Fo r Nat ali e and Ot t o – R . W.

Fo r b ro t her Jo – J. N.

BIG PICTURE PRESS

First published in the UK in 2015 by Big Picture Press,

an imprint of Kings Road Publishing, par t of the Bonnier Publishing Group,

The Plaza, 535 King’s Road, London, SW10 0SZ

www.bonnierpublishing.com

facebook.com/BigPicturePress

twitter.com/BigPicturePress

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Illustration copyright © 2015 by Richard Wilkinson

Text copyright © 2015 by The Templar Company Limited

All rights reser ved

ISBN 978-1-78370-188-9 (hardback)

ISBN 978-1-78370-365-4 (collector’s edition)

ISBN 978-1-78741-327-6 (eBook)

This book was typeset in Gill Sans and Mrs Green

The illustrations were drawn and coloured digitally

Written by Jo Nelson

Text in ‘Rome’ chapter written by Katie Hawor th

Designed by Winsome d’Abreu

Edited by Katie Hawor th

P r e f a c e
Human beings are astonishingly creative.

For over a million years they have been

making and innovating — not merely

functional tools but elaborate objects and

intricate artwork.

At first glance, the purpose and significance of an artefact may seem unclear,

but explored in its context it becomes a window into a distant time and place. The

scratched lines on a piece of ochre may seem unremarkable, until you learn that they

are 70,000 years old and the earliest known example of a person making a decorative

pattern. A small clay figure may look rather ordinary, until you imagine it as one of

thousands of tomb guardians, handcrafted to protect an immense mound where a

Japanese emperor was buried.

Understanding objects in their context also enables us to make links between

civilisations and recognise more general themes that emerge in human societies. A

Mesopotamian board game and an ancient Egyptian model of breadmaking appear to

have little in common, until you discover they were both chosen to accompany the
deceased to the afterlife.

Writing about the objects in Historium has taken me on a tour of the ancient world

as well as cultures that still thrive today. I’ve feasted with Celts, fought with Persians, traded

with African kings, admired rock art with Aboriginal people, built elaborate temples and

attended all kinds of ancient rituals. Now I’d like to invite you to do the same.

Au
 1 5 1

Entrance Gallery 4

Europe

Welc om e t o Hi st or i um

W h a t i s A r c h a e ol og y ?

Ti m eli n e of Hi st or i um Ob jec t s
The Celts

Ancient Greece
7

A n c i e n t R om e

The Vikings

Gallery 1
6 7

Africa

Gallery 5

S ou t h e r n A fr i c a
ThM
e i d d l Ee a s t
West er n A fr i c a

A n c i e n t E g y pt

M e s o po t a m i a
2 3

The Anci ent Levant

A n c i en t Per si a

E ar l y I s l am

Gallery 2

8 1
America

The Olmec Gallery 6

The Maya

Oceania
The Aztecs

The Hopewell

The Pueblo

Indigenous Australians

3 7 Melanesia

Polynesi a

The Māori

Gallery 3
 9 3

Asia

Library
Ancient India

Ancient China
In de xe s; C ur at or s;
A n c i e n t J a pa n
Image Credits

A n c i e n t Kor e a
 H I S T O R I U M

Entrance

W e l c o m e

t o

H i s t o r i u m
The Historium curators have thought

long and hard about what to include in

this museum. One small item can offer

a tantalising glimpse of an ancient way

of life, but it would take a museum of

unimaginable proportions to represent all

the rich and varied cultures of the past.

Historium displays objects from only

a selection of the civilisations that have

ever existed, but we hope it will inspire

future exploration.

On display you will find items of ritual and religion, of death and burial, of adornment
and spectacle, of writing and story, of everyday life and work, of warfare and power.

As you wander through the museum, you will be able to compare one civilisation

with the next. Perhaps you will notice similarities; perhaps you will notice differences.

Certain names and themes will appear again and again, revealing some surprising

connections. Your visit will not only be a journey around the world but also a journey

through time, from stone hand axes made a million years ago in Africa to tenth-century

pottery made by the Pueblo people of America in a tradition which is still very much

alive today. So turn the page, step back in time and let your journey begin.
 W h a t i s

A r c h a e o l o g y ?
Archaeology is the study of the past

through the traces civilisations have left

behind. It includes everything made or

done by humans, from the earliest stone

tools and the ruins of ancient settlements

to fragments of writing and burial goods.

To understand the importance of archaeological objects, they must be put in

context through careful detective work. Archaeologists take many samples from discovery

sites for close analysis. A technique called carbon dating can roughly determine the age of

any organic material, while traces of pollen can reveal the types of vegetation around at

the time. Similar types of objects, such as pieces of pottery, are compared and classified

to form a useful timeline.

Modern archaeologists are meticulous in their research, but this has not always

been the case. Early excavations were hunts for buried treasure rather than attempts to

understand the past. Objects were removed and sold on for their material worth, not

their cultural significance. It was only in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

scholars began to appreciate the historical importance of ancient artefacts, but even

then many treasures were taken a long way from their places of origin to be displayed

in museums around the world. Today there is still much debate about where items in

museum collections rightfully belong. Some ancient cultures are still thriving today, and

people from those cultures have sought, and continue to seek, the return of sacred and

culturally important items.

cu tu a y po ta t te s

Modern archaeology takes a scientific approach to learning from objects and today

new technologies – from electron microscopy to satellite imagery – have made the

discipline more accurate than ever, with each new discovery improving our understanding

of the past. As you explore the different objects in Historium , take a mom

what traces you and your community might leave behind – how will your mobile phone,

the things in your house – even your toothbrush – be understood several thousand years

from now?
 1,000,000 years ago–2000 BC

2000

1900

1800

1700

1600

1500

1400

1300
T I ME L I NE O F HI STORI UM O B J E CT S

Ancient Egypt
SouthernAfrica

Wall relief from tomb

Stone Age hand axe

700,000–1,000,000 of Djehutyhotep

Around 1850
BC
years old
SouthernAfrica

Africa 20
8–9 PAGE
PAGES
Blombos ochre stone

Ancient Egypt
Around 70,000 years old

8–9 Bust of Queen Nefertiti

PAGES

Around 1340 BC

18–19
PAGES

The Olmec

Colossal head

1200–900
BC

24–25
PAGES

America

Ancient China

Earthenware bowl

3200–2700 Ancient India

BC

44 Indus dancing girl

PAGE

Around 2500
BC

Asia
PAGE 40

Europe

Me

Th

Se

The
PAG

Mesopotamia

Middle
Statuette of a goat from Ur

TheAncientLevant

2600–2400 BC

East Copper sceptre

PAGES 68–69

4500–3500 BC

74–75
PAGES
 Melanesia

Lapita pottery

1000
BC

PAGES 84–8

Oceania

2000

1900

1800

1700

1600

1500

1400

1300

12
1,000,000 years ago–2000 BC
 years AD

600

500

400

300

200

100

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1100

1200

1300

1400

15
SouthernAfrica
WesternAfrica

Nok terracotta figure Lydenburg head

SouthernAfrica

Around 500
Sixth century – AD
BC
Mapungubwe

sixth century PAGES 10– 11

AD
rhinoceros

14
PAGE

AD 1220–1290

PAGE 10

TheAztecs

Double-headed serpent mosaic

The Maya
Fifteenth or sixteenth century

Jade mosaic

funerary mask

The Hopewell
683
AD

Mica hand
26–27
PAGES

100 – 400 The Pueblo

BC AD

PAGES 32–33 Cylinder jar

AD 900–1130

PAGES 34–35

Ancient China
Ancient China Ancient Japan

Knife coin
Gold belt buckle Bronze Buddha

7
AD
Second century BC Eighth century AD

PAGE 45
PAGES 42–43 46–47
PAGES

Ancient Korea

Ancient India

Gold crown

Ashoka’s pillar
Fifth century AD

Around 238 BC
48–49
PAGES

PAGE 41

Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome
Spartan running girl

Coin showing
Around 520–500 BC

Constantine
54–55
PAGES

Fourth century
AD

PAGES 60–61

TheVikings

The Lewis Chessmen

The Celts
1150–1200
The Celts AD

Ancient Rome
TheGreatTorc
Lindisfarne Gospels PAGES 64–65

The Portland Vase

75 BC
Around 700
AD

Around AD 5–25
PAGES 52–53
PAGES 52–53

PAGE 62

The Ancient Levant

Early Islam

The Great Isaiah Scroll

Earthenware bowl

Around 125
BC
Late tenth–eleventh

PAGES 74–75
century AD

78–79
PAGES

Ancient Persia Early Islam

Frieze of archers Tapestry fragment

Around 510 BC Mid eighth century AD

PAGES 76–77 78–79

PAGES
 Polynesia

Hoa Hakananai ‘a
AustralianAboriginal Head of a staff god from Rarotonga

from Easter Island

Rock painting Eighteenth–nineteenth cen

Around AD 1000
500–1500 AD

PAGES 86–87
82–83 Polynesia
PAGES

Hei tiki from

New Zealand

AD 1600–1850

90–91
PAGES

1000

1100

1200

1300

1400

1500
600

500

400

300

200

100

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900
0
years AD
 H I S T O R I U M

Gallery 1

A f r i c a

S ou t h e r n A fr i c a

West er n A fr i c a

A n c i e n t E g y pt
 S o u t h e r n A f r i c a

Africa has the longest record of human inhabitants of any continent in the world. The

earliest stone tools were found in eastern Africa and early human tool-makers seem

to have spread to southern Africa around one million years ago. It is thought that the

evolution of fully modern human beings occurred around two hundred thousand years

ago, in eastern and southern Africa’s savannah woodlands.

Cave paintings, shell beads and careful burial sites give clues to the daily lives and

spiritual beliefs of hunter-gatherers in the late Stone Age. Evidence of herding animals and

making pottery in eastern Africa dates from around 8000 BC and these practices appear

to have spread to southern Africa by about 500 BC . Around AD 200, iron-using farmers

appeared and agricultural communities quickly spread across the region.

The Limpopo and Save Rivers were used as early trade routes in southern Africa,

taking ivory and gold from inland areas to trading posts on the coast. In the eleventh

century AD , the first urban centres emerged in the region. Both the wealthy Mapungubwe

state and the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe owed their prosperity to the export of gold.

Their trade networks reached to eastern Africa, Arabia, India and even China. As these

centres flourished, so did the artistic endeavours of the people.

Away from the trading centres, most people still lived in small-scale farming

communities with societies based around kinship. The arrival of Portuguese mariners in the

fifteenth century AD marked the beginning of European interaction with southern Africa.

Ke y t o pl at e

1: Stone Age tools 2: Blombos ochre stone 3: Coldstream Stone

700,000–1,000,000 years old Around 70,000 years old Date unknown

These hand axes were found in Kathu Engraved ochre stones from the This painted stone was found buried

in nor thern South Africa. With sharp Blombos Cave are the oldest known with a human skeleton in a rock

points at one end and sharp edges examples of intricate designs made shelter near the southern coast of

down the sides, these stones were by humans. The geometric markings, South Africa. The painting of three

exper tly chipped and shaped to make etched with the point of a stone, are figures in red, black and white is well

highly versatile hand axes. The hand an astonishing example of very early preserved and unusual for its variety

axe was the tool of choice for human creative behaviour. The Blombos Cave of colours. The main rock ar tists of

ancestors for over a million years. Its contained many more lumps of ochre, southern Africa were the San hunter-

sharp edges would have cut trees or not engraved but shaped in a way that gatherers, and the figures on this burial

meat and scraped bark or animal skins, suggests they were being used for stone may well be San medicine men

while its point could have been used their pigment. The soft, iron-rich ochre performing a trance dance to enter
 p pg , p g

as a drill. The area of the brain used would have been ground to a powder the supernatural world. The central

when making a tool like this overlaps and turned into a reddish paint, figure appears to be carrying a bow

with the area used when speaking. It is perhaps for cave or body painting. and hunting arrows over his shoulder.

highly possible therefore that humans Shell beads and bone tools found In his hands he carries what is thought

from the early Stone Age already had alongside the ochre stones suppor t to represent a feather and a palette,

some command of language. the idea that the early humans suggesting he himself is an ar tist. Most

using this cave were interested in rock ar t is found on cave walls and

ornamentation. depicts either animals or humans.

1

3
 4

Ke y t o pl at e

4: Mapungubwe rhinoceros 5: Gold bowl and sceptre as part of a ceremony. The skill and

1220–1290 1220–1290 thought that went into the designs

AD AD

This gold-foil rhinoceros was These gold items were also found in suggest they were valued products of a

discovered in a royal grave at graves on the hill at Mapungubwe. well-organised and settled community.

Mapungubwe, one of southern Natural gold deposits in the area

Africa’s first states. The site reveals contributed to the kingdom’s wealth 7: Great Zimbabwe soapstone figure

the existence of a ruling elite, living and gold was a valuable trade Around fifteenth century
AD

separately in a hilltop settlement. commodity. It was also crafted into The ancient city of Great Zimbabwe

This is the first known example of a ornaments and jewellery for the local was the hear t of the thriving Shona

class-based society in southern Africa. elite. At its height, Mapungubwe was Empire from the eleventh to the

Among the grave goods excavated the largest state in southern Africa. fifteenth centuries . Its wealth lay in
AD

at Mapungubwe were items made cattle production, gold and ivory trade.

of iron, gold, copper, ceramics, and 6: Lydenburg head Extensive stone ruins of the impressive

trade glass beads originating from Around 500 city, with its 20m (66ft) wall, still remain
AD

India, Egypt and Arabia. They reveal This is one of seven fired ear thenware today, including eight birds carved in

Mapungubwe’s position as a wealthy heads found carefully buried in a pit soapstone that once sat on walls and

trading centre with links to cultures outside the town of Lydenburg in monoliths (tall slabs of stone). It is
 g y g ( )

across the Indian Ocean. Climate nor th-east South Africa. They date thought they represent the bateleur

change at the end of the thir teenth from southern Africa’s early Iron Age eagle – a good omen, protective

centur y brought drought and crop and are the earliest known examples spirit and messenger from the gods
AD

failure to Mapungubwe, causing the of sculpture in southern Africa. The in Shona culture. The much smaller

Iron Age community to disperse. heads are hollow with thin clay soapstone figure shown here is also

strips added to create facial details. thought to be from Great Zimbabwe,

It is possible the larger heads were although its age and precise origin are

intended as helmet masks, to be worn not known with cer tainty.

 7

6
 W e s t e r n A f r i c a

The oldest known ironworking culture in western Africa is the Nok civilisation,

which existed from at least 900 BC to around AD 200. The impressive terracotta statues

from this time and the iron furnaces found alongside them speak of an advanced,

organised, society.

By around 400 BC
, ironworking was fairly widespread in western Africa. Iron tools

helped farming communities spread more quickly, and some of these developed into large

states. Copper was scarce in western Africa, so communities imported it from northern

Africa or mines in the Sahara Desert. These copper routes would have encouraged a

flow of ideas and influences across the continent.

Western Africa has a long and rich oral tradition, but no indigenous writing existed

until the nineteenth century AD

. The earliest written accounts about the area are by Muslims

from northern Africa and date from the tenth century AD . They describe large towns and

cities, with markets, trade networks and systems of government ruled over by kings.

Notable civilisations amongst the western African states were the kingdom of

Ife, the kingdom of Benin and the Mali Empire. These states emerged from around the

eleventh century AD and reached the height of their powers in the fourteenth and

fifteenth centuries AD
. Their prosperity was reflected in high levels of artistic achievement,

including glorious brass, bronze, terracotta and ivory artefacts.

Ke y t o pl at e

8: Terracotta equestrian figure to guard the empire’s borders and would have been expensive animals
 q g g p p

Thirteenth–fifteenth century AD
to protect the all-impor tant trade to acquire and look after, not to

The Mali Empire (eleventh to routes. This equestrian figure is one mention the cost of bridles and

sixteenth century ) had a well- of hundreds of different terracotta other equipment. A successful empire
AD

organised army with an elite corps of sculptures made during the Mali needed a strong ruler. Unfortunately,

horsemen and many foot soldiers in Empire. The very fact that Mali had weak rulers in the fifteenth and

each battalion. Mali’s wealth stemmed a cavalry is evidence of the empire’s sixteenth centuries sent the empire

from its gold mines and its regular prosperous economy. Horses are into decline.

surplus of crops. The army was needed not indigenous to Africa, so they
8
 10

Ke y t o pl at e

9: Nok terracotta figure 10: Ivory armlet the royal palace of the Oba of Benin

Sixth century – sixth century Fifteenth–sixteenth century in Benin City, in modern-day south
BC
AD AD

This terracotta figure is from the The ruler of the Edo people in Nigeria. The plaques pay honour to

Nok culture, which is named after Nigeria is called the Oba of Benin. the Oba by depicting his victories in

the village where the first terracotta Ivory represents the Oba’s longevity, battle and showcasing cour t rituals. The

sculpture of this kind was found. Other strength, wealth and purity. The plaque figures are set in high relief and

Nok sculptures, including human most elaborate ivory carvings were are beautifully executed. This particular

heads, figures and animals have been reserved for the Oba. This armlet plaque includes two Europeans – the

discovered across an area hundreds features the Oba with mudfish legs tiny attendants floating above the Oba.

of square miles wide. They all share and arms raised skywards.The mudfish They are Por tuguese traders and the

similar characteristics, such as the lives on land and sea, and is symbolic plaques themselves are made from the

triangular, pierced eyes and elaborate of the Oba having both spiritual and raw brass that the Por tuguese traded

hairstyling. The sculptures are hollow secular powers. The current Oba with the Oba for pepper and gold.
 y g p p p pp g

and built from clay coils. Their traces his origins to a dynasty that During the sixteenth, seventeenth and

significance and purpose are unknown, began in the four teenth century. eighteenth centuries, the Por tuguese

but their sophisticated design and were also heavily involved in the

execution suggests a long tradition of 11: Brass plaque Atlantic Slave Trade, as were the British

terracotta ar t in the area. This figure Sixteenth century and French. The coast of Western
AD

is heavily adorned with jewellery and This brass plaque is one of over nine Africa was sometimes called the

appears to be of high status. hundred still in existence today. They slave coast.

once covered the interior walls of

11

12

12: Ivory mask

Sixteenth century AD

This mask pendant is thought to

represent Idia, the queen mother

of Oba Esigie. The Oba of Benin

performs a variety of rituals to honour

his ancestors and thus bring good

for tune to his people. Oba Esigie

lived around 1504–1550. He most

AD

likely wore this mask during rituals in

honour of his mother and it would

have been placed either around his

 p

neck or on his hip. The little heads at

the top represent Por tuguese traders.

 A n c i e n t E g y p t

The civilisation of ancient Egypt began in oases on the banks of the River Nile in the

north-east African desert. The Nile provided Egypt’s all-important floodplain for growing

crops, and also functioned as a major travel and trade route.

