Migration Period: Did you mean...?

These beads come from Japan and date from the Kofun period (250-538 CE) in Japanese history. In the Kofun Period beads of various shapes and materials were worn as fashion accessories, used in rituals, and buried in tombs. They include, for...

The decoration on both lizard-headed female figurines might well represent tattoos or jewelery. The one on the right side appears to breastfeed an infant. Such figurines were probably made for ritual purposes. Ubaid period, 5200-4200 BCE...

The outer surface of this large, partially broken, pottery dish is painted in black geometric shapes and pelicans ,while the inside (not shown) is painted with ibex figures. Uruk period, 3500-2800 BCE, Mesopotamia, Iraq. (The Sulaimaniya...

This necklace was found inside a grave that dates back to the old Babylonian period, 2000-1500 BCE, Mesopotamia, Iraq. (The Sulaimaniya Museum, Iraq).

A bronze statuette of the goddess Bastet (labelled Bastet-E 3731), made during the Late Period of Ancient Egypt, c. 664-332 BCE. Louvre Museum, Paris.

A map showing the political geography of Korea during the Later Three Kingdoms period (889-935 CE).

This terracotta vase dates from the Predynastic period in ancient Egyptian history, c. 4500-3100 BCE. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, Stanford, California)

This stone ritual object comes from Japan and dates to the Jomon period, between 3000-400 BCE. (Tokyo National Museum)

This painted jar dates back to the Jemdet Nasr period, 3100-2900 BCE. The jar displays geometric grey and red motifs. (The Sulaimaniya Museum, Iraq).

This piece of pottery with Demotic Egyptian text records an oath taken by Petasatet to declare his innocence in the case of cloth theft. This oath was taken before a priest of the Temple of Hathor on Dec. 6, 127 BCE. Temples played an important...