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Ritually Motivated Traditions May Be Behind Holes Drilled into Skulls in Prehistoric Russia

Ritually Motivated Traditions May Be Behind Holes Drilled into Skulls in Prehistoric Russia

Researchers believe holes cut in people’s skulls more than 4,000 years ago in Russia involved some kind of rite rather than medical surgery. Amazingly, some of the people, who were apparently very...
13 year old Asholpan, Eagle Huntress.

The Eagle Huntress: New Generations of Eagle Huntresses in Kazakhstan and Mongolia – Part II

Nomad Women Have Hunted with Eagles since Antiquity The ancient practice of eagle hunting is carried on today by a few hundred nomadic Kazakhs in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Xinjiang (...
FIG 1.2. Tuva monument, mounted nomad archeress and falconer

The Eagle Huntress: Ancient Traditions, and Evidence for Women as Eagle Hunters – Part I

Evidence that Nomad Women Hunted with Eagles since Antiquity "A fast horse and a soaring eagle are the wings of a nomad." --Kazakh proverb Falconry, training raptors to hunt for game, is particularly...
Funerary cones.

Examining Cryptic Grave Goods: What Are the Ancient Egyptian Funerary Cones?

Funerary cones are a type of funereal object from ancient Egypt. It is well known that the ancient Egyptians were extremely concerned about the afterlife, and that they did all they could to provide...
A traditional imzad instrument, made by local craftswomen and played only by women.

Reviving the Music of their Foremothers: A Traditional Tuareg Instrument for Women Makes a Comeback

A traditional stringed gourd instrument of the Tuareg people in Africa, played only by women because of the threat of a curse upon men who play it, is making a comeback. Only two women were known to...
An illustration by Gennady Pavlishin from the book Folktales of the Amur: Stories from the Russian Far East showing a little baby, Azmun, found on an island in the river, who grows up to become a hero. This type of foundling-hero story has been told worldwide.

A Brothers Grimm Story Proven Right: Many Fairy Tales Stem from Ancient Oral Traditions

Many writers have speculated on the origin, antiquity and meaning of fairy tales. These fantastical stories often involve magic; strange, archaic situations; speaking animals; kings, masters and...
Hanging coffins of the Bo people in China

More than One Hundred Ancient Hanging Coffins Discovered in China

A cluster of 113 hanging coffins dating back 1,200 years have been discovered on cliff-faces and in caves in Zigui county, Hubei province, close to the site of the Three Gorges Dam in China. The...
Volunteers carefully clean and store the abandoned bodies in the hopes relatives will retrieve them. If not, the bodies are eventually cremated.

Thai Buddhists observe an ancient tradition of honoring the unclaimed dead

A medieval Buddhist tradition started by a Buddhist monk centuries ago has people this month in Thailand exhuming and painstakingly cleaning the remains of 3,890 people who were buried without their...
The print depicts a samurai fighting snakes, which are conjured by a ghost as the ghosts of Heian court ladies watch. Japan, 1850.

Malevolent Phantoms, Corpse Brides, and Ancestor Spirits: The Ancient Belief in Ghosts – PART II

Many ancient civilizations had beliefs surrounding the hauntings of ghosts and malevolent spirits, and so they relied on careful rituals and exorcisms to keep the supernatural at bay. Read Part I...
Ancient legends tell of ghost hauntings.

Malevolent Phantoms, Corpse Brides, and Ancestor Spirits: The Ancient Belief in Ghosts – PART I

Ghosts and malevolent spirits haunted the ancients, and so they relied on careful rituals and exorcisms to keep the supernatural at bay. The concept of a spiritual afterlife connects cultures across...
Roman Key Ring made of iron and worn by the wife.

Why Do Couples Exchange Rings with Vows? The Elusive Ancient Origins of Wedding Rings

The image of a couple exchanging rings during a wedding ceremony is instantly recognizable, and is held as an ancient tradition. A ring on a certain finger indicates that the wearer is married, but...
Figure of an Ife King

The Rulers of Ife: The Traditional and Adaptive Roles of the Ooni

Ife is an ancient city of the Yoruba located in the south-western part of modern day Nigeria. Based on the archaeological evidence, the urbanization of the site may be dated back to around 500 AD...
Stone ringfort, “Ring of Kerry” in Ireland.

Irish Lore Keeper gives Dire Warning: US Company will be Cursed if Ancient Fairy Fort is Destroyed

Bad luck is sure to befall a US company if it builds a new factory over a fairyfort in Ireland, warns a traditional Irish lore keeper. West Pharmaceutical Services is building a new factory in...
Caravan on the Silk Road (1380 AD).

100 Merchants Retrace Silk Road Trade Route on Camelback in Epic Year-Long Journey

In a quest to repeat the traditions of ancient merchants, more than 100 tea traders are making an epic journey, crossing 15,000 kilometers on camelback and retracing the steps of the Silk Road...
The Ritual behind Wishing Wells

The Ritual behind Wishing Wells: Buying Favors and Good Fortune

The modern Western world is familiar with the concept of wishing wells, or bodies of water in which currency, most commonly in the form of coin, is tossed with the intention of making a wish. Some...
A masked woman leads a procession as part of the ceremony of Pawkar Raymi.

Andean Village comes alive with Pawkar Raymi, Equinox Celebration to honor Mother Earth

On March 21, residents of three indigenous communities in Saraguro, a remote Andean municipality in Ecuador, celebrated the Pawkar Raymi (ceremony of blossoming) to honor the Pachamama (Mother Earth...
Spectacular Peruvian Rope Bridge

Spectacular Peruvian Rope Bridge, last of its kind, carries forward tradition of the Inca

Every year, rural communities in Peru carry out an ancient tradition that stems back to the age of the Incan Civilization. Considered a sacred expression of ritual, history and renewal, Peruvians...
The holy egg at the Kunigami Shrine for healing haemorrhoids

The ancient Japanese shrine dedicated to curing haemorrhoids

Japan is known for having its fair share of unique and unusual ancient shrines and associated festivals, from the Mama Kannon temple dedicated to breasts to the Kanamara Matsuri (Festival of the...
Elongated skulls in the Carpathian Basin

New study reveal origins of elongated skulls in the Carpathian Basin

New research published this month in the journal Neurosurgical Focus , has sought to unravel the history, origin, and ethnic context of elongated skulls found in the Carpathian Basin, a large basin...

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