People began to farm the Nile Valley from as early as the sixth millennium BC

the fourth millennium BC

, early farming villages developed into Egypt’s first towns. Egypt

was united under one ruler in around 3000 BC , then ruled by pharaohs for the next

three thousand years. There were three main periods of the pharaohs’ rule, referred to

as the Old Kingdom (2628–2181 BC ), the Middle Kingdom (2055–1650 BC ) and the New

Kingdom (1550–1069 BC
).

The tremendous achievements of the ancient Egyptians are preserved in their art

and monuments, in particular the mighty pyramids, temples and rock tombs. The afterlife

was a preoccupation of the Egyptians and the wealthy elite followed elaborate funerary

rites in the hope of being granted eternal life.

The Egyptian people believed that only the gods could keep order in this world,

and that the pharaoh was a living representation of the gods. He ran the country through

an organised system of government. Everyone paid taxes, either in goods or by working

for the government, often on one of the pharaoh’s major building projects.

During the New Kingdom, Egypt became the wealthiest, most powerful country of the

ancient world. Although its strength then waned, its culture continued, even under foreign

invaders, including the Greeks and Romans. When the Roman Empire officially became

Christian in AD
380 it ordered the Egyptian temples to close, marking an end to ancient Egypt.

Ke y t o pl at e

13: Gilded outer coffin of their appearance, wearing fine linen, as hieroglyphs. The Egyptians called

Henutmehyt elaborate hairstyles and colourful, this writing ‘the words of the gods’.

Around 1250 striking jewellery. This miniature collar, Egyptian kings chose their names
BC

Henutmehyt was a priestess from made of gold and semi-precious very carefully and these names were

the Egyptian city of Thebes and it is stones, is likely to have been made steeped in meaning. This hieroglyph

clear from her lavish burial that she as an offering to the gods. Religious depicts the name ‘Horus of Gold’.

was extremely wealthy and highly offerings were a daily ritual in ancient The falcon god Horus was closely

regarded. Tombs and coffins were Egypt. Ordinary people would make associated with the Egyptian pharaohs.

only ever for the rich; the poor small offerings to shrines in their own

were simply buried in the sand. homes and priests would make 16: Ram’s head amulet

Henutmehyt‘s body was mummified, three food offerings a day to the 712–664
BC

a lengthy process for preservation statues in their temples. The pharaoh, This amulet comes from the period

that involved internal organs being as supreme priest of all temples, when Egypt was ruled by the Kushite

removed and the body being dried would make the most impor tant kings. The kingdom of Kush was in

out and wrapped in special bandages. offerings of all. Nubia, to the south of Egypt. During

Her mummy was then placed in a the 25th Dynasty, the Kushites ruled

gold-leafed inner coffin inside this Inlay depicting ‘Horus of Gold’ Egypt for around a hundred years.
15:
decorative outer coffin. Both coffins Fourth centur y Images of Kushite pharaohs show
BC
 y g p
BC

depict idealised versions of the This inlay is one of a group found them wearing rams’ head amulets

priestess, designed to provide her at the site of the ancient city of similar to this one. The ancient

spirit with a substitute body should Hermopolis. It is thought they formed Egyptians associated the ram with

her mummified body perish. a large inscription, listing the names of fer tility and with the god Amun,

a king. The written word was deemed who had been adopted as the king

14: Miniature broad collar extremely powerful by the Egyptians of gods during the Middle Kingdom.

332–222 and it was beautifully sculpted on Amulets were worn to bring good
BC

The Egyptians took great pride in monuments, in picture writing known for tune and to ward off evil.
13

14

15
16
 17

Ke y t o pl at e

17: Painted wooden canopic jars 19: Painted wooden model of a harp workshop in Amarna, the new capital

Around 700 1550–1069 city founded by Akhenaten. There

BC BC

During mummification, the intestines, This tomb model is another example are numerous reliefs and statues of

stomach, lungs and liver were removed, of an object taken to the grave for Nefer titi and this bust would have

preserved, then stored in special use in the next life. Wall paintings served as a model for ar tists to copy.

containers called canopic jars. It was show music and dancing as par t of

traditional for the stoppers of the jars Egyptian banquet scenes. Musicians 21: Page from the Book of the Dead

to represent the four sons of the god and enter tainers were both male and of Hunefer

Horus, with the heads of a baboon, a female. In general, Egyptian women Around 1300 BC

jackal, a falcon and a human. Later the had more freedom than those in other This scene is from a Book of the Dead,

preserved internal organs were stored ancient civilisations. Their main role was about the burial of a royal scribe,

inside the body. Although the canopic still to run the household and have Hunefer. These books contained

jars were no longer needed, they children, but some also had jobs, ran beautifully illustrated instructions on

continued to be included as impor tant businesses and owned property. how to perform a proper burial and

elements for a good burial. achieve a safe passage to the next life.

20: Bust of Queen Nefertiti They were made for people of high

18: Wooden model of bakers Around 1340

BC
rank and placed in their tombs. This

Around 1900 Nefer titi was the wife of Akhenaten, scene shows priests performing rituals
BC

Bread was a staple par t of every the pharaoh who brought about a over Hunefer’s mummified body while

Egyptian’s diet. Farmers grew wheat on shocking change in Egypt by rejecting his wife and daughter mourn. Funerary

the fertile land along the River Nile. It the worship of Amun and replacing texts were only made for people of
 g p p g y p p

was ground into flour, then mixed with him with Aten, the god of the sun high rank. Scribes were in this category

water and baked, both on a small scale disk. Nefer titi was a prominent queen, because the ar t of writing was so

at home and on a more industrial scale ruling alongside her husband and highly valued. The book is painted on

to feed workers. Models like this one playing an active role in his religious papyrus, the world’s first paper-like

were placed in tombs to represent reforms. Her name translates as material, which was made from strips

the activities essential to everyday life ‘a beautiful woman has come’ and of papyrus reed.

– activities that were expected to be her beauty is evident in this bust. It

necessary in the next life too. was found in the ruins of a sculptor’s
18

20

19
21
 Ke y t o pl at e

22 : Fragment of a wall relief The mane and face of this lion an impor tant role in transmitting

from tomb of Djehutyhotep show impressive detailing, especially Greek culture and it contained one

Around 1850 BC
considering it is only 3.6cm (1.4in) of the most famous libraries in the

This figure is the first in a row of long. Egyptian metalwork dates back ancient world.

women that may have been sisters to at least the third millennium .
BC

of the deceased, a governor named 25: Gilded mummy mask

Djehutyhotep. As is customary in 24: Faïence vase in the form of Late first century
BC
–early first

Egyptian relief art, the woman’s Eros riding a duck centur y

AD

shoulders are facing forwards while her Around 300–250 Mummy masks were placed inside
BC

legs and head are turned to the side. This exquisite vase features the Egyptian coffins over the face and

Greek god of love, Eros. It is made shoulders of the mummy. The

23: Gold amulet of a lion of faïence, an ancient type of glazed Egyptians believed that the spirit of

Around 1650–1550 ceramic. It was probably made in the deceased could leave the tomb
BC

Amulets were small, precious Alexandria, the city founded as Egypt’s and that, on its return, it would

objects in symbolic shapes. They capital by Alexander the Great in use the mummy mask to identify

were thought to bring power and 332 . After Alexander’s death, Egypt the correct body. Yet mummy masks
BC

protection. Animals were a common was ruled by the Ptolemies, a Greek were rarely made as accurate

amulet design and the lion was dynasty, for nearly three hundred por traits. They followed the idealised

a symbol of power and kingship. years. The por t of Alexandria played style typical of Egyptian ar t, with

22 23 25

24
 standard propor tions for the and therefore a prominent feature of in a battle and had it restored by the

depictions of human figures. The funerary ar t. Just as the young scarabs goddess Hathor. Blue and green were

gilding on this mask relates to the took flight from the dung ball, so the common colours for wedjat amulets

sun god Re, whose flesh was said sun god rose up into the heavens, as they symbolised regeneration.

to be of pure gold. It was hoped and so the Egyptians hoped they

that the deceased would be united themselves would live on in death. 28: Statue of two men and a boy

with Re in the afterlife. This exquisite hear t scarab and chain 1353–1336
BC

is inscribed with a passage from a This small statue shows a man of high

26: Heart scarab of Hatnefer Book of the Dead – a plea from the status next to a younger man and

Around 1492–1473 deceased, Hatnefer, to her own heart, a boy. The statue was most likely a
BC

The Egyptians believed that their not to let her down. domestic icon, used for veneration in

hear ts were weighed after death the home. The family was at the hear t

by the god Anubis and that only 27: Faïence wedjat eye of Egyptian society and it is possible

those with a light, vir tuous hear t 1069–945 BC

that these three figures represent a

were granted passage to the next The wedjat eye, also known as the grandfather, father and son.

life. Hear t scarabs accompanied the Eye of Horus, was an Egyptian healing

deceased to their tombs as good-luck symbol and a very popular amulet

charms. The scarab, or dung beetle, design. It originates from the story of

was a powerful symbol of rebir th the god Horus, who lost his left eye

26
27
 H I S T O R I U M

Gallery 2

A m e r i c a

The Olmec

The Maya

The Aztecs

The Hopewell

The Pueblo
 T h e O l m e c

The Olmec civilisation thrived in southern Mexico from around 1200 to 400 BC . Its people

cultivated the land along coastal lowlands and were mainly maize farmers who benefited

from the annual river floods that irrigated and fertilised their soil. Abundant harvests

enabled major centres to develop – notably San Lorenzo and La Venta – and these sites

became home to Mesoamerica’s first complex societies.

Although much about the Olmec remains a mystery, their civilisation is seen by many

as the mother culture of Mesoamerica. Archaeological finds include stepped platforms

leading to temples, ritual offerings, intricate sculptures and the first evidence of a sport

known only as the Ball Game that became popular across Mesoamerica. What the Olmec

called themselves is unknown. It was the Aztecs who later named them ‘Olmec’, which in

the Nahuatl language means ‘people who live in the rubber-producing region’. The Olmec

extracted latex from rubber trees to make objects such as balls.

Archaeological evidence suggests the Olmec were spiritual people who saw the

power of the gods through the forces of nature such as freshwater springs. Intriguing

Olmec cave paintings of supernatural beings remain to this day, as do sculptures of all sizes,

from small statuettes to massive altars and heads. Many were crafted to venerate the gods,

to signify power or to provide protection. The Olmec also used earth or, more rarely,

stone to build huge religious centres in their settlements and the first Mesoamerican

pyramid was built at La Venta. Although the Olmec ceased to be a dominant culture

around 400 BC , their strong imagery and customs profoundly influenced both the Maya

and the Aztecs.

Ke y t o pl at e

1: Seated female figurine items, including a mirror made of Olmec rulers. They all wear striking

900–500 BC
polished hematite (a reddish-black headgear and one theory is that these

The human form was the most mineral). A tiny hematite mirror also are protective helmets, maybe worn

common subject for Olmec sculpture, features on this figurine. Mirrors were for war or to take par t in a ceremonial

but very few stone sculptures of seen as powerful, symbolic objects by Ball Game.

women have been found. This small the Olmec as well as the Maya and The stone for these heads came

jade figurine, dressed in a skir t, Aztecs after them. from the mountains and had to be

stands at only 7.7cm (3in) tall and is transpor ted over long distances – up

remarkably detailed given how hard 2: Colossal head, number five to 80km (50 miles). It may well have

jade is to carve. Jade was prized by 1200–900 been carried along the rivers, strapped
BC

the Olmec for its colour, shine and This is one of 17 colossal stone to large wooden rafts. One theory

durability. It was also very scarce and heads found in Mexico, ten of them is that the stone was originally used

had to be impor ted from around at the site of San Lorenzo. They are as a massive altar for a ruler, then

600km (370m) away. Precious jade numbered in the order they were later sculpted into the ruler’s head,
 ( ) y j y p ,

objects have been discovered in discovered and they range in height perhaps to mark a rite of passage or

Olmec burial sites. from 1.47m to 3.4m (4.9ft to 11.15ft). to commemorate his death. The sheer

The green jade of this figurine The heads follow a similar design, with scale of the heads suggests they were

has been stained with cinnabar (a relatively flat faces and large features a display of power and the immense

reddish mineral ore), probably to in low relief (not deeply carved), yet effor t required to create them is

help the carving stand out. It was the distinctive facial features of each evidence of a dominant ruler with a

discovered in a burial chamber in one indicate that they are unique large workforce at his command.

La Venta, along with other precious por traits of real people, most probably
 1

2
 5

4
 T h e M a y a

The Maya civilisation rose to prominence in around AD

250. Its people never formed a

single empire but lived in city-state kingdoms dotted across present-day southern Mexico,

Guatemala, northern Belize, western Honduras and El Salvador. What brought the Maya

together as a culture was a shared belief system, a similar structure of society and similar

styles of art and architecture.

The Maya settled in villages as early as 650 BC . Their cities began as ceremonial

centres. Successive rulers added to the cities, building stone temples, palaces, pyramids,

Ball-Game courts and plazas. The lifestyles of the royal family, aristocrats, priests and

craftsmen in the city were sustained by the maize, squash and beans grown in the

surrounding terraced fields.

Central to Maya life was a desire to please and appease the gods through rituals

and ceremonies. People believed the gods required regular offerings, in particular

human blood and sacrifices, to maintain order on Earth. Priests studied the heavens

for a deeper understanding of the supernatural and became excellent astronomers

and mathematicians.

Hieroglyphic writing carved on stone buildings has revealed much of what we

know about the Maya. Their cities are now overgrown ruins, but around six million Maya

descendants still live in the same region, mostly in small village communities, and some 70

Maya languages are spoken.

Ke y t o pl at e

3: Vessel with a procession as the gods’ representative on Ear th the Great, called Janaahb’ Pakal

of warriors and suggesting his own divine status. (Radiant Shield Sun), was discovered

750–850 It was thought that the living king could in a royal tomb beneath the Temple
AD

The naked figure on this vessel is a communicate with the gods and that of Inscriptions at the ancient city of

prisoner being led to a ritual sacrifice. he would join them when he died. Palenque. The inscriptions of the tomb

At the head of the procession is a Maya Smoke from burning incense was also provide a written history of Pakal’s

ruler, identifiable by his jaguar pelt – a thought to reach the gods and carry dynasty and rule. According to them,

symbol of power and authority. He offerings to them. he became king at the age of 12 and

carries a bloodied weapon and has ruled until his death in 683, at the
AD

an instrument for bloodletting in his 5: Pair of ear flare frontals age of 80. Studies of his bones, however,

headdress. Even the Maya rulers would Third–sixth century suggest he was actually 45–50 when
AD

submit themselves to bloodletting These ear ornaments measure 5cm he died.

when making special requests to the (2in) across and would have been Under Pakal’s reign, Palenque was

gods. The painting on this vessel is attached to a shaft that went through transformed into a major Maya city

one of the few surviving examples of a wide hole in the earlobe. They are and he commissioned the Temple of

the colourful scenes that would have carved with a motif based on petals Inscriptions, built on a massive pyramid

covered the walls of ancient Maya cities. or leaves. Many figures in Maya art are structure, as his own burial place.
 y y g y , p

shown wearing ear flares, including the Pyramids were intended to replicate

4: Incense burner incense-burner king, also in this gallery. the surrounding mountains, where

Fourth centur y Jade was a symbol of wealth, since it deities and ancestors were thought to
AD

This ceramic incense burner shows was rare and very difficult to carve. reside. Jade of a bright green colour

a Maya king, sitting cross-legged and was highly prized by the Maya. This

wearing an elaborate headdress. The 6: Jade mosaic funerary mask mask gave Pakal a youthful face for

headdress formed par t of the king’s 683 the afterlife, suggestive of the Maya
AD

ceremonial regalia, identifying him This mask, which belonged to Pakal maize god.
 T h e A z t e c s

The Aztecs, or Mexica, lived in the Valley of Mexico from the twelfth century

According to Aztec belief, the Aztec people originated as a small, wandering tribe and

were guided to the valley by their main god, Huitzilopochtli, who led them to settle on

an island in the marshes of Lake Texcoco. Here they founded their capital, the city of

Tenochtitlán, in around 1325 AD

. A swampy landscape seems an unlikely setting for the

development of Mesoamerica’s last great native empire, but the Aztecs learned to grow

food on artificial floating islands and gradually expanded their realm through waging war

and forging alliances. Tenochtitlán became one of the largest cities in the world and was

supported by an efficient system of trade and tribute.

Central to Aztec life was a sense of duty to the gods who had set the world in

motion. Like the Olmec, the Maya and the Toltecs (a tribe who dominated central Mexico

in the tenth to twelfth centuries AD ) before them, the Aztecs believed that blood offerings

were necessary to appease the gods and sustain life on Earth. Ceremonial wars were

fought with the sole purpose of sacrificing any captives on top of steep temple pyramids.

The Aztec word for blood literally means ‘treasured water’. Priests would wrench the

heart out of a prisoner and let his blood flow onto the soil below to encourage the rains

to fall and the earth to be fertile.

The Aztecs were led by an elected emperor who was both the head of the army

and chief priest. Revered by his people, he held divine status and was said to communicate

directly with the gods. Each new emperor proved his might by waging war and winning

new territories. By the early sixteenth century, the empire included 489 city-states and

covered most of modern-day central and southern Mexico.

When a small Spanish army led by Hernán Cortés (1485–1547 AD ) arrived in

1519 AD , they were astounded by the Aztecs’ wealth and infrastructure, and appalled by

the culture of human sacrifice. The mighty Aztecs had no experience of Spanish military

tactics and weaponry. Two years later, Tenochtitlán lay in ruins and the Aztec lands

became a Spanish colony.

7
 Ke y t o pl at e

bravery before they could join the

7: Mosaic ceremonial knife four previous world ages. The Aztecs

ranks of these orders.

Fifteenth–sixteenth century AD
believed they lived in the fifth and last

The wooden handle of this knife is of the world ages, which began when

carved in the shape of a warrior and 8: Sun stone the city of Tenochtitlán was founded.

is decorated with tiny pieces of 1250–1521 According to Aztec mythology, each

AD

turquoise, shell and malachite (a green This intricately carved sun stone was age was made and destroyed by the

mineral). The warrior figure wears an once par t of a temple complex in gods and had a different god serving

eagle headdress, the sign of an elite Tenochtitlán. It is also known as the as its sun.

group of Aztec warriors, and appears calendar stone, because it features the

to be holding the flint blade of the 20 Aztec day names that formed the 9: Potdepicting Tláloc

knife in place. Warriors would have basis of their sacred calendar. Fifteenth century
AD

fought with much plainer knives than The Aztecs had two calendars, Tláloc was the Aztecs’ rain god and

this one – the more ornate designs following a tradition that probably one of their most impor tant deities.

were reserved for making sacrifices dated back to the Olmec. Like the He decided whether to send rain or

or for use in rituals. This knife is not Maya calendar, the Aztec sacred hail, cause floods or drought, make a

strong enough to have been wielded calendar was 260 days long and mostly good harvest or ruin the crops. The

with force, so it was probably only used for divination. The Aztecs also Aztecs believed Tl á loc stored water

ever ceremonial. had a 365-day solar calendar, primarily in four massive jars, one at each point

There were two orders of high- to mark civic events such as religious of the compass. This pot shows Tlá loc

ranking Aztec warriors: the Eagle and festivals and the farming seasons. painted blue to symbolise water and

the Jaguar, which were considered At the centre of the sun stone wearing a pointed headdress to

the bravest of creatures. Young men is the face of an Aztec sun god, represent the mountains, a precious

had to perform at least 20 deeds of surrounded by representations of the source of water.

