philippines

1 October, 2018 - 23:04 Caleb Strom

The Rarely Told Story of Pre-Colonial Philippines

The Philippines were ruled by Western powers - first the Spanish and later the United States, for some 350 years. Except for a few religious minorities, the Philippines has also become thoroughly...

‘The Divorce of the Empress Josephine’ (1843) by Henri Frédéric Schopin

28 December, 2017 - 13:43 dhwty

Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Divorce Laws Have Evolved, But One Country Is Holding Back

Divorce can be traced all the way back to ancient Greek and Roman societies. But the idea of marriage in these cultures was different from what is found in modern Western society, so it makes sense...

Dragon, Broncefigur, Golden Dragon, Thailand

19 July, 2017 - 19:00 aprilholloway

Bermuda Triangle of the Pacific: Devil’s Sea Connected with Missing Ships and Other Strange Phenomena

The Devil’s Sea, otherwise known as the Dragon’s Triangle, is a region in the Pacific Ocean that has come to be associated with numerous accounts of disappearing ships and planes, sightings of ghost...

25 February, 2017 - 01:54 Natalia Klimczak

Trading Treasures and Curiosity: The Fascinating History of Manila Galleons

Every remarkable story starts with curiosity. That is the primary reason why people travel and want to discover new lands. It applies to every period in history, from antiquity to our times. The...

26 December, 2016 - 14:48 dhwty

Yamashita's Gold: Enormous War Treasure Hoard Remains Elusive

Yamashita’s Gold (known also as Yamashita’s Treasure) is the name given to the alleged war loot accumulated by the Japanese armed forces in Southeast Asia during the Second World War. This alleged...

25 October, 2016 - 17:21 MartiniF

The Marriage of the Sky and the Sea: Visayan Creation Myths

Although there are different versions of the Visayan creation myth, they are similar in characters, conflicts and resolutions. The way the story was narrated and its different subsequent retellings...

20 November, 2015 - 21:53 dhwty

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription: An Ancient Text That Changed the Perception of the History of the Philippines

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription is the name of an inscription written on an artifact that has great significance for the understanding of the history of the Philippines during the 10th century AD...

8 August, 2015 - 21:34 Bryan Hill

Teleportation Man: Transport in the Blink of an Eye of a Spanish Soldier

Teleportation is the transportation of a person or object from one place to another instantaneously. There are many accounts where people have supposedly disappeared suddenly and the phenomenon is...

20 March, 2015 - 02:25 dhwty

Chief Lapu-Lapu - Warrior and Hero of the Philippines

In the early 16 th century, Spain was becoming a global superpower due to innovations in navigation and seafaring. At the end of the previous century, Christopher Columbus, whose voyage had been...

3 March, 2015 - 12:35 mrreese

Fire Mummies - The Smoked Human Remains of the Kabayan Caves

Mummification of the deceased is a fairly well-known practice from ancient times. Most notably, the Egyptians utilized a mummification process that led to today’s cliché image of a deceased body...

Old Map of the Philippines in year 1628 showing the Reed Bank (an area just East of the Spratly islands) as part of the Philippines.

25 January, 2015 - 22:22 Mark Miller

Ancient Maps spark debate between China and Philippines over South China Sea islands

The Chinese government claims ninety percent of the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands, an archipelago of 750 islands and reefs nearer the Philippines. However, a series of ancient maps...

The Hanging Coffins of Sagada, Philippines

29 April, 2014 - 23:31 dhwty

The Unique Hanging Coffins of Sagada, Philippines

The Igorots are an indigenous tribe living in Sagada, Luzon Island, Philippines. The Igorots practise unique funerary customs, in which the dead are buried in coffins which are tied or nailed to the...

20 March, 2014 - 01:13 aprilholloway

New study suggests that the Philippines is the ancestral homeland of Polynesians

Research into the origins and dispersal of Polynesian chickens has helped scientists reconstruct the early migrations of the Polynesians and the animals they carried with them. The results revealed...

4 November, 2013 - 11:14 aprilholloway

The mystery of the empty honeycomb tombs of Bohol

In the municipality of Dimiao in the province of Bohol, Philippines, lies an eerie and perplexing image – rows and rows of honeycomb-like tombs . The site would not be so strange if it were not for...

3 October, 2013 - 06:35 aprilholloway

Ancient human remains in Philippines reveal rare ritual burial

A team of scientists have discovered the 9,000-year-old remains of a woman buried in a cave in El Nido, Palawan in the Philippines, which reveal evidence of an elaborate and bizarre ritual burial...

Myths & Legends

The Epic of Gilgamesh. Source: Luca Oleastri / Adobe.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Searching For a Way to the Home Planet

The Epic of Gilgamesh is regarded as one of mankind’s greatest literary and historical works. Many authors have studied the text in an effort to explain the nature of Gilgamesh’s tyranny and his erratic behavior.

Decoding Viking Signs: Nine Norse Symbols Explained

The Menhune of Hawaii – Ancient Race or Fictional Fairytale?

Vlad the Impaler the Inspiration Behind Count Dracula

Skaði, The Norse ‘Giantess’ with a Godly Vendetta

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

Human Origins

‘Indian Barbers Saharanpore’ by Edwin Lord Weeks. Scientists have recently found just how diverse both Indian and Jewish genes really are.

Unity in Diversity: Studies Reveal Surprising Stories for the Genes of Ancient Hindus and Jews

New research using ancient DNA is rewriting the genetic history of two ancient peoples; the Hindus and the Jews - and it shows that their two religious civilizations are the result of multiple ancient ethnic migrations; into the Land of India in the case of the Hindus, and into diaspora Jewish communities in the case of the Jewish people.

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

The Pagan Wheel of the Year: What Elaborate Rituals and Events Mark this Sacred Cycle?

Drugs in Ancient Cultures: A History of Drug Use and Effects

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

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

Ancient Technology

The passage of carts over decades could cause ruts (like the one shown), particularly in high-traffic areas of Pompeii.

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

The buried city of Pompeii continues to provide many insights into Roman society , economy, and culture. The ash and pumice , that fell on Pompeii from Mount Vesuvius , froze the city in time. A...

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

Why Are There 365 Days in a Year? Organizing Dates with an Ancient Egyptian Calendar

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

Mummy Brown – the 16th century paint made from ground up mummies

Ancient Places

The destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria

Alexandria, one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, was founded by Alexander the Great after his conquest of Egypt in 332 BC. After the death of Alexander in Babylon in 323 BC, Egypt fell to...

The Great Serpent Mound of Ohio, the Largest Earthen Effigy in the World

The White Temple and the Great Ziggurat in the Mesopotamian City of Uruk

The Construction of Venice, the Floating City

The 9,000-year-old underground megalithic settlement of Atlit Yam

Explaining the Fall of the Great Akkadian Empire

Opinion

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

There are many accounts of a land of immortality and eternal youth in world myths and legends, as well as shamanic and indigenous spiritual traditions. Mysterious Worlds Writing in his recent work,...

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

Changing Colors and Scampering Across the Night Sky: What Did the Ancients Say about Sirius?

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

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