Humans

Examples of developmental skeletal abnormalities in Pleistocene people. Left to right: the Tianyuan 1, Sunghir 3 and Dolní V stonice 15 abnormal femora, Center, top to bottom: the Palomas 23 mandibular "flange", the Rochereil 3 cranial lacuna, the long Sunghir 1 clavicle, the Malarnaud 1 incisor agenesis. Right, top to bottom: the Shanidar 1 sacral hiatus, the Pataud 1 polygenesis, and the Dolní V stonice 16 cleft palate.

7 November, 2018 - 13:52 Ed Whelan

‘Abundant’ Occurrence of Skeletal Abnormalities Found in Early Humans

An American researcher examining ancient human remains has made a potentially ground-breaking discovery. The expert found a huge number of abnormalities and defects that seem to indicate extensive...

Inside the Tham Lod rockshelter - Thailand

22 September, 2018 - 02:17 Gisele Santos

Magnificent Tham Lod Rockshelter Sheds Light on Earliest Humans in Thailand

The Tham Lod Rockshelter (a shallow cave) in Mae Hong Son Province, in Northwest Thailand is a prehistoric area that had been the center for burial and tool–making in the late Pleistocene to the late...

The concave hole found in the Catalonia cave

15 August, 2018 - 00:47 Joanna Gillan

Discoveries in Spanish cave suggest Neanderthals had hot water and bedrooms

Archaeologists in Spain have made a number of discoveries inside an ancient cave in Catalonia which suggest that Neanderthals had hot water and separate living quarters around 60,000 years ago. The...

Some of the many paintings inside the Laas Geel caves, near Hargeisa in Somaliland, Somalia.

13 July, 2018 - 10:46 Bryan Hill

Laas Geel Complex and The Magnificent Ancient Rock Art of Somalia

Thousands of years ago, humans from the Neolithic age, decorated the walls of rock shelters with paintings of animals and humans at a site called Laas Geel in Somaliland. Their work would last 5,000...

Picture taken at the site of the discovery of ancient tools in China.

12 July, 2018 - 13:57 ancient-origins

New Find Indicates Humans Left Africa Earlier than Believed

Ancient tools and bones have been discovered in China by archaeologists that suggest early humans left Africa and arrived in Asia earlier than previously thought. The artifacts show that our earliest...

: Human teeth from Qesem Cave. Credit: Prof. Israel Hershkovitz, Tel Aviv University

19 June, 2018 - 17:49 aprilholloway

Ancient teeth reveal evidence of 400,000 year-old manmade pollution in Israel

A multi-national team of researchers found the first known case of manmade pollution in a cave in Israel. The evidence was found in the hardened dental plaque of 400,000-year-old teeth, which had...

Fossilized jawbone, dubbed Penghu 1, found submerged in seafloor near Taiwan. Dated between 10,000 and 190,000 years ago. Credit: Y. Kaifu,

31 May, 2018 - 03:42 lizleafloor

Taiwan Jaw Bone Connected to the Origins of Humanity, May Reveal Entirely New Prehistoric Species

The first ancient human fossil found in Taiwan may indicate the presence of an unknown archaic species of humans who lived in Asia during the Pleistocene era, possibly hundreds of thousands of years...

Several types of mammoths walked the earth during the Pleistocene epoch.

21 April, 2018 - 23:02 ancient-origins

Unprecedented Wave of Large-mammal Extinctions Linked to Prehistoric Humans

Homo sapiens , Neanderthals and other recent human relatives may have begun hunting large mammal species down to size -- by way of extinction -- at least 90,000 years earlier than previously thought...

"David with the Head of Goliath," circa 1615–16 by Valentin de Boulogne (French, Coulommiers-en-Brie 1591–1632 Rome) Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.

22 March, 2018 - 00:54 ancient-origins

The Theory of ‘Three Human Species’

By Leonardo Vintini , Epoch Times The Old Testament tells a story in which a diminutive David defeats the giant Goliath. Using just a sling to slay his enormous foe, this unlikely victor became the...

20 February, 2018 - 13:57 ancient-origins

Five Surprising Things DNA has Revealed About our Ancestors

Researchers recently used DNA from the 10,000-year-old “Cheddar Man”, one of Britain’s oldest skeletons, to unveil what the first inhabitants of what now is Britain actually looked like. But this isn...