8 9
10

Ke y t o pl at e
10: Double-headed serpent mosaic and resurrection. Serpents were also a over jade by the Aztecs, though both

Fifteenth or sixteenth century living example of regeneration because were prized for their colour. Turquoise
AD

The serpent held deep significance for they shed their skins. evoked new growth, water and the

the Aztec people. Many of their gods Around two thousand tiny pieces feathers of the quetzal bird, which

took the form of a serpent, including of turquoise have been meticulously were worn in ceremonies by priests.

the feathered serpent Quetzalcóatl, arranged on carved wood to form Both the colour green and serpents

patron of priests and symbol of death this serpent. Turquoise was favoured signified fer tility, and ensuring the land
would remain fer tile was at the hear t intended to both impress and terrify of gold and turquoise. This serpent

of most religious ceremonies. the beholder. would have made a valuable item of

It is highly likely that this serpent The craftsmen best known for tribute – an example of the fearsome

was worn during human sacrifices their turquoise mosaics were not power the Aztecs held and the high

on the chest of an impor tant priest Aztecs but Mixtecs. At the height of demands they could make.

or even the emperor. The bright the Aztec Empire, many Mixtec towns

turquoise skin and open jaws – picked came under Aztec rule and had to pay

out in red and white shell – were tribute to the emperor, including gifts
 T h e H o p e w e l l

The Hopewell culture prospered in and around what is now the midwestern United

States of America from 100 BC to AD 500, a period known as the Middle Woodland. The

term Hopewell is used to describe a wide scattering of people who lived near rivers in

temporary settlements of one to three households and practised a mixture of hunting,

gathering and crop growing. Hopewell settlements were linked by extensive and complex

trading routes, which doubled as communication networks, bringing people together for

important ceremonies.

The predominant surviving features of the Hopewell culture are its large burial

mounds and earthworks (large, raised-earth structures). Hopewell mounds were

enormous: the largest site at the Newark Earthworks in Ohio, called the Octagon, covers

more than 50 acres – the size of about 100 football pitches. Hopewell earthworks are

also notable for their precise, interconnected geometric shapes and the mathematical

precision with which they were measured and positioned in relation to one another.

The straight and parallel lines of the earthworks suggest a direct relationship with the

positions of the moon, stars and sun, and the Octagon is now known to act as an

observatory for watching the lunar cycle.

Precious burial goods have been found in some of the mounds. These include objects

of adornment made from copper, mica, and obsidian, imported to the region from

hundreds of miles away. Stone and ceramics were also fashioned into intricate shapes.

After AD 400 the Hopewell culture began to decline. The invention of the bow and

arrow may have led people to live in larger, more permanent communities for protection

as warfare became more deadly. With fewer people using the trade routes there was no

longer a network linking people to the Hopewell traditions.

Ke y t o pl at e

11: Dog pipe Ear thworks during construction on the much larger slabs have been found in

100 –200 site in the nineteenth century . It is burial mounds. Mica was transported
AD AD

Hundreds of pipes, sculpted from thought to be of a shaman. The shaman from the Appalachian Mountains, over

stone into intricate representations is wearing a bearskin and appears to 480km (300 miles) away, perhaps in

of animals – from owls and herons be in the middle of a transformation, a trade exchange with other Middle

to beavers and toads – have been either into a bear spirit or back to Woodland people or as offerings

found buried in Hopewell mounds. his human state. In his lap he holds a from pilgrims coming to see the great

The natural pose of the dog in this human head, perhaps in readiness for ear thworks.

beautifully crafted object shows that burial or to use in an act of divination. This delicately shaped hand is

whoever made it was a keen observer The Hopewell respected bears for their almost twice the size of a real hand,

of nature. Pipes provided an impor tant ferocity and for walking on two legs like measuring over 28cm (11in) high and

link to the spiritual world. Shamans a human. Their ability to wake from a 15cm (6in) wide. Two piercings suggest

(spiritual leaders and healers) would long hibernation made them a powerful it was attached to another object for

smoke their pipes to induce a trance- symbol of rebirth and a fitting subject display, perhaps to be carried or worn

like state for their healing rituals. The for a burial object. as part of a ceremony.

sculpted pipe animals would face the

shaman as he smoked and take on the 13: Mica hand 14: Projectile points

role of his spirit guide or a messenger 100 – 400 200 – 500

BC AD BC AD

from the deities. The ritual of sharing The shiny mineral, mica, was used Fashioned out of flint and chert,
 g y , , ,

a pipe with a new acquaintance was to make Hopewell ceremonial varieties of stone that form sharp

also used along trade routes to signify objects. It occurs in layers that can edges when broken, these points

peaceful intentions. be carefully prised into thin, fragile, would have been used as knives or

almost transparent sheets. Ar tisans scrapers. The largest is 5.1cm (2in) long.

12: The Wray Figurine cut the sheets into geometric and Their distinctive shapes have enabled

100 – 400 animal shapes as well as human archaeologists to identify various

BC AD

This small stone sculpture was found on outlines. Thicker pieces were used as Hopewell settlements and to estimate

the ancient cemetery of the Newark mirrors by spiritual leaders and some the population of each one.
11

13

14
 T h e P u e b l o

Pueblo ancestry is shared by more than 75,000 Native Americans living in villages in

south-west America today. The Ancestral Pueblo lived on the Colorado plateau and

made use of the rocky mesas (tablelands), cliff faces and canyons to construct settlements.

The name ‘Pueblo’, meaning ‘villagers’, was adopted by Spanish explorers in the

sixteenth century to distinguish settled, agricultural communities from neighbouring

nomadic peoples. There was never a single Pueblo tribe and, while many Pueblo

communities have shared beliefs and customs, there are five very different Pueblo

languages. The nomads had their own name for the Pueblo that is also still used today:

‘Anasazi’, which means ‘enemy people’ in the Navajo language.

The Pueblo did not always live in settlements. Early stages of their history are known

as the Basketmaker periods ( AD 100–750), when the Pueblo relied more on hunting and

gathering than agriculture and wove baskets to carry their possessions and supplies. As they

increased their farming activities and became more settled, transportation was less important

and the baskets were gradually replaced with pottery.

Early Pueblo dwellings were caves or shallow pit houses. Later (800–1300 AD ), livin

units and storage rooms were built in stone and then added to – rather like apartment

blocks today. Some buildings, known as Great Houses, ended up four storeys high, with as

many as 800 rooms. Earlier pit houses were often incorporated into the Great Houses

and enlarged into community or ceremonial rooms called kivas .

The Pueblo traded with other cultures and communities for goods that included

shell beads from the coast, copper bells from western Mexico and turquoise from other

Pueblo mines. A severe drought in the late thirteenth century AD

and increased conflict

with nomadic tribes led the Pueblo people to move south and east in search of more

fertile lands. Seventeenth-century AD

Spanish colonisers brought contagious diseases and

more conflict, which further depleted communities. Today Pueblo cultures, languages and

traditional arts and crafts are strong and there are more than 40 thriving Pueblo villages.

Ke y t o pl at e

15: Cylinder jar Pueblo Bonito. It would have been used proper ty, farmland and clan affiliation

900–1130 with a pestle for grinding pigments to were inherited through the mother.
AD

Ancestral Pueblo pottery was made make paint. The mor tar itself is painted Likewise , pottery skills and designs

using the same coil-and-scrape with a stepped geometric design were passed from mother to

technique that is practised by the Pueblo characteristic of Pueblo weavings and daughter. Each Pueblo settlement

today. Potters begin with a flattened textiles. It probably originated from would tr y to keep the location of

base and build up from it in clay coils, early Pueblo basket designs, where its clay deposit a secret, to prevent

scraping and shaping along the way. The straight lines and right angles were it from being plundered. Items such

coils are smoothed and coated with easier to weave than curves. It is as this jug, with its striking geometric

watery clay slip before being decorated unknown whether the patterns had patterns, were intended for everyday
 y y p g p p , y y

and fired on a carefully controlled specific meanings, although some may use rather than display. Only from the

bonfire. This cylinder jar was discovered have signified a par ticular clan. late nineteenth centur y was potter y

at the impressive D-shaped Great made specifically for tourists and

Building, Pueblo Bonito, in New Mexico. 17: Jug collectors. Most Pueblo potters today

Twelfth to eighteenth century are women and they often refer to

AD

16: Mortar with textile designs Traditionally, Pueblo potters were the clay as female, with names such as

900–1100 women. Some Pueblo communities Grandmother Clay or Mother Ear th.
AD

This stone mortar was also found at were matriarchal, meaning that
15

16 17
 H I S T O R I U M

Gallery 3

A s i a

Ancient India

Ancient China

A n c i e n t J a pa n

A n c i e n t Kor e a
 A n c i e n t I n d i a

The Indian subcontinent was home to some of the oldest and most influential civilisations

in the world.

India gets its name from the Indus River, which runs through modern-day Pakistan.

It was along this river between 3300 and 1300 BC

that the first great ancient Indian civilisation,

the Indus Valley Civilisation, emerged. Protected by mountains to the north, jungles to the

east and ocean to the south and west, the Indus Valley provided an ideal place for human

society to thrive and the cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were built there.

In the second millennium BC

, the Indus Valley Civilisation went into decline. It was

followed by the Vedic Period, named after the Vedas , religious texts composed during that

time. The Vedas were written in archaic Sanskrit and include hymns recited during rituals

that praise a wide range of gods.

Modern Hinduism finds some of its oldest roots in the Vedic religion, continuing

some of the Vedic rituals and sharing many of its deities. By contrast, Buddhism and

Jainism developed as a reaction against the strict Vedic hierarchy and its elaborate

sacrifices. Buddhism was established in the fifth century BC by the teacher Siddhartha

Gautama, known as the Buddha, meaning ‘enlightened one’. Jainism was founded by a

contemporary of the Buddha known as Mahavira, meaning ‘great hero’. In the first century

AD
, Christianity was introduced to India and in the eighth century AD
Islam arrived via Arab

traders.

The diverse beliefs of ancient India are strongly represented in its arts, through

dancing, sculpture, painting, epic poetry and architecture. In AD 1193, Afghan armies

successfully invaded India, leading to a period of Islamic occupation and the beginning of a

new period of cultural history.

Ke y t o pl at e

1: Statue of Ganesha Hindu text, the Mahabharata . similar, stylised ways. Ever since,

Eleventh century The oldest known statues of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist statues or
AD

The elephant-headed god, Ganesha, divinities in India are Vedic and images have needed to conform to

is one of the many Hindu deities. Buddhist. They date from the second an archetype in order to be suitable

He is the son of the god Shiva and and first centuries and include the for worship. Strict instructions dictate
BC

his consor t, Parvati. At the hear t first carved images of Buddha. These how to execute the ar tworks and it is

of Hinduism is the belief in a single, early statues owe much to Greek ar t. very unusual for an individual ar tist’s
 g , y y

divine unity, a supreme truth called Alexander the Great invaded India style to emerge.

Brahman . All gods and goddesses in around 327 , establishing several Hindu statues are seen as a vessel
BC

are aspects of Brahman , some with Greek settlements, and an Indo-Greek for the divine. They form par t of the

shifting identities and numerous kingdom was later founded in the belief that the physical universe is an

incarnations. It is believed that a priest nor th of the subcontinent. illusion, masking a divine reality. During

named Vyasa dictated epic poems to By the four th centur y , a ceremony, priests invoke the spirit of
AD

Ganesha over a period of two and a Buddhist and Hindu ar t were the deity to enter the statue, allowing

half years. The result was an impor tant developing side by side, in strikingly worshippers a glimpse of the divine.
1
 Ke y t o pl at e

2: Indus dancing girl and trading links with Mesopotamia is the first culture known to make cotton

Around 2500 and Egypt. The Indus Valley Civilisation cloth and evidence suggests that goods
BC

Standing only 10.5cm (4.1in) high, this flourished for over six hundred years ready for trade were wrapped in the

statue is a remarkable artefact from and its disappearance may have been cotton then closed with these seals.The

Mohenjo-Daro, one of the two great caused by invasion or by a rise in sea symbols were possibly a way of marking

cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation. level, which damaged the civilisation’s the goods.

It shows that craftsmen of that time trade – or it may have been a

not only knew how to make and cast combination of the two. 4: Mother Goddess terracotta figurine

bronze, but also had the artistic ability Third century

BC

to capture a figure in a natural, informal 3: Carved steatite seals This wide-hipped female figure belongs

pose. The choice of a dancer as a 2600–1900 to a long tradition of worshipping the

BC

subject is evidence of a cultural interest These small, square seals have been Mother Goddess. It may have been

in the performing arts, while her carved in soft steatite stone (soapstone) an icon in celebrations of fer tility.

bracelets and necklace suggest a desire and baked so they harden and whiten. Baked clay was widely used for ar tistic

for adornment. They are the first evidence of writing expression at the height of the Indus

The Indus Valley Civilisation left in ancient India, although the meanings Valley Civilisation, 2600–2000 ,
BC

no written histories, but archaeological of the pictographic symbols have yet well as during the Mauryan Empire,

finds point to an organised society, with to be determined. Thousands of seals 325–185 BC

. The impor tance of

communal granaries; a grid pattern of have been found in Mohenjo-Daro and the Mother Goddess continued in

city planning; flood defences; artisans Harappa, as well as in places on the Indus later centuries when the wives and

working in metals, ivory and wood; traderoutes.TheIndusValleyCivilisation consor ts of the major gods were

3
2
 all seen as aspects of the one great his empire to know about his change female deities are depicted wearing

Mother Goddess. This figure provides of heart and to feel safe once more. So, earrings, bracelets and necklaces.

evidence of sophisticated textile in an age when mass communication

production, as the figure’s dress is was almost impossible, Ashoka chose 7: Buddha head

embroidered with floral patterns. to erect stone pillars as a kind of public Fifth century
AD

address system. They stood 9m (30ft) This head would have been part of a

5: Ashoka’s pillar high and bore messages written in local seated Buddha statue. It was carved

Around 238 BC dialects for all to understand. from sandstone during the Gupta

This stone block is a fragment of one Period, which lasted from 320 to
AD

of the many pillars erected across the 6: Gold earrings the early sixth century
AD
, and shows

Mauryan Empire by Emperor Ashoka First centur y the Buddha deep in meditation.
BC

the Great. It is carved with a message This pair of beautifully crafted gold Despite their earlier divide, Buddhism

announcing Ashoka’s benevolent earrings are so large and heavy – 7.6cm and Hinduism developed side by side

policy to all people and all faiths. (3in) at the widest part – that they during this time, with some Hindus

Ashoka did not star t his reign as a would have distended the earlobes worshipping Buddha as an avatar of

tolerant, peace-loving leader. He was and hung down to the shoulders. The their god Vishnu and some Buddhists

a ruthless, military man, seeking to quality of goldsmithing and the use revering Hindu deities. The Gupta

expand his empire, until a par ticularly of royal emblems (a winged lion and period was a golden age in Indian

bloody assault led him to change his an elephant) make it highly likely that history, when the arts and sciences

ways. Filled with remorse, Ashoka these earrings were royal commissions. flourished. Learning was encouraged

adopted Buddhism and the concept Jewellery had been worn in ancient by rulers and a type of Buddhist

of Dharma – a sense of duty, piety and India for millennia. It was a sign of monastery that functioned much like a

selflessness. He wanted people across prestige and wealth. Both male and university emerged.

6
 A n c i e n t C h i n a

China has the longest unbroken history of any great civilisation. Its Neolithic age can be

traced back to 10,000 BC , when farming settlements began to develop along the Yellow

and Yangzi Rivers. China’s famous pottery and jade carvings first emerged in these times.

From around 2100 BC , China’s history was shaped by the rise and fall of various

dynasties. Little is known about the Xia Dynasty, but the subsequent Shang and Zhou

Dynasties (1600–1046 BC and 1045–256 BC ) formed China’s Bronze Age. The existence

of bronzeware and its ritual uses offers evidence of an organised, skilful society.

Each dynasty varied in duration and in territory, some gaining land, others losing it.

The ruling families were continually threatened by internal rebellions and foreign invasions.

Consecutive rulers would strive to prove their right to rule. By pointing to their illustrious

ancestry and their success on the battlefield, they would claim to have the blessings of the

heavens. To show their greatness, they surrounded themselves with magnificent objects,

many of which accompanied them to the grave.

In the sixth and fifth centuries BC , the great sage, Confucius, promoted a system of

moral, social and political belief that became known as Confucianism. The philosophy of

Taoism was formed in the second and first centuries BC , though its roots go back further.

Buddhism was introduced from India in the first century BC

.

Most outside influences reached China along the Silk Road, a network of trade routes

that linked China with central Asia and Africa. The road was named in honour of China’s

valued export, silk, the manufacture of which was a Chinese invention. Other significant

Chinese inventions included gunpowder, the stirrup, paper and printing.

8
 Ke y t o pl at e

8: Gold belt buckle 9: Wine flask 10: Gilt bronze Maitreya Buddha

Second century BC
Around third century AD
486
BC

This buckle is one of over two This bronze flask, intricately decorated Buddhism reached China from India

thousand objects recovered from a with silver inlay, is from the later years during the Han Dynasty, around the

tomb at Shizishan in western China. of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, in what first century . Its rules for life and
AD

The tomb belonged to a Chu king, who is known as the Warring States Period meditation techniques were familiar

ruled during the Western Han Dynasty. (475–221 ). Although, as the name to many Chinese, as they resembled
BC

Tombs are by far the greatest suggests, it was a time of much fighting, those of Taoism. As more of the

source of ancient Chinese artefacts. it was also a period of technological Buddhist scriptures were translated

Important men (and, more rarely, and intellectual development. The for Chinese readers, the Buddhist

women) were buried with exquisite craftsmanship involved in making this faith became more developed and

treasures to accompany them into the flask is astonishing. The meticulously prominent. From the four th to the

afterlife. The expertly executed image designed geometric patterns would sixth centuries , various dynasties
AD

on this buckle is of a tiger and a bear have been indented during the casting adopted Buddhism as their state

attacking a horse. process from the inside of its clay religion. This statue of the Maitreya

The Western Han rulers were mould, then filled in with silver. Buddha, the teaching Buddha of the

the first to forge an empire across Bronzes were prized above silver next cosmic era, is derived from Indian

the whole of China. Their dynasty was and gold items, but this inlay technique prototypes, but the dramatic folds in

a golden age in which the arts and gave the precious metals a place in his drapery are par ticular to China in

culture flourished. Models of houses Chinese metalworking of the period. the late fifth century . The unusual
AD

and paintings found in the tombs give a Vessels such as this flask would have patterning on the folds can be traced

sense of the impressive architecture of made lavish gifts, dowry offerings or to Kucha, an impor tant centre on the

the time, as do the tombs’ vaulted roofs. precious burial objects. Silk Road.

