Myths

Hands from a statue of <n>Akhenaten</n> and <n>Nefertiti</n>, c. 1350 BCE. Photo by <n>Andrea Jemolo</n> for <n>Taschen</n>.

'<n>Stonehenge in the Snow</n>' (1944) by photographer <n>Bill Brandt</n>.

'Stonehenge in the Snow' (1944) by Bill Brandt

Actress <n>Yoshiko Yamaguchi</n> at the <n>Parthenon</n> in Athens, 1953. Photo by <n>Isamu Noguchi</n>.

The <n>Shrine of the Goddess Hathor</n>, featuring <n>Thutmose III</n>, at its discovery in 1906. Photo by <n>Édouard Naville</n>.

The <n>Pyramid of the Sun</n> at Teotihuacán. Photo from <n>Arqueología Mexicana</n>.

A <n>colossal head</n> sculpture from <n>La Venta</n>, Mexico. Photo by <n>Richard H. Stewart</n>, 1940.

The <n>amphitheaters of Muyu-uray</n> in Peru, photographed in 1962 by <n>Bernard Rudofsky</n>.

Detail of the <n>Kudurru of King Meli-Shipak II</n>, a <n>Babylonian</n> boundary stone from c. 1600-1150 BC.

<n>Graffiti</n>, a photograph by <n>Brassaï</n> from the 1950s.

<n>The Buddha</n>, a 5th-century <n>Gupta</n> period sculpture in red sandstone from Jamalpur, India.

Drawing by <n>Austen Henry Layard</n> of a 9th century BC relief depicting the Mesopotamian god <n>Ninurta</n>.

<n>Pair of Clappers in Form of Human Hands</n>, ca. 1390-1352 B.C.E.

Cover art for the 2023 album <n>Ingen Skånsel</n> by <n>Koldbrann</n>, created by <n>Trine + Kim Design Studio</n>.

<n>Untitled (from Africa Series)</n>, 1993, by artist <n>Carrie Mae Weems</n>.

An 1802 engraving of the <n>Dendera Zodiac</n> by artist <n>Dominique Vivant Denon</n>.

An <n>Aztec Calendar Stone replica</n> being carved for the <n>1964 New York World's Fair</n>.

Assyrian <n>Lamassu from the palace of Sargon II</n> in Khorsabad, c. 721-705 BC. Photo by <n>swisshippo</n>.

Archaeologist <n>Matthew Stirling</n> with the <n>Olmec</n> colossal head, <n>La Venta Monument 1</n>, excavated in 1940.

Akkadian cylinder seal impression of the goddess <n>Ishtar</n>. Photo by <n>The Morgan Library & Museum</n>.

The <n>Neolithic</n> <n>Spider stone</n>, a 5,000-year-old artifact from Denmark. Photo by <n>Michael Thorsen</n>.

<n>Votive bronze hands</n> from the <n>Clarence Day Collection</n>, 7th century BC.

<n>Stone-Faced</n>, a vernacular sculpture by <n>Scott Daniel Ellison</n>.

<n>Bronze figure</n> from the Acropolis, Athens, c. 800 B.C.

<n>Stonehenge</n> in Wiltshire, England, photographed by <n>Isamu Noguchi</n>, c. 1955.

The <n>Bighorn Medicine Wheel</n> in Wyoming, with a diagram of its astronomical alignments.

<n>The Gate of Xerxes</n> at <n>Persepolis</n>, photographed by <n>Antoin Sevruguin</n> c. 1890s.

Wooden statue of the <n>Anubis Shrine</n> from the tomb of Horemheb, photographed by <n>Harry Burton</n> in 1912.

<n>Standing Woman</n>, a grey earthenware sculpture from the <n>Han Dynasty</n>. From <n>Toshio Nagahiro</n>'s book.

Statue of <n>Pa-Maj</n>, a basalt torso from Egypt's Late Period at the <n>National Archaeological Museum of Naples</n>.