Much of the erstwhile colonized world is still in legal and ethical tussles with their former colonizers, in an effort to retrieve precious artifacts and treasures that belong to their people. France...
For over six decades, it was believed that two wooden objects discovered in Opole, Poland were pagan Slavic masks used in mystical ceremonies held in cemetery woods. However, recent research by a...
How would you feel placing a mask on your face that was made from a real human skull? Would you feel differently if it were the skull of a family member, or perhaps an enemy? For many ancient people...
There was no end to medieval creativity when it came to torture , punishment and humiliation! The ‘scold’s bridle’ or ‘mask of shame’ was a concept developed in medieval Europe to punish people,...
Throughout history, many cultures and civilizations created funerary masks as part of their burial customs. The masks were used to represent a deceased individual, to honor them, and to cover their...
A 3000-year-old gold funeral mask dated to the Shang dynasty (1600-1046 BC) has been unearthed by archaeologists on the Yellow River about 600 kilometers (373 miles) northwest of Shanghai. Found in...
Helmets of the ancient world could be dazzling, terrifying, intimidating or sometimes simply practical. Here we look at 12 incredible helmets from across the ancient world. A Japanese Samurai helmet...
Archaeologists excavating an ancient Roman site near the German city of Krefeld, just a few miles west of the Rhine, uncovered a rare Batavian mask, face-fitted for the elite Batavian cavalrymen,...
Nahal Hemar cave in Israel’s southern Judean Desert has proven to be one of the most artifact-rich excavation sites in the region. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has provided details of a new...
Since the 14th century AD, Noh has been a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama. It is the oldest major theatre art form that is still performed on a regular basis to this day. Noh , which is...
Amid the once-tranquil village of Sanxingdui, in a quiet part of Sichuan province in China, a remarkable discovery took place which immediately attracted international attention and has since...
To the Ancient Greeks, theater was a form of entertainment taken very seriously. People would come from all across the Greek world to attend the popular theaters held in open air amphitheaters. In...
Shame masks were a type of embarrassing punishment device used in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. As its name suggests, the shame mask was meant to humiliate the person who was forced to...
Researchers in Peru have discovered three statues and two faces believed to be from the ancient Caral civilization located on the coast north of the capital, Lima. According to a report on the...
Amid the once-tranquil village of Sanxingdui, in a quiet part of Sichuan province in China, a remarkable discovery took place which immediately attracted international attention and has since...
Archaeologists made an incredibly unique and unusual discovery during excavations at Tel Qarassa, a site in southern Syria, when they unearthed an ancient wand carved with two realistic human faces...
More than 10,000 years ago, ancient people living in the Judean Desert and Hills abandoned their nomadic lifestyles and established permanent settlements. Around this time, art, culture, and...
The Hopi tribal mask is revered as a sacred ritual artefact by the Native American Hopi tribe in Arizona. The masks are worn by dancers during religious ceremonies and are considered as living beings...