8
11 12

13

Ke y t o pl at e

11: Earthenware bowl 12: Square cauldron 13: Dragon pendant

3200–2700 1300–1046 Fifth–fourth century

BC BC BC

Pottery has been made in China for This ritual vessel is remarkable for The green gemstone jade was valued

more than 17,000 years. This bowl its size and age. At 133cm (52in) above all other materials in ancient

comes from the late Neolithic time, in height and weighing 875kg (138 China and its status in Chinese culture

when the Yangshao culture flourished stone), it is one of the biggest bronze continues to this day. Translucent and

along the banks of the Yellow River. items ever excavated. Making a bronze extremely hard, to the Chinese it

It was made by stacking coils of clay, vessel of these proportions would have symbolised purity and indestructibility.

then creating a smooth finish with taken an astonishing amount of time, Exper t craftsmen worked it into

paddles and scrapers. Flowing black effort and manpower. It is all the more ornaments, ceremonial weapons and

lines against the exposed clay are remarkable because it was discovered ritual objects. Jade pendants were

typical of this period. Decorated in the tomb of a woman: Fu Hao, a often strung with beads and worn
yp p , g

vessels appear to have been reserved consort of the Shang king, Wu Ding. by impor tant men, hanging from the

as burial objects rather than for To treat women with the same respect waist or shoulder. The dragon was also

ever yday use . as men was extremely rare in ancient held in great esteem by the ancient

China, but Fu Hao was an exceptional Chinese. It was originally a rain deity

figure. She was a warrior, a politician and was thought to bring gifts from

and the first known female military the heavens. The emperors later

leader. In death she was honoured with adopted the dragon as a symbol of

a rich treasure trove of a tomb. imperial power.

 16

15

14

14: Bronze knife coin sage, Confucius, and there is a long techniques. Its fine, fragile design

AD
7 tradition of bells and drums being makes it impractical for war. Most

A currency known as knife money, used to make music for Chinese cour t likely it was only ever intended for

based on the scraper-knives used by ceremonies and rituals. Bells of this kind display or perhaps for placement

fishermen and nomadic hunters in were impor ted into the Zhou lands in a tomb. Weapons and warfare

eastern and nor thern China, was first in nor thern China from the south at were ever-present in ancient China.

used in the four th century . In the the turn of the first millennium . Rulers needed massive armies of
BC BC

third century , a circular coin with a Their new, melodic sounds strongly infantrymen and carefully organised
BC

square hole had replaced knife money. influenced the rhythm and phrasing logistics to maintain authority over

This later coin, from the Wang Mang of Zhou poetry and writing styles. vast territories. This dagger hilt comes

period, combines both types. Wang They were hung as a set, in ascending from a par ticularly violent time in the

Mang was a powerful figure of the sizes and timbres, and were played by Zhou Dynasty, known as the Spring

later Western Han Dynasty, who then striking the outside with a hammer. and Autumn Period (770–476 ).
BC
 y y, g ( )
BC

became emperor himself from Casting large patterned bells – this one need for weapons prompted technical
AD

9–23. He issued 21 different types of is 38.3cm (15in) high – was a complex advances in iron and steel casting

coins, including this one. and costly process. techniques, which had their benefits

elsewhere in society, such as the

15: Bronze bell 16: Gold dagger handle introduction of the iron plough

Early fifth century Sixth–fifth century to farming.

BC BC

Music and the harmony it creates This elaborate handle was cast in a

were strongly advocated by the great mould, using Chinese bronzework

 A n c i e n t J a p a n

The archipelago of Japan stretches west towards the Korean peninsula and north towards

China. Its Neolithic period, from 10,000 to 300 , is named Jōmon after pottery discoveries
BC

from this time. The Jōmon people were hunter-gatherers who lived mainly in pit dwellings

around a central open space. Large shell mounds – ancient rubbish heaps – show that

much of their food came from the surrounding sea.

From the third century to the third century , a time known as the Yayoi period,
BC AD

increased contact with mainland Asia saw a change in lifestyle. There was a shift from

hunting and gathering to small farming settlements, as wet rice agriculture was introduced

from Korea and China. Metalworking and other technologies also arrived, and a more

structured society emerged. Regional chiefs fought to expand their territories and increase

their power. The first examples of burial mounds and rich grave goods come from this

period, including bronze bells and weapons.

Burial mounds Became the defining feature of the Kofun or Tumulus period, around

AD 300–710. The word Kofun means ‘old mound’ and it became common practice to

cover tombs of important people with large, keyhole-shaped mounds of earth. During the

Kofun period, clan leaders from the Yamato area increased their dominance and became

the ruling imperial dynasty. There are no written records until the late Kofun period, when

the Chinese writing system was introduced, alongside Buddhism. With Buddhism came the

Building of temples, which replaced the mounded tombs of the Kofun period and ushered

in a new cultural era.

Ke y t o pl at e

17: Earthenware bottle of sculptures placed on and around a Japan from mainland Asia. This Buddha

Around 1500–1000 BC tomb mound. The sculptures are tomb statue is of the Yakushi (medicine)

Japanese pottery dates back to the guardians, called haniwa , and were first Buddha, who can grant relief from

beginning of the Jōmon period, around introduced in the early Kofun period illness. His upturned left hand would

10,000 BC, making it among the oldest in in simple cylindrical forms. The size of have held a medicine pot and his raised

the world. ‘Jōmon’ means‘cordmarked’ the tomb mound and the number of right hand was a gesture meaning ‘no

and the period gets its name from the haniwa needed to protect it reflected fear’. This statue is very similar to Tang

cord markings on the outside of the the power and status of the deceased. Dynasty statues of the Buddha from

pottery. Pots, bowls and bottles were An emperor’s tomb could be several mainland China, indicating that it was

shaped from coils of clay, decorated, then hundred metres across, with thousands strongly influenced By Chinese culture.

fired in an outdoor bonfire. This bottle of haniwa . Figures such as this seated When Buddhism and Confucianism

comes from the northern Honshu area woman are thought to symbolise were introduced to Japan in the sixth

in the late Jōmon period. It is relatively continued service to the deceased century AD, the Japanese already had

small and simple in design, with thin in the afterlife. They varied in height their own ancient religious beliefs

walls that indicate an improvement in from 30–150cm (1–5ft). This figure and practices, now known as Shinto.

technique from the early and mid Jōmon is 68.5cm (27in) high and reveals the They worshipped many deities and

periods. Its abstract decoration is an typical clothing for women at that saw divine power in nature as well as

indigenous Japanese style, typical of the time. The wrap-around garment; the in the acts of great men. Their belief

northern region. Pottery from the same jewellery on the neck, wrists and system had no founder, no religious

period in the southern and western ankles; and the use of combs to create texts and originally no name, until it
p g y ,

areas show early influences from the an elaborate hairstyle are all shown became necessary to distinguish it

Korean peninsula. in detail. from Buddhism. The guiding beliefs

of Shinto continue to inform Japan’s

18: Kofun tomb figure 19: Bronze Buddha culture alongside Buddhism, Daoism

Sixth century AD Eighth century AD and Confucianism. Buddhism remained

This unglazed, hollow terracotta figure Buddhism and Buddhist art were the dominant influence on Japanese art

would have been one of hundreds among the many influences to reach until the tenth century AD.
17

18

19
 A n c i e n t K o r e a

The kingdom of Silla was one of three ancient kingdoms on the Korean peninsula.

Founded in 57 BC
, it gradually grew in strength, wealth and dominion, annexing other

parts of the Korean peninsula and eventually taking control of the other two dominant

kingdoms, the Koguryo and the Paekche in AD 668. The Unified Silla Dynasty then

lasted from AD 668–935. Its capital, named Gyeongju meaning ‘city of gold’, was one of

the great cities of the ancient world.

There are many similarities between the Silla Kingdom and the Kofun period in

Japan, including a tradition of creating large tomb mounds holding sumptuous treasures.

Painted scenes inside the Sillan tombs reveal how the rich lived – hunting, feasting

and enjoying court entertainment such as music and dancing. Tomb goods showcase

impressive artisanry in ceramics, bronze and, in particular, gold. They also reveal contact

with foreign cultures, including the nomadic horse-riding tribes of central Asia. Objects

found in Sillan tombs even include objects from as far away as the Mediterranean.

The Sillas’ main outside influence was China, which had a colony to the north of

the Korean kingdoms from 108 BC to 313 AD and continued to have contact with the

peninsula thereafter. In particular, the introduction of Buddhism from AD 372 onwards

had a profound effect on everyday life. The Silla kingdom officially adopted Buddhism

as its religion in the sixth century AD and the Silla rulers became generous patrons of

Buddhist ar t.

Ke y t o pl at e

20: Gold crown a move away from the construction first made and used in Korea in the

Fifth century of massive tomb mounds as the Silla four th century , as conflict escalated
AD AD

This crown comes from the nor th adopted the practice of cremation. between the three kingdoms. The skill

mound of the great double tomb of Funeral urns were fashioned to carry and resources needed to manufacture

Hwangnam Daechong. It is thought the ashes of the deceased, and their the armour meant it would only have

that a king was buried under the south designs give a useful insight into been available to those with power

mound and a queen under the nor th. contemporary life. This ear thenware and wealth.

Silla tombs were built above ground urn follows the design of a grand Silla

from wood, sealed with clay, then house from the eighth century, with 23: Gilt bronze bodhisattva statue

topped with mounds of stone and a complex, tiled roof. The hollow Late sixth–early seventh centur y AD

ear th. As a result, they were largely house model would have contained an A bodhisattva was originally a por trayal

impenetrable and their treasures have inner urn to hold the ashes, and doors of the Buddha in one of his previous

been protected until relatively recent on hinges to cover the opening. The lives, before he reached enlightenment.

excavations. The most prestigious choice of a domestic house to hold It later became the name for anyone

tombs come from the fifth and the ashes suggests a hope and desire on the way to enlightenment. As

sixth centuries , before Buddhism for a comfor table, homely existence in such, the bodhisattvas were seen
AD

brought an end to rich burial sites. the next life. as accessible figures of the Buddha

Extraordinary jewellery, pottery and and were par ticularly popular when

metal vessels have been discovered in 22: Iron horse armour Buddhism reached Korea and Japan.

the tombs, as well as gold and silver Fifth century This statue of a bodhisattva is shown
AD

regalia. The design of this gold crown This piece of armour, known as a in what is known as the pensive pose.

with its carved jade ornaments most chanfron, was used to protect a It is strongly influenced by Chinese
 j , p gy y

likely resulted from contact with the horse’s head in battle. It is evidence Buddhist ar t, which in turn took

nomadic peoples of central Asia, as of the military strength needed to its inspiration from India. A striking

well as the Chinese. defend a wealthy kingdom. Tomb example of how Buddhism changed

paintings from this period show the Silla kingdom is the use of gold

21: House-shaped funeral urn warriors on horseback, charging into here for gilding statues and other

Eighth century battle, with both horses and warriors religious ornaments, rather than for
AD

With the adoption of Buddhism came covered in armour. Iron armour was personal adornment and grave goods.
 20

21

23
22
 H I S T O R I U M

Gallery 4

E u r o p e

The Celts

Ancient Greece

A n c i e n t R om e

The Vikings
 The Celts

Over two thousand years ago, Europe north of the Mediterranean was dominated by many

different Iron Age tribes and ethnic groups, including the Gauls, Britons and Gaels. Today

these peoples are often collectively referred to as the Celts. Famed for being fearsome

warriors, the Celts were also farmers, merchants, miners and highly skilled artisans. Their

laws, myths and beliefs were passed on orally by druids and bards. Much of what we know

about the Celts comes from accounts written by the Greeks and Romans and from the

elaborately decorated objects that the Celts left behind.

Celtic art and religion were strongly informed by the natural world. Celtic art took

patterns from nature and stylised them in abstract, swirling lines. From 500 BC
to AD
100 this

art style spread across trade routes from Ireland to Romania. It is now known as La Tène

art, after an area in Switzerland where many objects have been found.

From the fourth to the first centuries BC , the Celts came into direct conflict with the

Romans and Greeks. At first, the Celts were often victorious in battle, but the increasing

might of the Roman armies and the expanding Germanic tribes forced Celtic culture into

decline. A final flourish of Celtic-style art came from the Celtic Christians of Ireland and

Britain in the seventh and eighth centuries AD . Their gradual conversion to Christianity had

enabled them to incorporate elements of Celtic culture into their new faith.

Ke y t o pl at e

1 : The Battersea Shield through them. Offerings of this quality left, presumably as a gift to the gods.

350–50 and value show how greatly the Celts Cauldrons were prestigious objects in
BC

Many Celtic cultures lavished artistic revered – and feared – their deities. Celtic times, widely used for rituals, as

skill on weapons. Warfare was a well as for cooking and serving food.

dominant feature of Celtic life and 3 : The Great Torc of Snettisham The scenes on this cauldron combine

warriors were highly respected. This 75 Celtic imagery with unknown gods
BC

shield is too short and elaborate to A torc is a heavy gold or silver ring and unusual animals, in a style that

have been made for battle. With its that was worn around the neck in is more common to the Thracians

polished bronze and prominent red some Celtic cultures. Celtic deities are (contemporaries of the Celts who lived

enamel studs, it was probably made for depicted wearing them, Celtic warriors in south-eastern Europe). This cauldron

display. Its place of discovery, the River are described in battle as naked except could have been a gift to a Celtic chief,

Thames at Battersea, London, suggests for their weapons and torcs, and the war booty, or even a collaboration

it may have ended its days as a religious famous warrior queen, Boudicca, is said between tribes.

offering. to have worn one. As well as being a

display of wealth and status, the torc 5 : Page from the Lindisfarne Gospels

2 : Agris Parade Helmet was probably worn as an amulet to Around

AD
700

Around 350 protect its wearer from harm. This torc Lindisfarne was a monastic community
BC

Parade helmets, usually associated is part of an incredible treasure hoard on England’s north-east coast. It was

with ancient Gaul, are striking symbols found buried in a field in Snettisham, founded in 634 by Irish monks. The
AD

of Celtic warrior culture. The skilful England. It is made from 64 threads Irish Celts, or Gaels, had managed to

metalwork on this helmet is typical of gold mixed with silver, twisted with assimilate facets of Celtic culture into

of the early La Tène style and shows a craftsmanship and complexity that Christian worship. The Lindisfarne

strong Mediterranean influences. surpasses the metalwork of other Gospels give stunning examples of this
 g p p g g p

Discovered in a cave in France, the civilisations at that time. fusion. The book’s illuminated text is the

helmet appears to have been a work of a single artist, possibly a bishop

ritual offering to the spirits of the 4 : Gundestrup Cauldron or abbot. The Celtic gods are gone, but

underworld. The Celts believed that First century each gospel begins with sumptuously
BC

boundaries between the supernatural This silver cauldron was found in a decorated pages, combining swirling

and real worlds were weaker at certain bog in Denmark.The plates it was symbols from Celtic metalwork with

times and places, and that both the made from had been carefully taken Mediterranean and Anglo-Saxon

living and the dead were able to pass apar t and the cauldron was then elements in a style known as Insular art.
1 2

4
 A n c i e n t G r e e c e

Ancient Greece was made up of several hundred self-governing city-states, sprinkled

around the mainland coast and on islands in the Mediterranean Sea. These city-states

began to emerge in 800 BC and each had its own ruler, army, laws and coins. Surrounded

by sea, the ancient Greeks became great travellers and traders, exporting their culture to

distant shores as well as bringing back influences from Egypt and the Near East.

The Greeks worshipped a host of gods and goddesses, each one representing a

different aspect of everyday life. There was a stronger emphasis on the physical world than

the afterlife, although proper burial rituals were considered essential. People honoured the

gods by demonstrating physical fitness in sporting events, holding grand processions and

presenting gifts or sacrifices at temples. They hoped the gods in turn would answer their

prayers for health and good fortune.

As the city-states flourished, the Greeks developed their own alphabet, followed by a

wealth of poetry, drama, sculpture, painting and philosophy. In 338 BC , the Macedonian king,

Philip II, invaded and, for the first time, all of Greece came under the rule of one person.

Philip’s son, Alexander the Great, led many successful military campaigns. He opened up

trade routes with the East, spread Greek culture as far as India and Egypt, and brought back

new riches and influences. After his death, Greece gradually became fragmented again and

by the second century BC , its power was on the wane. The Romans invaded in 146 BC a

Greece became part of the Roman Empire.

7
 Ke y t o pl at e

6: Bronze figure of a running girl lower section are shown here. The conquered the Persian Empire in

About 520–500 original would have been nearly 18m 331 and vast quantities of gold
BC BC

This bronze figure, measuring only (59ft) tall and formed part of a majestic became available to the Greeks.

11.4cm (4.5in) in height, was probably building eight columns wide and 20 Animal heads were popular motifs

made in Spar ta, a city-state well known columns long. Gods and goddesses on earrings, and wild goats were

for its bronze figures as well as its were an integral part of Greek culture par ticularly favoured. The intricate

warriors and athletes. It was unusual and every city-state had at least one designs showed off both the technical

for female athletes to be depicted in temple built in their honour. exper tise of the ar tist and the wealth

Greek ar t. In most city-states women of the wearer. These goats’ eyes are

were not citizens, but the Spartans 8: Gold-glass alabastron set with garnets, possibly from India.

encouraged girls to exercise and take First centur y

BC

par t in competitions. The oldest and Fragrance was an impor tant 10: Dinos (mixing bowl)

most famous spor ting event was the commodity in the ancient world. Small Seventh century
BC

Olympic Games, held every four years vessels like this one were designed to Many wonderful examples of Greek

in Olympia. In the four th century a hold perfumed oils. Perfume was used pottery have survived to this day. The
BC

Spartan princess, Kyniska, won several in the burial of the dead, the worship of pale clay background colour of this

chariot races. gods, for medicinal purposes or simply bowl is typical of the Corinth area.

for personal use as a status symbol. The bowl is skilfully painted with goats,

7: Marble temple column panthers, lions and sphinxes. This bowl

Early third century

BC
9: Gold goat-head earrings would have been used to mix water

This ionic column (fluted, with scroll-like 200–100 and wine. Winemaking was a major
BC

swirls at the top) is from the Temple The fashion for gold jewellery par t of Greek life. There was even a

of Artemis at Sardis. Only the top and exploded after Alexander the Great god, Dionysus, to oversee the process.

