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History

From the powerful civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley, to the fearsome yet sophisticated society of the Vikings, the ancient world was a surprising and challenging place. Here we feature some of the most seminal and influential events and people throughout history, that have helped shape the world we know today.

A model of the Ark of the Covenant from biblical description
23 October, 2017 - 15:16 jim willis

The Missing Contents of the Ark of the Covenant: What Was Inside the Ark? (HINT: Not just the 10 Commandments)

Whenever the subject of ancient technology comes up, most people have been conditioned by spectacular movies and TV shows to think right away about the Ark of the Covenant . Some say it was a...
‘An alchemist being tempted by Luxuria.’ Oil painting after Marten de Vos.
21 October, 2017 - 22:52 valdar

Spiritual Alchemy – Casting Light on a Secret Science

Spiritual alchemy is closely linked to secret knowledge and many who have attained this level of wisdom later decided to withdraw from it as they found they were not ready to receive it. The purpose...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji
20 October, 2017 - 15:16 anand balaji

Ostraca: Voices from the Place of Truth—An intimate glimpse into New Kingdom Egypt

Athenians meted out harsh punishments to those who fell afoul of prevalent laws or societal norms. If citizens had done something terrible, they ran the risk of being exiled from the city for up to...
Detail of a man depicted on an Uruk vase, Pergamon Museum. The Uruk civilization arose as it expertly adapted to the new climate.
19 October, 2017 - 18:56 Rob Mcroberts

Rising to the Challenge: Innovative Civilizations Advanced Through Climate Change

Beginning around 90,000 years ago, during an interglacial period, Anatomically Modern Humans were able to take advantage of the favorable climatic conditions and migrate throughout Africa and into...
Open Book Photo
18 October, 2017 - 22:58 Ken Jeremiah

How Much of What We Believe About Ancient History is Really True? Thinking Critically about Myths and Legends

A legend is a tale regarded as historical even though it has not been proven, and the term “myth” can refer to common yet false ideas. Many myths and legends describe our history, but they are often...
Cherry of Zennor broke with ‘reality’ and reached something deeper
18 October, 2017 - 15:28 nrushton

What did Cherry of Zennor See That Altered Her Reality and Shaped Ours? The Deeper Meanings of Faerie Folklore

'Myth is a story that implies a certain way of interpreting consensus reality so to derive meaning and effective charge from its images and interactions. As such, it can take many forms: fables,...
Slaves working in a mine. The sustenance provided by slaves in Ancient Greece meant that citizens had free time to participate in politics.
16 October, 2017 - 15:31 Cam Rea

Did He Create a Blissful Utopia or a Tyrannical Communist Nightmare? Plato’s Ancient Class System and Social Engineering Revealed

Perhaps surprisingly to some, classical Greek philosopher Plato was a social engineer; and he was the first of many “planners” to come. In essence, Plato, who laid the foundations of Western...
Kukeri is a type of wild man in Bulgaria. Rituals with this ‘beast’ are believed to scare away evil spirits.
16 October, 2017 - 14:00 dhwty

Beasts of the Pagan Wild Man Ritual Come in All Shapes and Sizes

The wild man is a creature found in various pagan traditions across Europe. Generally speaking, a wild man is a man dressed up in a beast-like costume for certain pagan rituals, which were normally...
A Puma in the night
13 October, 2017 - 15:33 Jason Jarrell

Ghost Talkers and Puma Men: Adena Totemism and the Shamans of the Early Woodland Period

The people of the Adena Culture are widely regarded as the first builders of mounds and earthworks in the Ohio Valley. By conventional dating the culture spans the period of 1000 BC to around 300 AD...
Ardhanarishvara, a composite androgynous form of the Hindu God Shiva and his consort Parvati (also known as Devi, Shakti, and Uma in this icon).
12 October, 2017 - 01:59 dhwty

Find Out the Real Story Behind Tantra. Hint, It’s Not All About Sex

You may have heard that Tantra is full of obscenities or that it has something to do with black magic. Forget that. As a matter of fact, Tantra involves practices such as yoga, meditation, and the...
Collage of Egyptian art, design by Anand Balaji.
11 October, 2017 - 15:22 anand balaji

Amarna in 3 Acts: Defining Vignettes from an Incomparable Era

Three important aspects, in many ways, defined and shaped the Akhetaten years and the post-Amarna period. His detractors in the new disposition erased Pharaoh Akhenaten’s memory in great haste—an...
Elkhound, a Viking Dog.
11 October, 2017 - 01:56 ancient-origins

