Images

Shabti of Taharqo. Granite, about 664 BCE. Nuri, Sudan. The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient power in what is now Sudan. Between 747 and 656 BCE there was a power shift in Egypt and Kush and the Kushites ruled both. The Kushites adopted...

Pandanus fibre basket. Collected 1911-1912 CE. Port Essing, Arnhem Land, Australia. Baskets like this conical shaped one have been identified in Arnhem Land rock art dating back more than 20,000 years. Baskets were made to carry a variety...

Jade, 5000-3600 BCE. Biebrich, Germany. This axe is made of European jade mined in prehistoric quarries in the Italian Alps. It appears to be an object of beauty rather than function. It would have taken several days to polish this jade...

Gold, 2400-2000 BCE. Mangerton, Kerry, Ireland. Though we assume this gold lunula (little moon in Latin) was a piece of jewellery, little is known about who would have worn it. Lunulae were made in Ireland and Britain during the Bronze...

This coffin was made for a woman named Shepenmehyt, she is depicted on the coffin lid with her face painted green, possibly in symbolic representation of the god Osiris. This image was taken at the National Museum of Australia in the...

Bronze ritual vessel, Western Zhou Dynasty, 1100-1000 BCE. Henan Province, China. The ancient Chinese tradition of preparing ceremonial meals for ancestors dates back to the Shang dynasty (1500-1050 BCE). An inscription inside this bowl...

Gold alloy (tumbaga), 500 BCE - 700 BCE. Colombia. Gold was an important material in ancient Colombia. It had a symbolic association with the creative energy of the Sun. This helmet would not have been used in battle but instead would...

The Adda Seal, depicting the Sumerian god Enki with two rivers pouring from his shoulders. The two-faced figure is his vizier Usimu. On the left is the sun god Utu-Shamash. 2300 BCE. The British Museum, London.

Wooden hoe formed from a wooden handle-shaft, separate wooden blade inserted into a hole in the shaft, and rope bridging the two pieces. This allowed the angle of the blade to be adjusted.

Female figurine known as the Karpathos Lady. Limestone, 4500-3200 BCE. Found on Karpathos, Greece. This object is the oldest Greek statue in the British Museum's collection. Particular care has been taken to define the face, breasts and...