9
11
12
13

Ke y t o pl at e

11: Dying Warrior sculpture the outside wall of the Par thenon. in Athens and is signed by the potter

Around 480 It depicts the procession that took Exekias, who most likely painted it as
BC

This is one of a group of sculptures, place in the city every year as par t well. Exekias depicted black figures on

depicting a battle between the Greeks of a festival in honour of the goddess a clay background, a method known

and Trojans. The sculptures once stood Athena. In this scene, a cow is being as the black-figure technique, which

on the east pediment (the gable above led to the temple altar for sacrifice. prevailed in the early sixth century

the colonnades) of the Temple of Blood sacrifices lay at the hear t of

Aphaia on the island of Aegina. This Greek religious rituals. Athena was the 14: Red-figured psykter

sculpture depicts a wounded warrior, goddess of war and, since city-states Around 520–510
BC

struggling to rise from the ground, his were often fighting each other, people In around 530 , a new pottery
BC

emotions visible in his face and body. would make a considerable effor t to painting style emerged, known as

Earlier figures in Greek ar t were more have her on their side. the red-figure technique. Instead

rigid, forward-facing and staged. This of showing figures in black against

statue dates from when the Classical 13: Black-figured amphora a clay background, ar tists painted

style, with its naturalism and strong Around 530–520 the background black, leaving the
BC

focus on the human form, was just The ancient Greeks also revered figures as red clay with some added

beginning. heroes like those found in Homer’s brushwork. This vase for cooling wine

epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey , shows young male athletes and their
 p p , y g

12: Fragment from the Parthenon which were composed between 750 trainers in a gymnasium. The athletes

Around 438–432 BC
and 650 . The poems provided a rich are nude, as was the custom for male
BC

Still visible in modern-day Athens, source of imagery for Greek ar t. The competitors. In the centre of this side

the Par thenon is the most famous of painting on this wine jar shows a scene of the vase, an athlete prepares to

the ancient buildings in the Acropolis. from the Iliad , where the warrior throw the javelin. His name, Batrachos,

This fragment is par t of a 160m hero Achilles kills the Amazon queen, is inscribed beside him.

(525ft) long frieze that ran along Penthesilea.This amphora was made
 A n c i e n t R o m e

According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 BC by its first king, Romulus, who with

his brother, Remus, was nursed by a she-wolf when the two were abandoned as infants.

Archaeological remains date the first settlement of Rome to the ninth century BC .

246 BC , Rome had conquered the entire Italian peninsula, and at its height, in AD 117, the

Roman Empire encompassed lands as far north at Britain and as far south as Egypt.

The Roman army was a highly structured fighting force and was responsible for the

empire’s vast conquests. Professional soldiers served for 25 years or more and could look

forward to pensions and gifts of land at the end of their service.

The Romans were heavily influenced by Greek culture, and studied and imitated

Greek art, religion and science. Perhaps the Roman Empire’s greatest achievements

came from Roman engineers, who built enormous buildings and networks of roads and

waterways unlike anything the world had seen before. This large-scale building work, as

well as many aspects of farming and civic life, was made possible by a vast number of

slaves held captive by the empire.

Religion was important to the Romans and for most of its history, magnificent temples

throughout the empire were devoted to many different gods. In AD 380, Rome adopted

Christianity as its sole religion. During the fifth and sixth centuries AD , the empire lost control

of its western provinces and the city of Rome was sacked by Germanic tribes. The eastern

Roman Empire would survive for another thousand years until its captial, Constantinople,

was sacked in AD 1453.

Ke y t o pl at e

15: Augustus of Prima Porta dissolved into civil war. Octavian an ornate breastplate. The statue

First centur y BC
emerged victorious and took the name of Cupid at his feet could be to

This statue of the Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar when he became remind viewers that the emperor is

Augustus, was discovered in 1863 in Emperor of Rome in 27 . semi-divine; Augustus claimed to be

BC

Prima Por ta, near Rome. Augustus, Augustus needed to establish his descended from the goddess Venus,

who was born Octavian, was Rome’s authority in all of the empire’s far-flung Cupid’s mother.

first emperor. corners. One way of doing this was to After Augustus’s death in 14,
AD

Until the first century , Rome make sure his image was ever-present. the senate pronounced him a god and
BC

was a republic ruled by a senate Many images of Augustus survive. his image continued to be used as a

of prominent citizens, but in 44 , Statues were erected all over the symbol of imperial power. This statue
BC

Octavian’s great uncle, Julius Caesar, empire and images of the emperor’s dates from that era and is believed

became the sole ruler of Rome. While head also appeared on coins. to have been commissioned by

Julius Caesar never called himself This statue shows Augustus as Augustus’s adopted son, Tiberius, who

emperor, he became supreme dictator. a young man with the traditional became the second Emperor of Rome.

This angered the senators and in propor tions of an Athenian Athlete. Throughout the Roman Empire,
 g p p g p ,

44 Caesar was murdered by a The image of eternal youth was a emperors would commission
BC

group of them. Between 43 and 33 , classical Greek ideal and no images of likenesses of themselves as symbols of
BC

Rome was ruled by three men, Marc Augustus have been found showing power. The emperor Nero ( 37–
AD

Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and him as an older man. 68) even had 3m (9ft) bronze statue

Octavian, in a union called the Second The statue also depicts Augustus of himself made. Rome’s famous

Triumvirate, but this arrangement as a strong military leader, wearing Colosseum is named after this colossus.
15
16

17

Ke y t o pl at e

16: Gladiator’s Helmet led an uprising of Roman slaves in the probably made to celebrate victor y

First centur y first century . after a long campaign in Germany.

AD BC

This helmet would have been worn by Roman legionaries had to be Roman

a Roman gladiator. The gladiators would The sword of Tiberius citizens and would serve for 25 years.
17:
fight in Roman arenas such as the First centur y Legionaries carried two javelins, a
AD
 AD
g j ,

Colosseum for the entertainment of This sword and scabbard, probably sword, a dagger and a shield. The

the Roman people. These were usually commissioned by a senior officer Roman legions were rigorously

battles to the death. Gladiatorial of the Roman army, is decorated trained and fought in formation.

tournaments would be paid for by with a bronze image of the emperor

emperors or powerful citizens wanting Tiberius. That it was found in Mainz, 18: Roman coins

to gain the favour of the Roman Germany, shows how far the Roman First, second and fourth centuries
AD

people. Many gladiators were slaves, legions travelled during military duty. These three coins show the Roman

and it was a gladiator, Spar tacus, who This prestigious, decorated item was emperors Augustus, Trajan and
19

Constantine the Great. Roman coins known as the first Christian Emperor in soft wax) to her lips and holding

were minted in both Rome and of Rome. a polyptych (book of wax tablets).

various par ts of the Roman Empire: The ability to write was a symbol of

the coin showing Constantine was Fresco from Pompeii status in ancient Rome. The city of
19:
minted in Germany. The image of First centur y AD
Pompeii was buried by ash in AD
79
 y g y AD
p y AD

an emperor’s head on coinage was Roman women were expected to when Mount Vesuvius erupted. Many

another way of establishing the ruler’s be good wives and mothers and had impor tant Roman ar tefacts have been

presence throughout the empire. very little political or social power. discovered, buried in the ash.

Trajan was a successful general and Some very wealthy women, however,

Trajan’s column, which stands in Rome were well educated and managed to

today, is still a dramatic reminder of exer t significant political influence. This

his victory over a people called the wall painting shows a young woman

Dacians. Constantine the Great is best holding a stylus (implement for writing
 22
20

21

Ke y t o pl at e

20: Water spout Roman glass-blowing. Cameo-glass endowed their local gods with the

First centur y vessels would have been difficult to personalities of the much more lively
AD

This terracotta water spout in the make, as the technique required that Greek pantheon and this statue may

shape of a lion would have formed only two different coloured glasses were be a copy of a Greek original. It is

a tiny part of the intricate network of fused together and that the top layer impossible to say how many gods the

waterways in ancient Rome. Roman was carved and polished. Cameo-glass ancient Romans worshipped because

engineers built enormous aqueducts was only produced briefly in Rome as well as the famous gods of Mount

that carried fresh water into cities; one and surviving examples nearly all date Olympus, most Roman households

example still standing is the Pont du from between 27 and 68. had their own guardian spirits.
BC AD

Gard in France, which dates from the Glass-blowing was invented in

first century
AD
. Only very wealthy the first century BC
and the technique 23: (opposite page) Mosaic

Romans had running water in their meant that large vessels for everyday Second century AD

homes, but poor citizens could get use could be made in great numbers Wealthy Roman houses were lavishly

clean water from public fountains and for the first time. It also meant that decorated and floors were often

there were even public toilets with the creation of larger luxury vessels covered in intricate mosaics. This

flowing water to carry waste away. was possible. Prior to the discovery example was found in Pompeii and it

Eventually, 11 aqueducts were built to of glass-blowing, glass production had shows detailed images of the sor t of
 y, q g g, g p g

carry water to the city of Rome. been restricted to small luxury items. Mediterranean seafood that Roman

diners would have enjoyed. Banqueting

21: The Portland Vase 22: Statue of Jupiter was an impor tant social ritual for

Around 5–25 Second century wealthy Romans and rare, expensive

AD AD

The Por tland Vase is an accomplished This bronze statue shows the chief foods were served to impress.

example of Roman cameo-glass, which of the Roman gods, Jupiter, known

demonstrates the sophistication of as Zeus to the Greeks. The Romans

 24

26

27
 The Vikings

The Vikings are best known for their daring raids by sea and their sagas detailing heroic

battles. It was a raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne on the English coast that marked

the beginning of the Viking Age in AD 793. Most Vikings were content to stay at home

in Scandinavia, farming and trading. The Viking raiders formed only a tiny minority of the

Scandinavian people, yet it was their audacity that gave the Viking Age its identity.

The early Vikings were great traders and travellers. Their journeys revealed the rich

pickings to be had in foreign places and soon trading turned into raiding. The success of

Viking raids owed much to their superior ship technology. No one could beat Viking ships

for speed and none of the kingdoms they attacked had large enough armies to stop them.

At first the raids were hit-and-run attacks. Next, raiders decided to spend the

winter on foreign shores. Finally, they started settling abroad permanently. The Vikings

continued to search for new territories and would eventually have settlements in Russia,

the Scottish Islands, Ireland, Iceland and Greenland.

Viking travellers took with them a passion and flair for display, both in their

distinctive interweaving patterns and in their love of precious metals. Above all, they took

a bloodthirsty determination and a fierce warrior culture.

The Viking Age began with an attack on Christianity and ended some four hundred

years later with an acceptance of that religion. The cultural changes brought by this new

faith, as well as the centralisation of European kingdoms, brought an end to the Viking Age.

Ke y t o pl at e

24: Cup from the Vale of York hoard to make a striking impression as they place of modern-day rooks. They are

Ninth century sped towards a foreign shore. based on mythical Viking warriors who,
AD

This silver cup is the largest, most according to the Viking sagas, worked

spectacular object in the Vale of York 26: Silver-inlaid axehead themselves into a frenzy before fighting,

hoard, a silver treasure hoard found Tenth century then ran onto the battlefield with their
AD

near York (Jorvik to the Vikings), in 2007. Viking culture glorified courageous, eyes rolling and biting on their shields.

Most of the other objects, including powerful warriors. Young men would Interestingly, these warriors carry

617 coins, were found inside it. The rally to fight for successful warrior shields decorated with a Christian cross.

objects came from as far afield as leaders. Vikings were fearsome in battle Christian missionaries had been present

Afghanistan, Russia and Ireland, showing and excelled in hand-to-hand combat. in Scandinavia from the ninth century

how widely the Vikings raided and Men who died on the battlefield were but conversion was gradual.
AD

traded. The cup, inscribed with vines thought to enjoy a lavish, exciting

and hunting scenes, was probably made afterlife in Valhalla, the great hall of 28: Vale of York coins

in northern France or Germany in the the underworld. Axes were common 927
AD

mid ninth century . It may well have Viking weapons. The longsword and Coins were a relatively late addition to
AD

been looted from a wealthy monastery. the spear were seen as superior, but the Viking economy. Early Viking traders

the silver patterning on this axe marks would travel south to exchange furs,

25: Ship brooch it out as a treasured possession. weapons and slaves for Arabian silver

800–1050 coins. It was the silver content they

AD

This copper brooch would have been 27: The Lewis Chessmen were interested in, though, not the

used to fasten a Viking’s thick woollen 1150–1200 coins themselves. Back home the
AD

cloak at the shoulder. Its detailed Chess was a popular game across Vikings melted the coins down and

design demonstrates the Vikings’ skill in Europe in the twelfth century . These used the silver to create other items.
AD
 g g p y
AD

metalwork as well as their passion for pieces, carved out of walrus ivory and Silver neck and arm rings were made

display. The Vikings were rightly proud whales’ teeth, were found in the Isle of standard weights so they could

of their sleek, swift longships, which of Lewis, off the north-west coast of double up as currency, or be hacked

cut through oceans and glided up Scotland. It is likely that the chess pieces into smaller weights. When the Vikings

rivers. This brooch shows animal heads belonged to a Norwegian merchant, settled in England they copied the local

shaped into the fore and aft stems travelling from Norway to Ireland. Of custom and began minting their own

of the ship. It was common for ships particular interest are the pieces in coins. These coins were also found in

to be elaborately decorated, in order the shape of warders, which take the the Vale of York hoard.
 H I S T O R I U M

Gallery 5

T h e M i d d l e E a s t

M e s o po t a m i a

The Anci ent Levant

A n c i en t Per si a

E ar l y I s l am
 M e s o p o t a m i a

Mesopotamia is the name for the ancient region around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

that now encompasses modern-day Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Kuwait. Archaeological

evidence suggests that it was the birthplace of the first cities, the first system of writing

and the earliest known written laws, as well as the wheel, the sailing boat, the seed plough

and even the measurement of time in hours, minutes and seconds. Such innovation was

made possible by Mesopotamia’s location. The rich soil deposited by the rivers enabled

farmers to grow surplus produce that fed expanding urban populations.

Ancient Mesopotamia was not one unified culture, but rather multiple civilisations

whose influence waxed and waned over thousands of years. Notable Mesopotamian

civilisations include the Sumerians, the Akkadians, the Babylonians and the Assyrians.

These people spoke different languages and competed for power but learned from

each other’s cultures and shared beliefs in a multitude of gods. The threat of war was

ever present, but the prospect of trade was often more attractive – especially in the

south, where there were few natural resources.

The emergence of cities, like the city of Ur in what is now Iraq, began with the

Sumerians in around 4500 BC . By the middle Bronze Age – around 2000 BC – the Assyrian

kingdom to the north expanded and the city of Babylon rose to prominence. Invasions

from outside forces, such as the Kassites and the Hittites, weakened these kingdoms, but

new Assyrian and Babylonian empires were established in the Iron Age (1000–500 BC

Around 500 BC
, indigenous Mesopotamian cultures experienced decline as foreign

powers became increasingly dominant: first the Persians, next the Greeks, then the

Romans. The Arab conquest of Mesopotamia in the seventh century AD led to the spread

of Islam through the region.

Ke y t o pl at e

1: Royal cemetery, Ur: Standard of Ur 2: Royal cemetery, Ur: headdress to make this cup probably came from

Around 2600–2400 Around 2600–2400 Iran or Anatolia (now par t of Turkey).

BC BC

This wooden box, inlaid with mosaic, These gold beech leaves were found It would have been created by skilled

is a work of ar t from the Sumerian on the head of a female attendant in local ar tisans for the ruling elite. The

period. It was described as a plaque the royal cemetery of Ur. The leaves Mesopotamians believed that the souls

or standard by Leonard Woolley, the are separated by beads of lapis lazuli of the dead were doomed to dwell

archaeologist who discovered it in the and carnelian. In total, 16 grand tombs in a dismal underworld. Luxury goods

1920s, but its purpose is unknown. It were found in the centre of the may have been an attempt to make

is 58cm (23in) long and decorated cemetery. The rulers buried here seem the afterlife less bleak. It is also possible

on all sides with shells, lapis lazuli and to predate the first recorded dynasty that such items were intended as gifts

red marble. On the side shown here of Ur, since their names do not appear to appease the deities, especially the

the agricultural roots of Sumerian on the list of Sumerian kings. It is quite queen of the underworld, Ereshkigal.

wealth are clearly depicted. In the possible that they were only local
 y p p y y

lower two strips, produce is being rulers, in which case the wealth of their 4: Royal cemetery, Ur: statuette

brought as a tribute, while, in the top tomb goods is all the more astonishing. Around 2600–2400 BC

strip, members of the elite are feasting. Crafted out of wood and decorated

The other side of the box shows the 3: Royal cemetery, Ur: gold cup primarily with gold leaf and shell, this

Sumerian army – a representation Around 2600–2400 statuette shows a goat on its hind legs
BC

of the force necessary to defend a There were no precious metals to reaching to eat leaves from a tree. Land

prosperous kingdom. be found in the flat floodplains of for grazing animals and fer tile soil for

southern Mesopotamia. The gold used crops were essential to Ur’s success.
 1

3
3
 5

Ke y t o pl at e

5: Royal cemetery, Ur: board game to the Sumerians, but culturally and signature. Cylinder-shaped seals soon

Around 2600–2400 politically the two kingdoms were emerged – hollow tubes of stone or
BC

Examples of board games with 20 closely linked. terracotta that would leave a unique

squares have been found from the pattern when rolled in soft clay. The

eastern Mediterranean and Egypt 7: Sumerian statue green cylinder seal here bears the

across to India and date from 3000 BC Around 2900–2600 BC pattern of a banquet scene, as shown in

to the first millennium . This board Many statues have been discovered the accompanying clay impression. Many
AD

and several others were found at Ur on the site of Sumerian temples. such banquet-scene seals have been

– some still with their gaming pieces. This one was found in the ancient found in the tombs of women, whereas

Like the Standard of Ur, the wooden Sumerian (later Akkadian) city of combat scenes are more commonly

board games are beautifully inlaid with Eshnunna, north of Babylon.These found on seals in the tombs of men.

lapis lazuli, shell and red limestone. The statues all have similar poses of

inclusion of board games among the reverence with clasped hands and 9: Lion-hunting panel

tomb treasures is another clue as to wide-open eyes. In the centre of every 883–859 BC

what the people of Ur expected – or Sumerian city there was a temple that This alabaster relief comes from the

hoped for – in the afterlife. contained a sacred shrine to the city’s Assyrian city of Nimrud (ancient

patron deity. Only priests would have Kalhu), to the north of Mesopotamia,

6: Head of a ruler had regular access to the shrine and it in modern Iraq. The Assyrian kings

Around 2300–2000 BC is likely that these statues were taken lined their mud-brick palace walls with

This heavy bronze head comes from there as representatives of worshippers stone panels depicting their triumphs.

the early Bronze Age in Mesopotamia who could not come in person. This This tradition was initiated by King

– probably from the time of the statue, however, may depict a priest, Ashurnasirpal II, shown here aiming

Akkadian Empire (2334–2150 ). The since it does not have the full beard his bow at a lion. Hunting lions was
BC
 p ( BC g

attention to facial detail suggests it is a and long hair typical in Mesopotamian a sport associated with kings, since it

true portrait of a king. The Akkadian images of men. symbolised their role as fighters and

kings were based at the city-state of defenders of the people. Ashurnasirpal

Akkad (thought to have been near 8: Royal cemetery, Ur: seal II was a ruthless monarch who led

modern Baghdad). Much of their art Around 2600 BC

many successful campaigns that

was created to glorify their power Around 4000 , the Sumerians began contributed to the establishment of
BC

in southern Mesopotamia. Akkadian using personal seals to mark ownership, the Neo-Assyrian Empire (around

people spoke a different language to prevent tampering and as a form of 911 –609 ).
BC BC
6

9
 10

12
 14

Ke y t o pl at e

10: Lamassu of them still survive today, of which the these were probably played at ritual

Around 883–859 BC
Flood Tablet is the most famous. ceremonies.

