stone age

Charred food remains from hearths were discovered, left by ancient humans eating starch. Source: PetarPaunchev / Adobe.

21 May, 2019 - 01:41 ancient-origins

Earliest Evidence for a Cooked Starch Paleo Diet

New discoveries made at the Klasies River Cave in South Africa's southern Cape, where charred food remains from hearths were found, provide the first archaeological evidence that anatomically modern...

1000s of animal petroglyphs found in Egypt

14 May, 2019 - 22:57 Ed Whelan

1000s of Neolithic Engravings Reveal Egyptians' Ancient Reverence For Animals

The Ancient Egyptians had a remarkable relationship with the animals, who they respected and revered. An astonishing discovery in the deserts of north-eastern Egypt is illustrating that this likely...

Skull cup, found in Gough's cave, Somerset, England. About 14,700 years old, this skull bears cut marks inflicted shortly after death to remove soft tissues and shape the skull into a cup.

29 March, 2019 - 13:01 Ed Whelan

Human Skull ‘Cups’ and Butchered Bones Lead Archaeologists to One Conclusion – Neolithic Cannibals

Archaeologists in Spain have made a grim discovery in a deep cave in the south-west of the country. They believe that they have found the remains of some Stone Age people who were butchered and...

Cave entrance illustrating Nsongezi Rock Shelter is in Uganda

21 March, 2019 - 01:05 Ed Whelan

Nsongezi Rock Shelter Offers Proof of Stone Age Craftsmen

Excavations and investigations at this site have led to a reappraisal of Stone Age people’s capabilities and culture and it seems they were much more sophisticated than previously believed. The...

18 March, 2019 - 00:45 Ed Whelan

Mumbwa Caves: Prehistoric Site in Zambia Sheds Light on Ancient Humans

The beginning of the Stone Age in Africa dates back at least 2.5 million years and it was an especially important era, not only in the history of Africans, but for all humanity. There are, however,...

Carnac Stones, Brittany. Stone Age sailors may have spread this kind of megalithic monument building practice.

12 February, 2019 - 23:00 Ed Whelan

Extensive Study Claims Stone Age Sailors Spread the Concept of Megalithic Sites Like Stonehenge

There are many thousands of stone megaliths found in almost every country in Europe, from Scotland to Italy. The best known example of these stone constructions is Stonehenge. The reason that these...

Left; Whitehawk woman Right; Neanderthal Woman Reconstruction Exhibition, Brighton.

30 January, 2019 - 23:01 Ed Whelan

Facial Reconstruction Brings People Face-to-Face With Their Ancient Ancestors

Detailed data and minute details have both fed into an exhibition taking place In the English city of Brighton, that offers people a chance to see not only physical cultural items, but their ancient...

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...

Colorful sunset at Lake Dwellings of the Stone and Bronze Age at Pfahlbaumuseum in Unteruhldingen on Lake Constance, Baden-Wurttemberg.

22 November, 2018 - 01:56 Michelle Freson

Pfahlbaumuseum, Germany: 5000 Years of Incredible History Preserved on Alpine Lakes

Prehistoric ‘pile dwellings’ were discovered only 150 years ago, and Europe’s past, before the advent of the written word, is well-preserved in numerous lakes and wetlands throughout the foothills of...

Insert: Example of a Howiesons Poort stone tool found at the Klipdrift Shelter. Background: Overview of Klipdrift Complex From Sea. (Credits Magnus Haaland). Experts have found that similar tools were found hundreds of kilometers away in the Stone Age in South Africa.

10 November, 2018 - 01:50 ancient-origins

Social Ties in Stone Age South Africa: Experts Find Stone Tools Connected Far Away Communities

Stone tools that were discovered and examined by a group of international experts showed for the first time that various communities that lived during the Middle Stone Age period were widely...

Native American Tiny 'Elephant Stones', Mammoth Effigies, Carvings, Totems From Pennsylvania. Portable rock art such as this has been found globally.

31 October, 2018 - 18:05 Jul Jones

Life Before the Clovis: Portable Rock Art as Evidence of Pre Ice Age Humans in North America

The worship of carved stone dates back to man’s earliest evolution. Portable rock art is human made markings on movable natural rock or stone. A global phenomenon, these Stone Age objects have been...

9 October, 2018 - 01:58 Ed Whelan

The Haga Dolmen: Neolithic Burial Chamber Sits Amidst an Impressive Megalithic Landscape

Sweden is a country with a rich archaeological heritage. The Scandinavian nation has many Viking era ruins and artifacts, and has a long history dating back to the Stone Age. One of the most...

Bone knife from Morocco oldest attributed to Aterians. Source: © Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London (2018), S. Bello and Mohammed Kamal (Fotokam, Morocco)

6 October, 2018 - 01:44 ancient-origins

Stone Age or Bone Age? Knife from Morocco is Oldest Specialized Tool of the Culture

90,000 years ago, a large mammal met its death and people of the Aterian culture skillfully fashioned this knife from one of its ribs. That bone knife has now found to be the oldest of its type to...

Prehistoric rock art using ochre paint on a cave wall in Drakensberg, South Africa

27 September, 2018 - 22:59 Mark Miller

Prehistoric Man in South Africa Made Milk-based Paint 49000 years ago

A paint mixture of ochre and wild bovid milk, possibly from a buffalo or eland or similar animal, was found on a chip of a stone tool dating back 49,000 years in Sibudu Cave, a rock shelter in...

Mammoth tusk found at the kill site in Austria.

12 September, 2018 - 13:59 ashley cowie

28,000-Year-Old Mammoth Kill Site Discovered in Austria

Archaeologists in Austria have announced the discovery of what they have described as a “Stone Age kill site.” The hoard of ancient mammoth remains indicate a zone into which ancient people must have...

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Myths & Legends

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

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

In contrast to many theorists, this unconventional retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens.

The notorious and much feared ancient order of Hashshashins

English Nursery Rhymes with Unexpected and Sometimes Disturbing Historical Origins

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

The Powerful Symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000 Year History

Human Origins

Work using the Statue of Gilgamesh and Lamassu. Source: CC BY 4.0

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

This retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the unconventional idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens. Taking poetic licence, the author merges some ideas from modern science and technology with the story from the ancient text.

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

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

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

Do you dare enter a fairy ring? The mythical mushroom portals of the supernatural

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...

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

Egyptian Blue – The Oldest Known Artificial Pigment

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

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

The incredible earthquake detector invented nearly 2,000 years ago

Ancient Places

Sumer: Where Written Language, Arithmetic and Civilization Were Born

The Sumerian civilization (known also as Sumer) was one of the earliest civilizations in the world. This ancient civilization emerged in the region of southern Mesopotamia (modern day southern Iraq), between the Tigris and Euphrates River.

Homer’s Iliad Casts Doubt on the Aegean Location of Troy

Is Makhunik an Ancient City of Little People?

Fuerte De Samaipata - A Site of Ceremonial Carvings and Sacrifice

Mystery Hill Megaliths May Be 4,000 Years Old—Did Celts Build It?

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

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

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.