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A mummy unearthed in the Atacama Desert.

Mummies Found in Chile Did Not Let Harsh Life Conditions Get Them Down

Despite apparent episodes of food shortage, disease, violence, and severe weather conditions, it seems that, at least for some people, life in Chile between 500-1500 years ago was not that stressful...
A reconstruction of Pakal's tomb in the Museo Nacional de Antropología

Underground Tunnels Found Beneath Pakal Tomb in Maya Site of Palenque

Archaeologists at the world-renowned Maya site of Palenque in Mexico have made a surprising discovery beneath the Temple of Inscriptions, the impressive funerary monument built for Maya ruler Pakal...
Inset; Bucket/ banduddû from the north wall of the Palace of king Sargon II, and a four-winged genie in the Bucket and cone motif.

Banduddu: Solving the Mystery of the Babylonian Container

One of the great riddles in Mesopotamian sacred art concerns the image of anthropomorphic winged figures called Apkallu holding a mullilu (tree fruit) in one hand, and a banduddû — a container — in...
The monumental Egyptian statute of a high official from the Middle Kingdom in Egypt, found in the administrative palace at Hazor, north of the Sea of Galilee in Israel.

Monumental 4500-Year-Old Statue of an Egyptian Official Discovered at Tel Hazor

The monumental statue is a one of series of recent discoveries that proves that Hazor was one of the major cities in the region, heading a league of Canaanite city-states. A team of archaeologists...
Antikythera Mechanism, National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece.

What the world’s oldest calculator tells us about the Ancient Greeks' view of the Universe

When we talk of the history of computers, most of us will refer to the evolution of the modern digital desktop PC, charting the decades-long developments by the likes of Apple and Microsoft. What...
Ancient horse burial in Gonur Depe.

Ancient Horse Burials of the Bronze Age: Folklore and Superstition

Horses have long been an important aspect in both western and eastern cultures. They are considered common in Indo-European traditions, with Chinese and Turkish traditions providing the most well-...
A 16th century bezoar in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienne

Bezoars: The Sought After Ancient Jewels Made from Animal Stomach Growths

There is an urban legend fueled by the movie Beverly Hills Cop that people have around 5 pounds of undigested meat in their stomach by the time they are middle-aged. Not so. But bezoars, which are...
The ‘Elephant Slab’, (left) and sketched markings (right).

The Elephant Slabs of Flora Vista: Enigmatic Artifacts with Ancient African Origins

In Did West Africans live in the Four Corners Region of the United States from 12th Century ? , published in Ancient Origins, I discussed the Mande inscriptions found in the Four Corners region of...
One of the burials at Didnauri, the largest Bronze Age settlement ever discovered in the southern Caucasus. This burial predates the 3,100-year-old wall around the settlement by about about 200 years

Largest Ancient Settlement of South Caucasus Discovered from Satellite Photos

A military commander killed in battle with the arrowhead still lodged in his thorax is one of the interesting finds by archaeologists at the largest prehistoric settlement discovered in the South...
A Paracas elongated skull and an artist’s impression based on a digital reconstruction.

New DNA Testing on 2,000-Year-Old Elongated Paracas Skulls Changes Known History

The elongated skulls of Paracas in Peru caused a stir in 2014 when a geneticist that carried out preliminary DNA testing reported that they have mitochondrial DNA “with mutations unknown in any human...
Personal ‘hygiene sticks’ used in toilets on the Silk Road. Hui-Yuan Yeh. Reproduced from the Journal of Archaeological Science

2,000-Year-Old Feces from the Silk Road Reveal Spread of Infectious Diseases

Once travelled by famous historical figures such as Marco Polo and Genghis Khan, the Silk Road was a hugely important network of transport routes connecting eastern China with Central Asia, the...
A witch in prison by dg2001

Archaeologists Identify Scottish Church Where Accused 16th Century Witches Were Imprisoned

Researchers think they have found architectural features in a church in Aberdeen, Scotland, where accused witches were held during the Great Witch Hunt of 1596-‘97 and later strangled as an act of ‘...
Dragon Sculpture, China.