Standing over 3m (10ft) high and It tells a story very similar to the biblical

3m (10ft) long, this imposing stone account of Noah and the great flood, 13: Royal cemetery, Ur: cuff beads

sculpture, known as a lamassu , is one only it was written down four hundred 2600–2400 BC

of a pair that once stood as guardians years before the earliest versions of These beads probably formed

at the palace of Ashurnasirpal II, in the Bible. Fur ther tablet discoveries elaborate cuffs on a long-sleeved

the Assyrian capital, Nimrud. The at Ashurbanipal’s palace in Nineveh garment. They were found on the

Mesopotamians believed in demonic include letters, lists, legal texts and female bodies in the royal tombs at

forces that could bring death and scientific information. Ashurbanipal Ur, along with many other adornments

destruction. Hybrid mythical creatures, was the last of Assyria’s great kings, such as rings, pendants, headdresses

such as this winged, human-headed reigning for more than 40 years, from and earrings. A queen named Puabi

bull, were thought to have protective 668 to 627 . His library was the first even had make-up, tweezers and a tiny
BC

powers. The Assyrians glorified of its kind in the Middle East. earwax spoon with her.

their kings over their gods and their

palaces became more prominent 12: Royal cemetery, Ur: silver lyre 14: Sickle sword

than their temples. 2600–2400 BC

1307–1275 BC

One of the graves excavated at Ur The sickle sword was a symbol

11: The Flood Tablet is known as the Great Death Pit, of power in Mesopotamia, and

Seventh century BC because it contained the bodies of 74 Mesopotamian ar t often depicts

This fragment of a clay tablet, roughly attendants, mostly women, laid in rows. rulers and deities with these weapons.

15cm by 13cm (6in by 5in) recounts Whether the women had been killed This bronze version, around 54cm

par t of The Epic of Gilgamesh , the or had gone willingly to their deaths (21in) long, belonged to the Assyrian

first great epic of world literature, is unknown, but cups found alongside king Adad-Nirari I, who ruled in the
 g p , , p g g ,

which dates from 2100 , over a almost half the bodies suggest they may late Bronze Age. An inscription in
BC

thousand years before the Iliad or have drunk poison. The bodies of six cuneiform, announcing his ownership,

the Odyssey . It is written in Akkadian men were discovered lying near the appears three times on the blade.

in an early form of writing known as entrance with weapons. This sword was probably used in

cuneiform. This tablet belonged to the Alongside the women were three ceremonies by Adad-Nirari, rather

Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal, who had a lyres. They were made from wood that than as an actual weapon.

library containing many thousands of had perished, but two of them were

cuneiform tablets. More than 30,000 also covered in sheet silver. Lyres like
 The Ancient Levant

The ancient lands along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea – now the modern

states of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan – are collectively known as the Levant.

The area is one of the oldest continually inhabited regions of the world. It included

ancient Syria and the region known in biblical literature as Canaan.

The Canaanites had a sophisticated urban culture during the middle and late Bronze

Age (2000–1200 BC ). They developed an early alphabet, from which Phoenician and

other scripts derived. The Phoenicians, the greatest seafarers of the ancient world, were

an Iron Age people who built on the traditions of the Canaanites. They lived in what

is now Lebanon, and their name derives from the purple-red dye used in their textile

industry. They were renowned for their quality craftsmanship and were active traders.

Further south, from around 1200 BC , late Bronze Age Canaanite towns were

replaced by numerous small villages. The exact reason for this change is unknown, but the

emerging people were the Israelites. They had their own distinct culture and their own

language, Hebrew, which is closely related to Phoenician and other Canaanite languages.

Their societies formed the foundations of the early Jewish kingdoms.

At times, large areas of the Levant were under the control of foreign powers,

notably the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians and the Persians. Alexander the

Great conquered the Levant in 332 BC and it later became part of the Roman Empire. It

was under Roman occupation that Jesus Christ was born, in the region known as Judea.

Ke y t o pl at e

15: Copper sceptre was probably made in the Levant and Canaanite nomads and how he then

4500–3500 BC came to Assyria as tribute or a spoil of rallied an army and fought his way

This sceptre is one of 442 objects war. It is decorated in an Egyptian style, through ancient Syria to became king of

discovered hidden in a cave in the with lilies and papyrus plants. Originally Alalakh, which he ruled for 30 years.

Judean Desert. These objects are from it would have been lavishly coated in

the Chalcolithic period (Copper Age), gold leaf and inlaid with semi-precious
19: The Great Isaiah Scroll

which predated the discovery of adding stones. Around 125 BC

tin to copper to make bronze. It is likely In 1947, seven ancient scrolls were

that the objects were sacred treasures 17: Gold pendant discovered by a shepherd boy in a

from a nearby shrine, buried hurriedly 1750–1550 BC

cave in the Judean Deser t. Extensive

for protection. Copper objects from From around 2000 , the Canaanites searches of the area uncovered 1400
BC

the hoard, including this sceptre, form gradually moved south-west into the documents, made of animal skin,

the earliest known examples of the Egyptian delta. By 1700 they had papyrus and, in some cases, copper.
BC

‘lost-wax’ casting process in which a seized control of Egypt and established Together they are known as the Dead

wax model is surrounded by a mould. a dynasty that lasted until 1470 . Sea Scrolls, and they cover nearly
BC

The wax is then melted and molten This gold pendant depicts a Canaanite all of the Hebrew Bible, as well as

metal is poured in to take its place. fer tility goddess. It was found in Tell el- other non-biblical books. The Great

Ajjul, Gaza – thought to be the site of Isaiah Scroll shown here is the best-

16: Ivory panel the ancient Canaanite city of Sharuhen. preserved document and also the
16: y p

Ninth to eighth century BC

largest, measuring 7.34m (24ft) when

This ivory panel is one of a nearly 18: Statue of Idrimi unrolled. It contains all 66 chapters

identical pair from the ancient Assyrian Sixteenth century BC

of the biblical ‘Book of Isaiah’, and is

capital, Nimrud. The panels would Idrimi was a king of the ancient Syrian written in Hebrew in 54 columns.

have once been par ts of a royal city-state of Alalakh. This stone statue The Dead Sea Scrolls are remarkable

chair or throne. Phoenician-carved of him is covered in inscriptions. since they predate any other written

ivory and other craftwork was highly They recount how his family fled versions of the Hebrew Bible by over

prized by the Assyrians. This panel their homeland, how he lived among one thousand years.
15

17
 A n c i e n t Pe r s i a

At its height, the Persian Empire was the largest yet seen in the ancient world. It

extended east from Anatolia and Egypt to northern India and central Asia. Founded

by Cyrus the Great, who reigned 559–530 BC and was from the clan of Achaemenes, it is

also known as the Achaemenid Empire.

In the sixth century BC , Cyrus united the Iranian tribes living in the region south-

east of Babylon, known as Persia. He led them on a series of campaigns, conquering the

empire of the Medes, the Anatolian kingdom of Lydia and the Greek cities of Asia Minor.

In 539 BC his soldiers defeated the Babylonian army, but Cyrus did not take Babylon by

force. He presented himself as a Mesopotamian monarch, more respectful of the people’s

traditions than their unpopular king, Nabonidus. The city gates were opened to him and

Babylon became part of the Persian Empire. Egypt was later added to the Empire by

Cyrus’s son Cambyses II.

The third Achaemenid king, Darius the Great, who reigned 522–486 BC , is credited

with stabilising the Persian Empire and expanding it to its greatest extent. He introduced

an efficient system of regional governors and an impressive network of roads. He displayed

his power through two major building projects: a new capital, Persepolis, in his Persian

homeland and a royal palace complex at Susa.

The Persian Empire lasted just over two centuries. Its rulers managed to suppress

revolts in Egypt but ultimately they could not hold back the Greeks. In 330 BC
, Alexander

the Great and his men fought their way across the Persian provinces. Although they faced

great resistance, they succeeded in gaining the empire.

Ke y t o pl at e

20: (opposite page) Frieze of archers the Greek historian Herodotus (484– weight earned Persian soldiers fighting

Around 510 425 ). They were said to always Alexander the Great the nickname of
BC BC

The colourful glazed bricks that make number 10,000 men; if one died, he ‘Apple Bearers’.

up this stunning frieze were discovered was immediately replaced, giving the This frieze was probably inspired
 p g y p ,g g p y p

during excavations at the site of Darius impression of immortality. Alternatively, by the Processional Way in Babylon,

the Great’s palace at Susa. Thousands the archers may be idealised images of a stone- and brick-paved avenue that

more glazed bricks have been found Persian men. ran from the city’s temples to its royal

on the site, suggesting that processions They wear long, decorative palaces. Centuries after the Persian

of archers may have covered hundreds Persian robes, belted at the waist, and Empire, glazed brick decoration would

of metres of the exterior palace walls. laced ankle boots. Their spears, held become a prominent feature of Islamic

The archers may represent Persian upright, have a rounded weight at the architecture.

elite troops, called ‘the Immortals’ by lower end for counterbalance. This
1
 E a r l y I s l a m

The faith of Islam was established by the prophet Muhammad in the seventh century

It began in Arabia and spread rapidly across the Middle East through a series of military

conquests. Following the death of the prophet Muhammad in AD 632, the Muslim

community was led by a caliph (meaning ‘successor’) and the growing Islamic Empire

under his command became known as the Caliphate.

In the eighth to tenth centuries AD , the Caliphate stretched from central Asia to

Spain. Islam was more than a religion, it was a whole way of life and it fostered a distinct

culture and style of art and architecture. Artefacts from the early Islamic period show

how Islamic art emerged from a blend of Iranian and classical influences.

The Caliphate experienced a golden age during the Abbasid Dynasty. This dynasty

founded Baghdad as their capital city in AD 762 and it became a prosperous centre of

culture and commerce, earning a reputation as the richest city in the world. For a brief

interlude in the ninth century AD the caliphs used the city of Samarra as their capital.

Although it was abandoned fewer than 60 years later, it is of major archaeological

interest, since virtually nothing remains of the Abbasid period in Baghdad, which was

sacked and destroyed by the Mongols in AD 1258. The Mongols killed the caliph and their

invasion ended the Abbasid Dynasty. Although the Islamic faith and culture continued to

spread, the Arab-Muslim empire was at an end.

Ke y t o pl at e

21: Woven tapestry fragment 22: Wall painting fragments they were originally more lavish. These

Mid eighth century AD

Ninth century AD fragments provide examples of the

This woollen tapestry fragment is from The city of Samarra was built in early depiction of figures in Islamic ar t.

the Umayyad period ( 661–750), 836,110km (70 miles) nor th

AD AD

the first Islamic dynasty. Art from this of Baghdad, as a new capital for 23: Earthenware bowl

time was still influenced by pre-Islamic the Islamic Empire. Its name is a Late tenth–eleventh century
AD

traditions and techniques. Here, the shor tening of the Arabic for ‘he who Arabic is the language in which the

repeat rosette pattern can be traced sees it is delighted’ and its vast palaces Qur’an is said to have been revealed

to Sasanian ar t. The Sasanian Dynasty and barracks were intended to dazzle to the prophet Muhammad and is

followed the ancient Zoroastrian visitors. These paintings, however, therefore held in great esteem in

religion and controlled Iran from AD were hidden from view in the harem Islamic culture. The ar t of writing

224–642. The abstract ornamentation quar ters, where the women of the Arabic is also highly prized and from

of the Sasanians was the precur sor cour t lived, and were only intended early in the Islamic era a sophisticated

to the geometric and vegetal (plant- for the eyes of the caliph and those calligraphy developed. This bowl

shaped) patterns of Islamic ar t. The close to him. The faces most likely from Nishapur, in nor th-eastern Iran,
 p )p y p , ,

red border on this tapestr y suggests depict the women slaves who lived features the oldest calligraphic form of

it was used as a floor covering. The and worked there. They would Arabic, known as the Kufic script. The

manufacture and trade of textiles have been skilled poets, musicians, words translate as ‘Blessing, prosperity,

flourished in early Islamic society. dancers and singers, and they lived well-being, happiness’. Inscriptions are

Often made of luxury materials, alongside the caliph’s wives. These a common feature on early Islamic

textiles were symbols of status. women performed for the caliph and pottery. They never state historical

benefited from considerable privileges. facts but often give advice on how to

Flecks of gold in the paintings suggest lead a good life.

21

22
 H I S T O R I U M

Gallery 6

O c e a n i a

Indigenous Australians

Melanesia

Polynesi a

The Māori
 Indigenous

Australians

The Aboriginal people and the Torres Strait Islanders are the indigenous people of

Australia and their cultures are amongst the oldest in the world. Aboriginal people settled

mainland Australia over 50,000 years ago. They arrived by boat from Asia and were the

world’s first known seafarers. The Torres Strait Islanders are of Melanesian descent. They

arrived in the Torres Strait area when it was still a land bridge linking Australia to New

Guinea. Between 15,000 and 8000 years ago the sea level rose, creating the islands.

Over the millennia, there has been frequent contact between Torres Strait Islanders

and the Aboriginal people. They share a deep spiritual connection with their natural

environment and strong traditions of storytelling, ceremonies and visual arts, but their

cultures are very distinct and the Torres Strait Islanders’ traditions are more closely related

to the Papuan culture of New Guinea.

By 20,000 years ago, Aboriginal people had spread across the whole of mainland

Australia and into Tasmania. Different territorial groups adapted to contrasting climates

and terrains and developed their own languages. They were traditionally hunter-gatherers

and lived in small, nomadic groups, but would come together for ceremonies at sacred

sites. The Aboriginal people hold in common a world view, known as the Dreaming,

which links the present and the future to a mythical beginning. Art has always been an

important medium for expressing the Dreaming and they would decorate any available

surfaces, from rocks and sand to their own bodies and pieces of bark.

The arrival of British colonists from AD 1788 decimated the Aboriginal population,

through violence, repression and exposure to new diseases. The Torres Strait Islander

population also declined. Their numbers have since recovered and today there are over

500,000 Aboriginal people and 50,000 Torres Strait Islanders living in Australia. Their

cultures are very much alive and cherished and they continue to evolve.

Ke y t o pl at e

1: (opposite page) Rock painting and a goose-wing fan for fanning a fire.

500–1500 AD Over his shoulder is a bag for carrying

Rock art in Australia dates back at food. This hunter is one of many lively

least 25,000 years and there are over figures shown dancing, running and

125,000 rock art sites. The art styles fighting. They are said to be spirit

differed over time and place but nearly people, called Mimi , who live in the

all the paintings have spiritual meaning. rock face.

Images of creatures and humans act as

intermediaries between the everyday 2: Torres Strait Islander mask

world and the supernatural. Caves and Nineteenth century AD

cliff faces bearing rock art are sacred The Torres Strait Islanders have a

places, with successive generations of rich tradition of carving and creating

artists tasked with touching up the elaborate head masks and headdresses.
 g p

artwork so its spiritual power does not These are worn during ceremonies and

diminish. rituals as part of an ongoing relationship

This rock painting dates from the with the spirit world. This mask is

Freshwater period (paintings from carved in wood, decorated with shell

1500 years ago or later) and is at and natural pigments, and topped with

Ubirr, in the Kakadu National Park in human hair. Many ritual objects were

northern Australia. It shows a hunter, destroyed when Christian missionaries

painted in red ochre, holding spears arrived on the islands.

 M e l a n e s i a

Stretching in an arc to the north-east of Australia, in the western Pacific Ocean, are the

islands of Melanesia. They include the island of New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu,

New Caledonia and Fiji. People have lived on New Guinea for over 40,000 years and on

the Solomon Islands for over 30,000 years. Around 4000 years ago, seafaring settlers,

originally from South East Asia, spread through Melanesia and later Polynesia, taking with

them a culture known as Lapita.

Across the islands of Melanesia, people have traditionally lived in small communities

based on kinship, although there were also larger villages, especially in coastal regions.

Communities were often linked by trade and exchange networks, which could involve

canoe voyages over long distances. Shell beads and dolphin teeth were among the valuable

exchange items and in some areas shell or feather currency was used. People kept pigs,

grew root crops, went hunting and fishing and performed regular rituals. Religion was part

of everyday life, not through the worship of gods but through a belief in ghosts and spirits

as invisible beings on Earth. Magic and spells were used to encourage a good harvest or a

successful hunting trip.

From the seventeenth century AD onwards, Melanesia came under colonial

influences which disrupted local networks and traditions. In the late nineteenth century , AD

Christianity was introduced, causing significant cultural changes. Some areas, especially in the

highlands of New Guinea, remained unaffected by outside influences until the twentieth

century . Today, many Melanesian cultural traditions still prevail and others are being revived.
AD

Ke y t o pl at e

3: Ambum stone culture reached as far as Tonga and paddle depict powerful spirits, known

Around 1500 BC Samoa in Polynesia and its patterns are as kokorra . The paddle may have been

Sculpted stone items from the island of echoed in modern Polynesian design. intended to give spiritual protection,

New Guinea are among the earliest- or it may have been purely ceremonial.

known Pacific works of art. Many are 5: Chubwan mask The practice of head-hunting had ended

shaped as animals and humans and the Fifteenth–seventeenth century AD by the early twentieth century AD.

