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One of two figures found facing each other in Ur, Sumer, c. 4500 BP . The tubes coming up from their backs suggest they used to support something, maybe bowls, or a small table now gone. Found in the 'Great Death Pit', a mass grave in the Royal Cemetery at Ur...

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One of two figures found facing each other in Ur, Sumer, c. 4500 BP . The tubes coming up from their backs suggest they used to support something, maybe bowls, or a small table now gone. Found in the 'Great Death Pit', a mass grave in the Royal Cemetery at Ur...

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Ostrich Egg Decorated with Bitumen and mother-of-pearl, from a grave in the Royal Cemetery of Ur, Sumer. 2600 BCE.

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Ostrich Egg Decorated with Bitumen and mother-of-pearl, from a grave in the Royal Cemetery of Ur, Sumer. 2600 BCE.

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Young attendant wearing gold headdress and jewelry of gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian and shell from the royal cemetery of Ur 2550-2450 BCE. She is one of 68 female sacrifices found beneath the burial of Queen Puabi in the great "death pit" excavated in 1934.

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Young attendant wearing gold headdress and jewelry of gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian and shell from the royal cemetery of Ur 2550-2450 BCE. She is one of 68 female sacrifices found beneath the burial of Queen Puabi in the great "death pit" excavated in 1934.

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Roman tablet/gravestone from the 2nd Century CE detailing the death of a Roman sailor who served in the Imperial Navy, found in a Backyard in New Orleans.

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Roman tablet/gravestone from the 2nd Century CE detailing the death of a Roman sailor who served in the Imperial Navy, found in a Backyard in New Orleans.

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The skull of a viking man with filed teeth, found in a mass grave in Dorset. The purpose behind filed teeth remains unclear but some researchers believe that the teeth carvings were likely dyed to frighten opponents in battle or to show their status as a great fighter

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The skull of a viking man with filed teeth, found in a mass grave in Dorset. The purpose behind filed teeth remains unclear but some researchers believe that the teeth carvings were likely dyed to frighten opponents in battle or to show their status as a great fighter

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A gold cosmetic container and 3 bi-valve shells containing red, blue, and black cosmetic pigments, found at the Royal Cemetery at Ur in Iraq. Circa 2600 BCE, now housed at the British Museum

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A gold cosmetic container and 3 bi-valve shells containing red, blue, and black cosmetic pigments, found at the Royal Cemetery at Ur in Iraq. Circa 2600 BCE, now housed at the British Museum

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A ceramic sculpture depicting two girls playing the Ephedrismos game with one carrying the other on her back. From Corinth in Greece, c. 300 BCE, now housed at the Allard Pierson Museum in the Netherlands

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A ceramic sculpture depicting two girls playing the Ephedrismos game with one carrying the other on her back. From Corinth in Greece, c. 300 BCE, now housed at the Allard Pierson Museum in the Netherlands

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Ram in the Thicket, one of two nearly identical statuettes representing a markor goat standing upright on a tree with flowers, found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur , Circa 2550 B.C.

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Ram in the Thicket, one of two nearly identical statuettes representing a markor goat standing upright on a tree with flowers, found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur , Circa 2550 B.C.

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The Boxer at rest, one of the finest examples of bronze sculptures to have survived from the ancient world; now housed in Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome

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The Boxer at rest, one of the finest examples of bronze sculptures to have survived from the ancient world; now housed in Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome

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Mycenaean Bull-Head Rhyton. Combining silver as primary body and gold decoration, it attests masterful metallurgical expertise. Dated to c. 1525 BC, it was found in Shaft Grave IV within Grave Circle A at Mycenae, the royal cemetery of Bronze Age Greece's most powerful civilization...

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Mycenaean Bull-Head Rhyton. Combining silver as primary body and gold decoration, it attests masterful metallurgical expertise. Dated to c. 1525 BC, it was found in Shaft Grave IV within Grave Circle A at Mycenae, the royal cemetery of Bronze Age Greece's most powerful civilization...

