space

The Statue of Socrates at the Academy of Athens. Work of Leonidas Drosis (d. 1880). (C messier/CC BY SA 4.0) Background: This NASA image shows Earth from space. The image is a combination of data from two satellites.

30 April, 2021 - 15:01 Caleb Strom

Was Socrates in Space? A Question of Ancient Spaceflight

The ancient Greeks are credited with having made many early advancements in science and mathematics which influenced later western civilization. Aristarchus of Samos proposed an essentially...

Illustration of the NASA Perseverance rover firing up its descent engines as it approaches the surface of planet Mars. Source: JPL-Caltech / NASA

18 February, 2021 - 21:36 Nathan Falde

Age-Old Obsession with Planet Mars Culminates in Multiple Missions

In an extraordinary confluence of events, three nations from three separate regions of the globe—the United States, China , and the United Arab Emirates —launched spacecraft headed for planet Mars...

This illustration depicts NASA's Perseverance rover operating on the surface of Mars. Source: NASA / JPL-Caltech

6 May, 2020 - 17:47 ancient-origins

Promising Signs For Perseverance Rover’s Quest for Martian Life

New research indicates river delta deposits within Mars' Jezero crater - the destination of NASA's Perseverance rover on the Red Planet - formed over time scales that promoted habitability and...

Representative image of the comet Atlas in the night sky. Source: Tryfonov / Adobe stock

2 April, 2020 - 14:00 ashley cowie

Ancient Comet ‘Atlas’ Measures Half the Size of the Sun and it’s Back!

A huge icy space rock, comet ‘Atlas’, is currently in the constellation Ursa Major in the northern sky passing through the orbit of Mars , but it’s on a trajectory with our Sun and it will get...

Does the unique nature of our evolution mean we are alone in the universe? Source: CC0

26 October, 2019 - 01:24 ancient-origins

Evolution Tells Us We Might Be the Only Intelligent Life in the Universe

Nick Longrich / The Conversation Are we alone in the universe? It comes down to whether intelligence is a probable outcome of natural selection, or an improbable fluke. By definition, probable events...

Deriv; Stone statue of Gilgamesh (CC BY 2.0), used here as a representation of an ancient Mesopotamian man. Background: Solar event. (CC0) Information provided by ancient Assyrian astrologers can help modern scientists predict future solar storms.

17 October, 2019 - 22:58 Alicia McDermott

Ancient Assyrian Astrologers Teach Us About Solar Storms

What exactly goes on high above our heads? Why do the stars and celestial spheres seem to dance around the sky? What is the sun up to when it seems to “randomly” disappear in the day, or when it...

A representation of what human teleportation could look like.

13 September, 2019 - 01:29 johnblack

One Step Closer to ‘Beam Me Up’? Teleportation is Possible…At Least at the Quantum Level

Have you ever seen Star Trek? If so, you must be familiar with characters being ‘beamed’ from one spacecraft to another, or to a planet. While Star Trek is fictional, there are some concepts...

Exoplanet “K2-18b” is 50% water could possibly harbor alien life. Source: Sergey Nivens / Adobe Stock.

12 September, 2019 - 16:26 ashley cowie

First Ever Find of Water on ‘Potentially Habitable’ Planet Gives Hope for Finding Alien Life

For the first time ever, astronomers have identified water trapped in the atmosphere of a remote planet orbiting a distant star. When Gillian Anderson played Dana Scully she famously said, “The truth...

Only 31 light-years away from Earth, the exoplanet GJ 357 d – the recently discovered ‘super-Earth’ catches light from its host star GJ 357, in this artistic rendering. Source: Jack Madden/Cornell University

2 August, 2019 - 01:59 ancient-origins

‘Signs of Life’ Picked Out As TESS Satellite Uncovers Its First Nearby Super-Earth

An international team of astronomers has characterized the first potentially habitable world outside of our solar system discovered by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a mission...

1 August, 2019 - 22:49 Nathan Falde

What Would Happen to Earth if our Moon Were Obliterated?

One of the most fascinating things about the evolution of life on Earth is its connection to the sky above. Only under the most precise conditions could tiny molecules have burst forth into life, and...

25 July, 2019 - 14:55 Nathan Falde

Are We about to See Commercial Development of the Moon? Bigelow Aerospace Says ‘Yes’

If some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals on the planet have their way, human beings will soon—very soon, in fact—be returning to the Moon. Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are...

22 July, 2019 - 15:21 Nathan Falde

China Joins the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life

For many years, space exploration seemed to be largely an American obsession. NASA was the only space agency on the planet with ambitious plans and the consistent financing to carry them out. But...

Harvest Moon 2014, Coal Harbor, Vancouver.

