pet

11 April, 2021 - 17:41 ashley cowie

Pet Dogs in the Bronze Age Given Vegetarian Diet!

Do not ever try this at home, but it looks like Bronze Age dogs were vegetarians! Well, according to a study of protein in 3,000-year-old canine bones that is. During the Neolithic period, hunters...

6 March, 2021 - 17:59 Alicia McDermott

Ancient Red Sea Port May Have World’s Oldest Pet Cemetery

Archaeologists unearthed an extensive animal burial ground at the 2,000-year-old port of Berenice on the Red Sea coast of Egypt a decade ago. Now they say that the evidence found in almost 600 animal...

What was daily life like in ancient Rome?

14 February, 2021 - 12:38 John S. Richardson

Dawn to Dusk: The Highs and Lows of Daily Life in Ancient Rome

Living in the Mediterranean, daily life in ancient Rome revolved around the climate. Unlike the more northern Europeans of the past and today, the ancient Romans started their days early in the...

17 January, 2021 - 17:45 ashley cowie

Roman Baby Burial Challenges “Unceremonious Disposal” Dogma

Archeologists digging at France’s Clermont-Ferrand Airport have discovered the remains of a 2,000-year-old, upper-class, Roman baby and his pet dog. This rare Roman baby burial discovery further...

26 October, 2020 - 23:18 Alicia McDermott

Do All Dogs Go To Heaven? Pet Cemeteries and Belief in an Animal Afterlife

The loss of a pet is always tragic. However the way we have treated our pets after their death and the beliefs we hold about what happens after our cherished animal is gone have changed over the...

The remains of the cat fund in Kazakhstan. Source: Ashleigh Haruda / MLU

10 July, 2020 - 22:45 ashley cowie

Silk Road Cat Pushes Back Central Asia Domestication to 8th-century AD

Archaeologists have found the well-preserved remains of a Silk Road cat buried in Kazakhstan that likely dates from the 8th century AD, and the evidence suggests this was a “well-loved pet cat.” In a...

Remains of the Roman toy dog reveal its tiny stature and a healthy diet similar to its owners. Source: Martínez Sánchez / University of Granada

26 March, 2020 - 22:01 Ed Whelan

Ancient Remains Reveal the Romans Had ‘Toy Dogs’ Too

Research in Spain reveals that the Romans loved miniature or toy dogs. In antiquity, many members of the elite had pampered pets. Just as today, many celebrities have ‘toy dogs’ such as chihuahuas...

Foxes and dogs were domesticated in antiquity.

22 February, 2019 - 18:24 ancient-origins

Dogs and Foxes Were Domesticated By Bronze Age Humans

Science Daily In the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, between the third and second millennium BC, a widespread funeral practice consisted in burying humans with animals. Scientists have discovered...

Representational image of a war elephant. The recently-discovered fortress at Berenike guarded a port that supplied war elephants

6 January, 2019 - 18:51 ashley cowie

2300-Year-Old Fortress Which Guarded Port That Supplied War Elephants Found in Egypt in Major Discovery

A Polish-American archaeological team have discovered the ruins of a 2,300-year-old fortress that once protected the Ancient Egyptian port of “Berenike”, situated strategically on the coast of the...

The Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) is a subspecies of Western honey bee.

29 June, 2018 - 10:26 Kerry Sullivan

After 2000 Years of Harmony, the Maya May Soon Lose their Stingless Bee Pets

For several years now, reports have circulated about the worrisome decline of the population of bees. Periodically, newspaper headlines lament the bees’ disappearance as an irreversible tipping point...

11 October, 2017 - 01:56 ancient-origins

Viking Dogs Followed Their Masters to Valhalla

By THORNEWS Large amounts of animal bones have been found in Viking Age ship graves. For example, there were eight large sighthounds (Old Norse: mjór) buried on both sides outside the ship In the...

Some of the remains of ancient Egyptian pets unearthed in Berenike.

8 October, 2017 - 22:45 Theodoros Karasavvas

2,000-Year-Old Ancient Egyptian Cemetery Containing Dozens of Pets Unearthed in Berenike

A team of archaeologists have discovered a nearly 2,000-year-old pet cemetery holding the remains of dogs, monkeys and scores of cats at the site of Berenike, an Egyptian town on the Red Sea that...