The Bird and the Serpent: From the Neolithic Goddesses to Ancient Chinese Symbols of Nobility and Benevolence

Victorian art critic, John Ruskin, in his book Proserpina , calls himself “the gentle and happy scholar of flowers”. A large part of his work is an attempt to connect nature, art and society. To...
Detail of panel with adoration to Aten.

A Pharaoh Thrice Buried? The Mystery of the Tombs of Pharaoh Akhenaten

Pharaoh Akhenaten is one of the most mysterious kings of Ancient Egypt. Researchers have discovered three tombs dedicated to him - all full of even more secrets. These tombs do, however, provide...
Yamnaya skull from the Samara region colored with red ochre.

Surprising 5,000-Year-Old Cannabis Trade: Eurasian Steppe Nomads Were Earliest Pot Dealers

The nomad tribe known as the Yamnaya, who were among the founders of the European civilization, may have been the first pot dealers, archaeologists say. Moreover, they were responsible for the first...
Stonehenge and Nearby Stone Circles Were Newcomers to Landscape worked by Ice Age hunters

Stonehenge and Nearby Stone Circles Were Newcomers to Landscape worked by Ice Age hunters

About 5,000 years ago, not far from Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in England, some people built a stone circle smaller than its more famous counterpart. But for some reason, sometime after they built...
The Resurrection. (c. 1715-1716) By S. Ricci.

Hidden Beliefs Covered by the Church? Resurrection and Reincarnation in Early Christianity

Is it possible that early Christians believed in reincarnation? Although some may find this idea unbelievable, several Christian sources (including the Bible) suggest that many centuries ago, it was...
The Legend of Atlantis: Between Ancient Ruins and a Philosopher’s Tale

The Legend of Atlantis: Between Ancient Ruins and a Philosopher’s Tale

Atlantis is many things to many people. To some, it is a fictional island and city that a philosopher with a vivid imagination invented to illustrate a moral point, and nothing more. To others, it is...
Inside one of the caves on Mona Island.

Cave discoveries shed new light on Native and European religious encounters in the Americas

Recent fieldwork by a collaborative Anglo-Puerto Rican team has uncovered new evidence in the Caribbean of an early religious dialogue between Europeans and Native Americans. A large collection of...
Paleo-Indians of North America

16,700-Year-Old Tools Found in Texas Change Known History of North America

Archaeologists in Texas have found a set of 16,700-year-old tools which are among the oldest discovered in the West. Until now, it was believed that the culture that represented the continent’s first...
Edwin Long’s The Babylonian Marriage Market.

The Babylonian Marriage Market: An Auction of Women in the Ancient World

In the 5 th century BC, Greek Historian Herodotus wrote about the customs and traditions he witnessed while in Babylon. One of the more controversial customs he reports on is the Babylonian marriage...
A scene on the west wall of the Osiris Hall at Abydos shows the raising of the Djed pillar.

Zep Tepi and the Djed Mystery: Backbone of Osiris - Part I

The Djed, by its very nature, is one of the highest mysteries in the Ancient Egypt history. It was built in the core of the so-called Cheops pyramid, just off the King Chamber, perfectly integrated...
This royal tomb, the eighth discovered in 25 years, is believed to have belonged to a Moche priestess buried 1,200 years ago. The great quantity of artifacts and the complexity of the burial reveal the power and influence this woman wielded in life.

Where Women Once Ruled: Excavated Tombs of Moche Priestesses Provide Archaeologists with Troves of Artifacts

When archaeologists unearthed a large chamber tomb in San José de Moro, a ceremonial center of pre-Columbian Moche civilization on the northern coast of Peru, they found the remains of a woman who...
Gabriel Fahrenheit and the thermometer he invented

Poor Merchant to Scientific Fame: The Forgotten Tale of Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit

The Fahrenheit temperature scale is especially popular in the USA but it is also found in the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Belize, and the Western Pacific. Thus, it may surprise some people to know...

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