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Seamlessly intertwined, the past meets the present and cultures collide through immersive and extended reality. The possibilities are endless, as demonstrated by the innovative projects pioneered by OurWorlds.

Mammoths became extinct on mainland Alaska just under 12,000 years ago. But now, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is offering the chance to adopt one of your own!

Popular throughout Central and South America, the tamal is a traditional dish made from ground corn filled with a variety of ingredients, wrapped in leaves, and steamed until cooked. Believed to have originated in Mesoamerica as far back as 8000 BC, the name tamal originates from the Aztec Nahuatl word meaning “to wrap.”

It isn’t hard to see why the Assyrians considered the massive and monumental Bull of Nimrud sculpture to be a guardian deity. Towering at an awe-inspiring 16 feet tall, this stone carving featured an imposing supernatural creature known as the lamassu. Bearing the face of a man, the body of a bull, and the wings of a bird, scholars argue that these features represented intelligence, strength, and freedom.

Amongst genetic engineering and de-extinction initiatives, Colossal Biosciences stands at the forefront. Recognized as one of the TIME100 most influential companies in 2023, it is a biotechnology company founded by entrepreneur Ben Lamm and geneticist George Church. Colossal focuses on using advanced genetic engineering techniques, notably CRISPR technology—a precise tool used by scientists to edit genes—to advance de-extinction efforts.

When you delve into news related to historic reconstructions, one name consistently emerges: Cícero Moraes. His remarkable talent has brought faces from the distant past back to life, including Mary Magdalene, Saint Anthony of Padua, the Woman of Pumapungo, and even the Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

​​​​​​​You may be familiar with gazpacho, but ajoblanco is another, older, cold soup from Spain. As is the case with many traditional recipes, the exact origins of ajoblanco are hazy. Some say that Roman soldiers likely ate the first form of ajoblanco. At the very least, food historians know that ajoblanco was consumed during the time Spain was ruled by the Moors—between the eighth and 15th centuries.

The Pythagorean Cup (also known as the Pythagoras Cup) is one of Pythagoras’s lesser-known inventions. Depending on who you speak to, this rather plain looking cup was either meant to teach people a lesson in moderation or demonstrate the philosopher’s sense of humor.  

These days, town halls tend to equate unsanctioned graffiti with vandalism, identifying it as a costly “problem” or eyesore. All too often local administrations prioritize the quick removal of graffiti. But, as Dr. Richard Clay in the BBC FOUR documentary A Brief History of Graffiti: “Should we always succumb to the knee-jerk reaction of scrubbing it off?” While many believe graffiti to be a modern phenomenon, popularized in Philadelphia and New York in the 1960s, graffiti in different forms actually has a far longer history.

Ancient Origins Magazine had the pleasure of speaking with Jayshree Mungur-Medhi—an archaeologist and heritage expert on Mauritius who participated in the excavations at Mare aux Songes, where a cache of dodo bones and other fossils were uncovered—do discuss all things dodo.