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An ornately carved human mandible from Xico, Mexico. These mandibles were sometimes worn as masks by priestesses in ceremonies, allowing them to "speak" the words of their ancestor. Post-Classic Period, 1100-1521 CE, now housed at the Rufino Tamayo Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art

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An ornately carved human mandible from Xico, Mexico. These mandibles were sometimes worn as masks by priestesses in ceremonies, allowing them to "speak" the words of their ancestor. Post-Classic Period, 1100-1521 CE, now housed at the Rufino Tamayo Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art

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A Veracruz basalt monumental sculpture of a turtle. Postclassic period , now housed at the Xalapa Museum of Anthropology in Mexico

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A Veracruz basalt monumental sculpture of a turtle. Postclassic period , now housed at the Xalapa Museum of Anthropology in Mexico

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The Stele of Tabi is a Maya sculpture depicting two hunters carrying a bound deer. Classic Period , now housed at the Palacio Cantón Museum in Mexico

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The Stele of Tabi is a Maya sculpture depicting two hunters carrying a bound deer. Classic Period , now housed at the Palacio Cantón Museum in Mexico

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This large relief sculpture of a crouching feline was carved by Nopiloa artist from an irregular boulder of volcanic stone. It most likely depicts one of the 2 largest predators in the Americas, either a jaguar or a puma. From Mexico, 600–1000 CE, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum

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This large relief sculpture of a crouching feline was carved by Nopiloa artist from an irregular boulder of volcanic stone. It most likely depicts one of the 2 largest predators in the Americas, either a jaguar or a puma. From Mexico, 600–1000 CE, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum

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A ceramic urn in the shape of a rabbit reclining with its legs crossed. Mexica culture, Late Postclassic period , now housed at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City

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A ceramic urn in the shape of a rabbit reclining with its legs crossed. Mexica culture, Late Postclassic period , now housed at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City

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The Pueblo Bonito Frog carved from black jet and inlaid with turquoise eyes and collar. The frog, made by Ancestral Puebloan artisans, was found in Pueblo Bonito in New Mexico. 850–1140 CE, now housed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City

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The Pueblo Bonito Frog carved from black jet and inlaid with turquoise eyes and collar. The frog, made by Ancestral Puebloan artisans, was found in Pueblo Bonito in New Mexico. 850–1140 CE, now housed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City

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A ceramic brazier with three spherical supports, found in Tula in Mexico. Late Postclassic Period , now housed at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City

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A ceramic brazier with three spherical supports, found in Tula in Mexico. Late Postclassic Period , now housed at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City

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A painted bowl with abstract bighorn sheep heads, from New Mexico. Classic Mimbres period , now housed at the Maxwell Museum, University of New Mexico

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A painted bowl with abstract bighorn sheep heads, from New Mexico. Classic Mimbres period , now housed at the Maxwell Museum, University of New Mexico

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These earrings, inscribed with the Greek phrase "ΤΗ ΚΑΛΗ" , meaning "to the beautiful one," date to the 4th century CE, from the Imperial Roman period. Crafted from gold and adorned with finely carved sardonyx, they are now housed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston

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These earrings, inscribed with the Greek phrase "ΤΗ ΚΑΛΗ" , meaning "to the beautiful one," date to the 4th century CE, from the Imperial Roman period. Crafted from gold and adorned with finely carved sardonyx, they are now housed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston

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The Relief of Three Dancing Nymphs is a marble relief found in Libya, believed to be a Roman-period Athenian copy of a now-lost 4th-century BCE original by the sculptor Praxiteles. Now housed at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California

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The Relief of Three Dancing Nymphs is a marble relief found in Libya, believed to be a Roman-period Athenian copy of a now-lost 4th-century BCE original by the sculptor Praxiteles. Now housed at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California

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This Toltec turkey-shaped vessel may have been part of the burial of a high-ranking figure. It dates from the Early Postclassic period and is currently part of the collection of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City

