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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Human Origins

Ancient Origins presents how human origins are explained through three different perspectives: a) science and scientific evidence, b) religions and creation stories and c) folklore and mythology.

Neanderthal man, now shown to have DNA from modern human relatives 250,000 years ago.	Source: iridescentstreet/Adobe Stock

Shock Discovery - Humans First Interbred with Neanderthals 250,000 Years Ago

A groundbreaking study has shattered the conventional timeline of human-Neanderthal interactions. The prevailing belief was that Homo sapiens ancestors first mingled with Neanderthals in Eurasia...
The Great Flood. Source:  Faith Stock/Adobe Stock

How Sumerian Tablets Told the Story of The Great Flood

The world's first known flood myth can be traced back to the Sumerians around 2000 BC. Sumerian tablets recount captivating tales of human beginnings, the creation of mankind, and the profound...
5,500-Year-Old Neolithic Cranial Amulets Shed Light on Ancient Belief System

5,500-Year-Old Neolithic Cranial Amulets Shed Light on Ancient Belief System

In 1914, a Swiss amateur archaeologist, Ernest Roulin, approached the Museum of Science and Art in Ireland with an incredibly rare discovery – two ancient amulets made from fragments of human cranium...
Little is known about the enigmatic Denisovans. Source: Microgen / Adobe Stock.

Strange Things You Didn't Know About Denisovans! (Video)

Unearth the mysterious Denisovans, a human-like species coexisting with Neanderthals in Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic eras. Only recently discovered in Siberia's Denisova Cave in 2008...
A Neanderthal hunting. Source: Bartek / Adobe Stock.

Amazing Things That the Neanderthals Did (Video)

Around 300,000 years ago, before humans roamed the Earth, another species known as Neanderthals inhabited much of Eurasia. Their name comes from the Neander Valley in Germany, where the first remains...
Homo Naledi facial reconstruction. Source: Cicero Moraes / CC by SA 4.0.

Discovering Homo Naledi’s Meaningful Burials (Video)

In the world of groundbreaking discoveries, the revelation that Homo naledi practiced burial rituals and employed symbols for communication stands as a potent reminder that our understanding of our...
The Serra da Capivara National Park. Source: Marcio Isensee e Sá / Adobe Stock.

Humans' First Appearance in the Americas: Challenging Clovis (Video)

In the dense wilderness of Brazil's Piauí state, archaeologists are unraveling a profound narrative about human history in the Americas. The prevailing belief that humans arrived about 13,000 years...
The statue of Galileo Galilei outside the Uffizi colonnade in Florence and Galileo’s middle finger, Museo Galileo, Florence.  Source: BlackMac/Adobe/Stock, Zde/CC BY-SA 4.0

Galileo Gives the Finger: Defiance of the Catholic Church Immortalized

Who hasn’t heard of the legendary Renaissance era polymath, astronomer, physicist and engineer, who was declared a heretic by the Catholic Church - Galileo Galilei? The Italian’s defiance towards...
Portrait of Neanderthal man. Source: iridescentstreet / Adobe Stock.

Evolutionary Genetics and the Neanderthal Inside Us (Video)

Utilizing advanced techniques, scientists have delved into the genetic code of our Neanderthal ancestors. Extracting DNA from 400,000-year-old Neanderthal bones in Spain, they've achieved a high-...
Archaeologists in Turkey, have unearthed a partial cranium of a female, challenging the story of the origins of our human ancestors. Source: Sevim-Erol, A., Begun, D.R., Sözer, Ç.S. et al/CC BY 4.0)

Oldest Human Ancestors May Have Evolved Nine Million Years Ago in Turkey

Modern humans first left Africa and migrated to Eurasia between 60,000 and 100,000 years ago . But a fossilized skeleton with surprisingly human-like characteristics found in central Turkey suggests...
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. Source: lizavetta / Adobe Stock.

