fossils

Future archaeologists will find mainly neatly arranged human remains, study says. Source: milkovasa / Adobe Stock

10 January, 2020 - 12:04 ashley cowie

Future Archaeologists Will Mainly Discover Rows of Humans

A US scientist predicts that a yet-to-evolve intelligent species testing the fossil record on Earth will find mainly humans, lined up in rows. The new paper outlined in the journal The Anthropocene...

300,000-year-old fossils of as many as 16 individual human ancestors have been found in a collapsed cave in China. Here is a reconstruction of a skull found at the site. Source: Wu Xiujie and Erik Trinkaus

25 May, 2019 - 22:11 Ed Whelan

Pleistocene Skull and 300,000 Years of Evolution Secrets Found in a Chinese Cave

In China, paleontologists have announced a very important discovery of human fossils and artifacts. They have uncovered a large number of fossils of early relatives of modern humans in a cave. The...

Fossil site preserves animals killed within minutes of 66-million-year-old meteor impact.

2 April, 2019 - 13:59 ancient-origins

66-Million-year-old Deathbed Linked to Dinosaur-Annihilating Meteor

Fossilized fish piled one atop another, suggesting that they were flung ashore and died stranded together on a sand bar after the wave from the seiche withdrew. The beginning of the end started with...

DNA molecule spiral structure with unique connection.

24 January, 2019 - 22:43 ancient-origins

Study Proves Human Mutation Rate Is Slower Than Believed Posing New Date For Human-Neanderthal Separation

By Christina Troelsen / Science Daily Researchers from Aarhus University, Denmark, and Copenhagen Zoo have discovered that the human mutation rate is significantly slower than for our closest primate...

24 December, 2018 - 23:08 Caleb Strom

Medusa, The Lake That Turns Flesh Into Stone

In a remote part of northern Tanzania in Africa there is a mysterious lake. The water is so caustic that it can burn the skin and eyes of unprepared creatures. Its shores are littered with the...

21 December, 2018 - 23:04 Ed Whelan

Dinosaur Footprints of Unimaginable Age Found Romping Along England’s Coastline

Experts in the United Kingdom have announced a major discovery of dinosaur footprints , that are at least 100 million years old and possibly older. The prints were found in Hastings, Sussex on the...

Joggins Fossil Cliff (apogee_krd / Fotolia)

22 October, 2018 - 23:06 Ed Whelan

Joggins Fossil Cliffs: Uniquely Preserved Fossils and Primeval Forest are Immensely Significant

Fossils and other remnants from the prehistoric past can usually be only seen in museums. There are, however, some unique sites where visitors can see them in nature and one of these remarkable areas...

: Human teeth from Qesem Cave. Credit: Prof. Israel Hershkovitz, Tel Aviv University

19 June, 2018 - 17:49 aprilholloway

Ancient teeth reveal evidence of 400,000 year-old manmade pollution in Israel

A multi-national team of researchers found the first known case of manmade pollution in a cave in Israel. The evidence was found in the hardened dental plaque of 400,000-year-old teeth, which had...

Artists impression of a giant sloth being confronted by human hunters. Credit: Alex McClelland, Bournemouth University

1 May, 2018 - 02:00 ancient-origins

How to Hunt a Giant Sloth – Ancient Tactics Revealed in Human Footprints

Rearing on its hind legs, the giant ground sloth would have been a formidable prey for anyone, let alone humans without modern weapons. Tightly muscled, angry and swinging its fore legs tipped with...

A sample of flint tools found in the Barranc de la Boella site

16 June, 2016 - 21:49 Marilo

Scraping Up Prehistory in Iberia: Million-Year-Old Flint Tools Found in Spain

Excavations being carried out at the site of La Boella Creek, Tarragona, Spain are bringing to light a world packed with diverse, ancient, and large mammals. The archaeological remains found at this...

Heinrich Harder's painting of the so-called Siberian Unicorn.

2 April, 2016 - 21:48 ancient-origins

Researchers Find Siberian ‘Unicorn’ Fossil Fragments in Kazakhstan, Say Creature Lived Much Longer Than Thought

By Epoch Newsroom / The Epoch Times Researchers have found fossil fragments that indicate the so-called Siberian Unicorn last walked the Earth a mere 29,000 years ago. The updated timeline is a huge...

