homo erectus

Penablanca, Cagayan Province, Philippines, near the entrance to the limestone Callao Cave where there is evidence of a new human species. Source: Michael / Adobe. Inset: A foot bone from Homo luzonensis. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

18 April, 2019 - 14:00 ancient-origins

How Much Evidence is Enough to Declare a New Species of Human from a Philippines Cave Site?

The announcement of a new species of ancient human (more correctly hominin) from the Philippines , reported today in Nature , will cause a lot of head-shaking among anthropologists and archaeologists...

The Stoned Ape theory proposes magic mushrooms helped the Homo erectus evolve quickly.

3 April, 2019 - 19:02 Sarah P Young

The Stoned Ape Theory and the Dawn of Human Consciousness: Did Our Prehistoric Ancestors Evolve by Getting High?

The origins of behavioral modernity and what exactly makes us human are topics which have fascinated people for hundreds of years. There is a plethora of theories as to which archaic human ancestor...

Homo erectus pekinensis, forensic facial reconstruction.

13 February, 2019 - 01:57 ancient-origins

A Snapshot of Our Mysterious Ancestor Homo erectus

By Ian Moffat / The Conversation If you bumped into a Homo erectus in the street you might not recognize them as being very different from you. You’d see a certain “human-ness” in the stance, and his...

Native American Tiny 'Elephant Stones', Mammoth Effigies, Carvings, Totems From Pennsylvania. Portable rock art such as this has been found globally.

31 October, 2018 - 18:05 Jul Jones

Life Before the Clovis: Portable Rock Art as Evidence of Pre Ice Age Humans in North America

The worship of carved stone dates back to man’s earliest evolution. Portable rock art is human made markings on movable natural rock or stone. A global phenomenon, these Stone Age objects have been...

Representations in the Boxer Codex of two of the ethnic groups of people living in the Pre-Colonial Philippines - A Zambal Couple (Public Domain) and Pintados of the Visayas (Leyte or Samar). (Public Domain)

1 October, 2018 - 23:04 Caleb Strom

The Rarely Told Story of Pre-Colonial Philippines

The Philippines were ruled by Western powers - first the Spanish and later the United States, for some 350 years. Except for a few religious minorities, the Philippines has also become thoroughly...

This restoration is based on evidence from the Daka Member, Ethiopia. The photo in the background is from a gallery forest on the Kebena River, a tributary of the modern Awash River. The squatting posture is based on femoral anteversion frequent in Homo erectus. The hand ax is African latest early or early middle Acheulean. The cranial shape is based on BOU-VP-2-66, the Daka Calvaria.

16 August, 2018 - 01:57 ancient-origins

Idle Not Innovative? New Study Says Laziness Led to the Extinction of Homo erectus

The path of least resistence may not be the best to take. New archaeological research from The Australian National University (ANU) has found that Homo erectus , a species of primitive humans, went...

In this illustration, the modern pygmy village, Rampasasa, is shown at left; in the center, a modern Rampasasa pygmy wearing the traditional head covering and clothing is juxtaposed against the face of a Homo floresiensis reconstruction; at right, pygmy elephants play in the Liang Bua cave where theH. floresiensis fossils were discovered in 2004.

5 August, 2018 - 22:55 ancient-origins

Scientists Understand Why there are Short-statured Indonesians Today, But Can they Explain Hobbit Height?

Michael Westaway & Francis David Bulbeck / The Conversation Humans are diverse in size and shape – but some populations are of relatively low average height, and historically described using the...

The original fossils of Java Man, National Museum of Natural History, Leiden, the Netherlands.

25 July, 2018 - 18:57 dhwty

Java Man and the Discovery of the ‘Missing Link’ in Evolutionary Theory

The second half of the 19th century was an incredibly exciting and contentious time for exploring the origins of human kind. Darwin’s theory, ‘On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection’...

Limestone ‘tower’ karst region in the south of Sulawesi, where Leang Burung 2 is located.

15 April, 2018 - 01:54 ancient-origins

Ancient Stone Tools Found on Sulawesi, but who made them Remains a Mystery

Adam Brumm /The Conversation Another collection of stone tools dating back more than 50,000 years has been unearthed on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Details of the find, at a rock-shelter known...

Homo erectus statue, taken at David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins as the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

23 February, 2018 - 18:54 ashley cowie

Primeval Navigation Suggests Language Began 1.5 Million Years Earlier Than Thought

Were our primeval ancestors skilled mariners who sailed thousand of miles to distant islands using language, or did they grunt at each other while holding onto tree trunks being blown randomly on the...