22 June, 2017 - 02:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

DNA Analysis Suggests Cats Chose to Be Domesticated

According to an extensive DNA analysis of cat genes the domestic cat is descended from wild cats that were tamed twice; once in the Near East and then in Egypt. The study suggests that cats lived for...

20 April, 2017 - 18:41 ashley cowie

From Mighty Bear Dogs to Breathless Bulldogs: How Human Manipulation Has Changed the Shape of Canines Forever

Dogs in Prehistory The early ancestors of Gray Wolves were a group of carnivores named the creodonts that roamed the northern hemisphere between 100 and 120 million years ago. About 55 million years...

Did You Known That Baboons Were Trained in Ancient Egypt to Catch Criminals?

19 February, 2017 - 14:28 dhwty

Did You Know That Baboons Were Trained in Ancient Egypt to Catch Criminals?

The ancient Egyptians were renowned for their worship of animals, and one of these was the baboon. In ancient Egyptian mythology, baboons are best known for their association with Thoth, the god of...

Ancient Egyptian relief carving of a dog.

7 September, 2015 - 14:49 lizleafloor

Ritual and Burial: The Strange and Elaborate Ways Humans Prepared Animals for the Afterlife

The practice of animal burial is one that dates back to prehistoric epochs. Many cultures around the globe have buried animals for various reasons: sentimentality, religious rituals, superstition,...

Myths & Legends

Achilles’ Shield: What’s the Meaning of the Iliad’s Most Symbolic Object?

The Iliad is one of the most famous epic poems created by the Greek poet Homer and the piece recounts the last weeks of the Trojan War. In book 18 of the series, Homer writes about Achilles’ shield - this poem is one of the epic's most famous portions.

The Arthurian Tale of Elaine of Astolat, Lady of Shalott

Stay Out of the Water: Does a Prehistoric Shark Still Live in the Ocean?

The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter

Five Female Olympians of Ancient Greece: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Vlad the Impaler: The Real Count Dracula?

Human Origins

The genome sequencing of Denisovans DNA shows evidence of autism. Source: kentoh / Adobe Stock.

Did Autism Make the Denisovans Savants of the Prehistoric Age?

A genetic study hints strongly that the Denisovans, who roamed the earth down to end of the last ice age, possessed autistic skills, which were then passed on to their modern-human descendants.

The human skull that challenges the Out of Africa theory

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

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

Human Origins According to Ancient Greek Mythology

Where are Ashkenazi Jews from? Their Origins May Surprise You

Ancient Technology

Common Tools or Ancient Advanced Technology? How Did the Egyptians Bore Through Granite?

Ancient Egypt is known for many technological and artistic achievements, constructing pyramids and temples, inventing a system of writing, hieroglyphs, and making advancements in medicine, astronomy, and many other fields.

Egyptian Blue – The Oldest Known Artificial Pigment

150,000-Year-Old Pipes Baffle Scientists in China: Out of Place in Time?

1,200-Year-Old Telephone, Amazing Invention of the Ancient Chimu Civilization

Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked!

Vimanas: Greater Understanding on a Hotly Debated Topic

Ancient Places

Kivik Kungagraven: A Tomb Fit for a King

In 1748, two farmers stumbled upon an ancient stone tomb near the village of Kivik in southern Sweden while digging in a quarry. The tomb, now known as Kivik Kungagraven (‘King’s Grave of Kivik’), has since been reconstructed to a how it would have appeared during the time that it was first built.

Great Chain of The Golden Horn: Constantinople’s Impenetrable Barrier

The Rarely Told Story of Pre-Colonial Philippines

The Magnificent Palace of Knossos in Crete Was Stronghold of the Powerful Minoans

The History, Mystery, and Make-Believe of Kaieteur Falls

What is this Mysterious Ancient Structure Found in Downtown Miami?

Opinion

Is Bigfoot Real? Emerging Scientific Evidence

Is Bigfoot Real? Let’s Look at Emerging Scientific Evidence

In 1967, Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin spotted, and filmed, or so they claimed, a Sasquatch next to Bluff Creek in California. Dubbed an elaborate hoax by many, this image has become the...

Uncovering Ancient Pyramid Science at Teotihuacan, Where Men Become Gods

Vimanas: Greater Understanding on a Hotly Debated Topic

Unearthing Ancient Magic in The Runes –Messages with Hidden Symbols and Powerful Numbers

Petroglyphic Features of Portable Rock Art

The Northern Mysteries Current: Futhark and Mystery Schools of the Viking Age

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.

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