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple: The 700-Year-Old Temple of Colors (Video)

The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in southern India is an exceptional record of history, offering a window into the past that extends across 700 years. The temple's striking exterior is a melange of...
Human ancestors overlooking a bleak, ice-covered landscape. Source: Dr_Microbe / Adobe Stock

Near-Extinction of Our Human Ancestors Revealed by Genetic Research

Approximately one million years ago, the Earth was populated by a few hundred thousand or so ancient human ancestors. But about 900,000 years ago there was a sudden and dramatic crash in this...
New research has concluded that it was bees, and not Neanderthals, who left pollen within Shanidar Cave in Iraq. Source: ink drop / Adobe Stock

Bees, Not Neanderthal Florists, Dropped Pollen in Iraq’s Shanidar Cave

At Shanidar Cave in the Zagros Mountains of the Kurdish region of Iraq, excavations in the 1950s unearthed the remains of a Neanderthal who had apparently been placed on a bed of flowers after his...
Scarborough Gristhorpe Man.  Source: Emőke Dénes/CC BY-SA 4.0 By Ḏḥwty

The Gristhorpe Man: A Bronze Age Skeleton with a Story to Tell

On July 10, 1834, William Beswick excavated a barrow on his land in Gristhorpe, North Yorkshire, England. What he found gave him quite the surprise. Beswick discovered a coffin in the shape of a...
Top down view of an Ethiopian Church Forest in the early morning.  Several white-robed worshipers around the church.  Source: Gregory/Adobe Stock

Ethiopian Church Forests, Struggling Fragments of Sacred Greenery in the Desert

In the distant past, the world around us looked completely different in many ways. One notable aspect that changed is forestation. Once covered in lush forests, much of the world around us is now...
Early Homin migration caused by climate change could have been the driving force between interbreeding between Denisovans and Neanderthals. Source: Gorodenkoff / Adobe Stock

Climate Change Played Cupid Between Neanderthals and Denisovans

It has been 5 years since the unearthing of Denny , a 90,000-year-old fossil specimen that had a Denisovan father and a Neanderthal mother. This find served as proof that interbreeding was quite...
Archaeology aids in our understanding of history. Source: koldunova/Adobe Stock

Uncovering the Past: The Role of Archaeological Research in Reconstructing History

The enormous responsibility of comprehending our past falls to historians, anthropologists, and archaeologists. Our understanding of past civilizations and their contributions to contemporary culture...
AI robot as an archaeologist, uncovering an ancient artifact.  Source: Hatia/Adobe Stock

Beyond Shovels and Brushes: The AI-driven Evolution of Archaeological Exploration

It seems pretty clear right now that AI is likely the “next big thing.” This exciting (and perhaps scary) technology seems set to change the world and revolutionize our lives in a myriad of ways. But...
The majority of the prehistoric world remains uncharted, as shown by the blank areas of this map. This visualization is based on a Kernel Density Estimate of assemblages in ROAD. Sites with higher densities of assemblages appear more intense in color. Source: Christian Sommer (ROCEEH); made with Natural Earth/Public domain)

Huge New Prehistoric Sites Database Transforms Understanding of Human History

In another step towards unraveling the intricate tapestry of human history, a huge database of prehistoric sites spanning a history from 3 million to 20,000 years ago has been unveiled. This...
The god Khnum, accompanied by Heqet, in a relief from the mammisi (birth temple) at Dendera Temple complex. Source: Roland Unger/CC BY-SA 3.0

Beyond Fertility: Goddess Heqet’s Extensive Influence on Ancient Egypt

In ancient Egypt, the goddess Heqet reigned supreme as a symbol of fertility and childbirth. Heqet’s following spanned the ages, from the Old Kingdom to the Ptolemaic period, due to her impact on...
Sumerian chaos monster and sun god. Source: Public Domain

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...
Top image: Homo erectus reconstruction. Source: AlienCat/Adobe Stock

Homo Erectus: Why Did the Most Successful Early Human Go Extinct? (Video)

Homo erectus , the remarkably successful early human species, emerged around two million years ago in Africa. With a brain size of 900 to 1000 cubic centimeters, Homo erectus showcased the first...
Rimrock Draw Rockshelter in Oregon, the United States. Source: Bureau of Land Management

18,000-Year-Old Oregon Rockshelter May Be Oldest North American Site of Human Occupation

In 2021, the Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania was identified as the oldest human occupational site in North America, dated to at least 16,000 radiocarbon years old, or 19,000 calendar years...
What are the origins of Homo sapiens? Source: Lazy_Bear / Adobe Stock.

The True Origins of Homo Sapiens (Video)

In 2004, a significant discovery was made when fossils were found and published, suggesting the existence of a dwarf species of humans . This finding raised intriguing questions about the origins and...

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