hunter-gatherers

21 February, 2021 - 21:30 Nathan Falde

9,000-Year-Old Camping Hotspot Found Near Welsh Castle

In the shadow of famous Rhuddlan Castle , just a few short kilometers from the northern Welsh coast, archaeologists have unearthed a Mesolithic camp site that predates King Edward I’s 13 th century...

18 February, 2021 - 17:56 ashley cowie

20,000-Year-Old Woman Burned In Fiery Death Ritual

The burnt remains of a woman discovered in an ancient Jordanian hunters’ camp have been dated to almost 20,000 years ago. And having been partially incinerated in an obscure death ritual, this...

11 January, 2021 - 17:57 Nathan Falde

New Theory Links Dog Domestication And Excess Protein

A team of Finnish researchers have developed a new theory about dog domestication and the evolution of dogs from wolves. In an article appearing in the January 7 edition of the peer-reviewed journal...

22 December, 2020 - 21:56 Nathan Falde

Stone Age Peoples Made Bone Arrowheads - From Human Bones!

A recent analysis of artifacts obtained from North Sea beaches has revealed a surprising fact about life in ancient Europe. It seems that some Ice Age peoples carved weapons from human bones. This...

28 September, 2020 - 18:00 Andy Turnbull

Neolithic Revolution Challenged! Are These The Real Roots of Civilization?

Conventional wisdom tells us that civilization began with the so-called agricultural revolution - AKA the invention of farming , but I suggest a different story. From my perspective, the roots of...

Close-up of the Göbekli Tepe site in central Turkey. Source: Brian Weed / Adobe stock

27 April, 2020 - 17:05 ashley cowie

Hidden Geometric Pattern Reveals Deeper Complexity of Göbekli Tepe

Does a “hidden-pattern” at Göbekli Tepe in central Turkey suggest 12,000-year-old hunter-gatherers knew rudimentary geometric principals, indicating a more complex society than previously assumed by...

Human interaction accelerates innovation. Source: (Image: beamue/ UZH)

29 February, 2020 - 18:57 ancient-origins

Cooperation Between Hunter-gatherers Accelerated Human Evolution

Humans began developing a complex culture as early as the Stone Age . This development was brought about by social interactions between various groups of hunters and gatherers, a UZH study has now...

Siberian river; inset, some of the pottery shards selected for the research. Source: anton_shoshin / Adobe Stock; inset, Shoda et al./Science Direct

4 February, 2020 - 19:16 ancient-origins

Culinary Innovations Helped Hunter-Gatherers Survive the Ice Age

By The Siberian Times reporter Ancient pottery started to appear in the Amur region in the Russian Far East between roughly 16,000 and 12,000 years ago, as the Ice Age slightly eased. But what was...

11 January, 2020 - 13:55 ancient-origins

Did Ice Age Extinctions Force Us to Invent Civilization?

Nick Longrich / The Conversation Why did we take so long to invent civilization? Modern Homo sapiens first evolved roughly 250,000 to 350,000 years ago. But initial steps towards civilization –...

One of the stone structures of the Shubayqa 1 site. The fireplace, where the bread was found, is in the middle.

17 July, 2018 - 22:52 ancient-origins

14,400-year-old Bread Causes Major Re-think on the Birth of Agriculture

At an archaeological site in northeastern Jordan, researchers have discovered the charred remains of a flatbread baked by hunter-gatherers 14,400 years ago. It is the oldest direct evidence of bread...

25 December, 2016 - 14:50 Caleb Strom

Engravings, Passageways, and Intriguing Stone Monuments: The Astronomical Temples of Loughcrew

It is probably not possible to tell when humans first began to wonder about the stars, the sun, and the moon or try to understand their motion, though there is evidence of a lunar calendar being used...

13 November, 2016 - 00:48 ancient-origins

Oldest Human Burial and Polished Axe Unearthed in Ireland

Archaeologists have shed new light on the belief systems of early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers after analyzing cremated remains and artifacts given as grave offerings from the earliest recorded human...

14 April, 2016 - 00:56 Marilo

Research Suggests that Monogamy Took Hold Due to Sexually Transmitted Diseases

In the animal world, monogamy refers to a pair that have an exclusive sexual relationship during the period of breeding and rearing of offspring. With respect to humans, it is a model of affective-...