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This Toltec turkey-shaped vessel may have been part of the burial of a high-ranking figure. It dates from the Early Postclassic period and is currently part of the collection of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City

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These clay sculpture are part of a group known as the 11 Lords of Cacaxtla, found in San Miguel del Milagro. These sculptures, which at one time were part of an important building, probably represent priests or deities, dressed in headdresses and elaborate costumes. 600-1000 CE, Mexico

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These clay sculpture are part of a group known as the 11 Lords of Cacaxtla, found in San Miguel del Milagro. These sculptures, which at one time were part of an important building, probably represent priests or deities, dressed in headdresses and elaborate costumes. 600-1000 CE, Mexico

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These sewing needles, found at grotte du Placard in France, were made from animal bone some 15,000 years ago. Now housed at the National Archaeological Museum of France

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These sewing needles, found at grotte du Placard in France, were made from animal bone some 15,000 years ago. Now housed at the National Archaeological Museum of France

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A Maya ceramic dynastic vase with a hieroglyphic sequence listing 19 rulers from the kaanul dynasty of the Snake Head kingdom, and supplying names, titles, and dates for their elevation to power. From Mexico or Guatemala, 650–800 CE, now housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

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A Maya ceramic dynastic vase with a hieroglyphic sequence listing 19 rulers from the kaanul dynasty of the Snake Head kingdom, and supplying names, titles, and dates for their elevation to power. From Mexico or Guatemala, 650–800 CE, now housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

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The mummified body of a female infant between 0 and 3 years old, found in the Garrafa cave in Mexico. 1250-1520 CE, Late Postclassic Period, now housed at the Chiapas Regional Museum

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The mummified body of a female infant between 0 and 3 years old, found in the Garrafa cave in Mexico. 1250-1520 CE, Late Postclassic Period, now housed at the Chiapas Regional Museum

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A relief fragment depicting an Assyrian soldier conducting captives across the water. In the lower part of the panel, the pole used to propel the boat appears to hit a dead body in the water. Neo-Assyrian period, ca. 668–627 BCE, from Iraq, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum

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A relief fragment depicting an Assyrian soldier conducting captives across the water. In the lower part of the panel, the pole used to propel the boat appears to hit a dead body in the water. Neo-Assyrian period, ca. 668–627 BCE, from Iraq, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum

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This late Medieval oak door with cat hole was probably a back or interior door of a middle-class home. Cats were primarily kept as working mousers at a time when there was no refrigeration and spoiling grain could tempt mice. 1450-1500 France. On display at Walters Art Museum

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This late Medieval oak door with cat hole was probably a back or interior door of a middle-class home. Cats were primarily kept as working mousers at a time when there was no refrigeration and spoiling grain could tempt mice. 1450-1500 France. On display at Walters Art Museum

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The ornate carved top of a 15th century CE stone aztec box, known as tepetlacalli, with a depiction of the God Tlaltecuhtli. Now housed at the Cortes Palace Museum in Mexico

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The ornate carved top of a 15th century CE stone aztec box, known as tepetlacalli, with a depiction of the God Tlaltecuhtli. Now housed at the Cortes Palace Museum in Mexico

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A very well preserved Paracas mantle from Peru, made of Camelid fiber. C. 200 BCE–100 CE, now housed at the Saint Louis Art Museum in Missouri

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A very well preserved Paracas mantle from Peru, made of Camelid fiber. C. 200 BCE–100 CE, now housed at the Saint Louis Art Museum in Missouri

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This Olmec jadeite pendant, from Mexico, is a miniature mask of the fat god, a poorly understood being found among the Maya and other early cultures of Mesoamerica. Middle Formative Period , now housed at the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, D.C.

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This Olmec jadeite pendant, from Mexico, is a miniature mask of the fat god, a poorly understood being found among the Maya and other early cultures of Mesoamerica. Middle Formative Period , now housed at the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, D.C.

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