All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

inbreeding

Attila the Hun’s death on his wedding night. Source: Public Domain

Disastrous Historical Hitches: 8 Worst Royal Wedding Nights in History

Your wedding is meant to be one of the most special nights of your life. And your wedding night, well, that should be one of the most exciting. Of course, that’s not always the case. Some of history’...
King Charles II of Spain. (Public Domain)

How Charles II of Spain’s Inbreeding Plunged Europe Into War (Video)

In the 17th century, Charles II of Spain, the last of the Spanish Habsburgs , ruled one of the world's largest empires. However, behind the façade of royal strength depicted in paintings of the era,...
Queen Katherine Of Aragon – Old And Deformed Wife Of Henry VIII?

Queen Katherine Of Aragon – Old And Deformed Wife Of Henry VIII?

In 1519, the French King Francis I quipped that Henry VIII had “ an old deformed wife, while he himself is young and handsome ”. It is generally assumed that the French King was referring to...
Minoan Bronze Age family harvesting grain. The new study posits that cousins married to protect their family farmland. Source: Nikola Nevenov / Nature

Cousins Married to Protect Their Farmland in Bronze Age Greece

It was “customary” for cousins to marry in the Aegean Bronze Age, according to a team of archaeogeneticists studying ancient social customs. Cousin marriage is defined as the legal union of two...
The golden mask of King Tut. Source: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra / CC BY 2.0

King Tutankhamun’s Parents Were Brother and Sister

What does Tutankhamun have in common with Cleopatra, Charles II of Spain, or even Queen Victoria? Besides being royalty in their distinct corners of the world, all of them were a product of...
King Charles II of Spain, was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. He is now best remembered for his physical disabilities. Source: TRAJAN 117 / Public Domain

Inbreeding Armageddon Annihilated The Habsburg Dynasty

Scientists have proven inbreeding brought about severe facial deformations and collapsed of one of Europe’s most powerful historical dynasties . The royal European Habsburg family sat on the throne...
Illustration of Neanderthal Man Holding Neanderthal's Skull  Source: Roni / Adobe Stock

Neanderthals Died Out due to Inbreeding and Bad Luck

Researchers now believe that they may have established why the Neanderthals became extinct. Expert analysts using population models believe that inbreeding and the internal dynamics of their small...
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.

‘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...
Comparison of faces of Homo sapiens (left) and Homo neanderthalensis (right). (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Prehistoric Humans are Likely to Have Formed Mating Networks to Avoid Inbreeding

Early humans seem to have recognized the dangers of inbreeding at least 34,000 years ago, and developed surprisingly sophisticated social and mating networks to avoid it, new research has found. The...
The mummified head of Egyptian pharaoh King Ahmose I, whose parents and grandparents were probably both sets of siblings.

Study Presents Evidence of Extensive Inbreeding among Ancient Egyptian Royalty

A 2015 study revealed little variation in body height among Egyptian Pharaohs compared to the general population, signaling the presence of extensive inbreeding among the ancient Egyptian royalty...