mesoamerican

A view of the great megalithic walls surrounding the Acropolis of Chimalacatlan. Some of the stones measure over 3 meters long, with an estimated weight of between 5 to 8 tons.

9 February, 2019 - 01:43 Marco M. Vigato

Tamoanchan – In Search of the Lost Cradle of Mesoamerican Civilizations

The oldest Nahua legends speak of a mythical place called Tamoanchan , considered to be the cradle of all Mesoamerican civilizations and a sort of terrestrial paradise from which the ancestors of the...

Hand prints, animals and human forms found in Yucatan cave. Source: Sergio Grosjean / Youtube Screenshot

31 July, 2018 - 23:00 Ed Whelan

Uncertain Origins of Ancient Cave Paintings Found in the Yucatan Peninsula

A major discovery has been reported by archaeologists in the Yucatan Peninsula, in south-eastern Mexico. A team of experts has discovered some astonishing cave paintings deep in a remote jungle. The...

28 June, 2018 - 11:31 Theodoros Karasavvas

3,000-Year-Old Ball Game Where Winners Lost Their Heads Is Revived in Mexico

In order to commemorate and honor Mexican heritage, teams from Mexico and Belize competed against each other in a three millennia-old game known as Ulama. The game took place in the ancient Mayan...

Top left to Bottom Left: Serpent artifact, (Author), Single serpent, Kukulkan, (Jose Miguel, Almeyda), Serpent model, (Author), Serpent heads Kukulkan, (Jose Miguel Almeyda)

27 December, 2017 - 18:58 Indigenous Peop...

A Serpent Raises its Head in Georgia: Is this Evidence of an Aztec Connection?

A recently discovered artifact in Northern Georgia is a testament to the importance of religious art in the spiritual lives of the area’s ancient Indigenous residents. What can such an oddly placed...

Quetzalcoatl – Public Domain, and El Castillo at Chichén Itzá – CC BY-SA 4.0

27 November, 2017 - 18:57 Carl Johan Calleman

The ‘Myth’ of the Plumed Serpent: Revealing the Real Message Behind the Feathered Snake

The Plumed (or Feathered) Serpent is a Mesoamerican myth that has fascinated modern people for quite some time. Among the Aztecs and Toltecs this divinity went by the name of Quetzalcoatl and to the...

Mesoamerican ballgame latterly known as ‘Ulama’, using ‘Hipball’ rules

25 September, 2017 - 23:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

Playing Ball in Ancient Belize: 1,300-year-old Stone Panels Depicting Mayan Ballplayers Revealed

Archaeologists have deciphered two 1,300-year-old stone panels that depict ancient Mayans playing with large balls while carrying impressive fans. The panels were found at the archaeological site of...

Mayan script is typically in the form of blocks, which can represent a sound, word, or sentence.

24 July, 2017 - 01:58 aprilholloway

Linguists Are Finally Unravelling the Mysteries Trapped Within Mayan Hieroglyphs

Today, there are over six million people that speak a language that evolved out of the Maya civilization, which inhabited parts of what are now Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador for...

4 July, 2017 - 01:38 Caleb Strom

Xochicalco: New Wave Mayan City That Was a Prime Target for Destruction

After the collapse of Teotihuacan and other major centers of the Mesoamerican Classic Period (circa 250-750 AD) such as Monte Alban, Tikal, and Palenque, Mesoamerican civilization entered uncertain...

15 January, 2017 - 21:57 Clyde Winters

2,000-Year-Old Carving and 16th Century Manuscript Reveal Some Maya Came from Across the Sea

The Popol Vuh, a corpus of mythological and historical narratives according to the Quiché-Maya people, and Izapa Stela 5, a carved stela found at the ancient Mesoamerican site of Izapa in Mexico,...

7 November, 2016 - 01:02 ancient-origins

Art of an Empire: The Imagination, Creativity and Craftsmanship of the Aztecs

The Aztec Empire, centred at the capital of Tenochtitlan, dominated most of Mesoamerica in the 15th and 16th centuries CE. With military conquest and trade expansion the art of the Aztecs also spread...

