funerary

28 July, 2018 - 22:59 ancient-origins

Nine Weird and Wonderful Facts about Death and Funeral Practices

It might not be something you want to think about very often, but it turns out that the way we treat our dead in the modern age is heavily influenced by the way our ancestors treated theirs. When you...

16 July, 2018 - 22:58 Mark Oliver

Mimes, Paid Grievers, and Masks: The Insane Theatrics of Ancient Roman Funerals

Two thousand years ago, funerals weren’t the quiet, somber affairs we have today. They were loud, boisterous shows that started with a massive procession of people parading down the streets, pounding...

A Pachacamac mummy/ Peter Eeckhout with burial face mask.

25 May, 2018 - 18:59 Ed Whelan

Exceptional Mummy Unearthed Giving Insights into the Incan Rule

A team of archaeologists from the Université libre de Bruxelles's has uncovered a 1000-year-old mummy at an excavation in Pachacamac, on Peru’s Pacific coast. After a dig of nine weeks the team at...

ANU Archaeologist Dr Catherine Frieman & co-director James Lewis with funerary pot in situ.

21 May, 2018 - 22:57 ancient-origins

Cornish Barrow Dig Uncovers 4,000-year-old Human Burial

An archaeologist from The Australian National University (ANU) has hailed her excavation of a Bronze Age burial mound in south west England a huge success with the discovery of an intact 4,000 year...

Top image: Archaeologists looking at aerial photography found what they thought to be a hidden long barrow, or Neolithic burial chamber, hidden beneath a wheat field.

22 November, 2017 - 02:02 ancient-origins

No Bones Provides a New Perspective for ‘House of the Dead’

This summer, the University of Reading Archaeology Field School excavated one of the most extraordinary sites we have ever had the pleasure of investigating. The site is an Early Neolithic long...

Famadihana reburial, ‘turning of the bones’ in Madagascar

27 October, 2017 - 01:59 aprilholloway

Plague Epidemic in Madagascar May be Spread by Dancing with the Dead Ritual

The Malagasy people of Madagascar have built a way of life around death – during the dry winter months, famadihana ceremonies, known as “the turning of the bones” and “dancing with the dead”, take...

The Chavola of the Sorceress, Dolmen in Alava, Spain

6 October, 2017 - 01:52 ancient-origins

Neolithic Bones Reveal Socio-economic and Cultural Differences are Nothing New For Spain

The researcher Teresa Fernández-Crespo, lead author of this study, had in a previous piece of work found demographic differences between the people buried in dolmens and those buried in caves: while...

David Tanami, an Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist, works his way into the narrow tomb opening to bring out a jar at a Canaanite burial site near Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo.

28 September, 2017 - 22:50 Theodoros Karasavvas

4,000-Year-Old Canaanite Burial Included a Jar of Decapitated Toads

Archaeologists discovered the peculiar inclusion of the remains of nine headless toads inside a well-preserved jar positioned carefully inside a 4,000-year-old tomb in Jerusalem, Israel. Experts...

The five Roman tombs found at the Beir Al-Shaghala site in the Dakhla Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert.

24 August, 2017 - 23:01 Alicia McDermott

Roman Era Tombs Discovered in Egypt Reveal Diverse Trends in Burial Architecture and Grave Goods

Not all Egyptian tombs are alike. Apart from the impact of social status, there is also a difference in architectural styles and burial preferences over the long history of their existence. This can...

A funerary garden discovered by CSIC's research team.

5 May, 2017 - 01:54 ancient-origins

A First-Ever Find in Egypt: 4,000-Year-Old Funerary Garden at Tomb Entrance

The Djehuty Project, led by research professor, José Manuel Galán, from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), has discovered a 4,000-year-old funerary garden- the first such garden ever to be...

16 December, 2016 - 21:47 Mark Miller

2,000-Year-Old Meat Soup Found in Chinese Nobleman’s Tomb

Ancient remnants of oxen stew partially preserved in a cauldron, have been found in the tomb of a Chinese nobleman. The tomb, in Henan Province near the city of Xinyang, dates back about 2,000 years...

A group of Trinovantes at a graveside in Colchester by Peter Froste.

14 December, 2016 - 14:47 Natalia Klimczak

The So-Called Druid of Colchester: Physician, Mystical Man, or Both?

In 1996, a team of researchers unearthed a unique burial of a mysterious man. The odd remains and specific funerary equipment thrilled the archaeologists. Was the man who lived 2,000 years ago an...

29 November, 2016 - 14:58 Alicia McDermott

Evidence of Gruesome 9,500-Year-Old Funerary Rites Found in Brazil

Evidence of complex and gruesome funeral rites found in the Lapa do Santo cave in Brazil have shocked researchers yet again. The researchers have discovered evidence of the mutilation of corpses,...

25 October, 2016 - 00:46 Natalia Klimczak

The Prehistoric Feast of the Cannibals of Gough’s Cave

A new study that examined cut marks on bones in order to distinguish between cannibalism and ritualistic defleshing practices have determined that a very morbid feast took place 15,000 years ago in...

