Medicine

Beautiful woman with fashion make-up and hairstyle like Egyptian queen Cleopatra (EmotionPhoto / Adobe Stock)

9 February, 2019 - 13:31 Sarah P Young

8 Ancient Beauty Secrets We Can Still Use Today

Beautification and cosmetology have been important to humans for many thousands of years. Obsessing over our appearance is something that seems to go back to the very roots of modern human behavior,...

31 January, 2019 - 22:45 Alicia McDermott

Ecuador’s Mummy of Guano is the Key to Understanding a Painful Global Disease

An Andean mummy in Ecuador may be the missing link to understanding the expansion of rheumatoid polyarthritis from the Americas to Europe. Its naturally mummified remains are set to change both local...

Don’t look so worried Cromwell, she’s just asleep. Thomas Cromwell’s wife and daughters died of sweating sickness.

13 January, 2019 - 22:58 ancient origins

What was Sweating Sickness, the Mysterious Tudor Plague of Wolf Hall?

Derek Gatherer / The Conversation In the first episode of BBC historical drama Wolf Hall , based on Hilary Mantel’s novel of the same name, Thomas Cromwell returns home to find his wife and two...

13 January, 2019 - 18:58 ashley cowie

Snake Oil Has Long Been Deemed A ‘Fake Medicine’, But It’s Not Guilty, It Really Does Cure!

In the late 19th century, microscopes enabled scientists to observe the microbial effectivity of medicines in the treatment of ailments and these new skills finally dislodged many traditional ‘...

Caterpillar maggot could be used in re-emerging maggot medicine.

14 November, 2018 - 18:56 ashley cowie

Australian Scientists Explore The Medical Marvels Of Ancient Maggot Therapy

The ‘next’ button is probably the best option for those readers of a prudish or squeamish nature, as this is a news story telling of advancements in the ancient medical arts of ‘Maggot therapy’ and...

Human skulls have been found with evidence of craniotomy.

12 November, 2018 - 22:58 Ed Whelan

Skulls Show Evidence Ancient Chinese Brain Surgeons Operated 3,000 Years Ago

Chinese experts have determined that two skulls found in a historic site show evidence of ancient craniotomy. The finds are being taken to demonstrate that craniotomy, along with other advanced...

Archaeological excavation with skeleton, representational image only

5 November, 2018 - 22:49 ashley cowie

A 1000-Year-Old Skeleton Rises from The Grave Revealing the Secret Ingredients of a Timeworn Herbal Potion

The 1000-year-old skeletal remains of a man aged between 25 and 30 have revealed to scientists the first physical evidence that ferns were prepared into medicinal concoctions for treating a range of...

Stone eggs were used as an ancient remedy.

2 November, 2018 - 12:48 ancient origins

Goop: A Classicist’s Take on the ‘Power’ of Ancient Remedies

Adam Parker / The Conversation Lifestyle company Goop – founded and run by actor and businessperson Gwyneth Paltrow – was fined US$145,000 (£112,000) for making unscientific claims about products on...

One of the elements of Magic of the Unicorn horn was its supposed ability to purify water.

25 September, 2018 - 19:03 ashley cowie

Legends of the Unicorn Horn: Cures, Antidotes and Medicinal Magic

Legends, myths and folkloric systems across the western world record legendary horned creatures which have become known to us collectively as unicorns. In heraldry, the unicorn is the symbol of my...

12 September, 2018 - 17:54 Joanna Gillan

Evidence From Ötzi Tells Us He Came From a Caring Bunch Who Dabbled in Medicine

There has long been speculation about the purpose of the tattoos on the body of Ötzi the Iceman, a 5,300-year-old mummy, who was discovered by some German tourists in the Oetz Valley, Austria, in...

Instructions for a 3,500-year-old pregnancy test.

21 August, 2018 - 01:40 Ed Whelan

Translated Papyrus Provides New insights Into Medical Knowledge of Ancient Egypt

The University of Copenhagen in Denmark has announced a very important discovery. During an international project to decipher ancient Egyptian texts, one expert has been able to translate a papyrus...

The August 7, 2018 Ibn Sina Google Doodle.

