religion

Ruins and obelisks at Axum, former capital of the Kingdom of Aksum

13 April, 2019 - 01:51 Kerry Sullivan

The Kingdom of Axum: Facts and Legends of a First Millennium Powerhouse

Located on the Horn of Africa, the ancient Ethiopian kingdom of Axum (also spelled Aksum) played a significant role in international relations around the time of the first millennium. At its height,...

Findings, such as this bowl, allowed the researchers to reconstruct the structure and significance of repeated state rituals by the Tiwanaku people.

2 April, 2019 - 18:57 ancient-origins

Incredible Site Shows Religious Rituals Occured At Lake Titicaca Way Before the Incas Arrived

An ancient group of people made ritual offerings to supernatural deities near the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, about 500 years earlier than the Incas, according to an international...

The Slave Bible omitted 90 percent of the Old Testament and 50 percent of the New Testament.

29 March, 2019 - 17:59 ashley cowie

Rare ‘Slave Bible’ Was A Powerful Mind Control Device and Spreader of Fake News

A rare and extremely controversial 19th century Bible on display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., was a powerful tool of propaganda, a mind control device, and a generator of ‘ Fake...

28 March, 2019 - 20:12 joannagillan

The Aztec Calendar Wheel and the Philosophy of Time

The Aztec or Mexica calendar wheels have been a source of fascination for centuries. It was not just a way to keep time - it was a complete philosophy of time in which every day had a religious...

The Israeli Druze are a religious minority in Israel who live in the north of the country.

24 March, 2019 - 17:47 Chadi B Ghaith

Who are the Druze and How Might the Shroud of Turin Relate Them to Jesus Christ?

The Druze are a secretive surviving Gnostic community in the Middle East today who publicly claim homogeneity with Islam due to a historical fear of persecution. In truth, they have nothing in common...

28 February, 2019 - 23:01 Caleb Strom

Rekindling of the Hearth of Hellenism - A Return to Worship of the Greek Gods

Europe is in the midst of a pagan revival. Across Europe , different cultures are attempting to revive their pre-Christian religious heritage. Greece is no exception. Although the movement is small,...

23 February, 2019 - 18:55 dhwty

The Bizarre Crucifixion of Margaretta Peter: The Short Life of a Prodigy and Devoted Christian

Margaretta Peter was a Swiss woman who lived during the 19 th century. As a child, Margaretta was considered to have been a prodigy and was particularly noted for her religious zeal. As she grew up,...

Muhammad and Abu Bakr flee Mecca, as depicted in ‘The Outline of History’

20 February, 2019 - 14:00 dhwty

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: Spreading Islam from Mecca to Medina

The Prophet Muhammad is often called the founder of Islam, but he is also something of a mystery because there is little concrete biographical information about his life in the Qu’ran. To learn more...

“Zeniff Battle” by James Fullmer. The Gadianton robbers fought many battles in the Book of Mormon.

11 February, 2019 - 18:47 dhwty

The Gadianton Robbers: Organized Crime in the Ancient Americas

The Gadianton robbers were a band of robbers in the ancient Americas according to the Book of Mormon. This dangerous group operated as a ‘secret combination’, a term used to describe various...

23 January, 2019 - 01:49 dhwty

The Roman Pantheon Had A God for All Seasons - And Then Some

The Romans were a polytheistic people who worshiped a great number of gods. Nevertheless, the most important gods in the Roman pantheon are the twelve gods and goddesses of the Dii Consentes , who...

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

9 January, 2019 - 23:02 Rabbi Allen Maller

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...

29 December, 2018 - 01:58 ancient-origins

A Christmas story: the arrival of a sweet baby boy – or a political power to change the world?

Robyn J. Whitaker / The Conversation Dear tiny Jesus, with your golden fleece diapers, with your tiny little fat balled-up fists … Dear 8 pound 6 ounce newborn infant Jesus, don’t even know a word...

Hubert Vos' painting of a young Manchu man. Manchu shaman were important cultural icons

24 November, 2018 - 18:45 ashley cowie

The Heavenly Legacy of the Ancient Manchu Shaman

The Manchu people are an ethnic minority in China sometimes called "red-tasseled Manchus", a reference to the ornamentation on traditional Manchu shaman’ hats. Shamanism was the dominant religion of...

19 November, 2018 - 13:50 ashley cowie

Rapidly Closing American Churches Are Shadowed by The Meteoric Rise in Witchcraft

A highly-thought provoking report published in the October edition of Christian Post highlights that “the number of witches (and wiccans) has dramatically increased since the 1990s, to the degree...

A journey from London to Persepolis; including wanderings in Daghestan, Georgia, Armenia., by USSHER, John. Source: (British Library / Public Domain)

16 November, 2018 - 13:24 dhwty

Who Are the Yazidis and Why Have They Been Continually Persecuted?

The Yazidis (also spelled as Yezidis) are a religious minority found primarily in northern Iraq. In recent years, the Yazidis have received the attention of the international media as a result of...

A 16th century fresco depicting the Council of Nicaea.

9 November, 2018 - 22:54 dhwty

The Council of Nicaea: Pagan Emperor Constantine Used Christianity to Unify Church and State

The Council of Nicaea (also known as the First Council of Nicaea) was the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. This council, which was convened in 325 AD, was assembled by the Roman...

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...

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

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

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

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

Talos – Crete

Human Origins

One Hundred Thousand Adams and Eves?

When the journalist Roger Lewin in 1987 dubbed the common maternal ancestor of all people living today “Mitochondrial Eve,” he evoked a creation story—that of a woman who was the mother of us all, and whose descendants dispersed throughout the earth.

Where are Ashkenazi Jews from? Their Origins May Surprise You

Religion Isn’t The Enemy of Science: It’s Been Inspiring Scientists for Centuries

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Asherah: God’s Forgotten Wife

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

Ancient Technology

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

A Russian research team known as the Kosmopoisk Group, which investigates UFOs and paranormal activity, claims to have found a one-inch screw embedded inside a rock that is 300 million years old...

The Man Who Stopped a Desert Using Ancient Farming

Dujiangyan: The 2,200-Year-Old Chinese Irrigation System That is Still Used Today!

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

Mega Earthquake Caused Major Shift in Inca Construction Methodology

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

Ancient Places

Left: The temple of Ain Dara before. Right: The temple after its recent destruction.

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

The Syro-Hittite temple of Ain Dara built in the 1st millennium BC boasted intricate stone sculptures of lions and sphinxes, elaborately decorated walls with geometric designs, floral patterns, animals and mythical creatures, and limestone pavings that are famously imprinted with a pair of gigantic footprints.

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

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

Somalia: The Ancient Lost Kingdom of Punt is Finally Found?

The Lost Tribe of Clover Hollow – Oldest Civilization in the World Found in Appalachian Mountains?

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

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.

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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.