Grain storage containers of traditional Bechwana construction, Luzi Tribe Africa

Swazi Meat Platter

Zambian Mukeke Bowl

Igbo family compound

Traditional Nama Hut

A traditional Nama Hut..Image:
stripedmouse.com/site1_4_1.htm

Chitori graveyard

Chitori graveyard, Mirpurkhas, Sindh, Pakistan!

Courtesy: Hanif Bhatti

Miran ja quba (Mir's tombs) Hirabad, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan!

Saath satyoon ( seven sisters) graves, Rohri, Sukkur,Sindh, Pakistan! Courtesy: Ammad Joyo

The First Cities in History

Founded: Around 4000-3500 BC.

Location: Between Present-day Syria and Iraq; Mesopotamia.

For the ancient Mesopotamians, their cities were the centers of life. When they looked back to the beginning of time, they did not see a Garden of Eden, but rather an ancient site called Eridu, which they believed was the first city ever to be created. Ancient Mesopotamia is where the world's first cities appeared around 4000 - 3500 BC.

The Invention of the Iron Wheels

Invented: 721BC - 705BC

Location: In the ancient city of Khorsabad, Iraq

History: The invention of the wheel was one of the greatest contributions made by the ancient Mesopotamians to the whole of humankind. This early iron wheel (23 cm diam.) with bronze hub and bearings may have been part of a wooden ceremonial cart. It was found in the temple of Nabu, the god of writing and scribes, in the ancient city of Dur-Sharrukin (modern-day Khorsabad).

http://arabia-online.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html

OLD WOOD KADAUMA SUMBA FIGURES

Tabwa people

Africa | Carved wood figure from the Tabwa people of southeastern Congo | ca. 2nd half of the 20th century

The Kshatriya (Warrior Class)

In Hindu India, the second-highest of the four varnas, or social classes, traditionally the military or ruling class. In ancient times before the caste system was completely defined, they were considered first in rank, placed higher than the Brahmans, or priestly class. The legend that they were degraded by an incarnation of Vishnu as a punishment for their tyranny may reflect a historical struggle for supremacy between priests and rulers. In modern times the Kshatriya varna includes members from a variety of castes, united by their status in government or the military or their land ownership.

Bacchantes Marble Greece Pirée

Photo Marsyas, 2006. Bacchantes Marble Greece Pirée. Dionysus rython, phiale, Paideia woman, tympanon drum, 400 av. J. – C. Nat. arch. Museum, Athens. Pay attention to the frame drum held up by the figure to the left in this relief.

STUPAS

Stupas generally represent the enlightened mind of the Buddha. They were constructed since the early days of Buddhism. One of the symbolic meanings is that they represent the five elements: the square base represents earth, the round dome is for water, the cone-shape is fire, the canopy is air and the volume of the stupa is space. Stupas are often used to store relics from important teachers.

On the subject of stupas, I can recommend a visit to the Stupa Page, which not only contains lots of information, but even a free downloadable book on stupas. Stupas come in many shapes and all sizes....

From the Mata Ortiz Region

Oyo and Benin

During the 15th century Oyo and Benin surpassed Ife as political and economic powers, although Ife preserved its status as a religious center. Respect for the priestly functions of the oni of Ife was a crucial factor in the evolution of Yoruban culture. The Ife model of government was adapted at Oyo, where a member of its ruling dynasty controlled several smaller city-states. A state council (the Oyo Mesi) named the alafin (king) and acted as a check on his authority. Their capital city was situated about 100 km north of present-day Oyo. Unlike the forest-bound Yoruba kingdoms, Oyo was in the savanna and drew its military strength from its cavalry forces, which established hegemony over the adjacent Nupe and the Borgu kingdoms and thereby developed trade routes farther to the north.

Ibgo

The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region.

Ibgo gods

The weakness of a popular theory that Igbos were stateless rests on the paucity of historical evidence of pre-colonial Igbo society. There is a huge gap between the archaeological finds of Igbo Ukwu, which reveal a rich material culture in the heart of the Igbo region in the 8th century, and the oral traditions of the 20th century. Benin exercised considerable influence on the western Igbo who adopted many of the political structures familiar to the Yoruba-Benin region. Ofega was the queen.

Igbo gods

Igbo gods, like those of the Yoruba, were numerous, but their relationship to one another and human beings was essentially egalitarian, reflecting Igbo society as a whole. A number of oracles and local cults attracted devotees while the central deity, the earth mother and fertility figure Ala, was venerated at shrines throughout Igboland.

