Man-like beasts appear in myths and legends of cultures around the globe. The best known ‘wild man’ phenomena of today is the Sasquatch or Big Foot of North America, but there are other legends such...
On August 29, 1533, the Incan King Atahualpa , who only ruled for one single year, was ordered by Francisco Pizarro (1471-1541) to be strangled to death by a garrot. This single act martyred...
Is Aztlan the ancient homeland of the great Aztec civilization, or is it just a mythical land described in legends? The Aztec people of Mexico created one of the most important empires of the ancient...
Of all the Latin American folktales and legends , none are more prolific and well-known as that of La Llorona. Long before its latest movie incarnation, “The Curse of La Llorona” was released the...
Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent or ‘plumed serpent’, was one of the most important gods in the ancient Mesoamerican pantheon. The name Quetzalcoatl is a combination of two Nahuatl (the language of...
Located south of Baraboo in Sauk County Wisconsin, Devil’s Lake is a place of natural wonder and legend. The central feature of the biggest State Park in Wisconsin , Devil’s Lake covers 360 acres (...
On many continents during the last ice age , typically from about 50,000 to 12,000 years ago, species of megafauna that had lived there for hundreds of thousands of years became extinct...
The Solid Muldoon is the name given to a supposedly petrified prehistoric man that was ‘discovered’ in 1877. This ‘ petrified body’ was unearthed by William Conant at Muldoon Hill, a small hill not...
The Island of Dolls (known also as La Isla de las Muñecas in Spanish) is a chinampa in Mexico City, Mexico . As its name suggests, dolls are found throughout the island, placed there by its former...
Mictlantecuhtli was a god in the Aztec pantheon. Translated literally, his name means ‘ Lord of Mictlan’ , Mictlan being the Aztec underworld or land of the dead. The Aztecs believed that there were...
The jackalope is a legendary creature mentioned in the folklore of North America. This animal is described as being a jackrabbit with antelope horns. The creature’s name, incidentally, is a...
Cynthia Hart-Button and husband Charles are the Guardians of the Sacred White Bison. They have cared for and nurtured a small herd of these rare creatures for nearly two decades. This couple’s...
Iconic myths about the American White Bison are scattered among the oral tradition of various Native American tribes stretching from Canada to Mexico. Respected mythologist Joseph Campbell sometimes...
The Maya were a polytheistic people who believed in a multitude of gods and goddesses. The deities of the Maya pantheon governed every aspect of nature and human life and were quite complex...
Every year, the people of Peru host an elaborate celebration in the city of Cuzco at the time of the summer solstice. This festival is known as Inti Raymi – the Festival of the Sun. To spectators,...
The legend of the Jersey Devil comes to us from the State of New Jersey, USA and neighboring states. The Jersey Devil’s history places it at the very top of baffling crypto- zoological mysteries. It...
Huitzilopochtli was one of the most important deities in the Aztec pantheon. They saw him as the god of the sun, warfare, military conquest, sacrifice, and the patron god of Tenochtitlan...
Ehecatl was the wind god of the Aztec pantheon. As a weather deity, he was also indirectly connected to agriculture and the fertility of the land. Additionally, Ehecatl is commonly regarded to be an...
Tlazolteotl was an earth goddess in the pantheon of the Aztecs, although her area of influence is a little wider and more unusual than some goddesses of the earth and fertility. Filth was her domain...
Kukulcan was the all-powerful snake god worshipped by the Maya. While little information remains about the legends and mythology of Kukulcan – due to the tragic destruction of the Maya codices by the...
The Aztecs placed an array of important life elements in the hands of Chalchiuhtlicue. She was primarily a goddess of freshwater, thus her domain included lakes, rivers, and streams. But she also...
‘Our Lord the Flayed One’ – following this god’s choice of attire, human skin - Xipe Totec would have been a terrifying sight. But this was an extremely important deity in the Mesoamerican pantheon,...
The ancients knew him well. He was as powerful as a god, as dangerous as a demon. He generously gave life – and he ruthlessly took it away. He appeared to all, from the darkest and most bone-chilling...
In part 1 of this article, the features of the Liverpool Mound group in Fulton County Illinois were described. This second half focuses on the possible meanings of the mounds and their contents and...