Ambum stone may well represent a This mask from the Island of Pentecost,

young echidna (spiny anteater). It is one in Vanuatu, was carved fromhardwood 7: Malangan funerary carving

of the most detailed early New Guinean using a stone tool or a clam shell, then Nineteenth–early twentieth century ad

rock sculptures discovered. The purpose sanded down using the rough skin of a This 133cm (52in) wooden figure is an

of these objects is unknown, but the ray or a shark.The mask’s exact function early surviving example of Malangan

time and care taken to make them – the is unknown but most likely it was worn carving from New Ireland, an island

hard rock would have taken weeks to at ritual events, perhaps to scare ofi the north of New Guinea.These figures are

shape with stone tools – suggest they spirits of the dead. Its deep-set eyes and used in the Malangan cycle of rituals.

were used in rituals. skilfully exaggerated features are clearly There are Malangan rituals for nearly

intended to intimidate. every stage of life, but the most detailed

Lapita pottery and impressive carvings are made for

4:
1000 BC 6: Paddle funerary rites. The figures celebrate
 6: y g

These pottery pieces belong to the Nineteenth–early twentieth century AD the life of the deceased, and animal and

Lapita culture, which spread to Melanesia This beautifully decorated paddle comes human figures may represent myths

around 1500 BC. Lapita pottery is from Bougainville Island, north-west or be spiritually linked to particular

distinctive for its geometric patterns. On of the Solomon Islands. The islanders clans. After they have been used,

this example, found in the Santa Cruz made special canoes for head-hunting Malangan carvings are either destroyed,

Islands in the northern Solomon Islands, raids. By acquiring human heads a abandoned or sold outside the island.

a symmetrical human face is clearly warrior could increase his status in the

visible amidst the decoration.The Lapita community. The stylised figures on this
3 5

4
 Po l y n e s i a

The islands of Polynesia form a triangle shape in the Pacific Ocean, the largest and deepest

ocean on Earth. Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Hawai‘i and Aotearoa (New Zealand) mark its

three corners. Lapita settlers, identified by their geometrically patterned pottery, reached

Fiji, Tonga and Samoa by around 1000 . Over the next thousand years Lapita pottery
BC

disappeared and new, distinct Polynesian cultures emerged.

Around 100 to 200, Polynesian people expanded eastward to islands including

BC AD

the Marquesas, the Cook Islands and the Society Islands. It took several hundred years

before the more remote islands were reached, with Hawai‘i being settled in around

AD 500, Rapa Nui around AD 600 and a permanent settlement being established on

Aotearoa, New Zealand, around AD 1250 to 1300.

The Polynesians were excellent seafarers. Their expert navigation, which relied on the

stars, the flight paths of migratory birds and the patterns of sea currents and wind, meant

they were able to travel huge distances. In their wooden canoes they carried everything

they needed to survive, including root crops, plant seedlings, Polynesian rats and dogs, and

weapons and tools. Their strong sense of cultural identity was conserved over the centuries

and across vast stretches of ocean. Before European contact, most Polynesians lived in small

family groups, cultivating plantations and fishing. Most islands were divided into chiefdoms,

with the chiefs’ families making up an aristocracy.

Polynesian people revered many gods and celebrated ancestral heroes. Daily life and

ritual were governed by strict protocols, with a strong sense of what was tapu (sacred).

Tasks were often gendered, with men making most of the wooden or stone objects

and women making barkcloth, baskets and feathered cloaks. Polynesian cultures changed

radically after colonisation and with the arrival of Christianity, yet Polynesian identities

remain strong and many ancient practices continue today.

Ke y t o pl at e

8: Hoa Hakananai‘a, Rapa Nui on especially constructed stone birdman for a year, living alone and

Around AD 1000 platforms with their backs to the sea, gaining sacred powers.

Forming the most remote corner of facing a ceremonial courtyard area. This moai , Hoa Hakananai‘a

the Polynesian triangle, Rapa Nui, or Each statue is a unique stone being, (loosely meaning ‘hidden friend’),

Easter Island, is 1900km (1200 miles) portraying an ancestral chief who played a part in the new cult, too.

from the nearest inhabited island, and would watch over the living and offer It was moved to a shelter and its

that Polynesian setters reached it is protection. reverse was carved and brightly

testament to their navigation expertise. The immense effort required to painted with birdman symbols. In

Beyond the initial settlement there is create and transport the moai suggests 1868, the moai was given to officers of

no evidence of continuing contact with they were of utmost importance to a British ship. By then, the population

other islands. life on Rapa Nui, and yet they were of the island had plummeted

The population of Rapa Nui grew no longer constructed after AD 1600. to several hundred people. The

to around 15,000, and over a period of After centuries of habitation, there was islanders had survived and adapted

several hundred years they produced a natural decline in the environment of to ecological changes but, from the
 y yp g g

hundreds of astonishing stone statues, the island and many seabirds – a staple early eighteenth century, contact with

known as moai . The moai are massive. food – had moved away. In response Europeans had brought devastating

This one towers over a human at 2.7m to their changing environment, the diseases, civil unrest and the loss of

(9ft) but others are over 10m (33ft) islanders adopted a new religious many people to the slave trade. The

tall. They were chipped out of rock tradition: the cult of the birdman. Each population of Rapa Nui has since

using stone tools, then transported year they competed to be the first recovered and numbers over five

considerable distances to stand in lines to bring back an unbroken egg from thousand, although fewer than half

along the coast. They were positioned a rocky islet. The winner became the are native islanders.
8
 Ke y t o pl at e

9: God figure A ‘ a, Austral Islands is more roughly carved to give a firm buildings. The other side of this

Eighteenth–early nineteenth century AD grip while the finer decorations may Rarotongan wooden staff has been

Some of the finest wood carvings in have been incised with a shark’s tooth. violently damaged, with the left eye

Polynesia come from the Cook and Clubs like these often depict tiny figures, stabbed repeatedly, perhaps in an

Austral Islands. This carving, from the animals, birds and plants, and appear attempt to destroy its power.

Austral island of Rurutu, is thought to to tell stories. They were revered as

represent the local deity, A‘a, in the act weapons and as sacred objects, with 12: Palāhega , Niue

of creating people. Thirty unique little names and lives of their own. Eighteenth or nineteenth century AD

figures appear to be emerging from all Throughout Polynesia the feathers of

over the deity. The carving is hollow, 11: Head of a staff god, Rarotonga particular birds were used for the most

with a removable lid, and it once held Eighteenth–early nineteenth century AD prestigious of items. The bright plumage

many more little figures. Polynesian gods, or atua , were of various small parrots was valued

frequently carved in wood and looked for cloaks, girdles, helmets, headdresses

10: ‘Akau tau , Tonga after by priests. This carving from and god figures. The tail feathers of the

Eighteenth century AD Rarotonga in the Cook Islands would tropicbird were also gathered and used

This finely decorated wooden ‘akau have formed the top end of a staff in large quantities, even though each

tau (war club) came from Tonga and god, originally standing 6m (29ft) high. bird has just two of these elegant long

was possibly brought to England by When Christian missionaries arrived quills. This headdress is from Niue. It

the explorer Captain James Cook. in the late eighteenth century AD they has tropicbird tail feathers protruding

The detailed geometric designs, rejected the atua and suggested they from a shaft wrapped in red and blue

characteristic of Tongan war clubs, were evil spirits. Many Rarotongan feathers, and is bound with thinly

are reminiscent of the Lapita patterns islanders then gave up their god braided human hair. Human hair was

made by Tongan ancestors. The handle sculptures and burned their religious believed to contain a person’s mana

9 10 11
(prestige or power), and was used 14: Hakakai , Marquesas Islands today. As well as being used for

in items of high status. This beautiful Early nineteenth century AD clothing, bedding and room dividers,

palāhega (pronounced pa-lar-heng-a) These exquisitely carved hakakai it also marked boundaries between

was worn at the rear of the head with (ivory ear ornaments) come from the the realms of humans and ancestors,

its long feathers projecting to the sky. Marquesas Islands, now part of modern keeping people safe from tapu and

French Polynesia. Hakakai were worn high-ranking people’s mana . It could

13: Tanoa fai‘ava , Samoa by both men and women. The most be laid on the ground for important

Late eighteenth–early nineteenth century AD prestigious hakakai were made of people to walk upon or wrapped

Kava is a ceremonial drink made from whalebone, which was extremely rare around them to contain their mana

the roots of the pepper bush, and it and valuable, since before European Barkcloth was made from the inner

numbs the tongue and relaxes the contact it was only obtained from bark of certain trees, soaked and

body. It would be offered as a welcome stranded whales. Whalebone hakakai beaten with a mallet upon an anvil into

drink to strangers and passed around became more common in the lengths of pliable cloth, then pasted or

during important meetings. This tanoa nineteenth century when European felted together and decorated with

fai‘ava ( kava bowl) is an early example and American whalers brought more of plant dyes. It was also wrapped around

from Samoa. Early Samoan kava bowls the precious material to the islands. This some of the most potent god figures.

like this one have four legs, while more finely crafted pair date from that era. This piece is from Hawai‘i, where it

recent examples have many more. was called kapa . Hawaiian kapa was

Kava ceremonies still take place in 15: Kapa , Hawai ‘ i intricately decorated and scented.

Polynesian communities. Eighteenth century AD

Barkcloth was made in most parts

of Polynesia, and used for sacred and

everyday purposes. It is still made

13

14
 The Māori

Māori are the descendants of the Polynesians who settled in Aotearoa, New Zealand, in

around 1250 to 1300. Aotearoa means ‘land of the long white cloud’ and is thought to
AD

describe how the North Island first appeared to Polynesian explorers. New Zealand’s two

large islands have a colder climate and very different flora and fauna from the small tropical

islands the settlers had left behind, but the Māori adapted to their new environment. Plants,

animals, birds and seafood were gathered and hunted and the kūmara , or Polynesian sweet

potato, was cultivated in warmer areas of the country as an important food source.

Māori society divided itself into difierent iwi (tribes), each tracing its roots to one of

the settlers’ canoes. There was a strict hierarchy, based on ancestry, and a sharp distinction

between the aristocrats and the commoners. Wars often broke out between and even

within iwi. Māori warriors were cunning in their battle strategies and use of fortifications.

Fortified villages, known as pā , were often built on hills for strategic advantage and their

impressive trenches and ramparts can still be seen in the New Zealand landscape.

Art and religion were strongly connected in Māori culture. Expert wood carvers and

tattoo artists shared the title tohunga with the priests and through their careful design

they were thought to give supernatural powers to everyday objects. The most precious

material was a hard jade-like stone, pounamu . Māori women were also expert weavers and

created beautiful mats and ceremonial cloaks.

Metal tools reached New Zealand through contact with Europeans from the

seventeenth century AD onwards. They enabled Māori carvings to become increasingly

detailed and elaborate. Māori culture, craftsmanship and a strong sense of identity still

thrive today.

Ke y t o pl at e

16: Adze blade the handle, it would have been a prized According to legend, the whole of

AD 1500–1820 possession. New Zealand’s North Island was a

Adzes were a common hand tool great fish raised out of the sea on the

across Stone Age cultures. The shape of 18: Hei tiki hero Maui’s fish hook. This pounamu

this blade matches ones made by the AD 1600–1850 fish hook is ornamental, to be worn as

earliest settlers in New Zealand and is This pendant, carved from pounamu , a pendant or a brooch, probably as a

similar to eastern Polynesian examples. shows a human-like figure known representation of Maui’s hook.

Blades were bound by fibre to wooden as a hei tiki . The origins of hei tiki are

handles, then used to cut and carve unknown, but their curious shape has 20: Prow from a war canoe

wood and to hollow out canoes. This long been a symbol of fertility and Eighteenth century AD

blade, made of pounamu , is surprisingly womanhood, perhaps representing an Māori carving was imbued with sacred

large at 44cm (17in) and was probably important female ancestor or an unborn significance. The sinuous, eel-like

for ceremonial use by a person of high child. Another theory is that they are decorations on this prow, known as

status, maybe a chief. representations of Tiki, the first man. manaia , are part animal, part human

Pendants such as this one have long and are thought to represent the

17: Hand club been treasured and passed from one spiritual side of life. The prow is from

Late eighteenth–nineteenth century AD generation to the next. New Zealand’s Northland and would

Traditionally, the Māori fought using have decorated the front of a war
 y, g g

spears and clubs. Warriors carried 19: Fish hook canoe. Particular care was taken when

patu , short clubs, in their belts and used AD 1750–1850 crafting a war canoe. It was a work

them to give their enemies a final blow Fishing was of great importance of art, an efficient mode of transport

to the head. The clubs were made of to Māori. Not only did fish form a and a display of power. Often over

wood, bone or stone, with a hole in the major part of their diet, they were 20m (66ft) long, decorated with paint

handle for attaching a wrist cord. This also thought of as descendants of and feathers and carrying up to 140

club is a particularly fine example. Made Tangaroa, god of the sea, and fishing tattooed warriors, it was designed to

of pounamu and carved with a head on was seen as a tapu , or sacred, activity. both impress and intimidate.
16

17

18
H I S T O R I U M

Library

I n d e xe s

Curators

Image Credits
 I n d e x

A‘a god figure 88 carving Aztec 28, 29 headdress 68–69

Aboriginal people 82–83 canoe prow 90–91 Canaanite 74 pendant 74–75

adze blade 90–91 club 88 Celtic 52–53 torc 5, 52–53

Agris Parade Helmet 52–53 god figure 88 Egyptian 16–21 gold foil, gilt 10, 16–17,

‘akau tau (war club), Tonga 88 head 24–25 Greek 20, 54, 57 48–49

Akkadian Empire 68, 70 hieroglyphics 26–27 Hindu 38, 41 Great Torc of Snettisha

alabaster relief panel 70–71 ivory 14–15, 64–65, 89 Japanese 46 Great Zimbabwe kingd

Alexander the Great 20, 38, 54–55, jade 24–25, 26–27, 42, 44, 48–49, Mayan 27, 29 Greece, ancient 4, 5, 54

74, 76 90–91 Melanesian kokorra 84 Gundestrup Cauldron

Ambum stone 4, 84–85 knife handle 28–29 Mesopotamian 68, 73 Gupta period 41

amphora , black-figured 57 Malangan 84–85 Olmec 4, 24 Gyeongju ‘city of gold’ 4

amulets 16–17, 20, 21, 52 mask 82, 84–85 Polynesian atua 88

Ashoka the Great, Ashoka’s pounamu 90–91 Roman 58–59, 62 hair, human 82, 88–89

pillar 5, 41 soapstone 10–11, 40 Denmark 52–53 hakakai ear orna

Ashurbanipal 73 sun stone 29 Djehutyhotep’s tomb 4, 20 Hatnefer, heart scarab

Ashurnasirpal II 70–71, 73 cauldron 4, 44, 52–53 Dying Warrior sculpture 56–57 Hawai‘i 86, 89

Assyrian kingdom 68, 70–73 Celts, Celtic art 5, 52–53 headdress 68–69, 88–8

Athens, city-state 57 China, ancient 4, 5, 42–45, 46, 48 ear ornaments 26–27, 41, 55, 89 hei tiki pendant 5,

Augustus, emperor 58, 60 Shang Dynasty 42 earthenware see clay hematite 24

Augustus of Prima Porta 58–59 Western Han Dynasty 43, 45 Egypt, ancient 4–5, 16–21, 40, 54, 58, Henutmehyt’s coffin, m

Austral Islands 88 Xia Dynasty 42 70, 74, 76 16–17

axe 1, 4, 8–9, 64–65 Zhou Dynasty 42, 43, 45 Eros, faïence vase 20 hieroglyphs 16–19, 27

Aztecs 5, 24, 28–31 Christianity 16, 38, 52, 58, 61, 65, 82, Exekias (potter) 57 Hinduism 38–41

84, 86, 88 Hoa Hakananai‘a

Babylonians 68, 74, 76 Chubwan mask 84–85 faïence 20, 21 Hopewell culture, 5, 32

Battersea Shield 52–53 clay, terracotta fish hook 90–91 Horus, falcon god 16–1

Benin kingdom 4, 12, 14–15 amphora 57 fresco from Pompeii 61 Hunefer, royal scribe 18

Bible, the 73, 74 bottle 46–47 Freshwater period 82

Blombos Cave ochre stone 4, 8–9 bowl 4, 5, 44, 55, 78–79 funerary art Idrimi, king 74–75

board game 70 brick frieze 5, 76–77 Egyptian 16–21 Ife kingdom 12

bodhisattva statue 48–49 cuneiform tablet 72–73 funeral urn 48–49 India, ancient 4, 5, 38–4

Bougainville, paddle 84–85 figure 5, 14, 40 Hopewell 32–33 Indus Valley Civilisation

bronze funeral urn 48–49 Kofun haniwa tomb guardians 46 Iran 68, 76, 78

bell 45 head 5, 10–11 Malangan carving 84–85 Iraq 68, 70

Buddha 5, 43, 46–47, 48–49 jar 5, 34–35 Mayan 26–27 iron 10, 12, 45, 48–49

cauldron 44 jug 34–35 Sillan tomb art 48 Iron Age 8, 10, 12, 52, 6

figures 48, 54–55, 62 seal 70–71 Ur royal cemetery 68–73 Islam, Islamic Empire, fait

flask 43 tomb figure 46–47 Western Han 43 76, 78–79

head 70–71 water spout 62 Yangshao culture 44 ivory, whalebone

knife coin 45 coffin 16–17, 20 armlet 14

shield 52–53 coins 5, 45, 54, 58, 60–61, 64–65 Ganesha Hindu deity 38–39 chessmen 5, 64–6

Bronze Age 42, 68, 70, 73, 74 Coldstream Stone 8–9 Gladiator’s Helmet 60 ear ornaments 89

Buddha 38 Confucius, Confucianism 42, 45, 46 glass 10, 55, 62 mask 5, 15

bodhisattva 48–49 Constantine the Great 5, 60–61 gods see deities panel 74–75
Gupta 41 copper 4 10 12 32 34 64–65 gold trade 8 10 40
 Gupta 41 copper 4, 10, 12, 32, 34, 64 65, gold trade 8, 10, 40
Maitreya 43 74–75 amulet 4, 16–17, 20

Yakushi 5, 46–47 cuneiform tablet 72–73 belt buckle 5, 42–43 jade 5, 24, 27, 42, 44; see als

Buddhism 38, 41, 42, 43, 46, 48 Cyrus the Great 76 bowl & sceptre 10–11 figurine 4, 24–25

burial mounds 32–33, 46, 48 collar 16–17 funerary mask 26

Darius the Great 76 crown 5, 48–49 ornaments 26–27

caliph, Caliphate 78 Dead Sea Scrolls 5, 74–75 cup 68–69 Jainism 38

Canaan, Canaanite 74 deities, gods, spirits dagger handle 45 Japan, ancient

canoe prow 90–91 Aboriginal mimi 82 earrings 41, 55 Jōmon period 46

carbon dating 3 Austral Islands 88 gold-glass alabastron 55 Kofun period 46

jar musical instruments Lapita 4, 84–85 moai stone

canopic jar 18 bell 45 Pueblo 5, 34–35 Sumerian 70–7

cylinder jar 5, 34–35 harp model 18–19 pounamu tools, weapons, two men and b

funeral urn 48–49 lyre 72–73 pendant 90–91 Yakushi Buddha

Jesus Christ 74 psykter vase 57 stone

jewellery see ornaments Nefertiti, queen 4, 18–19 Pueblo Bonito, Great Building 34 Ambum stone

Julius Caesar 58 New Zealand (Aotearoa) 5, 86, Pueblo people, culture 5, 34–35 Ashoka’s pillar 5