7 August, 2018 - 20:20 Alicia McDermott

Who Was Ibn Sina and Why is He a Google Doodle?

A surprising Google Doodle has greeted users of the search engine in the UK. The image celebrates the 1038th birthday of Persian polymath Ibn Sina. For many in the West, this may be the first...

The written instructions for an onion and garlic eye salve from the Anglo-Saxon manuscript Bald's Leechbook. The remedy was found to kill MRSA bacteria.

13 July, 2018 - 01:13 lizleafloor

Medieval Medicine: 1,000-year-old Onion and Garlic Salve Kills Modern Bacterial SuperBugs

To the surprise and excitement of researchers, a ninth century Anglo-Saxon treatment for eye infections has been used successfully to kill tenacious bacteria cultures. The ancient remedy consisting...

Asclepius – a fragment of mosaic bathroom in Kyustendil, Bulgaria.

22 May, 2018 - 13:58 dhwty

The Rod of Asclepius and Zeus’s Fear of Immortality

Asclepius was a demi-god son of Apollo who developed such incredible powers of healing under the tuition of both his father and the centaur Chiron, that even Zeus felt threatened that he might...

A possible portrait of Saladin, found in a work by Ismail al-Jazari, circa 1185.

9 May, 2018 - 13:59 Alicia McDermott

The Puzzling Death of Sultan Saladin: A 12th Century Medical Mystery Solved?

Here’s a 12th century medical mystery for you: What malady killed well-known Sultan Saladin? Was it small pox, tuberculosis, typhoid, or maybe malaria? Look at his symptoms – some of them were...

A seedhead of an opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, with white latex. (Public Domain) Cylinder-seal of the "Lady" or "Queen" (Sumerian NIN) Puabi, one of the defuncts of the Royal Cemetery of Ur, c. 2600 BC. Banquet scene, typical of the Early Dynastic Period.

21 April, 2018 - 01:42 Alicia McDermott

New Research Provides First Peek at Ancient Mesopotamian Drug Use

Medical usage? Ritual practice? Or perhaps the drugs served both purposes? Researchers are asking what the recently recovered psychoactive drug residues from ancient Mesopotamia mean. But not...

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Myths & Legends

Lilith: Ancient Demon, Dark Deity or Sex Goddess?

Lilith: Ancient Demon, Dark Deity or Sensual Goddess?

In some sources she's described as a demon, in others she is an icon who became one of the darkest deities of the pagans. Lilith is one of the oldest known female spirits of the world. Her roots come...

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

The Real Story of Medusa and the Gorgons

Tracing the origins of the Serpent Cult

Slithering Through the Stories of Ancient Snake Deities: Serpent Gods of Ancient Mythology

The Age of the Gods: The Legendary History of Japan

Human Origins

Artist's impression of prehistoric hunters.

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

The popular image of the light-skinned European hunter-gatherer is not correct. DNA taken from a 7,000-year-old wisdom tooth found in Spain in 2006 shows a different story. A study of the tooth shows that the man who owned it had dark hair, blue eyes, and the dark-skinned genes of an African

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

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

Return of the Ancient Gods: The Resurgence of Paganism

Asherah: God’s Forgotten Wife

A Snapshot of Our Mysterious Ancestor Homo erectus

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.

The Beautiful and Complex Artisanship of Glass-making in the Ancient World

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

Boggling Bannerstones of Ancient Americans: Were They a Function of Flight or More a Flight of Fancy?

Ancient Places

One of the 40 monasteries on the Holy Mount Athos.

Mount Athos – Garden of the Mother of God and Holiest of Holy Mountains to Some

Mount Athos, known also as the Holy Mountain, is a mountain located in Greece. The site is a semi-autonomous republic of Eastern Orthodox monks and is considered to be one of the holiest places of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Were the Women of Petra More Important Than the Men?

The Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni and an unknown race with elongated skulls

The Mysterious Dropa Stones – Fact or Fiction?

Return of the Ancient Gods: The Resurgence of Paganism

Sacred Powers Fade Along With the Rock Art of the San People at Ha Baroana

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.