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The bear as a hunter is one of the popular motifs of the "Inverted World". The prey animal becomes a hunter itself with a rifle attached. A drinking cup is hidden in the removable head, and there is a miniature game board in the stand plate. Circa 1580 from Augsburg and Munich

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The bear as a hunter is one of the popular motifs of the "Inverted World". The prey animal becomes a hunter itself with a rifle attached. A drinking cup is hidden in the removable head, and there is a miniature game board in the stand plate. Circa 1580 from Augsburg and Munich

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Union between a toad and jaguar - In the Andean worldview, toads are associated with the humid world, while jaguars are associated with the earth. From this union a toad with the ears of a jaguar is born, and from its body there sprout cassava plants. Moche culture, Larco Museum, Lima

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Union between a toad and jaguar - In the Andean worldview, toads are associated with the humid world, while jaguars are associated with the earth. From this union a toad with the ears of a jaguar is born, and from its body there sprout cassava plants. Moche culture, Larco Museum, Lima

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Augsburg Ring with Sundial in the Form of a Hedgehog circa 1580. Gold enamel diamonds and glass. Now housed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum

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Augsburg Ring with Sundial in the Form of a Hedgehog circa 1580. Gold enamel diamonds and glass. Now housed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum

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This skull was preserved in a Danish bog for 5000 years, with the murder weapon beside it. The man was struck 8 times in the head with this wooden club, and analysis showed that his DNA differed from that of the local Danish population, indicating that he grew up somewhere else

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This skull was preserved in a Danish bog for 5000 years, with the murder weapon beside it. The man was struck 8 times in the head with this wooden club, and analysis showed that his DNA differed from that of the local Danish population, indicating that he grew up somewhere else

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This wooden wine cup, lacquered black on the outside and red within, is decorated with whorled motifs, drifting clouds and sharply rendered diamond patterns. Dating to the 160s BCE, it was unearthed in 1972 from the Mawangdui Han tombs in Hunan, China

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This wooden wine cup, lacquered black on the outside and red within, is decorated with whorled motifs, drifting clouds and sharply rendered diamond patterns. Dating to the 160s BCE, it was unearthed in 1972 from the Mawangdui Han tombs in Hunan, China

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The Motor 250/400 is the first functional diesel engine. The workshop of the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg built in 1896 two units, the A-Motor, and the B-Motor. The latter has been on static display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, since testing it came to an end

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The Motor 250/400 is the first functional diesel engine. The workshop of the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg built in 1896 two units, the A-Motor, and the B-Motor. The latter has been on static display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, since testing it came to an end

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Royal staff handle from the Achaemenid Empire . It features a cylindrical gold socket, ending in two lapis lazuli lion heads. The socket is decorated with repoussé work, and traces of ivory or bone remain inside. On display at the Iranian Gallery, British Museum.

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Royal staff handle from the Achaemenid Empire . It features a cylindrical gold socket, ending in two lapis lazuli lion heads. The socket is decorated with repoussé work, and traces of ivory or bone remain inside. On display at the Iranian Gallery, British Museum.

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Tutankhamun's heart scarab, which was suspended from his neck on a strap of gold wire, and placed near the navel. It was made of black resin mounted on an inscribed gold plate, with a figure of a heron in polychrome glass inlaid on the back of the beetle. 1327 BCE, Grand Egyptian Museum

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Tutankhamun's heart scarab, which was suspended from his neck on a strap of gold wire, and placed near the navel. It was made of black resin mounted on an inscribed gold plate, with a figure of a heron in polychrome glass inlaid on the back of the beetle. 1327 BCE, Grand Egyptian Museum

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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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Brooch presented in 1967 to Lady Bird Johnson representing the natural beauty and mineral resources of each state. A gold eagle with a diamond-encrusted head sits atop the map, serving as a patriotic crest.Housed at the Smithsonian.

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Brooch presented in 1967 to Lady Bird Johnson representing the natural beauty and mineral resources of each state. A gold eagle with a diamond-encrusted head sits atop the map, serving as a patriotic crest.Housed at the Smithsonian.