A. afarensis reconstruction, an adult left ulna of Australopithecus afarensis. Several fossilized teeth have also been found in the Kantis site. Credit: Image courtesy of Kyoto University

25 March, 2016 - 23:46 ancient-origins

Australopithecus Fossils Found East of the Great Rift Valley

New fossils from Kenya suggest that an early hominid species -- Australopithecus afarensis -- lived far eastward beyond the Great Rift Valley and much farther than previously thought. An...

A reconstruction of a male of our evolutionary cousin the Neanderthals (Modified from an image by Cicero Moraes).

25 March, 2016 - 02:44 ancient-origins

A Golden Age of Ancient DNA Science Begins

If I had taken a straw poll among anthropologists 10 years ago asking them how far genetic research would come in the next decade, I doubt anyone would have come close to predicting the big impact...

Artist’s reconstruction of a Red Deer Cave man.

20 December, 2015 - 01:01 ancient-origins

Bone suggests Red Deer Cave people were a mysterious species of human

It has been an exciting year for human evolution with several discoveries dramatically rewriting major episodes of our ancient past. Some of this progress stems from major advances in fields like...

10 April, 2015 - 22:13 lizleafloor

Prehistoric Skull and Jaw Found in Laos Rewrite Timelines and Reveal Diversity of Early Humans

Ancient human fossils found in a cave in northern Laos are revealing to scientists that early modern humans were quite physically diverse, and they reveal an earlier migration timeline in Southeast...

Forensic facial reconstruction of Homo erectus pekinensis, commonly known at Peking Man.

13 March, 2015 - 22:15 lizleafloor

Tooth from prehistoric woman reveals life and times of Peking Man

A single tooth from a rare and important shipment of fossil finds – forgotten for decades in an unopened box in museum storage – has been rediscovered, and it is giving experts new knowledge about...

Pages

Myths & Legends

Statue of the god Moloch, Turin Cinema Museum.

Was Moloch really Ba’al, the Ancient God Who Demanded Child Sacrifice?

Moloch, or Molech, is well known in the Bible for being the god to whom child sacrifices appear to have been made in a shrine outside the city of Jerusalem.

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

Ragnar Lothbrok: A Real Viking Hero Whose Life Became Lost to Legend

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

Eight Legendary Creatures from Greek Mythology That You Might Not Know About

Batman Existed in Mesoamerican Mythology and His Name Was Camazotz

Human Origins

Evolution includes many now extinct human species.

11 Mysterious Human Species That Most People Don’t Know Existed

Modern humans, Homo Sapiens, are now the only surviving member of the homo genus. It is almost inconceivable to us that there was a time we walked with other human species, but as the science of archaeology has progressed and more findings have been made it has become clear that the homo genus was once rife with different species.

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

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

Easter Island’s Birdman Cult: A Story of Struggle and Survival

Where are Ashkenazi Jews from? Their Origins May Surprise You

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Ancient Technology

Roman weapons were vital to protecting and conquering the ancient world.

Roman Weapons: Sharp Blades to Conquer the Ancient World

The Romans were arguably one of the most successful conquerors of the ancient world.

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

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

Both a Princess and a Priestess, What Did the First Known Author Have to Share with the World?

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

Ancient Places

Ottoman Warrior. Credit: ahmetnkececi / Adobe Stock

The Ottoman Empire: 600 Years of Domination

The Ottoman Empire was one of history’s largest and longest-lasting empires. It was founded around the end of the 13th / beginning of the 14th century and lasted for about six centuries.

The Templar Tunnel: Knight’s Strategic Passageway Was Lost for 700 Years

Seahenge: A Subaquatic Monument of the European Bronze Age

The Macabre Capela dos Ossos: Why was it Decorated with the Dead?

The White Slaves of Barbary

Jantar Mantar – The Ancient Astronomical Observatories of India

Opinion

Naupa Iglesia: An Egyptian Portal in the Andes?

Halfway up a near-vertical ravine in the Andes, someone carved an inverted V-shaped entrance into the mountainside. Then they sliced the bedrock with great precision to create a shallow door that...

The Nephilim: Giant Offspring of the Sons of God and the Daughters of Man?

Mount Shasta: Spirits and Danger on a Sacred California Mountain

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

Changing Colors and Scampering Across the Night Sky: What Did the Ancients Say about Sirius?

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.