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Before They Were Divination Tools, Tarot Decks Were Playing Cards

... have their origins in ancient Egypt, and that mystical knowledge was encoded in them. Since then, the idea that ...

dhwty - 21/03/2023 - 00:53

Loch Ness Monster is Most Likely a Giant Eel!

Scientists claim to have finally found a “plausible theory” for sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. She’s not an aquatic reptile left over from the Jurassic era or a circus elephant that got in the water to bathe with her trunk aloft.

ancient origins - 08/09/2019 - 17:22

Bone Slips Excavated in Central China Linked to Ancient Fortune-Telling

During excavations at a 2,500-year-old archaeological site in Puyang, China, a set of 10 polished and painted bone slips or sticks were unearthed, all of which were inscribed with an ancient Chinese numbering system known as the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches (or the Tiangan (Dizhi) in Chinese). It is believed these bone slips were sacred items that would have been used in fortune telling sessions or during religious ceremonies organized to contact divine beings.

Nathan Falde - 08/02/2024 - 21:49

‘Little Pompeii’ Unearthed in France is Most Exceptional Roman Site Found in Half a Century

... its ancient height of prosperity. It will add a depth of knowledge concerning the daily life and society at the time ...

Gary Manners - 03/08/2017 - 22:59

“Largest Family Tree” Is Helping Trace the Entirety of Human History

Researchers from Oxford University’s Big Data Institute have engaged in the most Herculean of tasks and combined ancient and modern DNA to record the largest family tree ever made, dating back a whopping 100,000 years!

Sahir - 03/03/2022 - 18:17

Did Red Squirrels Spread Leprosy in Medieval England?

In a scientific first, an international team of researchers from the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the United States has found evidence to suggest that at least one species of animal was passing leprosy on to humans in medieval England. The animal in question is the red squirrel, a creature that lived in even closer proximity to people in the Middle Ages than it does today.

Nathan Falde - 04/05/2024 - 21:55

Herod the Great’s Alabaster Bathtubs

... University, and she knew he possessed the skills and knowledge required to carry out the detailed chemical ...

Nathan Falde - 23/05/2022 - 22:58

Ancient Andean Thundering Dance Floor Uncovered in Peru

An open-air “sounding” dance floor in Peru has been discovered, designed to mimic a drum-like sound, perhaps for a thunder god when stomped upon! Built sometime between 1000 and 1400 AD, the site called Viejo Sangayaico is located 200 kilometers (124.2 mi) southeast of the Peruvian capital of Lima. It was also very much in use during Inca rule between 1400 and 1532, and possibly even during the early years of the Spanish conquest.

Sahir - 20/07/2023 - 22:52

7-Year-Old Pulls Sword from Lake Where Folklore Claims King Arthur’s Excalibur Was Thrown

... from that, it is immediately evident to those with expert knowledge that this sword could not be Excalibur. At 4 feet ...

Gary Manners - 05/09/2017 - 23:03

Will Aurochs, a Cattle Species Found in Ancient Cave Paintings, be Resurrected?

... for resurrecting animals is necessary. With the knowledge of recreating animals from their DNA code, she ...

Natalia Klimczak - 06/04/2016 - 00:52

Gruesome Sacrificial Temple of the Macabre Fertility God Xipe Totec Discovered in Mexico

... dedicated to his worship. In particular it can add to our knowledge of pre-Hispanic religious practices and how it ...

Ed Whelan - 03/01/2019 - 19:05

Imperial Measures and the Pyramids

... and quite interesting, for it is indicating that the knowledge of the fractional approximation of Pi was known ...

ralph ellis - 16/07/2014 - 15:31

Pucara de Rumicucho Is More than just an Incan Stone Fortress

... As is known, the Inca civilization had an advanced knowledge regarding astronomy and often built their ...

Alicia McDermott - 18/07/2015 - 00:53

Ancient Greek Architects Ensured Disabled Access to Healing Temples

Disabled access, mobility and compassionate architectural planning are terms that anyone with a public business will know all too well, but a new paper published by researchers at the Department of Classics, California State University, in the journal Antiquity looks at these concepts in terms of ancient Greek architecture.

ashley cowie - 21/07/2020 - 00:00

Historical Timeline Shook: Human Arrival in South America Pushed Back to 25,000 Years Ago

Human arrival in the Americas has a long-disputed timeline, and new evidence supports pushing back the date for human arrival in South America to at least 25,000 years ago. The evidence? Remains of bones of extinct giant ground sloths, transformed into pendants by ancient inhabitants, found in the Santa Elina rock shelter, situated in central Brazil's Mato Grosso state. Till now, this remains the most compelling evidence for human settlement in the Americas this far back.

Sahir - 12/07/2023 - 14:54