games

21 December, 2018 - 14:02 dhwty

The Enigmatic Ancient Royal Game of Ur – Will We Ever Understand It?

The Royal Game of Ur (known also as the Game of Twenty Squares) is a board game from ancient Mesopotamia. This two-player game is one of the oldest known board games and was immensely popular in the...

Two hand-painted Mamluk playing cards and two Venetian playing cards.

22 August, 2018 - 15:40 dhwty

Before They Were Divination Tools, Tarot Cards Were Playing Cards

In the English-speaking world, the word ‘tarot’ is most commonly associated with the occult and divination. It is one of the oldest forms of fortune telling, although its origins are somewhat obscure...

10 July, 2018 - 21:18 Riley Winters

Be Careful What You Wish For: Ouija Boards Unraveled

Ouija boards—also called spirit boards or talking boards—have been part of various cultures long before the introduction of the "game" in the 19 th century. "Ouija", in fact, is the name of the game...

Jain version Game of Snakes & Ladders called jnana bazi or Gyan bazi, India, 19th century, Gouache on cloth.

7 May, 2018 - 18:50 dhwty

The Origin of Snakes and Ladders: A Moral Guide of Vice and Virtue

The game of Snakes and Ladders is today considered a classic, and is loved by children from all over the world. Whilst the game itself is known my most people, its origin is less well-known. As a...

A Greek amphora showing athletes, 4th century BC. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

22 February, 2018 - 01:45 ancient-origins

Mythbusting Ancient Rome: Did Christians Ban The Ancient Olympics?

Every two years, when the Winter or Summer Olympics comes around, we hear about how the games staged at Olympia in Greece since 776 BC came to a sudden end in the late fourth century AD. The finger...

George Catlin, Tchung-kee, a Mandan Game Played with a Ring and Pole", 1832-3.

9 February, 2018 - 02:02 ancient origins

Ancient North Americans Played High-stakes Games

University of California, Santa Barbara From games of chance to tests of physical skill, ancient North America Indians took their sport and recreation seriously, research shows. “Games are ubiquitous...

25 December, 2016 - 21:51 Natalia Klimczak

Fun for Everyone: The Evolving History of Board Games

The delightful hobby of playing games isn't a modern invention. While people in ancient times didn't have Pokemon Go to entertain themselves, they still spent hours of fun games both inside and...

A tomb of athletes at Taranto. Inset: The skeleton of the ancient athlete found at Taranto

11 August, 2016 - 00:46 Mark Miller

2,500-Year-Old Skeleton is Oldest Known Remains of a Panathenaic Athlete

In ancient Greece, successful athletes were rich and celebrated like they are today. Evidence for this comes in the form of the oldest known skeleton of a young athlete, buried with rich honors at...

15 May, 2016 - 14:43 dhwty

Tracing the Origins of the Infamous Ouija Board

The Ouija board (known also as a Spirit board or Talking board) is a type of board commonly believed to enable its users to communicate with the spirit world. A Ouija board usually has the letters of...

23 January, 2016 - 00:49 Theodoros Karasavvas

Pankration: A Deadly Martial Art Form from Ancient Greece

Pankration was one of the most popular combat sports in ancient Greece. It combined two other popular sports of antiquity, wrestling and boxing, but kicking was allowed as well. The name Pankration...

Dramatic painting portraying gladiators in the arena. Jean-Léon Gérôme's 1872.

30 July, 2015 - 04:04 Fiona McCoss

The Real Lives of the Gladiators of Rome – The Unfathomable Sport of Life and Death

Roman gladiators are some of the most iconic characters in history and have defined how we think of entertainment in ancient Rome. Their portrayal in films and stories has turned them into archetypal...

7 June, 2015 - 03:51 Mark Miller

Ancient Roman Tunnel from Gladiator Training School to Colosseum set to be Revived

Authorities hope to preserve some ancient Roman history with the restoration of a tunnel that runs from a gladiator training school to the Colosseum, where brutal gladiatorial bouts took place. Parts...

Myths & Legends

Baphomet: Was the Diabolical Demon Really Worshipped by Knights Templars?

Baphomet is the demonic entity allegedly worshipped by the Knights Templars who later became a symbol for Satanic worship. During the Inquisition of the Templars in the 14th century, the knights were falsely accused of worshipping this figure.

The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter

The Black Book - Source of Devils Magic that Wizards Wager Their Soul to Obtain

The Wooing of Etain: An Irish Tale of Love, Loss, and Jealousy

The symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000-year-old history

The Legendary Kraken

Human Origins

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Sumer, or the ‘land of civilized kings’, flourished in Mesopotamia, now modern-day Iraq, around 4500 BC. Sumerians created an advanced civilization with its own system of elaborate language and writing, architecture and arts, astronomy and mathematics.

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

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

Forensic Facial Reconstruction: The Journey to Connect with our Ancestors

The human skull that challenges the Out of Africa theory

The Secret Life of an Ancient Concubine

Ancient Technology

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

The Norimitsu Odachi is a huge sword from Japan. It is so large, in fact, that it was said to have been wielded by a giant. Apart from the basic knowledge of it having been forged in the 15th century AD, measuring 3.77 meters (12.37 ft.) in length, and weighing as much as 14.5 kg (31.97 lbs.), this impressive sword is shrouded in mystery.

Robots Guarded Buddha’s Relics in a Legend of Ancient India

The Indian Sage who developed Atomic Theory 2,600 years ago

Boggling Bannerstones of Ancient Americans: Were They a Function of Flight or More a Flight of Fancy?

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

A Step Closer to the Mysterious Origin of the Viking Sword Ulfberht

Ancient Places

Palmerston Island part of the Cook Islands.

Populating Palmerston Island: One Man, Three Wives and A Desert Island Paradise

Palmerston Island is part of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. This island is one of the six main islands located on a coral atoll and is the only one that is inhabited. Palmerston Island is one of the most isolated places on earth, and almost all of its inhabitants today are related to each other, as they are all descended from one Englishman who settled there about 150 years ago.

Nsongezi Rock Shelter Offers Proof of Stone Age Craftsmen

Khajuraho: The Sexiest Temples in India

The White Slaves of Barbary

The Mysterious Prehistoric Triple Burial of Dolni Vestonice

How Ancient People Marked the Equinox Around the World

Opinion

The astronomical ceiling at the Pronaos, Detail of the first Band west from the center. From left to right: two wind creatures (the winged ram with four heads personifies the south wind), the snake- and frog-headed eight goddesses and gods of the Ogdoad who ruled the cosmos before the creation of the world and Osiris seated on a throne sails across the sky as personification of the full moon accompanied by the seated goddesses Nephtys (left) and Isis on the right (Maat stands near the bow of the ship). Siri

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

In Egypt, Sirius was the Star of Isis, Isis being the companion and rescuer of the god Osiris. In a very deep way, Osiris was Egypt.

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

Alchemy and Generating Lifeforce —Global Temples Made in the Shape of Lingams: Shaivite Bull Cult Part II

From Green Man to Bull Son, The Universal Shaivite Bull Cult – Part I

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.