writing

23 August, 2015 - 21:44 Mark Miller

7th century BC inscription in Georgia may rewrite history of written language

Archaeologists working at the ancient site of Grakliani Hill in Georgia have found inscriptions that may date back 2,700 years—well before the alphabet was known to have been in use in the Caucasus...

A tile inscribed with the character for “flight” goes on display in a Japanese museum. The tile is from the site of Japan's first Buddhist temple (Yoshinori Toyomane)

3 August, 2015 - 14:20 Mark Miller

Tiles inscribed with 'flight' from Japan's first Buddhist temple go on display

Examples of some of the oldest kanji, or Chinese characters written in Japanese, inscribed on tiles, have gone on display to the public. They were found years ago at what scholars believe is Japan's...

One of the satellite photographs clearly showing the vast amount of inscriptive material discovered by Archaeoastronomer, William James Veall, on the South Atlantic coastline of Uruguay, South America.

19 May, 2015 - 03:50 William James Veall

Sea-Farers from the Levant: Do Ancient Inscriptions Rewrite History of the Americas? - Part 2

In this opinion piece exploring proto-Sinaitic inscriptions, guest writer William James Veall challenges the view that Christopher Columbus was the first foreigner to set foot in the Americas by...

2 May, 2015 - 14:23 lizleafloor

800-year-old message carved into Rune Stick Shows Ancient Code still used in Middle Ages

An 800-year-old enigmatic message has been found inscribed on a small wooden stick which was dug out of the ground in Odense, Denmark. The delicate stick is marked with 13 th century runic...

25 April, 2015 - 00:53 lizleafloor

4,000-Year-Old Ancient Babylonian Tablet is Oldest Customer Service Complaint Ever Discovered

A clay tablet from ancient Babylon reveals that no matter where (or when) you go, good customer service can be hard find. So it was revealed by the irate copper merchant, Nanni, in 1750 B.C. The...

Detail of a miniature from a 13th-century Icelandic manuscript.

4 March, 2015 - 11:25 Riley Winters

The Sagas of the Icelanders shed light on Golden Age

The Sagas of the Icelanders have long been preserved as the most comprehensive specimen of the literary culture of the 13 th and 14 th centuries of Iceland. In writing these sagas, many attributes of...

Panoramic of the Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban, Oaxaca, Mexico

30 November, 2014 - 21:52 mrreese

The Lost Zapotec: Vibrant Mesoamerican Civilization of The Cloud People

In the Valley of Oaxaca, located in the Southern highlands of Mesoamerica, an indigenous, pre-Columbian civilization, known as the Zapotec civilization or the “Cloud People”, flourished around 2,500...

22 October, 2014 - 13:27 mrreese

The mysterious Rongorongo writing of Easter Island

During the 19 th Century, ancient artifacts containing a set of etched symbols were discovered on the world-renowned Easter Island, a small remote island located a few thousand miles west of South...

22 September, 2014 - 23:09 mrreese

Do the Tartaria Tablets contain evidence of earliest known writing system?

In 1961, archaeologist Nicolae Vlassa discovered what may be direct evidence of the earliest forms of writing in the world. While conducting an archeological excavation at a Neolithic site in Romania...

31 August, 2014 - 13:29 aprilholloway

Ten incredible texts from our ancient past

There are literally thousands of incredible texts that have survived from the ancient world, which are etched onto copper, beautifully inscribed on papyrus, chipped onto tablets, and even written...

8 August, 2014 - 03:33 aprilholloway

Oldest Arabic inscription provides missing link between Nabatean and Arabic writing

A Saudi-French archaeological team has discovered the oldest known inscription in the Arabic alphabet at a site located near Najran in Saudi Arabia, according to a report in Arab News . The finding...

14 July, 2014 - 23:49 aprilholloway

Prehistoric bookkeeping continued long after invention of writing

An ancient token-based recording system from before the dawn of history was rendered obsolete by the birth of writing, according to popular wisdom. But now, latest excavations show that, in fact,...

24 April, 2014 - 02:35 ancient-origins

The Legendary Origins of the Chinese Language

By Tanya Harrison , Epoch Times Strong fingers traced delicate lines, four ancient eyes blinked in mild astonishment, and the idea of a new form of communication began to grow. Just as Nu Wa breathed...

