etymology

The word 'happy' has Old Norse origins

19 February, 2021 - 02:59 Theodoros Karasavvas

Talk Like a Viking! 10 Everyday English Words with Old Norse Origins

Did you know that many words we use today such as “husband,” “happy,” and “egg” are of Old Norse origin? No? Well, this isn’t surprising, as in the minds of many people the Vikings were nothing but a...

Beltane Fire Festival Celebrations.

9 May, 2019 - 01:23 Kerry Sullivan

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

As more and more people describe themselves as ‘spiritual’ rather than religious, experts expect eco-friendly pagan movements will continue to grow. Already there are perhaps a million pagans in the...

Napoleon's Return from Elba, by Charles Auguste Guillaume Steuben. Napoleon walk between the two forces and said if they were to kill their emperor; they were to do it now. Chauvinism was originally a term applied to veteran soldiers who served under Napoleon

21 April, 2019 - 14:02 dhwty

What is Chauvinism? Tracing the Term from the Legendary Nicolas Chauvin to Misogyny

In the modern world, a chauvinist is a person who has “excessive or prejudiced support for one's own cause, group, or sex”. Before this, the word ‘ chauvinism ’ had a narrower scope, and was used...

Apadana Hall, fifth-century BC carving of Persian archers and Median soldiers in traditional costume (Medians are wearing rounded hats and boots)

13 September, 2016 - 01:58 Cam Rea

Kings of the Umman Manda (Media): Their Hidden Origins and History – Part I

The term Medes, as a single ethnic group that encompasses all Media, is generic. It seems that the region of Media encompassed many smaller and independent principalities ruled by chieftains instead...

Cernunnos,"The Horned One" - Paganism

9 November, 2014 - 00:53 Riley Winters

The true meaning of Paganism

The word "paganism" has come to refer to various pre-Christian religions belonging to a number of ancient cultures—those from Greece, Rome, Egypt, Scandinavia, and so on. It has come to also...

Top New Stories

Wars of the Diadochi: Alexander the Great’s Generals Fight For Spoils

Wars of the Diadochi: Alexander the Great’s Generals Fight For Spoils

As Alexander the Great slipped away on his deathbed on June 10-11th 323 BC, the iconoclastic emperor, whose remarkable achievements would be imitated by countless impersonators throughout history

Harran, City of Sin, Crusaders And Caliphs

First Complete DNA Sequencing Unveils Truth of Pompeii Victim

Gold Coin Minted by Assassins of Julius Caesar To Sell For Millions

Home to 20,000, But Who Built it? The Underground City of Derinkuyu

Roman Graffiti Shows Carved Phallus With Insult Found at Vindolanda Fort

Myths & Legends

Legendary Black Knights: Mysterious Medieval Entities of Neutrality

Legendary Black Knights: Mysterious Medieval Entities of Neutrality

Black Knights began to appear in history during the Middle Ages. Since the 13th century, a series of legends mentioning the mysterious Black Knights emerged. Although the Black Knights were said to...

The Penteli Cave Enigma – A Place of Unexplained Phenomena Since Ancient Times

Viking Berserkers – Fierce Warriors or Drug-Fuelled Madmen?

The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: Ancient Origins of the Often Used Legend – Part I

Talos of Crete: A 2,000-Year-Old Tale of the First Robot God

The Origins of the Faeries: Encoded in our Cultures – Part I

Human Origins

A modern human, left, and Neanderthal woman, right.

Research Confirms That 20% of the Neanderthal Genome Can Be Found In Modern Humans

Though it was disputed for many years, there is conclusive evidence that Neanderthals bred with modern humans (Homo sapiens). The first complete mapping of a Neanderthal genome took place about five years ago - supporting the human-Neanderthal hook-up and also showing that Neanderthal DNA in humans is a thing.

Dark Skin and Blue Eyes: European Hunter-Gatherers Did Not Fit with Common Representations

The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: Ancient Origins of the Often Used Legend – Part I

The Origins of the Faeries: Encoded in our Cultures – Part I

Peking Man and China’s Paleontological Nationalism

3: The Perfect Number - Trinity Symbolism in World Religious Traditions

Ancient Technology

Grinding stone, Dendera Temple, Egypt.

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

Most people know of the great construction achievements of the dynastic Egyptians such as the pyramids and temples of the Giza Plateau area as well as the Sphinx. Many books and videos show depictions of vast work forces hewing blocks of stone in the hot desert sun and carefully setting them into place.

Near-Pristine Bronze Age Spear Dated Over 3,000 Years Found in Britain

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

Ancient Maya Tooth Bling Was Also Good for Oral Hygiene!

Surprising Stone Age Knowledge Revealed on a Mammoth Bone Bracelet

1,200-Year-Old Telephone, Amazing Invention of the Ancient Chimu Civilization

Ancient Places

Pompeii man and woman discovered in the Casa de Fabbro, or House of the Crafsman, in a photograph taken in 1934. Source: Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità

First Complete DNA Sequencing Unveils Truth of Pompeii Victim

The skeletons of a man and woman discovered around 100 years ago, as they were trying to survive the notorious Mount Vesuvius eruption of 79 AD, have been put under the scanner by scientists.

Buried for One Thousand Years: The Eerie Graveyard of the Vikings

Over 100 Indigenous Settlements North of Hadrian’s Wall Discovered

Home to 20,000, But Who Built it? The Underground City of Derinkuyu

Wars of the Diadochi: Alexander the Great’s Generals Fight For Spoils

Strange ‘Huddled’ Skeletons Discovered in Berenice Troglodytica Tombs

Opinion

The Coming Gnostic Civilization, and his most recent book, Sedona: City of the Star People.

The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: Ancient Origins of the Often Used Legend – Part I

What is the origin of the legend of the Christed Son who was born of a virgin on December 25th? I am sure you are familiar with his legend which states that he was born in a manger surrounded by shepherds

Library in Stone: The Ica Stones of Professor Cabrera – Part I

Two Sides to Every Story: The North American Martyrs Shrines and Indigenous/ Roman Catholic Relations

The Origins of the Faeries: Encoded in our Cultures – Part I

Curse of the Buried Pearl: The Hunt for Ancient Treasures – Part I

The Enigma of the Shugborough Inscription

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 exist 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.

Ancient Image Galleries

View from the Castle Gate (Burgtor). (Public Domain)

Door surrounded by roots of Tetrameles nudiflora in the Khmer temple of Ta Phrom, Angkor temple complex, located today in Cambodia. (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Cable car in the Xihai (West Sea) Grand Canyon (CC BY-SA 4.0)