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Alicia McDermott

Alicia McDermott holds degrees in Anthropology, Psychology, and International Development Studies and has worked in various fields such as education, anthropology, and tourism. She is the Chief Editor of Ancient Origins Magazine. Traveling throughout Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador, Alicia has focused much of her research on Andean cultures – past and present.

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Large ceramic funerary urns discovered within a mound found in the Los Ríos province of Ecuador. Source: Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural/YGV Prensa Digital

20 August, 2021 - 01:02 Alicia McDermott

Ancient Indigenous Funerary Urns Unearthed in Ecuador [Images]

This week an unassuming Ecuadorian hacienda became a site of archaeological interest. Workers accidentally discovered a mound containing multiple Pre-Hispanic ceramic funerary urns while using heavy...

Bakeneko or Nekomata types of wicked Japanese yokai

11 August, 2021 - 01:54 Alicia McDermott

Beware of the Cat: Tales of the Wicked Japanese Bakeneko and Nekomata – Part 1

Who knew innocent little Fluffy could be so devious? Cats’ reputations have often swayed from good to evil over the years as they have been both revered and feared around the world. One of the most...

The 6th century coins found at the ancient city of Phanagoria in Russia. Source: Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

25 July, 2021 - 14:56 Alicia McDermott

Coin Hoard Linked to Sudden Attack on Ancient City of Phanagoria

In the first half of the 6th century, the ancient city of Phanagoria on the Taman peninsula was attacked and destroyed. Someone who was living in the city at the time frantically tried to hide their...

18 June, 2021 - 00:15 Alicia McDermott

Medieval People Were Reopening Graves, But Not to Rob Them

In the Middle Ages being dead wasn’t a guarantee you would rest in peace. Researchers have found hundreds of examples of people re-opening graves in cemeteries from Transylvania to southern England...

Archival photograph showing a double burial from the Jebel Sahaba cemetery in Sudan, with pencils marking the position of associated lithic artifacts. Source: Wendorf Archives of the British Museum/Scientific Reports

27 May, 2021 - 16:08 Alicia McDermott

Jebel Sahaba Shines Light on Horrors of Earliest Human Warfare

13,400 years ago individuals were engaged in armed conflict on the east bank of the Nile in what is now northern Sudan. A fresh analysis of human remains from the prehistoric cemetery of Jebel Sahaba...

21 May, 2021 - 18:56 Alicia McDermott

British Metal Detectorist Reunites Stolen Ancient Treasure with Owner

A couple weeks ago Mr. Charles Cartwright, an amateur British metal detectorist, took his machine out for an inaugural search in a field in Doddenham, Worcestershire, England. He’d been out for about...

15 May, 2021 - 18:55 Alicia McDermott

Ancient Egyptian Painter Left Behind His Palette and the Paint Has Survived!

When compared to later, more naturalistic Classical art of the Greeks and Romans, ancient Egyptian art has been described as blocky, static, abstract, and formal. But that doesn’t mean that the...

5 May, 2021 - 16:00 Alicia McDermott

Kenyan Cave Child Grave Declared Africa’s Earliest Human Burial!

78,000 years ago someone buried a young child in a cave. Now, researchers say that child’s grave in Kenya is the earliest known example of a deliberate human burial by modern humans in Africa. The...

30 April, 2021 - 00:00 Alicia McDermott

Mapping Mustatils, Saudi Arabia’s 7000-Year-Old Stone Monuments

Over 7,000 years ago, people built hundreds of large stone structures in the area that is now northwest Arabia. Archaeologists have identified this act as the earliest known example of a widespread...

X-ray and CT scans of the mummified body show that the woman died when she was between 20-30 years old. (O. Leydo)

29 April, 2021 - 18:50 Alicia McDermott

World First! 2,000-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy Was Pregnant

When archaeologists conducted X-ray scans of a woman’s mummified body they made a remarkable discovery. The remains of the woman who died 2,000 years ago contained a surprising secret – making her...

9 April, 2021 - 14:53 Alicia McDermott

‘Mind-blowing’ Find in Egypt! Lost Golden City Discovered in Luxor

Thousands of years ago a fabulous settlement was buried under the sands. Now, an Egyptian mission led by Zahi Hawass has discovered the ruins of the so-called “Lost Golden City” that has been linked...

2 April, 2021 - 01:56 Alicia McDermott

105,000-Year-Old Kalahari Crystals Challenge Cultural Evolution Story

New research at a rockshelter on the edge of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa challenges the assumption that modern human origins and complex behaviors were limited to coastal environments. A...

29 March, 2021 - 01:56 Alicia McDermott

An Ancient Treat: The Rich History of Fruitcake

Love it or hate it, fruitcake has been a winter holiday staple for a long time. You could say the earliest version was a barley, pomegranate seed, nut, raisin, and honeyed wine dessert called satura...

The knife-wielding spider god mural was discovered at a 3,200-year-old ceremonial site in Peru.

27 March, 2021 - 17:49 Alicia McDermott

Knife-Wielding Spider God Mural Found at Shrine in Peru

Archaeologists have identified a 3,200-year-old ceremonial center in Peru’s northern Virú province. The site has been partially destroyed and is still waiting full excavations, but they’ve already...

Reconstruction of an Iron Age Nordic warrior’s burial. Two rich warrior graves in Sweden also included down duvets!

27 March, 2021 - 14:02 Alicia McDermott

Norse Warrior Took Comfy Duvet (and a Beheaded Owl) to the Afterlife

The Valsgärde burial field near Uppsala in Sweden is known for its magnificent boat graves from the 600s and 700s AD. Archaeologists have identified more than 90 graves from the Iron Age, but two...

21 March, 2021 - 14:01 Alicia McDermott

Switchel: The Energy Drink of Colonial America

Before Americans had sports drinks, switchel was the beverage of choice for rehydration. Also known as haymaker’s punch, harvest drink, harvest beer, and swanky, this is a refreshing drink that was...