Ancient Origins IRAQ Tour

Subscribe to Ancient-Origins.net feed
News from Ancient Origins website - Ancient Origins seeks to uncover, what we believe, is one of the most important pieces of knowledge we can acquire as human beings – our beginnings.
Updated: 53 min 49 sec ago

The Gebelein Man, an Ancient Tattooed Murder Victim (Video)

Wed, 03/13/2024 - 08:54

Delving into the story of the Gebelein Man unravels a fascinating tapestry of ancient lore. Discovered in Luxor in 1896, this remarkably preserved mummy

Read moreSection: NewsUnexplained PhenomenaVideosHistoryFamous People

Napoleon in Egypt: Battle of the Pyramids (Video)

Tue, 03/12/2024 - 18:11

In May 1798, General Napoleon Bonaparte led a monumental French expedition to Egypt, aiming to disrupt British trade routes and extend French influence. 

Read moreSection: NewsVideosHistoryImportant Events

Largest Mass Grave in Europe Discovered in Nuremberg, Germany

Tue, 03/12/2024 - 16:40

An unexpected discovery in the heart of Nuremberg has cast new light on the city’s traumatic history. Archaeologists, initially set to inspect an area

Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyHistoryAncient TraditionsImportant Events

Weird Greek Myths video

Tue, 03/12/2024 - 14:48

Exploring the lesser-known and often peculiar narratives from ancient Greek folklore unveils a realm of bizarre tales that captivate the imagination.

Read moreSection: NewsMyths & LegendsEuropeVideos

Clay Tablet From 3,300-Years Ago Tells Story of the Siege and Plunder of Four Hittite Cities

Tue, 03/12/2024 - 11:56

A 3,300-year-old clay tablet unearthed in central Turkey has painted a tale of a devastating foreign invasion of the Hittite Empire during a period of internal strife and civil war. 

Read moreSection: ArtifactsAncient WritingsNewsHistory & Archaeology

The Battle of Lake Poyang and Its Pivotal Impact on China

Tue, 03/12/2024 - 08:50

The Battle of Lake Poyang stands as one of the largest naval engagements in recorded history, showcasing the might and strategic prowess of warring factions

Read moreSection: NewsAncient PlacesAsiaHistoryImportant Events

Zhoukoudian Homo Erectus: Peking Man was an Evolutionary Dead-End (Video)

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 18:37

Zhoukoudian, home to the renowned Peking Man, serves as a pivotal site for understanding the enigma of Homo erectus and its place in human evolution. 

Read moreSection: NewsHuman OriginsScienceVideos

Amazon Myrina, Destroyer of Cerne, Conqueror of Atlantians – Myth Or Proto History?

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 18:17

Diodorus Siculus’ Library of History is a mine of information about the ancient world, its peoples, histories, legends, and myths. Most interesting in Book 3. 52. is the narration of the myth of Myrina, an Amazon Queen, who conquered a city in the marsh Tritonis, called Cherronesus. 

Read moreSection: NewsPremiumPreview

Huge Etruscan Tomb Found Hidden in Plain Sight at San Giuliano Necropolis

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 16:53

The world’s most expansive and complex Etruscan necropolis continues to produce surprises, revealing more details about the powerful civilization that preceded the Romans as the dominant force in ancient Italy.

Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyAncient PlacesEurope

Five Unique Burial Sites of the Ancient World (Video)

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 14:52

Across the ancient world, a mosaic of burial practices unveils the diversity of human cultures and their beliefs. Chambered cairns, scattered throughout the UK,

Read moreSection: NewsVideosHistoryAncient Traditions

Coin Reveals Ancient Rome’s Fight Against Voter Intimidation

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 11:42

David B. Hollander/The Conversation

This silver denarius, minted over 2,000 years ago, is hardly the most attractive Roman coin. And yet, the coin is vital evidence for the early stages of a political struggle that culminated in Caesar’s assassination and the fall of the Roman Republic.

I first encountered this coin while studying Roman history in graduate school. Its unusual design gave me pause – this one depicted figures walking across a narrow bridge and dropping something into a box. I moved on after learning it depicted voting, reasoning that Roman mint officials occasionally made idiosyncratic choices.

But as voting access evolves in the U.S., the political importance of this centuries-old coin seems more compelling. It turns out that efforts to regulate voting access go way back.

