Ancient Origins Magazine

It was the French general and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821) who said: "Let China sleep, for when she awakes, she will shake the world". With the largest standing army on the planet, the second biggest economy and one fifth of the world's population, Napoleon’s statement has proved prophetic, as China has proceeded to shake the world to its very foundation. It is only by examining its extraordinary past that we can begin to understand this astounding rise to power.

China has one of the oldest and longest lasting civilizations in history. It also boasts the largest number of inventions that have influenced us today, including the compass, gunpowder, paper, and printing. For many centuries, the sophistication of its culture, science, and technology outshined the rest of the world.  

But make no mistake, throughout four millennia of Chinese history, there were not only golden years of innovation, noble emperors, and cultured philosophers and scholars, but also centuries of unimaginable turmoil, ruthless rulers, and devastating wars.

In this issue, we look at some of the greatest splendours of ancient China, such as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and the Leshan Giant Buddha; we spotlight its rich religious and philosophical tradition; and we highlight some of its greatest creations, like the world-famous terracotta army of the First Emperor. 

We also delve into its turbulent and checkered past, including the reign of its most tyrannical concubine turned empress, and a devastating defeat in history’s largest naval battle. 

One thing is for sure, the history of the planet's most populous country is one of the most fascinating, dramatic, and influential in the world. 

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We once attempted to solve one of history’s little mysteries – the location of some missing artifacts in Ecuador which provided evidence of contact between Mesopotamia and South America in ancient times. The search led us into hidden vaults within the Central Bank of Ecuador. Then it landed us in front of some influential religious figures, who suggested we drop the search if we wished to remain unharmed.

Some mysteries, like the missing relics in Ecuador, are not unsolved.  They are buried by a few to prevent people hearing a different story, perhaps an inconvenient truth.

Others are genuine puzzles that may never be solved, like the baffling prehistoric ‘cart ruts’ of Malta that criss-cross across the landscape like a complex network of tracks found at a busy railway station, or the meaning of a set of strange hieroglyphic symbols of the Phaistos Disc, a 3,500-year-old clay plate found in the ruins of a Minoan palace in Greece. So much time has passed since their creation that scientists and historians alike struggle to find any evidence at all to solve these ancient riddles.

In this issue, we delve into some of history’s most head-scratching conundrums, like the 12^th century account of two children with green-hued skin that emerged from a field in rural England, or the tale of a man that arrived at Tokyo Airport with a passport issued by the non-existent country of Taured – are they just urban legends or is their truth behind these historic tales? 

We also turn to one of the greatest enigmas in history – the Holy Grail – the alleged cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper and that Joseph of Arimathea used to collect Jesus’s blood at his crucifixion. Over the centuries, thousands of scholars have attempted to find, understand or decipher the legend of the grail, but have any of them found the answer?

While scientific advancements have turned up more mysteries from our ancient past – like traces of an ancient unknown species encoded in our DNA – they have also enabled us to solve many of history’s biggest riddles, including ancient cold cases, strange structures, undeciphered scripts, inexplicable historical accounts and mystifying ancient technology.

Join us on a journey through the great unanswered questions of our time, which continue to captivate and intrigue us to this day.

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The famous American astronomer, Edwin Krupp, once said that “across the whole face of the earth, are found mysterious ruins of ancient monuments with astronomical significance... They mark the same kind of commitment that transported us to the moon and our spacecraft to the surface of Mars.”

For centuries, people have marveled at ancient structures such as the pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge, Newgrange, and thousands of other equally impressive sites, pondering how such immense works were undertaken, and awe-struck by the amount of effort and commitment that must have been poured into their construction.

But these sites become even more amazing when the deeper layer is revealed – astronomical alignments, symbolic layouts and representations of cosmic order embedded in the very placement of the stones. Many of these sites are not just simple monuments, but complex constructions that enshrine the remarkable achievements of ancient astronomers. They reflect a vision of mankind’s efforts to integrate culture and religion with the mysteries of the cosmos.

Archaeoastronomy draws upon archaeological evidence and mythological traditions to reveal how ancient humans perceived celestial phenomena, and how their understanding of the skies became intricately woven into their monuments and into the very fabric of their existence and daily life.

It is a ‘new’ field, having only been officially recognized since the 1970s, but in just a few decades, experts have come to learn much about these ancient astronomers and how they connected stars and stones to develop timekeeping, weather prediction, navigation, agriculture and a rich mythology and belief system, which have profoundly marked our world and our own modern understanding of astronomy.

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The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson summed it all up in 1844, when he said: “We infer the spirit of the nation in great measure from the language, which is a sort of monument to which each individual in a course of many hundred years has contributed a stone.”

Languages are indeed a monument to our past. History is embedded in the content and structure of the 6,500+ languages spoken in the world today. Even when unwritten, language is the most powerful tool we have as humans to preserve our past knowledge, making possible both the living of a common history and the telling of it.

The emergence of language, a powerful engine of intellect and creativity, was a defining moment in the evolution of modern humans. Yet, how, when and where it came into being is still unknown and has intrigued many great minds over the centuries. They are questions for which we may never hold the answers. 

The annals of history are also full of languages that have died out, cultures and societies that have come to an end, leaving no speakers at all.  As many as half of the world’s tongues are expected to be extinct by the end of this century, erasing living documents of history.  There is hope, however, as many nations are working hard to keep alive their critically endangered languages.

In this issue, we celebrate the wonder of words and explore the fascinating history of mankind’s most incredible creation. Language is, after all, at the very heart of human nature.

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Think of the word ‘magic’, and it may conjure up images of wands, witches, or the wizarding world of Harry Potter. But in ancient times, magic wasn’t about an awesome display of fantastical feats. It was a way for people to make sense of and take control their lives. Magic, overlapping with notions of science, medicine, and religion, was a resource for navigating an uncertain world.

It was everywhere – magic was a source of protection, a means for healing, a way to enact justice, a method for predicting and controlling future events, and a practice to farewell the dead and ensure their safe onwards journey. From birth until death, magic permeated all aspects of life and was called upon to accomplish things beyond the scope of human abilities.

In this edition, we illuminate the ancient and medieval world of magic – mythological tales of the Tengu, mischievous tricksters of Japanese legend; Middle Eastern folktales of magical flying carpets, made famous by Walt Disney’s Aladdin; and magic rings of power that have made numerous appearances throughout history. Did an Ancient Egyptian ring protect archaeologist Howard Carter from the mummy’s curse, when many others were struck down?

But where does superstition end and reality begin? Did Merlin the Magician, the famous wizard of King Arthur’s court, really exist? And is there any truth to the bizarre accounts of Icelandic ‘necropants’ made from the skin of a dead man?

Whilst some tales may be closer to fiction than fact, expert contributor Brian Hoggard reveals solid archaeological evidence for the mysterious and eerie rituals for magical house protection, including witch-bottles, concealed shoes, horse skulls, and even dried cats!

An issue on magic wouldn’t be complete without a spotlight on John Dee, the Master of Magic himself, occult magician and astrologer of the English Royal Court, nor without delving into the dark and frightening world of grimoires and the dangers of dark magic.

But welcome to your ‘Defence Against the Dark Arts’ class; we’ve included some healing herbs and spells that the ancients relied upon to combat dark forces. Enjoy this magical issue!

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