7 April, 2014 - 13:00 aprilholloway

Do the ancient stone walls of Saksaywaman in Peru contain hidden communication?

Lying on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco in Peru, lies the remarkable walled complex of Saksaywaman (Sacsayhuaman), believed to have been built by the Inca. The site is famous for its...

Photo of a relief-section of hieroglyphs in the great temple of Ramses II in Abu Simbel

2 April, 2014 - 02:20 aprilholloway

Unravelling the literacy of the Egyptian Pharaohs

It is well known that only about one percent of ancient Egyptians mastered the difficult art of reading and writing hieroglyphics. But there is little information about the education of royal...

15 February, 2014 - 02:56 johnblack

Is the Danube Valley Civilization script the oldest writing in the world?

The Danube Valley civilization is one of the oldest civilizations known in Europe. It existed from between 5,500 and 3,500 BC in the Balkans and covered a vast area, in what is now Northern Greece to...

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Myths & Legends

Quetzalcoatl, detail. Source: Manzanedo/Deviant Art

The Real Story of the ‘Bearded God’ Named Quetzalcoatl

Many myths have cropped up in the centuries since Columbus landed upon the shores of Hispaniola. While some of these myths have come to be seen for what they are, many more persist in the zeitgeist as fact.

Cossack-Sorcerers: The Secretive and Magical Warrior Society of Ukraine

Of Runes And Sacrifice: The Initiation Ritual Of Odin in Norse Myth

The Last of the Siberian Unicorns: What Happened to the Mammoth-Sized One-Horned Beasts of Legend?

Unravelling the True Story of the Legendary Trojan Horse

The Jade Emperor: Taoist Ruler of Heaven - and Celestial Bureaucrat

Human Origins

Rembrandt - Christ with Hands Folded (Public Domain), and Nivedita, Sister - the Departure of Siddhartha

The Christ And The Buddha: How Can You Explain the Uncanny Similarities?

Buddhism and Christianity arose independently of each other, separated as they were by almost 3,000 miles and at least 500 years. In terms of religious belief systems they are even farther apart.

Ancient Anomalous Human Skeletons: Humanity Could be Much Older Than We Think

Religion Isn’t The Enemy of Science: It’s Been Inspiring Scientists for Centuries

Asherah: God’s Forgotten Wife

The Theory of ‘Three Human Species’

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

Ancient Technology

Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked!

Although we still cannot accurately predict earthquakes, we have come a long way in detecting, recording, and measuring seismic shocks. Many don’t realise that this process began nearly 2000 years...

An Unbreakable Story: The Lost Roman Invention of Flexible Glass

Romans Mastered Nanotechnology and Used it for Eye Catching Decoration

Egyptian Blue – The Oldest Known Artificial Pigment

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

The Evidence is Cut in Stone: A Compelling Argument for Lost High Technology in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Places

The circular structure was first detected in a sonar survey of part of the sea in the summer of 2003.

Enormous Underwater Structure in the Sea of Galilee is a Mystery to Archaeologists

A gigantic monument at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee, as well as several mysterious structures, including a gigantic stone wheel and a moon-shaped monument, were recently found in northern Israel...

The Colossal Hand of Hercules, So Where is the Rest of Him?

5,600-Year-Old Ceremonial Center Found Near Stonehenge, Built 1,000 Years Before Stone Circle was Erected

Dumbarton Castle: Ancient Stronghold and Symbol of Scottish Defiance

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

The Hidden History Of Egypt: Khemitology

Opinion

Petroglyphic Features of Portable Rock Art

Paleo rock art from around the world ranges in style, method, and age, and includes cave paintings, petroglyphs, pictographs, polished and engraved stones such as effigies, stone sculptures, and portable ceremonial objects.

The Northern Mysteries Current: Futhark and Mystery Schools of the Viking Age

Was There Ever a Trojan War?

Floki and the Viking Discovery of Iceland

Messiah on Temple Mount: Are We Nearing the End of Time?

3 Problems to Remember When Trying to Find Atlantis

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.