Roman Voting

Voting was a core feature of the Roman Republic and a regular activity for politically active citizensMen, and only men, could vote in multiple elections and legislative assemblies each year. So why would P. Licinius Nerva, the official responsible for this coin, choose to depict such a banal activity?

The answer lies in voting procedures that sometimes heavily favored elites.

Read moreSection: ArtifactsOther ArtifactsNewsHistory & Archaeology

Early Neolithic Ceremonies in Turkey Found to Include Facial Piercings

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 07:41

Something unexpected from the early Neolithic has been found in Turkey. During excavations in an ancient cemetery, a team of archaeologists from several institutions unearthed more than 100 small ornaments that were apparently used to fill piercings of the ear and lip.

At the early Neolithic site of Boncuklu Tarla, a lost settlement discovered during excavations in Turkey’s southeastern territory that began in 2008, researchers found the miniature jewelry pieces in the graves of adult men and women who may have lived and died as long as 11,000 years ago. The researchers believe the jewelry would have been awarded to young adults going through coming-of-age ceremonies, with their piercings representing a sign that they’d reached full maturity.

“The combination of contextual and physical anthropological evidence at Boncuklu Tarla confirms, for the first time, that personal ornamentation using body perforation was practiced early in the Neolithic period,” the Turkish archaeologists wrote in a new article just published in Antiquity.  “Typological comparison of ornaments between sites shows that these practices were widespread as early as the PPNA.”

The PPNA referenced here refers to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, a stage of the early Neolithic period that lasted in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) from 10,000 to 8,800 BC.

Read moreSection: NewsHistory & Archaeology

Parthian Fortress in Iraq May be a Sanctuary for Goddess Anahita

Sun, 03/10/2024 - 16:50

At the remote, ancient mountain fortress of Rabana-Merquly in Iraqi Kurdistan, German archaeologists have made a surprising discovery. Evidence has emerged that suggests the site had been used as a religious sanctuary

Read moreSection: NewsHistory & Archaeology

Five Most Influential Monarchies in Ancient Asia (Video)

Sun, 03/10/2024 - 15:01

The ancient monarchies of Asia left an indelible mark on history, shaping economies, cultures, and trade routes that endured for centuries. Among these, the Han Dynasty

Read moreSection: NewsAncient PlacesAsiaVideosHistoryFamous People

390 Million-Year-Old Fossilized Forest in Somerset is World’s Oldest

Sun, 03/10/2024 - 11:48

Remnants of the world’s oldest fossilized forests and trees, dating back 390 million years, have been uncovered along the Devon and Somerset coast among high sandstone cliffs.

Read moreSection: NewsHistory & Archaeology

Viking Drug Use: From Riotous Parties to Berserker Fury

Sun, 03/10/2024 - 08:54

The Vikings stand as legendary figures, their exploits on the seas and battlefields shrouded in myth and mystery. Yet beyond their tales of conquest and exploration lies a lesser-known aspect

Read moreSection: NewsHistoryAncient Traditions

Europe’s Oldest Plough Marks Discovered in Switzerland, Dated to 7,000 Years Ago!

Sat, 03/09/2024 - 16:50

Excavations at the Anciens Arsenaux site in Sion, Switzerland, have changed the way we understand prehistoric agriculture in Europe forever. Compelling evidence has emerged

Read moreSection: NewsHistory & Archaeology

Bizarre Archaeological Finds That Rewrote History (Video)

Sat, 03/09/2024 - 14:55

Archaeology serves as a key to unlock the mysteries of our past, offering glimpses into ancient civilizations that challenge conventional historical narratives.

Read moreSection: ArtifactsOther ArtifactsNewsHuman OriginsScienceVideos

Did Hominids in Asia Use Advanced Tools Much Earlier than Thought?

Sat, 03/09/2024 - 11:51

A new find in China has potentially rewritten the course of prehistory. Did our hominid ancestors use sophisticated tools in East Asia 300,000 years earlier than thought?

Read moreSection: NewsEvolution & Human Origins

Scientists Map the Genetic Evolution of Cacao to Chocolate

Sat, 03/09/2024 - 08:54

Researchers have mapped the ancient dispersal of the cacao or cocoa plant from South America to Central America. Not only did they discover the plant

Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyHistoryAncient Traditions

Pages

Ancient Origins Quotations