All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

History & Archaeology

We bring you all the latest historical news and archaeological discoveries relating to ancient human history. Read more history news from around the world here at Ancient Origins.

Images of the Taosi site in China, as well as a painted plate with dragon design found at the site

Taosi Confirmed as 4,200-Year-Old Legendary Capital of Chinese Hero Emperor

Chinese archaeologists say they have confirmed the ancient capital of legendary emperor Yao Tangdi, who lived 4,200 years ago and who is said to have brought peace and “illumined the people.” Yao has...
Zhang Daoling, the First Celestial Master of Taoism

Temple ruins excavated at the Palace of Zhang Daoling, the First Celestial Master of Taoism

An important ancient temple site dedicated to the founder of a sect of Taoism has recently been excavated by Chinese archaeologists. In China's Jiangxi Province, the archaeological site of ruins of...
Cannibal feast on the Island of Tanna, New Hebrides by Charles E. Gordon Frazer (1863-1899).

Skull Cups and Chewed Bones: Cannibalism was Ritual Behavior during Stone Age say Researchers

When scientists examined the cracked skulls and gnawed bones found in a cave in England, they recognized the grisly signs of cannibalism. Archaeological findings now indicate that the dwellers of...
Grave from Körtik Tepe 8,000 to 7,000 BC showed plastering of skeleton with cut marks on the bones.

Prehistoric Anatolians removed flesh from bones to ease transition to death

New research suggests that people in a Stone Age village in Turkey cut the flesh off the bones and skulls of several people who were dying or had just died then painted and/or plastered the bones and...
Legendary White Walls of Memphis

Russian Archaeologists Unearth Legendary White Walls of Memphis

According to Manetho, an ancient Egyptian historian and priest of the 3 rd century BC, Memphis once carried the name Ineb-hedj, meaning ‘White Walls’. Some historians maintain that the city was named...
The ritual pit in which the children were crushed by stones

Bulgarian Archaeologists find Evidence of 2,700-Year-Old Thracian Child Sacrifice

Archaeologists excavating ritual pits in southwest Bulgaria have found the remains of two children that had been sacrificed about 2,700 years ago. The remains indicate that they had been crushed to...
Prehistoric man and woman carrying weapons.

Debate continues over whether Stone Age people were peaceful or warlike

There is a debate among archaeologists, anthropologists and psychologists about whether prehistoric people were violent and warlike or whether there was widespread peace in prehistory. A new...
The treasure-hunters. Working with a metal detector.

Metal detectorist uncovers Roman treasure hoard in England

A person with a metal detector uncovered some beautiful items of a Roman period burial from around 200 AD in a field in England north of London. An archaeologist says the items were likely owned by a...
Skeletons of Harappan Civilization

5000-year-old skeletons of Harappan Civilization excavated in India

Skeletons from one of the world’s oldest civilizations—the Indus Valley or Harappan Civilization—have been unearthed in India. Scientists hope to be able to examine their genetic makeup to learn more...
Archaeologists working in the 1,000-year-old house at the Rising Whale site at Cape Espenberg, Alaska.

Ancient Bronze Artifacts in Alaska Reveals Trade with Asia Before Columbus Arrival

An incredible archaeological discovery in Alaska provided evidence that trade was occurring between Asia and the New World centuries before Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492...
Vision of Iron Age cremation

British Archaeologists Find First Ever Evidence of Cremation in Mesolithic era

Archaeologists have just a few ways to study how humans lived in the distant past; one of them is how people handled bodies after their loved ones died. In southeast England about 7,600 years ago,...
This is the lower part of the shrine unearthed in Heliopolis

Archaeologists find Late Dynastic and pre-Dynastic ruins under Cairo

Egyptologists have found carved basalt blocks in a chapel to King Nectanebo I, founder of the 30 th Dynasty—the last native Egyptian royal house before Alexander the Great conquered the country in...
Tool-making in the Stone Age

Paleolithic weapons factory was a rich source of obsidian tools from 1.4 million years ago

Scientists call Mount Arteni in Armenia, an extinct volcano that has rich deposits of obsidian, a Stone Age weapons factory. They say from about 1.4 million years, Homo erectus people and later Homo...
One of the many subterranean chambers discovered by Luciano Faggiano during his excavations under Lecce, Italy.