Viking Dogs Followed Their Masters to Valhalla

By THORNEWS Large amounts of animal bones have been found in Viking Age ship graves. For example, there were eight large sighthounds (Old Norse: mjór) buried on both sides outside the ship In the...
Hatun Tópac; Viracocha, Portraits of Inca Kings, and Inca Tunic (Public Domain), Machu Picchu
10 October, 2017 - 18:50 Brien Foerster

Origin Myths of the Inca Civilization & Piecing Together Royal Heritage

According to most historical accounts, especially those collected by the early Spanish chroniclers of the 16th century, and just after the destructive efforts of the conquistadors, the Inca were...
Fight between Ushiwaka Maru (Minamoto no Yoshitsune) and Kumasaka Chôhan at the inn; bales and a torch on the ground, and Kisanda in the distance. (circa 1840-1843) By Utagawa Kuniyoshi.
10 October, 2017 - 02:01 valdar

Yoshitsune: The Silk Clad Warrior With a Noble Quest for Revenge

Apart from a very rich mythology, Japan also has numerous histories about heroes. One of these is the story of Yoshitsune. Walking around in fine silk and playing the flute, at first glance he seemed...
Sacrificial virgin on altar. (heywoody / Adobe)
9 October, 2017 - 15:18 MartiniF

Throwing Virgins into the Sea and Other Ways to Appease the Gods: The Ancient Reasons behind Virgin Sacrifice

When the going got tough, it was believed sacrificing a virgin to the gods—by throwing them into the sea, burying them alive, or leaving them for hungry monsters—was the best plan. Virgin sacrifice...
Portrait of Christopher Columbus
8 October, 2017 - 13:56 ancient-origins

How Columbus, Of All People, Became a National Symbol

Christopher Columbus was a narcissist. He believed he was personally chosen by God for a mission that no one else could achieve. After 1493, he signed his name “xpo ferens” – “the Christbearer.” His...
A group of Asur men outside a traditional hut in Polpol Path.
7 October, 2017 - 01:55 aprilholloway

Descendants of Indus Valley Builder Tribe May Soon Disappear, Taking Secret Knowledge with Them

More than four millennia ago, the Indus Valley civilization was a vast and sophisticated culture spanning what is now Pakistan and western India. Their urban planning was admirable and they had...
Illustration of missing aspects of Egyptian talatat, design by Anand Balaji.
6 October, 2017 - 15:28 anand balaji

Objects of Wonder: The Symbolism and Suspense behind Ancient Egyptian artifacts

Ancient Egypt was a land of great mystery and intrigue. Her secrets were not easy to comprehend, even if they were hidden in plain sight. It still takes a keen eye to understand the deep philosophy...
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...
Portrait of Saint Nicholas
5 October, 2017 - 22:55 Theodoros Karasavvas

True Remains of the Saint Behind the Santa Myth Believed Found in Turkey

Researchers suggest that they have found the almost fully intact temple and burial grounds of Saint Nicholas in Antalya, Turkey. In case the name Saint Nicholas doesn’t ring any bells, keep in mind...
Reconstructed heads of the children that may have been sacrificed for a double burial in Sunghir, Russia.
5 October, 2017 - 19:00 Caleb Strom

The Sunghir Burial Site: Were these Two Children Sacrificed in a Form of Prehistoric Scapegoating?

One of the clearest signs of behavioral modernity in the archaeological record is the appearance of art and religion. Once we see indications of creative and speculative minds at work trying to...
8 Immortals in a temple in Vietnam
4 October, 2017 - 15:32 MartiniF

The 8 Immortals of China: How ordinary mortals worked hard to achieve superpowers and become legendary

The general appearances of Chinese gods lead us to think of them as sober imperial bureaucrats. They mostly look like middle-aged men dressed in official-looking robes, spending their time reading...
‘Marius sitting on the Ruins of Carthage’ (circa 1791-1794) by Pierre-Joseph François.
4 October, 2017 - 13:53 Marc Hyden

Banished by Caesar and Executed by Mark Antony: Did the Charismatic ‘Grandson of Gaius Marius’ Have a Legitimate Claim to the Roman Empire?

Long before imposters claimed to be Anastasia of Russia’s Romanov dynasty, a genealogical mystery consumed ancient Rome. No later than 45 BC, a man emerged who claimed to be the famous Gaius Marius’...
Sea Silk
3 October, 2017 - 18:54 dhwty

One Person Left on Earth Knows the Ancient Secret of Producing Sea Silk

Sea silk is a highly-precious fabric that is so rare only one woman left on earth knows the secret to its creation. Whilst silk is famously known to be obtained from the cocoons of the mulberry...

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