16 November, 2017 - 13:56 Caleb Strom

Age of the Wise Men: What Distinguishes Homo Sapiens from the Other Great Apes?

Homo Sapiens represents the last of a long line of hominin races that once consisted of five different species spanning four continents. Today, we are the last humans, that is, the last of the genus...

An illustration depicting the possible path of human evolution.

7 November, 2017 - 18:56 aprilholloway

The Earliest Known Human Ancestor is a What?!

For those that believe human beings were created in God’s own image, the idea that we have monkeys in our evolutionary history is a little hard to swallow, so it is likely to cause even more upset...

Artist’s impression of elderly Neanderthal male based on fossil found at La Chappelle-aux-Saints

24 October, 2017 - 22:47 Theodoros Karasavvas

Neanderthals Took Care of Deaf and Disabled Buddy Until Old Age

A new analysis suggests that an older Neanderthal from nearly 50,000 years ago, ended up being deaf and most likely depended on his friends in order to survive, after he had suffered several injuries...

‘Creation of Man’, (Public Domain) Cosmos (Public Domain); Deriv.

12 July, 2017 - 15:30 jim willis

Science Versus Religion on Our Ancient Origins: What if They’re Both Wrong?

"The universe began when God said, 'Let there be light'!" "No, the universe began with the big bang!" "God created life as we know it largely in the forms we now recognize!" "No, evolution is the key...

2 July, 2017 - 02:01 ancient-origins

130,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Teeth Reveal Evidence of Prehistoric Dentistry

Neanderthals treating toothaches? A discovery of multiple toothpick grooves on teeth and signs of other manipulations by a Neanderthal of 130,000 years ago are evidence of a kind of prehistoric...

Detail; Prince Hanzoku terrorized by a nine-tailed fox

22 May, 2017 - 15:46 MartiniF

Quick as a Fox, Powerful as a Demon: Legendary Foxes and Their Trickster/Temptress Ways

The fox plays a wide range of roles in 42 out of the 358 of Aesop’s fables. It is generally described as a quick, intelligent and adaptable animal which no doubt led to its importance as a symbol of...

Pages

Myths & Legends

The Last of the Siberian Unicorns: What Happened to the Mammoth-Sized One-Horned Beasts of Legend?

Elasmotherium, also known as the Giant Rhinoceros or the Giant Siberian Unicorn, is an extinct species of rhino that lived in the Eurasian area in the Late Pliocene and Pleistocene eras. They have been documented from 2.6 million years ago, but the most recent fossils come from around 29,000 years ago.

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

Lovelock Cave: A Tale of Giants or A Giant Tale of Fiction?

The Real Story of Medusa and the Gorgons

Mount Meru – Hell and Paradise on One Mountain

The Ballad of Hua Mulan: The Legendary Warrior Woman Who Brought Hope to China

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...

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

The human skull that challenges the Out of Africa theory

Where are Ashkenazi Jews from? Their Origins May Surprise You

Facing the Facts: Just How Accurate Are Facial Reconstructions?

They’re Alive! Megalithic Sites Are More than Just Stone

Ancient Technology

Stone of the Pregnant Woman, an example of ancient high-tech stonework in Hajar al Hibla at Baalbek in Lebanon.

The High-Tech Stonework of the Ancients: Unsolved Mysteries of Master Engineers

There are many stone artifacts from the ancient world made from the hardest stone on the planet such as granite and diorite, which have been cut and shaped with such quality, precision and accuracy that the standard explanations of their manufacture are simply inadequate.

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

Both a Princess and a Priestess, What Did the First Known Author Have to Share with the World?

They’re Alive! Megalithic Sites Are More than Just Stone

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

Ancient Places

Were the Women of Petra More Important Than the Men?

The Nabataeans were a society who inhabited Arabia and the Southern Levant from the 3rd century BC to approximately 106 AD when the Nabataean kingdom was annexed by the Roman Empire.

Trance Rock Art of Nsangwini - Communing With the Spirits

The Colossal Hand of Hercules, So Where is the Rest of Him?

Eridu: The Sumerian Garden of Eden and the Oldest City in the World?

The Where, When and How of Quarrying Stonehenge 'Bluestones' Is Revealed in New Report

Hill of Crosses: A Hundred Thousand Times Lithuania Has Stood Up

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.

We’re the only Pop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives.

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.