25 May, 2015 - 22:11 Mark Miller

Most European Men are Descended from just Three Bronze Age Warlords, New Study Reveals

The majority of European men are descended from just a handful of Bronze Age male ancestors, says a new genetic study in the journal Nature . The presence of genetic material from just a few men in...

14 December, 2014 - 01:01 Mark Miller

Khoisan people of South Africa were once the most populous humans on Earth

The Khoisan, an indigenous population in Namibia, may once have comprised the majority of living humans on the planet, for much of the past 150,000 years. The Khoisan population declined about 22,000...

This skull was unearthed from a lake bed in central Sweden

19 September, 2014 - 02:04 aprilholloway

New study reveals third group of ancient ancestors of modern Europeans

It has long been thought that modern Europeans descended from both indigenous hunters and Middle Eastern farmers. However, a new study published in the journal Nature , shows that a third population...

Pages

Myths & Legends

The Thirteen Legendary Treasures of Britain

The ancient Greek writer Hesiod once wrote that there were five ages of mankind – the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, the Heroic Age, and the Iron Age. Similarly, in Hinduism, there are...

The Dogon’s Extraordinary Knowledge of the Cosmos and the Cult of Nommo

The Dark Reputation of the Dunmore Cave of Ireland

The Real Story of Medusa: Protective Powers from a Snake-Haired Gorgon

Legendary Black Knights: Mysterious Medieval Entities of Neutrality

Hidden in Plain Sight: The Pterodactyl of New Guinea

Human Origins

Photo of Zecharia Sitchin (left)(CC0)Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC depicting the deities Inanna, Utu, and Enki, three members of the Anunnaki.(right)

Zecharia Sitchin and the Mistranslation of Sumerian Texts

In a previous 2-part article (1), the authors wrote about the faulty associations of the Sumerian deities known as the Anunnaki as they are portrayed in the books, television series, and other media, which promotes Ancient Astronaut Theory (hereafter “A.A.T.”).

Footprints, Fairies and even a Foreskin: 10 Bizarre Relics from History

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Dark Skin and Blue Eyes: European Hunter-Gatherers Did Not Fit with Common Representations

The human skull that challenges the Out of Africa theory

Research Confirms that Neanderthal DNA Makes Up About 20% of the Modern Human Genome

Ancient Technology

The Man Who Stopped a Desert Using Ancient Farming

Desertification is a serious problem facing numerous countries in the world today. Various measures have been taken to counter the negative effects, with some providing better results than others. A farmer in Burkina Faso looked to his ancestors and came up with an innovative solution.

Han Purple: A 2,800-year-old artificial pigment that quantum physicists are trying to understand

Catapult: The Long-Reaching History of a Prominent Medieval Siege Engine

Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked!

150,000-Year-Old Pipes Baffle Scientists in China: Out of Place in Time?

The Evidence is Cut in Stone: A Compelling Argument for Lost High Technology in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Places

Pavlopetri: 5,000-Year-Old Town Discovered Underwater in Greece

Nothing sparks the imagination of history enthusiasts quite like underwater discoveries, ranging from sunken cities to the millions of shipwrecks still unexplored on the seabed. The bottom of the...

The tragedy of Queen Ankhesenamun, sister and wife of Tutankhamun

The Great Boat of Khufu: The ‘Black Box’ to the Construction of the Pyramids

Ten enduring mysteries of the Longyou caves

The 9,000-year-old underground megalithic settlement of Atlit Yam

The Dark Underworld of the Paris Catacombs

Opinion

Unearthing Ancient Magic in The Runes –Messages with Hidden Symbols and Powerful Numbers

The etymology of the word “rune” means: “to carve, or to cut.” In Low German the word is “raunen.” As the runes were cut and carved into wood, metal or stone, the word “rune” was analogous to the rune letters themselves.

Petroglyphic Features of Portable Rock Art

The Northern Mysteries Current: Futhark and Mystery Schools of the Viking Age

Was There Ever a Trojan War?

Floki and the Viking Discovery of Iceland

Messiah on Temple Mount: Are We Nearing the End of Time?

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.