White pigments used in ancient art, spirituality and beauty include bone, limestone variations like chalk and other natural sources....

Limonite is an iron earth mineraloid among the first colors of the Stone Age palette. Grinding limonite produces yellow ochre. Other...

Enki is an ancient Sumerian primary god worshiped for over 3000 years. He's among the first deities to emerge in Sumerian myth. Enki is a...

Youngest of four sons, Hattusilis (Hattusili) doesn't expect to take the throne. In fact he's not expected to live. Weak and sickly as a...

Nanaya enjoys widespread renown and popularity in the ancient days of Mesopotamia. As a goddess of love, erotic love and lust, she's...

A Mesopotamian urban center, Kish is occupied for thousands of years. At about 12 km (7.5 mi) from Babylon Iraq, Kish is built upon the...

In ancient Egypt, every year starts anew with the Arrival of Hapi, or the Flooding of the Nile. It's a joyful occasion marked by...

The flooding of the Nile comes at the rise of the Dog Star Sirius . Festivals abound and people create agriculture calendars around it....

The Hurrians establish a kingdom at Urkesh, Mesopotamia, at the end of the Neolithic Era, c. 4000 BCE. It won't be their last. For...

The Hurrians establish the Kingdom of Urkesh c. 4000 BCE, with the creator God Kumarbi as patron deity. Their greatest power arises...

With spiritual meaning as well as dusky allure, powdered black kohl (kajal, kajol, or tiro) is one of the oldest widespread types of...

Myrrh ( Commiphora sp) has a history older than humankind. Deeply connected to death, healing and the divine, myrrh is a smoky, strongly...

A small kingdom with a big kick, Ugarit has an independent pantheon of Godesses and Gods, central administration, trade routes inland or...

Asherah (Ashera) is one of the most powerful goddesses of the ancient world. She's mentioned in Hebrew texts, in records of Ugarit as...

The Hippopotamus Goddess of Egypt is Taweret, a protector deity of pregnant women, childbirth and infants. Her ferocious appearance...

Puduḫepa ( Puduḫepa, Pudu-Kheb ) is one of the greatest women of the ancient world. In the 13th century BCE she rules beside her...

With the favored practice of naming early civilizations after their grave types, here is the Catacomb culture. The progressive and...

The Yamnaya or Yamna people occupy the Ponti-Caspian Steppe about 3300 BCE, with a tribal origin going back to Neolithic times. In the...

The concept of the evil eye exists since the beginning of humanity on earth. The curse is cast with a malevolent look or glare. The evil...

An ancient Sumerian demon goddess, Lamashtu first appears c. 2900 - 2350 BCE. She attacks infants and pregnant, childbearing or nursing...