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In the double burial of a young male and female in the central mound of the Hopewell Group in Ohio, each of the skulls was supplied with an artificial nose of copper. Middle Woodland period, 100 BCE to 500 CE

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In the double burial of a young male and female in the central mound of the Hopewell Group in Ohio, each of the skulls was supplied with an artificial nose of copper. Middle Woodland period, 100 BCE to 500 CE

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In 1891, Warren K. Moorehead found at the base of one of the original Hopewell Mounds in Chillicothe, Ohio, a hardened cube of clay, which Moorehead called an altar. The cube was not shipped and still lies in the mound, boxed, and covered with 3 feet of earth. 200 BCE-500 CE

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In 1891, Warren K. Moorehead found at the base of one of the original Hopewell Mounds in Chillicothe, Ohio, a hardened cube of clay, which Moorehead called an altar. The cube was not shipped and still lies in the mound, boxed, and covered with 3 feet of earth. 200 BCE-500 CE

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This artifact from a Hopewell mound serves as a testament to the culture's vast influence. Made of copper mined in Michigan, it’s shaped like a horn of a sheep not found in Ohio or Michigan but native to Wyoming, far from the southern Ohio mounds where it was found. 200 BCE-500 CE

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This artifact from a Hopewell mound serves as a testament to the culture's vast influence. Made of copper mined in Michigan, it’s shaped like a horn of a sheep not found in Ohio or Michigan but native to Wyoming, far from the southern Ohio mounds where it was found. 200 BCE-500 CE

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Bronze statue of a young man. The figure shown is in the middle of a prayer - hence its name "Praying Boy". The object was found in Rhodes, and is dated to the 3rd century BCE.

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Bronze statue of a young man. The figure shown is in the middle of a prayer - hence its name "Praying Boy". The object was found in Rhodes, and is dated to the 3rd century BCE.

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The Cookham dagger with its sheath; an artifact of the Hallstatt period, made of iron & copper alloy. It was found at Cookham, England, & it's dated to 600 - 550 BCE ca. British museum, nr. 1860,0927.1

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The Cookham dagger with its sheath; an artifact of the Hallstatt period, made of iron & copper alloy. It was found at Cookham, England, & it's dated to 600 - 550 BCE ca. British museum, nr. 1860,0927.1

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Archaeologists have unearthed, in 2015, the oldest case of decapitation ever found in the New World. The skull belonged to a young man and was buried in Brazil about 9,000 years old, with severed hands covering its face in a mysterious pose

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Archaeologists have unearthed, in 2015, the oldest case of decapitation ever found in the New World. The skull belonged to a young man and was buried in Brazil about 9,000 years old, with severed hands covering its face in a mysterious pose

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A bear body made from clay with a bear skull in between its paws, made during the Upper Paleolithic and found in the Montespan cave in France. Riddled with holes from spear points, it was possibly used to teach hunting, or perhaps used for a ritual

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A bear body made from clay with a bear skull in between its paws, made during the Upper Paleolithic and found in the Montespan cave in France. Riddled with holes from spear points, it was possibly used to teach hunting, or perhaps used for a ritual

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The skull of a shaman with cut wolf jaw replacing upper incisor teeth, found at the Ayres Mound in Kentucky. His upper front teeth had been removed during his lifetime so he could hold the wolf jaw in his own mouth as part of an animal mask. Adena culture

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The skull of a shaman with cut wolf jaw replacing upper incisor teeth, found at the Ayres Mound in Kentucky. His upper front teeth had been removed during his lifetime so he could hold the wolf jaw in his own mouth as part of an animal mask. Adena culture

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Pompeian fresco depicting Theseus after killing the Minotaur. The fresco is not large. In the past, it was the central panel of a larger painting. It was like a painting hung in the middle of the wall and the attention of the person entering the room was supposed to focus on it.

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Pompeian fresco depicting Theseus after killing the Minotaur. The fresco is not large. In the past, it was the central panel of a larger painting. It was like a painting hung in the middle of the wall and the attention of the person entering the room was supposed to focus on it.

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The skull of an ancient Greek girl buried with a crown of ceramic flowers, 400-300 BCE, now housed at the Archaeological Museum of Patras in Greece

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The skull of an ancient Greek girl buried with a crown of ceramic flowers, 400-300 BCE, now housed at the Archaeological Museum of Patras in Greece

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The Adena Tablets are engraved tablets which has been recovered in contexts that are associated with the Adena culture of the Early Woodland Period . As many as 13 have been found in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. So far the exact use for these tablets is unknown

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The Adena Tablets are engraved tablets which has been recovered in contexts that are associated with the Adena culture of the Early Woodland Period . As many as 13 have been found in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. So far the exact use for these tablets is unknown

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Roman figurine showing a dog with a protruding tongue. The finding is dating back to 4-5th century CE and it's made of copper. This was found in Gloucestershire .

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Roman figurine showing a dog with a protruding tongue. The finding is dating back to 4-5th century CE and it's made of copper. This was found in Gloucestershire .

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Frog pipe bowl. Pike County, Ill., ca. 200 BC–AD 500 . Hopewell archaeological culture . Steatite/soapstone. National Museum of the American Indian collection

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Frog pipe bowl. Pike County, Ill., ca. 200 BC–AD 500 . Hopewell archaeological culture . Steatite/soapstone. National Museum of the American Indian collection

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The Canadian Ice Man is a naturally mummified body of a young man, found in British Columbia in 1999 with a well-preserved and woven hat, an iron knife with a wooden handle and a coat made of 100 small pelts of the arctic squirrel with sinew from a moose. C. 1450–1700 CE

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The Canadian Ice Man is a naturally mummified body of a young man, found in British Columbia in 1999 with a well-preserved and woven hat, an iron knife with a wooden handle and a coat made of 100 small pelts of the arctic squirrel with sinew from a moose. C. 1450–1700 CE

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A Nasca ceramic double spout with bridge jar with a man and a woman copulating. From Peru, 100 BCE-650 CE, now housed at the British Museum

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A Nasca ceramic double spout with bridge jar with a man and a woman copulating. From Peru, 100 BCE-650 CE, now housed at the British Museum

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Burial 10 at the 3000-year-old Teouma Lapita cemetery, in Vanuatu , and which contained the headless skeleton of an old man with 3 skulls placed on his chest

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Burial 10 at the 3000-year-old Teouma Lapita cemetery, in Vanuatu , and which contained the headless skeleton of an old man with 3 skulls placed on his chest

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A Moche portrait vessel of a man with a cleft lip and tattoos. 100 BCE–500 CE, from Peru, now housed at the Art Institute of Chicago

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A Moche portrait vessel of a man with a cleft lip and tattoos. 100 BCE–500 CE, from Peru, now housed at the Art Institute of Chicago

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Portrait of a mummified Roman woman. The painting is made with wax on sycamore wood. The artifact dates to 2nd century CE and comes from Roman Egypt.

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Portrait of a mummified Roman woman. The painting is made with wax on sycamore wood. The artifact dates to 2nd century CE and comes from Roman Egypt.

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Yakshi, a female nature spirit associated with fertility, abundance, and protection. Kushan period , created around Mathura, India .Permanent collection of The Art Institute of Chicago.

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Yakshi, a female nature spirit associated with fertility, abundance, and protection. Kushan period , created around Mathura, India .Permanent collection of The Art Institute of Chicago.

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