15 July, 2019 - 01:57 ancient-origins

Footprints on the Moon and Cemeteries on Mars: 50 Years Evidence of Human Activity In Space

There is a lot of documentation about what’s been left on the Moon – but it’s amazing how much we don’t know. There are things that have gone missing, like part of a thermal blanket that got ripped...

15 June, 2019 - 11:29 Nathan Falde

Teleportation: Will Quantum Physics Make Star Trek Tech a Success?

Most of us have seen the science fiction series Star Trek and are familiar with their concept of teleportation, in which characters are ‘beamed’ off the ship to another spacecraft or to the surface...

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

2 January, 2019 - 18:58 walter

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. His body was believed to be the body of Egypt, an actual overlay...

Superflares From Young Red Dwarf Stars Imperil Planets. The Nemesis star may be a dim Red Dwarf star.

22 December, 2018 - 01:57 walter

Lost Star of Myth and Time: Nemesis – Our Sun’s Missing Death Star Companion

The great issue facing the binary theory today is, well, the absence of an obvious candidate for the part. In the visible realm, we do not appear to have any stars near enough that fit the bill,...

Pages

Myths & Legends

The Green Children of Woolpit, created from Babes in the Wood illustration by Randolph Caldecott. Source: Project Gutenberg / Public Domain

The Green Children of Woolpit: Legendary Visitors from Another World

The 12th century tale of the Green Children of Woolpit, in Suffolk, is a bizarre medieval folk story which has been remembered for generations. It isn’t often we hear of children appearing at the edge of a field,

The Sumerian King List still puzzles historians after more than a century of research

The Erlking: The Powerful Germanic Mythical Snatcher of Children

The Disturbing True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin

Haunted Mirrors, Bloody Mary and Superstitious Mirror Mythology

Lovelock Cave: A Tale of Giants or A Giant Tale of Fiction?

Human Origins

Early man looking up at the stars (Kovalenko I / Adobe Stock)

Translation of 5,500-Year-Old Babel Text from China Reveals Oldest Known Map of Inner Solar System

It is obvious to any astronomer that some of the brightest objects in the night sky are the planets. It is thus mysterious that there are so few references to the planets in ancient literature.

The Faces of Ancient Hominids Brought to Life in Remarkable Detail

Betrayed by the Acts of Others? The Events that Led to Prometheus’s Perennial Punishment

3: The Perfect Number - Trinity Symbolism in World Religious Traditions

Top Ten Giant Discoveries in Ancient Britain

The Theory of ‘Three Human Species’

Ancient Technology

The mummified remains of Usermontu, Rosicrucian San Jose Museum

Medical Mystery of Usermontu: Why the Discovery of 2,600-Year-Old Knee Screw Left Experts Dumbfounded

In 1971, the Rosicrucian Museum in California acquired a sealed ancient Egyptian coffin containing the well-preserved mummy of a high status Egyptian male. More than two decades later, a team of...

The Stonehenge Calendar: A Prehistoric Approach to Time’s Passing

The Indian Sage who developed Atomic Theory 2,600 years ago

6 Advanced Ancient Inventions Beyond Modern Understanding

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

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

Ancient Places

The front view of the gold neck ring found in Denmark that was likely a hidden treasure as opposed to a votive offering. Source: Sydvestjyske Museum

Exquisitely Made 1,700-year-old Gold Neck Ring Found in Denmark

In October 2021, Dan Christensen, an amateur metal detectorist made the exciting discovery of a remarkably fine gold neck ring weighing a whopping 446 grams (approximately 1 pound).

New Greco-Roman Tomb with 20 Mummies Found in Aswan

World’s Oldest Surviving Amphitheater Preserved at Pompeii

The Judean Date Palm: Extinct Tree Resurrected from Ancient Seeds

Remembering the Barbary Slaves: White Slaves and North African Pirates

Kings Weston Roman Villa, Where a Murder Lay Hidden for 1500 Years

Opinion

The Shepherds of Arcadia, by Nicolas Poussin, is reproduced on the Shepherd’s Monument, along with the Shugborough Inscription. Source: Public domain

The Enigma of the Shugborough Inscription

In the grounds of Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire, England, sits an 18th-century monument known as the Shepherd’s Monument. The monument contains a relief, depicting a copy of a Nicolas

Palatkwapi-Sedona: City of the Star People

The Icelandic Theory: Experts Challenge Establishment Dogma to Reveal History of Ivory Vikings

Winter Solstice Resurrection At Saqsayhuaman and Newgrange

Buddhism in Ancient Egypt and Meroe – Beliefs Revealed Through Ancient Script

Baltinglass Hill: Ireland’s Forgotten Gobekli Tepi?

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 exist 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.