stone wheel and a moon-shaped monument, were recently found in northern Israel...

The Colossal Hand of Hercules, So Where is the Rest of Him?

5,600-Year-Old Ceremonial Center Found Near Stonehenge, Built 1,000 Years Before Stone Circle was Erected

Dumbarton Castle: Ancient Stronghold and Symbol of Scottish Defiance

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

The Hidden History Of Egypt: Khemitology

Opinion

Petroglyphic Features of Portable Rock Art

Paleo rock art from around the world ranges in style, method, and age, and includes cave paintings, petroglyphs, pictographs, polished and engraved stones such as effigies, stone sculptures, and portable ceremonial objects.

The Northern Mysteries Current: Futhark and Mystery Schools of the Viking Age

Was There Ever a Trojan War?

Floki and the Viking Discovery of Iceland

Messiah on Temple Mount: Are We Nearing the End of Time?

3 Problems to Remember When Trying to Find Atlantis

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.