Hariti with her husband Panchala

Hariti with her husband Panchala. A true Hellenistic image.
The Greeks identified her with the Greek goddess Tyche for which reason she holds a cornucopia.

Terracotta warriors from China

Qedarite

Qedarite (also Kedarite/Cedarene, Cedar/Kedar/Qedar and Kingdom of Qedar) refers to a largely nomadic Arab tribal confederation that lived in an area extending eastward from the western boundary of Babylon in the 8th century BC

Greek Hermes

Greek Hermes is also depicted with crosses or crossed arms, as can be seen in some of the figure in the following illustration. The Greek sacrificed animals to Hermes.

Shiva Lingum

Flickr Photo by nevil zaveri, 2009. A Shiva Lingum in Maheswhar, Madhya Pradesh, India.

This is likely a fertility symbol with a lingum on a Yoni and a labyrinth. Similar labyrinths are found all over Europe. Used by the archaic people. First of all similar symbols were used by the archaic Greeks, then by the people of the archaic Roman Empire, such labyrinths are found in Spain, France, UK, Germany, and in the Nordic. There are many such classical labyrinths found in Finnmark, Norway and in the Sami areas of present North-Western Russia. The Yoni was used by the ancient Greeks, such as the one found at Crete with a sun-cross instead of a lingum. Lingum are in the ancient Nordic likely the same as the many iron-age phalluses that primarily were made in stone.

A typical Iron Age turf hut in the UK

Added by Peter Cresswell in the linked site.

This hut is resembling the Gamme (turf hut) of the Sami people in the Nordic areas.

Ancient Bridge, Sichuan, China

Mesopotamia

Kudurru (STEL) of King Melishipak I (1186-1172 BC): The king presents his daughter to the goddess Nannaya. The crescent moon represents the god Sin, the Shamash the sun and the star of the goddess Ishtar. Kassite period, taken to Susa in the 12th century BC as war booty...

 

 Votive relief of Dudu, priest of Ningirsu, in the days of King Entemena of Lagash. Oil shale, ca. 2400 BC. Found in Telloh, ancient city of Girsu. A bas-relief.

 Urartian Art

 Cylinder seal and impression: cattle herd at the cowshed. White limestone, Mesopotamia, Uruk Period (4100 BC–3000 BC).

  Bull statuette, bronze inlaid with silver. Early Dynastic III, archaic Mesopotamia.

 Cylinder Seal with Human-Headed Griffin Attacking a Horse, Middle Assyrian between 1400 and 1200 BC

 Cylinder Seal with Scorpion Man Shooting at Winged Creatures Middle Assyrian between 1400 and 1200 BC

 Cylinder seal and clay imprint, representing a mythological scene: Assur attacking a monster is cheered by a goddess. Steatite, Assyria, 9th-8th centuries BC.

 Depiction of Jehu King of Israel giving tribute to King Shalmaneser III of Assyria, on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III from Nimrud (circa 827 BC) in the British Museum (London).

 Cylinder Seal with Scorpion Man Shooting at Winged Creatures Middle Assyrian between 1400 and 1200 BC

 Clay impression of a cylinder seal with monstrous lions and lion-headed eagles, Mesopotamia, Uruk Period (4100 BC–3000 BC).

 Bull-man mastering two man-headed bulls. Gold, Sumer, Archaic Dynasties III (ca. 2500 BCE).

 Relief from the north wall of the Palace of king Sargon II at Dur Sharrukin in Assyria (now Khorsabad in Iraq), 716–713 BC.

Genie with a poppy flower. Relief from the Palace of king Sargon II at Dur Sharrukin in Assyria (now Khorsabad in Iraq), 716–713 BC.

http://mythologyversusreligion.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mesopotamia

Butkara, Swat 2nd cent AD

The Butkara Stupa is one of the most important Buddhist shrines of Swat . It may have been originally built by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, but it is now dated slightly later to the 2nd century BC. The stupa was enlarged on five occasions during the following centuries, every time by building over, and encapsulating, the previous structure. http://rolfgross.dreamhosters.com/India-ArchitectureWeb/Ghandara.htm

Sachal Sarmast, Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan

Mud House recall Dholavira, Sindh

Rural architecture of Sindh.Pakistan