Astonishing artifacts: A glimpse into how people lived in the past

Artifacts offer a window into the past, giving us information about people and cultures that existed centuries to millennia ago. From hoards of gold coins found hidden beneath floorboards to handmade pottery buried in caves, these intriguing objects are often the only physical evidence that remains. In some cases, the purpose or meaning of an artifact is lost to time, but its presence still reveals hints of what cultures valued or ritualized.

Each week, we showcase a different astonishing artifact that gives us new insight into how our ancestors lived.

Explore more amazing artifacts

—30 incredible treasures discovered in King Tut's tomb

—32 haunting shipwrecks from the ancient world

—32 stunning centuries-old hoards unearthed by metal detectorists

Latest about astonishing artifacts

A colorful embroidered scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicts the death of King Harold

Bayeux Tapestry: A 1,000-year-old embroidery depicting William the Conqueror's victory and King Harold's grisly death

By Kristina Killgrove published

A long roll of cloth embroidered with key scenes from British history is a unique medieval chronicle.

Archaeology
Reconstruction of an animal-themed headdress worn by a Mesolithic woman

Bad Dürrenberg headdress: An elaborate 9,000-year-old headpiece worn by a female shaman in Europe

By Kristina Killgrove published

A lavish 9,000-year-old grave in central Germany revealed the burial of a powerful female shaman.

Archaeology
Anthropomorphic light brown clay tablet shaped like a domino with circular depressions scattered across it

Doban-kun: A 'cute' human-shaped counting tool from prehistoric Japan

By Kristina Killgrove published

This anthropomorphic clay tablet was likely used in an ancient ritual by the Jōmon culture in Japan.

Archaeology
Six-frame animated gif of a small white marble statuette of a dwarf; his arms, legs, and part of his head are missing

Dancing dwarf: A 2,300-year-old ancient Egyptian statue of a godlike man with a muscular 6-pack

By Kristina Killgrove published

This marble statuette is emblematic of Ptolemaic-era art: a mishmash of styles with a decidedly Egyptian twist.

Ancient Egyptians
A fragmented wooden tablet with Latin writing on it in charcoal ink on display against a neutral background

2,000-year-old RSVP: A birthday invitation from the Roman frontier that has the earliest known Latin written by a woman

By Kristina Killgrove published

This wafer-thin wooden tablet from a first-century Roman fort in the U.K. includes a heartfelt birthday party invitation.

Archaeology
Two people look at an ancient wooden lyre on display at a museum

Queen Puabi's lyre: A bull-headed music maker played for Mesopotamian royalty 4,500 years ago

By Kristina Killgrove published

A lyre in a treasure-laden royal tomb discovered in Mesopotamia is the earliest stringed instrument ever found.

Archaeology
The metal Sutton Hoo helmet as reconstructed in the British Museum.

Sutton Hoo helmet: A gold- and jewel-encrusted relic with ties to Beowulf and a lost Anglo-Saxon king

By Kristina Killgrove published

Fragments of a helmet recovered from the Sutton Hoo ship burial show that early-medieval metalwork could be decorative and functional.

Archaeology
Roman scutum from Dura-Europos; it is long, semi-cylindrical and red with other colorful designs and a large hole in the middle.

Roman scutum: An 1,800-year-old shield dropped by a Roman soldier who likely died in battle

By Kristina Killgrove published

A wood and leather shield dating to around A.D. 250 is one of only a few complete Roman scuta ever found.

Archaeology
Small round cuneiform tablet with writing and a triangle

Babylonian tablet preserves student's 4,000-year-old geometry mistake

By Kristina Killgrove published

A small clay tablet from the site of Kish in Iraq reveals a student calculated the area of a triangle incorrectly 4,000 years ago.

Archaeology
A 16th-century mask made out of wood and tiled with turquoise may represent Xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec god of fire.

Mask of Xiuhtecuhtli: A 600-year-old mask of the Aztec fire god taken as treasure by conquistadors

By Kristina Killgrove published

This stunning blue mask may represent the Aztec cycle of death and renewal.

Archaeology
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