Jupiter statue 62 90–91 pyramids 16, 24, 27, 28 axe 4, 8–9

Newark Earthworks, Ohio 32–33 Coldstream pa

kapa barkcloth 89 Nigeria 14 Qur’an 78 colossal heads 4

knife Nile Valley 16, 18 flint knives 32–

ceremonial 28–29 Nimrud, city 70, 73, 74 Rapa Nui (Easter Island) 5, 86–87 jade figurine 4, 2

stone 32–33 Niue, palāhega headdress 88–89 Rarotonga, stafi god head 5, 88 lamassu s

knife coin 5, 45 Nok figure 5, 14 Re, sun god 20–21 marble column

Kofun period, tomb figure 46–47 rock art 5, 8–9, 82–83 moai statue

kokorra spirits 84–85 Oba of Benin 12, 14–15 Roman Empire, emperors 54, mortar 34–35

Korea, ancient 5, 46, 48–49 ochre, ochre stone 5, 8–9, 82–83 58–63, 74 pipe animals 32

Kush, kingdom 16 Olmec colossal heads 4, 24–25 pounamu

ornamentation Samarra, city 78 pendant 9

La Tène Celtic art 52–53 abstract 52, 78–79 Samoa, tanoa fai‘ava bowl 89 sandstone Budd

lamassu stone sculpture 72–73 geometric 8–9, 32, 34–35, 43, Sasanian Dynasty 78 soapstone figur

Lapita culture, pottery 4, 84–85, 86, 88 78, 86 scarab of Hatnefer 21 steatite seals 40

Levant, ancient 4, 5, 74–75 Lapita patterns 84–85, 86 sceptre 4, 10, 74–75 sun stone 29

Lewis Chessmen 5, 64–65 Māori manaia 90–91 Scotland, Isle of Lewis 65 Wray Figurine 3

Lindisfarne 52, 65 ornaments, jewellery sculpture; see also carving, statues Stone Age 4, 8, 44, 90

Lindisfarne Gospels 5, 52–53 amulet 4, 16–17, 20, 52 Ambum stone 4, 84–85 Sumerian period 68,

lion-hunting panel 70–71 armlet 14 Dying Warrior 56–57 sun stone 29

Lydenburg head 5, 10–11 belt buckle 5, 42–43 earthenware head 5, 10–11 sword 60, 65, 73

lyre, silver 72–73 brooch 64–65 jade figurine 4, 24–25 Syria 68, 74

collar 16–17 Kofun tomb figure 46–47

Mahabharata Hindu text 38 cuff beads 72–73 lamassu stone 72–73 tanoa fai‘ava kava

Mahavira 38 ear ornaments 26–27, 41, 55, 89 Nok figures 5, 14 Taoism 42

Maitreya Buddha 43 headdress 68–69, 88–89 pipe animals 32–33 temples

Malangan funerary carving 84–85 pendant 5, 15, 44, 74–75, 90–91 running girl 5, 54–55 Aphaia 57

Mali Empire, figure 12–13 torc neck ring 5, 52–53 soapstone figure 10–11 Artemis 54–55

manaia figures 90–91 Wray Figurine 32–33 Egyptian 16

Māori people, culture 5, 90–91 paddle, Bougainville 84–85 seals 40–41, 70–71 Olmec 24

Mapungubwe state 5, 8, 10–11 painting, pigment serpent mosaic 5, 30–31 Palenque Temp

marble temple column 54–55 Blombos Cave ochre 8–9 shaman figurine 32–33 Inscription

Marquesas Islands hakakai 89 fresco, frieze, wall panel 20, 61, Shona culture 10 Parthenon 56–

masks 78–79 Silla Kingdom, tomb art 48–49 Roman 58

Benin pendant 5, 15 on pottery 34–35, 55, 57 silver Sumerian 70

Chubwan 84–85 on wood 18–19, 84–85 cauldron 52–53 Tenochtitlán 29

Egyptian mummy mask 20–21 rock art 5, 8–9, 82–83 coins 65 Tenochtitlán city, tem

Lydenburg helmet mask 10–11 Pakal the Great, tomb 26–27 cup 64–65 terracotta see clay

Maya funerary 5, 26–27 palāhega headdress 88–89 inlay 43, 64–65 textiles 41, 42, 74, 78

Torres Strait Islander 82 Palenque city, temple 27 sheet silver 72–73 Tiberius, sword of 60

Maya civilisation 5, 26–27 Parthenon fragment 56–57 torc 5, 52–53 Tláloc rain god pot 2

Melanesia 4, 82, 84–85 Persian Empire, archers 5, 76–77 Snettisham site, England 52–53 tomb, burial chamber

Mesopotamia 4, 40, 68–73, 76 pharaohs 16–19 Sparta, city-state 55 burial mounds 3

Mexico 24, 27, 28, 34 Philip II of Macedon 54 statues Djehutyhotep, w

mica hand 5, 32–33 Phoenicians 74–75 Augustus of Prima Porta 58–59 Egyptian mode

moai stone statues 5, 86–87 pipe animals 32–33 bodhisattva 48–49 Fu Hao’s tomb 4

Mohenjo-Daro city 38, 40 Polynesia 5, 84, 86–89 Ganesha, god 38–39 Great Death Pit

mosaic 5, 26–27, 28–29, 30–31, Pompeii city 61, 62–63 goat 4, 68–69 haniwa gua

62–63, 68–69 Portland Vase 5, 62 Idrimi 74–75 Hwangnam Dae

Muhammad, prophet 78 pottery Indus dancing girl 4, 40 tomb 48–4

mummy 16, 18–19, 20–21 Greek 4, 55, 57 Jupiter 62 Kofun tomb figu

Jōmon 46–47 Maitreya Buddha 43 Olmec jade obj

 Shizishan tomb 43 bottle, flask 43, 46 helmet 52–53, 60 writing, language

Silla Dynasty 48 bowl 4, 5, 10–11, 44, 55, 78, 89 horse armour 48–49 ancient China 4

Ur, city of 68–73 box 68–69 shield 52–53 Arabic calligrap

tools cauldron 4, 44, 52–53 sword 60, 73 Ashoka’s pillar 4

adze 90–91 cup 64–65, 68–69 wedjat eye of Horus 21 Bible, Hebrew 7

axe 4, 8–9, 64–65 dinos 4, 55 whalebone ear ornaments 89 Book of the De

knife 32–33 funeral urn 48–49 wood, wooden cuneiform table

Torres Strait Islanders 82 jar 5, 18, 34–35 board game 70 Dead Sea Scrol

Trajan, emperor 60–61 jug 34–35 box, standard of Ur 68–69 Egyptian hierog

turquoise 28–29, 30–31, 34 pot 29 canopic jar 18 Flood Tablet, Ep

psykter 57 club 88 Gilgamesh

Ubirr, Kakadu National Park 82–83 vase 5, 20, 57, 62 funerary carving 84–85 Great Isaiah Scr

Ur, city of 68–73 Viking Age, Vikings 64–65 goat 4, 68–69 Homer’s Iliad 57

god figure 88 Indian pictogra

Vale of York hoard 64–65 wall painting 20, 61, 78–79 kava bowl 89 Kufic script 78–

Vanuatu, Pentecost Island 84 water spout 62 mask 82, 84–85 Lindisfarne Gos

Vedas , religious texts 38 weapons model 18–19 Roman 61

vessels axe 4, 8–9, 64–65 paddle 84–85

alabastron 55 club 88, 90–91 prow 90–91 Yakushi Buddha 5, 46

amphora 57 dagger 45 Wray Figurine 32–33

Index of Museums and Collections

The artefacts displayed in Historium come from all over the world. Most are in

museums where they may be viewed by the public when on display. *

Ar thur M Sackler Galler y – may be seen at the museum, the National Gallery of Australia, Oceania; plates 10, 13, 15, 16, 18,

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, original being too fragile to display.) Canberra, Australia: Oceania; plates Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan:

DC, USA: Asia; plate 13 Kimbell Ar t Museum, For t Wor th, 2, 3, 5 Asia; plate 18

The British Library, London, UK: Texas, USA: America; plate 3 National Museum, New Delhi, India: Ubirr ar t site, Kakadu National Park,

Europe; plate 5 The Louvre, Paris, France: Africa; plate 9 Asia; plates 2, 4, 7 Nor thernTerritory,Australia:

The British Museum, London, UK: McGregor Museum, Kimberley, South National Museum of African Ar t –
Oceania; plate 1 (the rock a

Africa; plates 7, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, Africa: Africa; plate 1 Smithsonian Institution, Washington Kakadu is not in a museum b

19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27. America; The Metropolitan Museum of Ar t, DC, USA: Africa; plate 8 its original location.)

plates 7, 10, 14. Asia; plates 3, 5, New York, USA: Africa; plates 12, National Museum of the American University Museum of Bergen, Bergen

14, 16. Europe; plates 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 26, 28. America; plates 4, Indian – Smithsonian Institution , Norway: Oceania; plate 12

13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 27. The 5, 17. Asia; plates 6, 10, 11, 15, 17. Washington, DC and New York, University of Auckland, Depar tment

Middle East; plates 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, Europe; plates 7, 8, 10, 14, 22. USA: America; plates 15, 16 of Anthropology Archaeologic

11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 22. National Museum of China, Beijing: Reference Collection, Auckland
The Middle East; plates 2, 6, 14, 21,

Oceania; plates 8, 9, 11, 17, 20 23. Oceania; plates 6, 7, 14 Asia; plate 12 New Zealand: Oceania; plate 4

Freer Gallery of Ar t – Smithsonian Musée d’Angoulême, Angoulême, National Museum of Denmark, University of Chicago Oriental

Institution, Washington, DC, USA: France: Europe; plate 2 Copenhagen, Denmark: Europe; Institute Museum, Chicago, Illi

Asia; plate 9 Museo Archeologico Nazionale di plates 4, 25, 26 USA: The Middle East; plate 7

Glyptothek Museum, Munich, Napoli, Naples, Italy: Europe; plates National Museum of Korea, Seoul, University of Pretoria Museums –

Germany: Europe; plate 11 19, 23 Korea: Asia; plates 20, 23 Mapungubwe Collection, Pre

Gyeongju National Museum, Gyeongju, Museo de Antropología de Xalapa, Neues Museum, Berlin, Germany: South Africa: Africa; plates 4, 5

Korea: Asia; plates, 21 (House- Xalapa, Mexico: America; plate 2 Africa; plate 20 The Vatican Museums, Rome, Italy:

shaped funeral urn), 22 (Iron Horse Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico City, Ohio History Center, Columbus, Ohio, Europe; plate 15
 Armour) Mexico: America; plate 9 USA: America; plates 11, 12, 13 Xuzhou Museum, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel: Museo Nacional de Antropología, Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany: Province, China: Asia; plate 8

The Middle East; plates 15, 19 Mexico City, Mexico: America; The Middle East; plate 20 Yorkshire Museum, York, UK: Europe;

Iziko South African Museum, Cape plates 1, 6, 8 Private collection: Asia; plate 1 plate 28 (coin front and bac

Town, South Africa: Africa; plates 2, 3, Nara National Museum, Nara city, Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New

6 (A replica of the Blombos Ochre Japan: Asia; plate 19 Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand:

* While many of the objects in Historium are held in museum collections, there is no

guarantee that objects will be on display at any given time.

 C u r a t o r s

Richard Wilkinson is a self-taught illustrator living and working in Brighton. He has worked with

New Scientist , Intelligent Life , TIME and Ted Baker.

Jo Nelson studied Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University.

She has been researching and writing non-fiction books for 15 years.

I m a g e c r e d i t s

The illustrations in Historium have been created using photographs as artist resource material. The publisher would like to thank the following museums,

individuals and photographic libraries for permission to use their images for this purpose. While every effort has been made to obtain permission to

illustrate copyright material, there may be some cases where we have been unable to trace a copyright holder. The publisher will be happy to correct

any omission in future printings.

Africa

Plates 1 (image on left also p. 4): Steven J H Walker. Plate 2 (also p. 4): Image courtesy of Prof Christopher Henshilwood, University of Bergen,

Norway. Plates 3, 6 (also p. 5): Images courtesy of Iziko Museums of South Africa. Plates 4 (also front cover & p. 5), 5 (sceptre also on front cover): Images

courtesy of the University of Pretoria Museums, Mapungubwe Collection. Plate 8: Artist’s drawing of Equestrian Figure, Inland Niger Delta Style, Mali,

13th–15th century, ceramic, HxWxD: 70.5x15.2x45.7 (27 ¾ x 6 x 18 in), museum purchase, 86-12-2, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian

Institution. Plate 9 (also pp. 5, 6 & back cover): Illustration based on photograph by Marie-Lan Nguyen. Plates 12 (also p. 5), 14, 15 (also p. 7), 16 (also

p. 4), 26 (also p.xii), 28: © 2015 Images copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence. Plate 20 (also p. 4): Illustration based on

photograph by Philip Pikart.

America

Plate 1 (also pp. 4, 23 & front cover): CONACULTA-INAH-MEX. Reproduction authorised by National Institute of Anthropology and History,

Mexico. Plate 2 (also p. 4 & front cover): CONACULTA-INAH-MEX. Reproduction authorised by National Institute of Anthropology and History, Mexico.

Plate 3: © 2015 Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas/Art Resource, NY/Scala, Florence. Plates 4, 5, 17: © 2015 Images copyright The Metropolitan

Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence. Plate 6 (also p. 5 & cover): CONACULTA-INAH-MEX. Reproduction authorised by National Institute of

Anthropology and History, Mexico. Plate 8: CONACULTA-INAH-MEX. Reproduction authorised by National Institute of Anthropology and History,

Mexico. Plate 9 (also p. 22 & front cover): CONACULTA-INAH-MEX. Reproduction authorised by National Institute of Anthropology and History, Mexico.

Plate 11: Courtesy of Ohio History Connection (A125/000021). Plate 12 (also back cover): Cour tesy of the Ohio History Connection (A 3874/000001)

(loan). Plate 13 (also p. 5 & back cover): Courtesy of Ohio History Connection (A0283/000294). Plate 15 (also p. 5): National Museum of the American

Indian, Smithsonian Institution (5/2109), photo by NMAI Photo Services. Plate 16: National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution

(5/1364), photo by Ernest Amoroso.

Asia

Plate 2 (also p. 4): National Museum – New Delhi Collection, acc no: 5721/195. Plate 4: National Museum – New Delhi Collection, acc no: 83.126. Plates 6,

10, 11, 15, 17: © 2015 Images copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence. Plate 7: National Museum – New Delhi Collection, acc

no: 47.20. Plate 8 (also p. 5 & front cover): Xuzhou Museum. Plate 9 (also p. 36): Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC: Gift of Charles

Lang Freer, F1915.103a-b. Plate 12 (also p. 4): Illustration based on photograph by Yan Li. Plate 13: Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution,Washington,

DC: Gift of Arthur M Sackler, S1987.655. Plate 18 (also back cover): Tokyo National Museum. Plate 19 (also p. 5): the photograph is provided by Nara National

Museum, the Collection of Nara National Museum. Plate 20 (also pp. 2 & 5): Gyeongju National Museum of Korea, Gold Crown from the North Mound of

Hwangnamdaechong Tomb, Hwangbuk No. 1, Gyeongju. Plate 21: Gyeongju National Museum of Korea, House-shaped Funeral Urn (Bukgun-dong), Sinsu

No.1121, Gyeongju. Plate 22: Gyeongju National Museum of Korea, Iron chanfron – iron horse armour/Sara-ri Tomb No. 65, Gyeongju. Plate 23 (also p. 37):

National Museum of Korea, Gilt-bronze Maitreya in Meditation (National Treasure No. 83).

Europe

Plates 2, 4: Illustrations based on photographs by Xuan Che. Plate 5 (also p. 5): photograph © The British Library Board, Cotton Nero D

lV f137v. Plates 7 (also p. 50), 8, 10 (also p. 4), 14, 22: © 2015 Images copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence.

Plate 11: Khan Academy. Plate 15: Photo © Vatican Museum; all rights reserved; original statue in the collection of Vatican Museums; reproduced with

permission of the Vatican Museums. Plate 19: With permission of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism – Superintendency for the Archaeological

Heritage of Naples and Pompeii. Plate 23: Illustration based on photograph by Carole Raddato. Artefact represented with permission of the Ministry of

Cultural Heritage and Tourism – Superintendency for the Archaeological Heritage of Naples and Pompeii. Plates 25, 26: National Museum of Denmark.

The Middle East

Plates 2, 6, 14, 21 (also p. 5), 23 (also p. 5): © 2015 Images copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence. Plate 7: Illustration

after D. 019208: Male Statue, Tell Asmar (A12332); courtesy of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Plates 15 & 19: (also pp. 4 & 5): Images ©

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Plate 20 (also p. 5): Based on photograph by Mohammed Shamma.
 Oceania

Plate 1 (also p. 5): Rock Art illustrated and reproduced with kind permission of the traditional owners from the East Alligator Region, Kakadu National

Park. Plate 2: Unknown Artist,Torres Strait Islands, Queensland; Mawa mask 19th century; wood, shell, resin, human, hair, fibre string, white string; 42x22x13cm;

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 2006. Plate 3: Ambum Valley, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea; the Ambum stone 3500–6000 years

ago; greywacke stone; 20 x 7.5 x 14 cm; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 1977. Plate 4 (also p. 4): Courtesy of the Anthropology Photographic

Archive, Department ofAnthropology, TheUniversityofAuckland. Plate5: Chubwanmask, Pentecost Island, Penamaprovince, VanuatuMelanesia; wood, patina;

24.0 x 14.5 x 11.5 cm; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Purchased 2011. Plates 6, 7, 14: © 2015 Images copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art/

Art Resource/Scala, Florence. Plate 10: ‘ akau-tau (club), 1700s, Tonga, maker unknown; gift of Lord St Oswald, 1912;Te Papa (FE000339). Plate 12: Based on

photograph by Billie Lythberg with permission of Knut Rio. Plate 13 (also p. 81): Tanoa fai ‘ ava (kava bowl), 1800s, Samoa, maker unknown; gift of Mrs Louisa

Kronfeld, 1939; Te Papa (FE010512). Plate 15: Kapa (tapa), 1770s, Hawai ‘ i, maker unknown. Gift of Dr P. Adams, 1947;Te Papa (FE005246). Plate 16:

poutangata (ceremonial nephrite adze blade), 1500–1820, New Zealand, maker unknown; Oldman Collection; gift of the New Zealand Government, 1992;Te

Papa (OL000117). Plate 18 (also pp. 5 & 80): Hei tiki (pendant in human form), 1600–1850, maker unknown. Purchased 1972;Te Papa (ME012842). Plate 19:

Matau (fish hook), 1750–1850, New Zealand, maker unknown; Oldman Collection; gift of the New Zealand Government, 1992;Te Papa (OL000097).