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Cecilia Bogaard

Cecilia Bogaard is one of the editors, researchers and writers on Ancient Origins. With an MA in Social Anthropology, and degree in Visual Communication (Photography), Cecilia has a passion for research, content creation and editing, especially as related to the ability for art to provoke social change, and the dynamics of power in public space throughout history. This has taken her around the world to far-flung places such as Cuba, Spain, Scotland, India, the United States and now southern Ecuador, where she lives with her family.

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Detail from a Monopoly board. Source: Rich Brooks / CC BY 2.0

25 June, 2023 - 22:55 Cecilia Bogaard

Monopoly Was Originally a Teaching Tool Exposing Economic Inequality

These days, Monopoly is a childhood staple, as kids worldwide learn to buy properties and then push friends into bankruptcy by charging exorbitant rent in order to emerge victorious. It’s the...

Legend has it that the Hartlepool monkey was the only survivor of a sunken French ship during the Napoleonic Wars. Source: Ai / Adobe Stock

23 June, 2023 - 22:54 Cecilia Bogaard

English Fishermen Tried and Hanged the ‘French’ Hartlepool Monkey For Espionage

During the tumultuous Napoleonic Wars , from 1803 to 1815, Europe was engulfed in violence. However, in the wake of the bloodshed, an unusual legend emerged from the northeastern coast of England—a...

Roman sculpture showing detachable head. Source: giorgio/ Adobe Stock

18 June, 2023 - 22:53 Cecilia Bogaard

Romans Cleverly Used Interchangeable Heads on Their Statues

Museums are filled with the captivating spectacle of bodiless heads and headless bodies dating back to Roman times. “Headless, these statues invoke a sense of mystery and fragmentation, allowing us...

The success of Dr. James Marion Sims, the so-called father of gynecology, was achieved thanks to the suffering of enslaved African American women. Source: annne / Adobe Stock

16 June, 2023 - 18:55 Cecilia Bogaard

Exploiting Enslaved Women Propelled the Father of Gynecology to Fame

A monument of Dr. James Marion Sims stands in front of the State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, eulogizing him as the “father of modern gynecology” and a “benefactor of women.” But Sims has also...

Representational image of Henry VI. Ahead of the 1439 session, members of Parliament requested that the ceremonial kiss of homage be avoided due to an outbreak of the bubonic plague. Source: Public domain

11 June, 2023 - 22:56 Cecilia Bogaard

No Kissing, Please! Henry VI Lived Through a Lip-Lock Lockdown

In a bizarre turn of events, the English Parliament supposedly asked for permission to abstain from kissing the less-than-beloved King Henry VI of England in the late 1430s. The intriguing question...

The practice of posthumous marriage continues to take place. Source: AIproduction / Adobe Stock

6 June, 2023 - 22:57 Cecilia Bogaard

The Ancient Practice of Ghost Marriage Lives On Even Today

Marrying a ghost may sound like the plot of a paranormal horror movie, but even today posthumous marriage continues to exist. What’s more surprising is that it’s not just in far-flung corners of the...

Man wearing iconic “Panama hat,” which is actually an Ecuadorian toquilla or Montecristi hat. Source: Steve Cukrov / Adobe Stock

3 June, 2023 - 23:00 Cecilia Bogaard

Panama Hat’s Are Not from Panama, But Pre-Hispanic Ecuador

The iconic Panama hat entered public consciousness by gracing the heads of cherished film stars like Gary Cooper and Humphrey Bogart. But did you know that the Panama hat actually originated in...

Methuselah is the oldest named individual tree on Earth and is located in the White Mountains of California. Source: Yen Chao / CC BY-ND 2.0

2 June, 2023 - 14:52 Cecilia Bogaard

The Oldest Living Tree on Earth is Older Than the Egyptian Pyramids

Visitors from around the world flock to visit the famed 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza , now remembered as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world . But hidden high in California’s White...

Ai Weiwei’s exhibition of animal bronze heads, entitled the Circle of Animals, are replicas of the famous looted zodiac heads and part of a contemporary commentary on the Communist Party and its nationalistic discourse. Source: Public domain

27 May, 2023 - 22:54 Cecilia Bogaard

A Rabbit and a Rat Sparked a Serious China-France Showdown

In a bizarre twist of fate, a rabbit and a rat became the center of an international dispute between China and France in 2009. For these animals were part of a famed collection of Chinese bronze...

Representational image of a person lava sledding in Hawaii. Source: AI generated

24 May, 2023 - 18:56 Cecilia Bogaard

Ancient Hawaiians Would Sled Down Lava-Covered Volcanoes

He'e holua lava sledding was, and is, an exhilarating ancient Hawaii pastime. But this was not just an extreme sport enjoyed by natives to the islands. He'e holua was a significant part of Hawaiian...

Prehistoric dinosaur dung, a.k.a. a coprolite. Source: Public domain

23 May, 2023 - 22:56 Cecilia Bogaard

How Did Fossilized Dino Droppings Spark a Dung Rush?

Coprolite, also known as prehistoric poo, has been highly prized since its discovery in the 19th century. Regarded as a priceless treasure-trove by paleontologists and archaeologists alike, mining...

British woman drinking tea. Source: Masson/Adobe Stock

21 May, 2023 - 22:20 Cecilia Bogaard

By Giving Up Sugar in Their Tea, British Women Helped End Slavery

Believe it or not, but by the 1700s, deciding whether or not to take sugar with your tea had become a political statement. While sugar-free diets are now all the rage, the motivations behind this...

Redheads have attracted unwanted attention throughout history. Source: Anastasiia / Adobe Stock

11 May, 2023 - 22:59 Cecilia Bogaard

Redheads Have Been Scarlet Underdogs Throughout History

Whether you call them carrot tops, strawberry blondes or gingers, redheads have attracted unwanted attention throughout history. The target of objectification and abuse, animosity towards fiery locks...

Aokigahara Forest, a.k.a. Suicide Forest, in Japan. Source: Satoshi881 / Adobe Stock

7 May, 2023 - 22:55 Cecilia Bogaard

Japan's Aokigahara Forest Struggles to Shed Historic Suicide Infamy

In the shadow of Japan’s Mount Fuji, lies the sprawling Aokigahara Forest, also known as Jukai , or the Sea of Trees, because its rustling branches reportedly resemble the sound of the sea. The...

Isabel Gramesón survived alone in the Amazon jungle during her quest to be reunited with her husband. Source: Chernyakov Aleksandr / Adobe Stock

5 May, 2023 - 14:59 Cecilia Bogaard

Isabel Gramesón Walked 3,000 Miles Across The Amazon For Love

Back in the 1730s, a group of daring Frenchmen embarked on a mission to calculate the true size and shape of the Earth. Led by Charles Marie de la Condamine as part of the famed French Geodesic...

Parmesan cheese on a smoky background. Source: AnneMarie / Adobe Stock

23 April, 2023 - 23:00 Cecilia Bogaard

Samuel Pepys Rescued His Parmesan Cheese During Great Fire of London

As the Great Fire of London swept through the city in 1666, destroying over 13,000 houses in its wake, the now-famed diarist Samuel Pepys was on a mission. On the third day of the fire, while London...

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