rock art

11 April, 2019 - 18:55 ancient-origins

Archaeologists Identify First Prehistoric Figurative Cave Art in Balkans - It’s Symbolic!

There was an explosion of symbolism in human culture during the Paleolithic period. Around the world, examples of cave art, some of it rather strange , began cropping up over 35,000 years ago. But...

11 April, 2019 - 13:57 Ed Whelan

Namibia’s Apollo 11 Cave – How We Gained Insight Into The Minds Of Our Ancestors

Despite its name, the Apollo 11 cave in Namibia has nothing to do with space exploration. It’s the location of prehistoric art, some of the earliest examples of art in human history, and it has...

A Sámi family in front of goahti and lavvu housing, early 1900s, Norway

4 April, 2019 - 02:05 Alicia McDermott

The Sami People: Reindeer Herding and Cultural Survival in the Far North

The Sámi are the northernmost indigenous people of Europe. For thousands of years they have lived in an area called Sápmi - the northern sectors of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula...

Image of the findings with a tracing of the engraved figures on the piece.

13 March, 2019 - 13:20 ancient-origins

Archaeologists in Spain Unearth Rare Paleolithic Art Featuring Bird and Human Interaction

Science Daily It is not very common to find representations of scenes instead of individual figures in Paleolithic art, but it is even harder for these figures to be birds instead of mammals such as...

22 February, 2019 - 01:50 Ed Whelan

Trance Rock Art of Nsangwini - Communing With the Spirits

The San, often known as Bushmen or Khoisan, are people with an ancient culture and they have been living in Southern Africa for millennia. In Swaziland, officially known as the Kingdom of Eswatini,...

17 February, 2019 - 01:59 Ed Whelan

Chongoni Rock Art Offers Fascinating Insight into Mysterious Secret Society of the Chewa

Civilizations who have left no written records have in some cases left us with a way to understand their history and culture. The Chongoni Rock Art area, which contains a number of locations, is a...

14 February, 2019 - 02:11 Ed Whelan

Sacred Powers Fade Along With the Rock Art of the San People at Ha Baroana

As the world is getting smaller, thanks to technology and air travel, many previously mysterious, historic sites have become better known and it’s possible for ordinary tourists to visit these...

1 February, 2019 - 01:49 Ed Whelan

The Isolated Ennedi Geological Formations Are Rarely visited But Never Forgotten

In some of the most desolate areas on earth there are astonishing natural features and geological wonders. The Ennedi geological features in the African country of Chad are a prime example. These are...

19 January, 2019 - 01:52 Ed Whelan

Abourma Rock Art Displayed In Djibouti’s Most Inhospitable Landscape

Rock art has greatly enhanced our knowledge of our prehistoric ancestors and the Abourma site, in the African state of Djibouti, is enhancing our understanding further. These carvings which are set...

20 December, 2018 - 01:55 Ed Whelan

Gadao’s Cave, Guam: The Rock Art, The Chief, The Legends

There are many unique cultures with long, fascinating histories in the Pacific Islands and the small island of Guam is a prime example. One of the most renowned sites in the island is Gadao’s cave...

The ‘Older’ serpent head figurine. This artifact provides new insight on Ukraine rock art and snakes in ancient Ukrainian culture.

15 December, 2018 - 14:10 ashley cowie

Sculptured Serpents Provide a Peek at Mysterious Ukrainian Rock Art and a Forgotten Stone Age Snake Culture

Two curiously shaped ‘ophidian sculptured stones’ discovered in what is now Ukraine were crafted by Stone Age sculptors. The artifacts resemble ‘beady-eyed’ serpent heads, according to the team of...

25 November, 2018 - 23:00 Ed Whelan

The Glösa Rock Art in Sweden Provides a Peek Into the Lives of Stone Age Hunters

One of the most interesting and enjoyable historic sites in the Scandinavian country of Sweden is Glösa. This is an area with remarkable prehistoric petroglyphs, excavated hunting pits, and a center...

8 October, 2018 - 22:50 Michelle Freson

Petroglyphs Provincial Park: Home to Canada’s Greatest Collection of Rock Carvings

In Petroglyphs Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, Canada, rock art is generally divided into two categories. Pictographs are painted onto rocks using a variety of natural colors such as red, brown,...

Sophisticated rock carvings in Ratnagiri, India indicate a lost Indian civilization.

3 October, 2018 - 22:49 Ed Whelan

A Gallery of Hidden Prehistoric Rock Art Points to Lost Indian Civilization

India is a land of many civilizations. Now it appears that another one has been uncovered in the west of the country. A team of explorers has discovered a number of petroglyph sites that belonged to...

A Blombos Cave with ochre pencil on silcrete stone thought to be the earliest drawing.

13 September, 2018 - 02:00 ancient-origins

Discovery of the Earliest Drawing – By at Least 30,000 years

What is a symbol? This is a tough question to answer when tasked with analyzing the earliest graphic productions. What we might today interpret as figurative representations might just be an ancient...

Aboriginal rock art at Nourlangie, Kakadu

9 September, 2018 - 01:54 Michelle Freson

Kakadu National Park: The ‘Soul of Australia‘ has Some of the Oldest Rock Art in the World

Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia and is a tourist attraction known for its dramatic landscape, Aboriginal rock art, as well as abundant wildlife. The...

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...

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

Hermes: Messenger of the Gods and Patron of Traders, Travelers, and Thieves

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

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

Is the Island of Dolls Haunted? An Eerie Tribute to a Little Mexican Girl

Human Origins

Detail of ‘Ashkenazi Jews praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur. (1878 painting by Maurycy Gottlieb)

Where are Ashkenazi Jews from? Their Origins May Surprise You

Ashkenazi Jews are a Jewish ethnic group who have their earliest ancestors from the indigenous tribes of Israel…at least on one side of the family tree. A study published in 2013 in Nature Communications has shown their maternal lineage comes from a different, and possibly unexpected, source.

One Hundred Thousand Adams and Eves?

What and Where is Heaven? The Answers Are at the Heart of the Easter Story

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

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

The Secret Life of an Ancient Concubine

Ancient Technology

Handle of one of the wooden tools from the Poggetti Vecchi site.

171,000-Year-Old Fire Forged Tool Discovered Beneath a Giant Elephant

171,000 years ago, in Tuscany, a set of ancient tools were crafted and forged with fire. Archaeologists in Florence, Italy, made an incredible discovery during construction work at Poggetti Vecchi. A paper published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

The ancient invention of the steam engine by the Hero of Alexandria

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

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

Romans Mastered Nanotechnology and Used it for Eye Catching Decoration

The steam-powered pigeon of Archytas – the flying machine of antiquity

Ancient Places

The Mzora Stone Circle in Northern Morocco.

The Mzora Stone Circle: A Megalithic Mystery in Morocco

When people think of megalithic structures, there is a clear behemoth which undeniably dominates the history books – Stonehenge

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

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

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

Peel Castle: Centuries of History, a Mysterious Pagan Lady, and a Phantom Dog

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.

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.