Chauvet Cave Paintings

Adrèche, France​​

c. 34,000-32,000 BCE

Chauvet Cave Paintings

Adrèche, France​​

c. 34,000-32,000 BCE

Chauvet Cave Paintings

Adrèche, France​​

c. 34,000-32,000 BCE

Cueva de los Manos

Santa Cruz, Argentina​​

c. 7,300 - 700 BCE

Probable tools & method for creating the handprints

Woman Figurine (a.k.a. Venus of Willendorf)

Austria

c. 25,000-20,000 BCE

Map of Woman/Venus Figurine Distribution

Examples of Prehistoric Figurines by Culture

Lion Man of Ulm

Germany​​

c. 38,000 BCE

Curator's Perspective on the Lion Man & its Meaning

Neblivka Mega-Site

Ukraine

c. 6,000 BCE

Reconstructed Site Plan

3D Model Maidanetske, c. 3,700 BCE

3D Models of Maydanets & Talianki

Çatalhöyük
 Central Anatolia (modern-day Türkiye)

c. 6,000 BCE

Interior Reconstruction

Artist's Rendering of Rooftop Common Space

Çatalhöyük, Agriculture, & Religion

Stonehenge

Salsbury, England

c. 2,000 BCE

Detailed view of outer ring construction technique

Stonehenge & Astronomy

The physical development of the Stonehenge site

Stonehenge alignment

Stonehenge

Cursus

Woodhenge

Durrington Walls

Stonehenge and surrounding sites

Durrington Walls

Salsbury, England

c. 2,600 BCE

Woodhenge

Habitation

Aerial site view

Hypothetical reconstructions of Durrington (left) and Woodhenge (right)

Full Stonehenge site and proposed function and/or symbolism

Ancient Mesopotamia

Intro to Mesopotamia

Map of the
Fertile Crescent

Sites & Spread of Various Agricultural Revolutions

9000 BCE

7000 BCE

3k-2k BCE

3k-2k BCE

2k-1k BCE

3k-2k BCE

7k-4k BCE

The Flood Tablet

Neo-Assyrian

7th cent. BCE

Cuneiform (Mesopotamian Writing)

Cuneiform was often written on clay or wax tablets

Writing in Cunieform

White Temple

Uruk, Southeastern Iraq

Sumerian

c. 3200-3000 BCE

Digital Reconstruction of the White Temple Complex

Digital Reconstruction of the White Temple

Digital Reconstruction of the White Temple Interior

Ziggurat of Ur

Ur, Southeastern Iraq

Neo-Sumerian

c. 1900 BCE

How the Ziggurat of Ur was Built

Aerial View of the Site

Artist's Rendering of the Ziggurat

Main Stair of the Ziggurat

Walls of the Ziggurat

Artist's Rendering of Ur

Artist's Rendering of Ur

Stele of Hammurabi

Babylonian

1760 BCE

Stele of Hammurabi
(detail)

Babylonian

1760 BCE

Stele of Ur-Nammu
(detail)

Sumerian

c. 2000 BCE

Comparing Iconography of Rulers

Pyramids of Giza / Fourth Dynasty Pyramids | Giza, Egypt

From the Left:
Pyramid of Menkaure | c. 2490–2472 BCE
Pyramid of Khafre |  c. 2520–2494 BCE
Great Pyramid of Khufu |  c. 2551–2528 BCE.

• Ka - the life force
• Ba - the personality
• Sheut - the shadow
• Ren - the name
• Ib - the heart

The Five Parts of the Egyptian Soul

The Mummification Process

Artist's Reconstruction of Original Pyramid Site

How the Pyramids were Developed

Plan of the city of Heit el-Ghurab, Giza

Heit el-Ghurab site with potential waterways

Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III

New Kingdom

Luxor, Egypt | c. 1200 BCE

Aerial View of the Temple

Palette of King Narmer

Predynastic Egypt

c. 3000-2920 BCE

Decoding the Palette

Reverse side of the Palette

Menkaure and Khamerernebty

4th Dynasty Egypt

c. 2490-2472 BCE

Khafre Enthroned

4th Dynasty Egypt

c. 2530 BCE

Example of 'Proportional Design' of the Human Body

Akhenaton and Nefertiti with their three daughters

18th Dynasty Egypt

c. 1353-1335 BCE

Akhenaton (colossal statue from the temple of Aton)

18th Dynasty Egypt

c. 1353-1335 BCE

Bust of Nefertiti

18th Dynasty Egypt

c. 1353-1335 BCE

2018 Reconstruction of Queen Nefertiti's Face

2022 AI-driven Reconstruction of Queen Nefertiti

Egyptology & Whitewashing

The Concept of Race in Egyptology

Ise Jingu, "Grand Shrine of Ise"

Kofun Period and/or later

Mie, Japan | c. 5 BCE (possibly 5th cent. CE)

What is Shinto?

Aerial View of Ise Jingu

Torii Gate Walkway, Fushimi Inari-taisha

Asuka/Nara Period

Kyoto, Japan | 711 CE

Torii Gate at Hida Minzoku Folk VIllage

Gifu, Japan

Two types of Torii

Myoshin

Shinmei

Varieties of Torii

Meiji Jingu Daini Torii

Taisho Period

Kyoto, Japan | 1920 CE

Oyunohara Torii Gate

Heisei Period

Wakayama, Japan | 2000 CE

Torii Gates to Scale

Haniwa of a Warrior

Kofun Period

5th–early 6th century CE

The Variety of Haniwa

Cylindrical Haniwa

Kofun Period

6th century CE

Daisen-Kofun, Tomb of Emperor Nintoku

Kofun Period

Sakai, Osaka, Japan | 6th century CE

Haniwa of a House

Kofun/Asuka Period

5th century CE

Haniwa of a Horse

Asuka Period

6th century CE

Kondo & Pagoda from Horyu-ji

Asuka Period

Nara, Japan | 607 CE

Horiyu-ji Plan

Pagoda from Horyu-ji

Nara Period

Nara, Japan | 607 CE

Todai-ji Daibutsuden, "Great Buddha Hall"

Nara Period

Nara, Japan | 743 CE

Map of the Todai-ji Temple Complex

Model of the Original Todai-ji Temple Complex

Model of the Original Kondo

Daibutsu, the Todai-ji Bronze Buddha

Unique Principles in Japanese Carpentry

Byōdō-in "Pheonix Hall"

Heian Period

Uji, Japan | 1052 CE

Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine

Heian Period

 Late 13th century CE

Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace

Kamakura Period

13th century CE

Complete scroll unrolled with additional detail