AncientFaces

AncientFaces llc

Industry	Genealogy
Founded	San Jose, California (September 2000 (2000-09))
Founder	Daniel J. Pinna, Carlos Filipe Medeiros
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Photo Sharing, People Biographies, Family Trees

AncientFaces is a free online vintage photograph sharing service ^[1] which aims to build a "portrait of our past" by offering members the opportunity to share and view vintage photographs of their ancestors.^[2] AncientFaces was founded in 2000 in California,^[3] and has an Alexa rank of 25,754.^[4]

Historic family photographs are a component of genealogy research that can show shared family physical characteristics, traditions, and insight into the "portrayal of the lives of our ancestors".^[5] Camera photography began in the first decades of the 19th century. By determining the date of when a photograph was taken, genealogists can confirm or deny the identity of the people in the photograph. AncientFaces is a platform where genealogists and those interested in history share, preserve and discuss old photos. While AncientFaces does not date photos, there are professionals such as Maureen Taylor (genealogist) who have created careers identifying old photos.^[6]

Interest in old photos relating to genealogy is increasing. As of January 2013, AncientFaces is acknowledged as the 15th most popular genealogy website in the world^[7] which had one of the "largest absolute increases in internet traffic of any genealogy website"^[8] in 2012. The website was also recognized by Family Tree Magazine as being one of the 101 Best Genealogy Websites of 2012.^[9]

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