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Terracotta bell krater with Hermes and Hekate leading Persephone from the underworld to her mother Demeter. Greek, Attic, ca. 440 BC. Red-figure decoration attributed to the Persephone painter. See link in comments for reverse with libation scene. Metropolitan Museum of Art collection

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Terracotta bell krater with Hermes and Hekate leading Persephone from the underworld to her mother Demeter. Greek, Attic, ca. 440 BC. Red-figure decoration attributed to the Persephone painter. See link in comments for reverse with libation scene. Metropolitan Museum of Art collection

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Gold trophy head, depicting a decapitated high status enemy. These heads would have been attached to ceremonial swords. State of Asante in present day Ghana, ca. 18th Century

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Gold trophy head, depicting a decapitated high status enemy. These heads would have been attached to ceremonial swords. State of Asante in present day Ghana, ca. 18th Century

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Athena Parthenos Chiaramonti, colossal head of Athena, Rome, late 1st century CE. Found together with an arm and a foot, it was part of an acrolith statue believed to be a copy of an original from the circle of Phidias

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Athena Parthenos Chiaramonti, colossal head of Athena, Rome, late 1st century CE. Found together with an arm and a foot, it was part of an acrolith statue believed to be a copy of an original from the circle of Phidias

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Gold and lapis lazuli ewer probably from Prague circa 1600. The lapis lazuli was likely imported w what is now Afghanistan. Cabinets of curiosities were popular at this time and thought to represent a microcosm of the world, featuring artwork and artefacts from all corners of the globe

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Gold and lapis lazuli ewer probably from Prague circa 1600. The lapis lazuli was likely imported w what is now Afghanistan. Cabinets of curiosities were popular at this time and thought to represent a microcosm of the world, featuring artwork and artefacts from all corners of the globe

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Tattoos from the Pazyryk chief of burial mound 2 circa 300 BCE. He died violently, killed with a Scythian-type battle axe and scalped. He was carefully embalmed, his body covered in animal style tattoos. His preserved head can be found at the Hermitage Museum, St.Petersburg

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Tattoos from the Pazyryk chief of burial mound 2 circa 300 BCE. He died violently, killed with a Scythian-type battle axe and scalped. He was carefully embalmed, his body covered in animal style tattoos. His preserved head can be found at the Hermitage Museum, St.Petersburg

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Bronze statue of a woman fastening her peplos, Herculaneum, 1st c. BC-AD. One of five bronze dancers , or water bearers, found in the peristyle of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, one of the most refined residences recovered from the Roman world...

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Bronze statue of a woman fastening her peplos, Herculaneum, 1st c. BC-AD. One of five bronze dancers , or water bearers, found in the peristyle of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, one of the most refined residences recovered from the Roman world...

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The Garmsar Salt Cave features massive salt pillars that support its ceiling, formed and shaped by the Achaemenid Empire during salt extraction in 550–330 BC. Located in the Iranian county of the same name, the cave has 27 mines, and the one shown here is a popular tourist attraction.

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The Garmsar Salt Cave features massive salt pillars that support its ceiling, formed and shaped by the Achaemenid Empire during salt extraction in 550–330 BC. Located in the Iranian county of the same name, the cave has 27 mines, and the one shown here is a popular tourist attraction.

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On the left: a 2400-year-old letter from Tushratta, king of Mitanni, to Amenhotep III requesting solid-gold statues as bride-price for his daughter. Right: another letter from Tushratta to Queen Tiye, complaining that the received statues were not solid gold, but merely gold-plated wood

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On the left: a 2400-year-old letter from Tushratta, king of Mitanni, to Amenhotep III requesting solid-gold statues as bride-price for his daughter. Right: another letter from Tushratta to Queen Tiye, complaining that the received statues were not solid gold, but merely gold-plated wood

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Foldable game board for chess on one side and backgammon on the other, with turtle shell and mother-of-pearl inlays. Istanbul, Turkey, 17th century

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Foldable game board for chess on one side and backgammon on the other, with turtle shell and mother-of-pearl inlays. Istanbul, Turkey, 17th century

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