Images

The restored Daeungjeon or Hall of Great Enlightenment, main temple of the Buddhist Bulguksa temple complex, Gyeongju, Korea. The complex was originally built in the 8th century CE when the Unified Silla kingdom ruled Korea.

A maebyeong celadon (greenware) vase from the Goryeo dynasty of ancient Korea. The inlay design has typical Buddhist motifs of cranes and clouds. Late 12th century CE. National Treasure No. 68. (Kansong Museum of Fine Arts, Seoul, South Korea...

In the Persian Empire, some regional governors (satraps) were authorized to issue coins for military purposes. They combine Persian and Greek imagery, showing a satrap's head and a local reverse image. These are some of the earliest coin...

During the Warring States period, 475-221 BCE, the various states used different forms of spade money. There are several weight systems, and this is reflected in the inscriptions. 2. Zhou State, 300s BCE, Warring States period. 3. Wei...

The geographical range of Homo neanderthalensis.

Skeleton of an adult male Neanderthal. The lighter parts are fossil, whereas the darker parts have been reconstructed. It is on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

A Levallois point flint tool from the Mousterian lithic industry, made by Neanderthals. It was discovered in Beuzeville, France and is on display at the museum of Toulouse, France.

These 160 aureus coins were found below the floor of a Roman house in Corbridge in 1911 CE. They were stored in a bronze jug, their true value hidden by 2 bronze coins wedged in its neck. When the jug was lifted out of the ground, the weight...

Reconstruction of the head of a Neanderthal male who lived around 70,000 years ago, found in Shanidar Cave in present-day Iraq. It is on display in the Hall of Human Origins in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Southern Italy and Sicily had no silver and had to import it to mint coins. Hoards found there contain silver ingots and coins from the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as coins minted locally. This suggests that people there needed silver...