8 October, 2016 - 00:42 dhwty

Terrifying Mesoamerican Skull Racks Were Erected to Deter Enemies

A skull rack, known also as Tzompantli in the Nahuatl language, is an object documented to have been used in several Mesoamerican civilizations, including the Aztecs, the Toltecs, and the Mayas...

Teotihuacan, Mexico

Coba, Mexico

Ruins of Netzahualcoyotl’s palace in the archaeological area of Baños in Texcoco

31 January, 2016 - 03:12 ancient-origins

The Golden Age of Texcoco, Powerful City of King Nezahualcoyotl

Texcoco was a beautiful city full of natural altars, places of culture and impressive buildings. It was located on the eastern bank of Lake Texcoco, on the northeast of the Aztec capital –...

Multi-facet basalt artifact, Georgia, USA.

22 January, 2016 - 03:48 Indigenous Peop...

Jackson County Artifact Adds Mystery to History of the Region: What are the Symbols and Who Made Them?

History is sometimes slow to share its secrets, but it did recently for a rural Jackson County man while he was clearing an area of his property. As a longtime resident and avid artifact collector,...

Chief Saturiwa prepares his men for battle during a ceremony involving the black drink.

11 September, 2015 - 03:46 Robin Whitlock

People in the Southwestern United States drank caffeinated drinks in 750 AD

The sparse population inhabiting the area that is now the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico during the eighth century AD regularly consumed drinks made from cacao—the plant that is...

Pages

Myths & Legends

The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter

Easter is a festival and holiday celebrated by millions of people around the world who honor the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred three days...

The Story of the Scary Shtorka and the Revival of Croatian Mythology

Ragnar Lothbrok: A Real Viking Hero Whose Life Became Lost to Legend

Involuntary Initiation: Tales of Demonic Powers of Sorcery Transmitted to the Unsuspecting

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

Legends of Mount Shasta: “The Abode of the Devil” Part I – The Legend of J.C. Brown

Human Origins

Heavens Gates Opening. Source: Alswart / Adobe.

What and Where is Heaven? The Answers Are at the Heart of the Easter Story

My pious Baptist grandmother once shockingly confessed, at the ripe old age of 93, that she didn’t want to go to heaven. “Why,” we asked? “Well, I think it will be rather boring just sitting around on clouds and singing hymns all day” she answered. She had a point.

One Hundred Thousand Adams and Eves?

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Britannia, Druids and the Surprisingly Modern Origins of Myths

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

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

Ancient Technology

Obsidian projectile point sourced to Batza Tena, Alaska.

Reconstructing an Ancient Lethal Weapon

Archaeologists are a little like forensic investigators: They scour the remains of past societies, looking for clues in pottery, tools and bones about how people lived, and how they died. And just as...

Is this a 300 million-year-old screw or just a fossilized sea creature?

Does ‘New Evidence’ Prove Noah’s Ark Is Buried on a Turkish Mountain?

The Man Who Stopped a Desert Using Ancient Farming

Norimitsu Odachi: Who Could Have Possibly Wielded This Enormous 15th Century Japanese Sword?

Silphium, the ancient contraceptive herb driven to extinction

Ancient Places

Image shows the level of damage caused by the truck driving into the protected archaeological site.

Driver Plows Truck into 2,000-Year-Old Nazca Lines Causing Irreversible Damage

In a shocking example of destruction of a fragile archaeological site, a truck driver has been charged with careless driving and entering a prohibited zone after he accidentally drove his truck over the world-renowned Nazca lines in Peru.

The Dark Underworld of the Paris Catacombs

3,000-Year-Old Ain Dara Temple in Syria Reduced to Rubble by Turkish Airstrikes

Ashurbanipal: The Oldest Surviving Royal Library in the World with Over 30,000 Clay Tablets

Roque Bentayga, Gran Canaria: Vestiges of the Mysterious Guanche People

Legends of Mount Shasta: “The Abode of the Devil” Part I – The Legend of J.C. Brown

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

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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.

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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.