Images

Mixcoatl, the Mesoamerican god of hunting and the Milky Way. Here he is depicted in familiar guise with red and white striped face paint, black mask, and a bundle of arrows. Codex Borgia, pre-Columbian. (Vatican Museums, Rome)

An hourglass.

Bust of Queen Sobeknefru, 12th Dynasty, Egypt. Louvre, Paris

Tonatiuh, the Aztec god of the 5th and last sun. From the Codex Borgia. (Vatican Museum Rome)

The Aztec Sun Stone (also known as the Calendar Stone) is a representation of the five eras of the sun from Aztec mythology. Some scholars consider the central face to be that of Tonatiuh, the sun god, while others maintain it is the night...

This map shows the boundaries of all major civilizations in East Asia at the beginning of the first millennium, with italics indicating nomadic bands and other tribal societies.

Limestone statue of Pashedu and his wife Ruiu: the two figures are seated on a high-backed chair, each with one arm resting on the far shoulder of the other. Pashedu wears a long braided wig and a long skirt. Ruau wears a long braided wig...

Rectangular fragment of a polychrome tomb-painting representing Ahmose-Nefertari standing among foliage with cartouche above. 20th Dynasty, Tomb of Kynebu, Thebes, Egypt. British Museum, London.

Replica of a Homo heidelbergensis skull on display at the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C.

Dr. H. Thieme depicted with spear VI, a spear made by Homo heidelbergensis found at Schöningen, Germany. In total, eight wooden spears that had been carefully crafted were found at this site. They are at least 300,000 years old.