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The Herodium, Herod the Great’s fortress and one of the largest from the ancient world. He intentionally buried the whole mountain and converted it to a funerary complex upon his death

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The Herodium, Herod the Great’s fortress and one of the largest from the ancient world. He intentionally buried the whole mountain and converted it to a funerary complex upon his death

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Split-twig figurines found in Grand Canyon caves dating from 2000-4000 years ago. Each one is made from a single twig, often willow, split down the middle, and then carefully folded into animal shapes, often deer or bighorn sheep

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Split-twig figurines found in Grand Canyon caves dating from 2000-4000 years ago. Each one is made from a single twig, often willow, split down the middle, and then carefully folded into animal shapes, often deer or bighorn sheep

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A golden ram and a stone lion, found in a tomb at the archaeological site of Gonur Depe in Turkmenistan. The finger in the background shows how small these figures are, demonstrating the extraordinary skill of the craftsmen

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A golden ram and a stone lion, found in a tomb at the archaeological site of Gonur Depe in Turkmenistan. The finger in the background shows how small these figures are, demonstrating the extraordinary skill of the craftsmen

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Golden dagger of Aanépàdda, head of the First Dynasty of Ur and King of Kish, found in his tomb in the Royal Cemetery of Ur - c. 2350 BCE

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Golden dagger of Aanépàdda, head of the First Dynasty of Ur and King of Kish, found in his tomb in the Royal Cemetery of Ur - c. 2350 BCE

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2000-year-old graves of nearly 600 cats and dogs at the Roman port of Berenice in Egypt may be world's oldest pet cemetery. Many wore collars or other adornments, and they had been cared for through injury and old age, like today's pets

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2000-year-old graves of nearly 600 cats and dogs at the Roman port of Berenice in Egypt may be world's oldest pet cemetery. Many wore collars or other adornments, and they had been cared for through injury and old age, like today's pets

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The Petelia Tablet from Ancient Greece, c.300-150 BCE: this "passport for the dead" provides instructions on where to go and what to say after crossing into the Greek Underworld, and it was supposed to allow a dead person to obtain special privileges in the afterlife

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The Petelia Tablet from Ancient Greece, c.300-150 BCE: this "passport for the dead" provides instructions on where to go and what to say after crossing into the Greek Underworld, and it was supposed to allow a dead person to obtain special privileges in the afterlife

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A 2,500-year-old Persian Acinaces, one of the few remaining royal swords from the Achaemenid Empire in exceptional condition. Made of pure gold and related to the era of Darius the Great, it was discovered in Hamadan , and is housed at National Museum of Iran.

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A 2,500-year-old Persian Acinaces, one of the few remaining royal swords from the Achaemenid Empire in exceptional condition. Made of pure gold and related to the era of Darius the Great, it was discovered in Hamadan , and is housed at National Museum of Iran.

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Marble female figurine, Early Cycladic , Greece, 2800-2300 B.C. The best known type of Cycladic art is the marble figurine, a full-length female with arms folded across the front. Their function remains uncertain, but most were found in graves, indicating a funerary role...

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Marble female figurine, Early Cycladic , Greece, 2800-2300 B.C. The best known type of Cycladic art is the marble figurine, a full-length female with arms folded across the front. Their function remains uncertain, but most were found in graves, indicating a funerary role...

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The Hammerum Girl found in grave 83 at the Hammerum burial site in Denmark, 78-313 CE. All that remain of the deceased was her hair and her clothing, but it was the best-preserved Danish Iron Age textile from an inhumation grave. The picture on the right is a reconstruction of her dress

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The Hammerum Girl found in grave 83 at the Hammerum burial site in Denmark, 78-313 CE. All that remain of the deceased was her hair and her clothing, but it was the best-preserved Danish Iron Age textile from an inhumation grave. The picture on the right is a reconstruction of her dress

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A cache of 11 duck decoys found in 1924 at Lovelock Cave in Nevada. These remarkable hunting tools were made from bundled tule, a long grass-like herb, covered in feathers and painted. Now housed at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.

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A cache of 11 duck decoys found in 1924 at Lovelock Cave in Nevada. These remarkable hunting tools were made from bundled tule, a long grass-like herb, covered in feathers and painted. Now housed at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.

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