14 July, 2016 - 00:48 Mark Miller

Rock-Cut Tombs in Turkey May be Part of Largest Necropolis in the World

Large tombs cut into rock of the hill upon which sits Urfa Castle in Sanliurfa, Turkey, may have been meant for members of a royal family, archaeologists report. The tombs are in an area that Turkish...

Deriv; Silbury Hill, Avebury, UK. Inset, the humble earthworm

7 April, 2016 - 21:26 Colin Berry

Was Neolithic Silbury Hill Designed as a Welcoming Home for Omnivorous, Upwardly-Mobile Earthworms?

Silbury Hill, said to be the largest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe, looms over the landscape. Yet so little is understood about this enigmatic British site. However, surprising as it may seem...

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Myths & Legends

The grotto of the seven sleepers from the Menologion of Basil II. Source: Public domain

The Ancient Grotto of the Seven Sleepers

The short story Rip Van Winkle, written in 1819 by the American writer Washington Irving, is about a man who woke up after a sleep of more than two decades.

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

Beware the Wandering Wilas of Slavic Mythology

If Not Valhalla, Goddess Freyja Welcomed Viking Warriors to Folkvangr

‘First Kings’ Myths From Around the World: How Do They Compare?

The ancient origins of the legendary griffin

Human Origins

Comic illustration of previous industrial civilizations on Earth.

We think we're the first advanced earthlings - but how do we really know?

Imagine if, many millions of years ago, dinosaurs drove cars through cities of mile-high buildings. A preposterous idea, right? Over the course of tens of millions of years, however, all of the direct evidence of a civilization -- its artifacts and remains -- gets ground to dust.

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

Neanderthal-Human Sex Caused a Million Covid Deaths

‘First Kings’ Myths From Around the World: How Do They Compare?

Top Ten Myths about Neanderthals

The Theory of ‘Three Human Species’

Ancient Technology

Mammoth in the Royal BC Museum in Victoria (Canada). The display is from 1979, and the fur is musk ox hair.

Surprising Stone Age Knowledge Revealed on a Mammoth Bone Bracelet

In Sivershchina, close to the village of Mizyn in Ukraine is one of the oldest and most unique settlements of humans – and it was discovered in a parking lot. The now well-known archaeological site, known plainly as the Mizyn parking lot, dates back 18-20 thousand years.

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

Ancient Egyptian Weapons: The Evolution of Warfare

Britain’s Earliest Humans Found In the Suburbs of Canterbury

150,000-Year-Old Pipes Baffle Scientists in China: Out of Place in Time?

What’s a Viking Sword? What’s not? The Distinctions of Norse Weaponry

Ancient Places

New Evidence Ancient Chinese Explorers Landed in America Excites Experts

John A. Ruskamp Jr., Ed.D., reports that he has identified an outstanding, history-changing treasure hidden in plain sight. High above a walking path in Albuquerque’s Petroglyph National Monument, Ruskamp spotted petroglyphs that struck him as unusual. After consulting with experts on Native American rock writing and ancient Chinese scripts to corroborate his analysis,

30,000-Year-Old Baby Mammoth Is The Most Preserved Mammoth Ever Found in America

Surprising Stone Age Knowledge Revealed on a Mammoth Bone Bracelet

Buried Beneath the Sand, The Ziggurat of Jiroft May be Largest and Oldest of its Kind in the World

Kesh: The Caves of Legends And Ireland’s Beautiful Entryway To Middle Earth

The Spectacular Ancient Megaliths of the Ural Mountains

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.

funerary

Nine Weird and Wonderful Facts about Death and Funeral Practices

Mimes, Paid Grievers, and Masks: The Insane Theatrics of Ancient Roman Funerals

Exceptional Mummy Unearthed Giving Insights into the Incan Rule

Cornish Barrow Dig Uncovers 4,000-year-old Human Burial

No Bones Provides a New Perspective for ‘House of the Dead’

Plague Epidemic in Madagascar May be Spread by Dancing with the Dead Ritual

Neolithic Bones Reveal Socio-economic and Cultural Differences are Nothing New For Spain

4,000-Year-Old Canaanite Burial Included a Jar of Decapitated Toads

Roman Era Tombs Discovered in Egypt Reveal Diverse Trends in Burial Architecture and Grave Goods

A First-Ever Find in Egypt: 4,000-Year-Old Funerary Garden at Tomb Entrance

2,000-Year-Old Meat Soup Found in Chinese Nobleman’s Tomb

The So-Called Druid of Colchester: Physician, Mystical Man, or Both?

Evidence of Gruesome 9,500-Year-Old Funerary Rites Found in Brazil

The Prehistoric Feast of the Cannibals of Gough’s Cave

Rock-Cut Tombs in Turkey May be Part of Largest Necropolis in the World

Was Neolithic Silbury Hill Designed as a Welcoming Home for Omnivorous, Upwardly-Mobile Earthworms?

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