Kaolinite, a white clay mineral, is among the first pigments. It's created by the weathering of minerals found in stone. Present in...

Hippomancy is divination using horses or horse bones and skulls to gain mystical insight. From the Greek hippos, meaning "horse", and...

The oldest cattle cult appears in Arabia c. 6000 BCE. Described by the research team as the “first large-scale, monumental ritual...

Horse burials are ritual entombment of horses, relating to a deceased human. Horse burials take various forms including cremation, burial...

Hünenburg (Huenenburg) bei Watenstedt is a Bronze Age settlement in Germany. Only the rampart walls and inner ditches remain. In use by...

Gold-of-pleasure (Camelina sativa) plant is a member of the mustard family Brassicaceae. By c. 2000 BCE it's a popular crop for lamp and...

Sacred prostitute (harīmtu) Shamhat is a Mesopotamian legend. She's a central character in part of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Shamhat is...

The kermes insect is a primary source of vermilion and crimson from Neolithic times to the Middle Ages. The first red colors of the...

Skull cults appear in various forms from the Stone Ages. Early origins may be the Levant or Turkey, in a broad swath of similar ritual...

The oldest known megaliths are part of the amazing Neolithic site Gobekli Tepe (Göbekli Tepe). The region is inhabited from c. 11,000 to...

Neolithic building societies arise as the last Ice Age ends c. 10,000 BCE. The end of the ice age leads to warming climates and...

Göbekli Tepe (Gobeki Tepe) is the oldest known group of cult buildings in the world, dating c. 9500 BCE. In central south Turkey near the...

Göbekli Tepe or Gobekli Tepe in today's Turkey is occupied between c. 9500 and c. 8000 BCE. People of the prehistoric settlement leave...

Istustaya and Papaya are ancient Hittite goddesses responsible for the fates of mortals. They're said to appear at a birth to oversee the...

Castor oil is common in ancient Egypt. It's the preferred lamp oil. A revitalizing skin ointment, castor oil is also a constituent in...

Wandering womb or wandering uterus is a term used to describe a source of female illness, thought to be caused by a displaced womb moving...