10 January, 2018 - 13:59 Theodoros Karasavvas

Half-a-million-year-old Feeding Ground for Homo Erectus Found Near Tel Aviv

Archaeologists from Israel have announced the discovery of hundreds of hand-axes, most likely used by prehistoric humans from five hundred thousand years ago at Jaljulia, north-east of Tel Aviv...

A re-analysis of the Dali skull is helping rewrite the story of human origins.

17 November, 2017 - 23:00 Alicia McDermott

Rewriting Our Origins: Skull Found in China Promotes a Wider Perspective on Human Evolution

Most people discussing the origins of our species suggest that Homo sapiens can be traced back to Africa about 200,000 years ago. However, an increasing amount of evidence suggests that there may be...

Paranthropus boisei (Forensic facial reconstruction) likely contracted the virus from eating chimpanzees.

4 October, 2017 - 02:02 Theodoros Karasavvas

Our Ancestors Should Have Avoided Parathropus Boisei – They Gave Us Genital Herpes

Scientists claim that they have identified the ancient hominin species that gave early humans genital herpes two million years ago. Parathropus boisei was a heavyset human-like species with a very...

Artist's impression of Homo floresiensis.

22 April, 2017 - 01:56 ancient-origins

Origins of Indonesian Hobbits Finally Revealed

The most comprehensive study on the bones of Homo floresiensis, a species of tiny human discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003, has found that they most likely evolved from an ancestor...

26 October, 2016 - 21:29 Kerry Sullivan

Devil’s Footprints: Who Descended the Side of an Erupting Volcano, Leaving an Ancient Trail Behind?

Descending the side of the Roccamonfina Volcano in northern Italy, sets of humanoid footprints had long been considered the imprint of the Devil, for the footprints were most certainly made when the...

27 April, 2016 - 21:47 Natalia Klimczak

Homo erectus Skull Discovered in Central Java Provides More Evidence for Ancient Hominids in the Area

The skull of a Homo erectus has been found in the area near the Bojong River in Manyarejo village, Sragen, Central Java, Indonesia. It is the first discovery of a human fossil in this area in 80...

Pages

Myths & Legends

Camazotz Maya style Batman suit created by Mexican designer Kimbal

Batman Existed in Mesoamerican Mythology and His Name Was Camazotz

As social media is abuzz with who might be cast in the next Batman movie, with concerns that some of the candidates might not be menacing enough to fill those big black boots, it might be time to...

Kombucha: Revered For Millennia, But Is It Really A Life Saving Brew?

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

La Llorona: An In-depth Investigation into the Reality of the Mexican Legend

Decoding Viking Signs: Nine Norse Symbols Explained

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

Human Origins

The Pagan Wheel of the Year: What Elaborate Rituals and Events Mark this Sacred Cycle?

Although it may be a long time (if ever) before pagans reclaim their Yule from Christmas or their Samhain from Halloween, it is worthwhile to explore these ancient religious traditions. The Wheel of the Year follows the cycle of pagan festivals.

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

The Takenouchi Manuscripts and the Story of Humanity Never Told

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

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

The Secret Life of an Ancient Concubine

Ancient Technology

Ancient Chinese Earthquake detector - Zhang (‘Chang’) Heng

The incredible earthquake detector invented nearly 2,000 years ago

Although we still cannot accurately predict earthquakes, we have come a long way in detecting, recording, and measuring seismic shocks. Many don’t realise that this process began nearly 2000 years...

The legacy of Dujiangyan: China’s ancient irrigation system

Advanced Ancient Architecture of Puma Punku Site is Fully Recreated With 3D Printing

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

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

Ancient Places

The White Slaves of Barbary

Much attention and condemnation has been directed towards the tragedy of the African slave trade , which took place between the 16 th and the 19 th centuries. However, another equally despicable...

Explaining the Fall of the Great Akkadian Empire

The Houses of Pleasure in Ancient Pompeii

The Mithraic Mysteries and the underground chamber of San Clemente

First Kingdoms: The Forgotten Mesopotamian Kingdom of Ebla

The Mysterious Dropa Stones – Fact or Fiction?

Opinion

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

There are many accounts of a land of immortality and eternal youth in world myths and legends, as well as shamanic and indigenous spiritual traditions. Mysterious Worlds Writing in his recent work,...

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

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

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

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.