Man Intent on Fixing Toilet Uncovers Centuries-Old Subterranean World Beneath his Basement

An Italian man’s dream to open a modest restaurant became an archaeological obsession when he broke ground in order to repair a faulty toilet. The underground world filled with centuries of history...
An early diving bell used by 16th Century divers during salvage operations. The book this came from is a text on ship salvage and includes diving information.

Oath of Silence Protects Amazing 500-Year-Old Diving Bell Used to Visit Sunken Roman Vessels

A vow of silence has protected the mystery behind an ingenious invention for nearly 500 years. The secrets behind Guglielmo de Lorena’s amazing diving bell, a technical marvel, would have remained an...
1,000-year-old underground passage discovered in the Caha Mountains of Ireland

1,000-year-old underground passage discovered in the Caha Mountains of Ireland

Workers operating an excavator during a road-widening project in the Caha mountain range in County Cork made a surprising discovery, when they accidentally made an opening in the earth that exposed...
The Silla dynasty tomb with bones and artifacts.

Discovery of Ancient Tomb Suggests Man was Sacrificed to join a Noblewoman in Death

Archaeologists in South Korea have uncovered a 1,500-year-old tomb of a noblewoman containing the ancient remains of a woman and a man. The discovery of precious grave goods and the circumstances of...
This photo shows the mummy of Michael Orlovits in the Mummies of the World exhibition. Dry air preserved the decease people’s bodies and clothing.

Mummified 18th century bodies give scientists clues about spread of TB

Scientists recently examined tissue samples from tuberculosis-infected bodies that were naturally mummified in a church crypt in Vac, Hungary. Researchers found that the tuberculosis that killed them...
The Orange Temple at Nakum

A sacred mountain, water, and earthly power converged in Maya city of Nakum

A new study suggests the rulers of the Maya city of Nakum used water as a social control method. They represented themselves as rainmakers, researchers say, showing themselves on monuments with water...
The trepanning of the man’s skull, the edges of which had healed, may have been to relieve pain from the deformity of his jaw.

Medieval man with facial deformity may have had head drilled in an exorcism

A medieval or Saxon man whose skeleton was found in a Roman villa in Hampshire, England, may have been buried in the countryside because of a jaw deformity that made his community consider him...
Chinese Explorer Zheng He - Mystery of Island

Mystery of island visited by 15th Century Chinese Explorer Zheng He now solved

The 15 th century voyages of Chinese maritime admiral and diplomat Zheng He have been well documented by historical accounts. Zheng He, highly influential in Ming emperor Yongle’s court, was...
Scythian Golden Fish from the Treasure of Vettersfelde circa 500 B.C.

Long Hidden Scythian Treasure Site Located at Ceremonial Spring in Poland

A farmer made an amazing discovery more than 130 years ago in a field outside Vettersfelde (now Witaszkowo) Poland. He stumbled upon a great hoard of golden treasure, including dozens of ornaments...
Ceremonial Site in Peru

Hundreds of Ancient Mummies Discovered at Ceremonial Site in Peru

Archaeologists in Peru made a monumental discovery when they found dozens of tombs with up to 40 mummies in each at a 1,200-year-old ceremonial site in Cotahuasi Valley. So far 171 mummies have been...
A rare ancient Greek gravesite containing two intertwined corpses

Archaeologists Uncover Ancient 'Spooning' Couple in Greece

Almost 6,000 years ago, the man was placed behind the woman with his arms around her body, and their legs were intertwined. They were buried. Why they were interred in this manner is not yet...

Pages