Images

A gold mask and headdress assemblage from the Lambayeque civilization of northern Peru. The face above the mask represents a bat. From the Huaca Loro burial mound of Batan Grande, 900-1375 CE. (Lords of Sipan Museum, Peru)

A ceremonial knife (or tumi) from the Lambayeque civilization (Sican) of northern Peru, 9-11th century. Gold and silver inlaid with turquoise. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The Library of Celsus at Ephesus was completed in 117 CE. It was built on the order of Tiberius Julius Acquila in memory of his father Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, proconsul (governor) of the Asian province...

The Temple of Hadrian on Curetes Street at Ephesus in Ionia (modern Turkey). It was built before 138 CE by a wealthy Ephesian, P. Vedius Antoninus Sabinus, and was dedicated to Hadrian, who came to visit the city in...

A detail of a Chimu cloth from a mantle, 1100-1470 CE. (Museo de Arte de Lima, Peru)

Chimu spondylus and mussel shell necklace with stone beads, 1100-1470. American Museum of Natural History, New York.

A Chimu gold rattle, 1100-1470 CE. The figure, with earspools and headdress, represents a member of the Chimu ruling class and was a common motif in Chimu art. (Art Institute of Chicago)

The decorative paintings on this pottery jar can still be seen. From northern Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. Neo-Assyrian perod, 911-609 BCE. The Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq.

The cuneiform inscriptions on this mud-brick mention the name of Ashurnasirpal II, the Assyrian king. From northern Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. Neo-Assyrian period, reign of Ashurnasirpal II, 883-859 BCE. The Sulaymaniyah...

The cuneiform inscriptions stamped on this mud-brick mention the name of Amar-sin, king of Ur. Amar-sin was the 3rd king of Ur III Dynasty, and son of Shulgi. From Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. Neo-Sumerian period, Ur III...