Humans have done some amazing, impressive, and even terrible things during our existence on this planet we call home. Fortunately for us, someone, at some point, had the foresight to start documenting things that were going on for future generations to learn about.
We say it a lot around here, but the history of our collective past is way more interesting than most people care to imagine. So put away those silly little memes, and let's take a look at what the heck was going on all those years ago before people had computers in their pockets.
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This mace belonged to Duke Alessandro Farnese of Parma. It is covered in allegorical figures/scenes and was made in Milan around 1580.
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Broadway Tower in Worcestershire, England. It was built in 1799.
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The Masuda no iwafune is an 800 ton stone structure approximately 11 meters in length, 8 meters in width, and 4.7 meters in height, located on top of a hill in Asuka, Japan. How or why this colossal stone was carved remains a mystery
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Ritual Lingzhi Fungus Mask, Nepal, probably 19th century
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Roman drinking cups. Discovered in Denmark. 2nd to 3rd century CE.
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Sculpture of Yama, god of death and king of Hades. Japan, Momoyama period, 16th-17th century
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The 5th-century tomb in Río Azul, Guatemala, decorated with Maya glyphic texts which proclaimed the royal Tikal ancestry of its occupant.
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Dún Aonghasa is a prehistoric hill fort that lies on Inis Mór, in Ireland, at the edge of a 100-meter-high cliff. The first construction goes back to 1100 BCE and around 500 BCE, the triple wall defenses were probably constructed along the fort's western side
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Petroglyph depicting 5 skiers and a reindeer located near the White Sea in Belomorsk Russia. The petroglyphs were created by ancestors of modern Finnic peoples around 4000-3000 BC. With over 2,000 petroglyphs it's one of the most outstanding monuments of primitive art in N. Europe.
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The capstone of the Pyramid of Amenemhat III, 1860 BC-1814 BC
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The moment when a statue of Hestia was discovered in 2017 in the ruins of Aigai in Turkey.
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The Prayer Book of Claude de France is a tiny, jewel-like manuscript that was made for Claude (1499–1524) around 1517, the year she was crowned queen of France. The book is richly illustrated with 132 scenes from the lives of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and numerous saints
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Bronze helmet of a Murmillo Gladiator, found in the gladiators’ barracks at Pompeii, 1st Century AD. The helm weighs about 3.5 kg. Hercules, signaling strength and victory, adorns the front above the brim.
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A head fragment from a Toltec statue depicting a man with Down syndrome. (500 AD)
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"The Kiss", a 12,000-year-old rock painting at Pedra Furada in Brazil [640x428]
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Beautiful Roman gold cup, found in Pompeii. Dated to I century BCE.
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This ancient Greek cosmetic box lid has a drawing of Herakles getting water from a fountain. 450 - 400 BC.
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Gold and enamel ring from Hungary, 1800s, from The British Museum.
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The red armor of lord Ii Naotaka, with gold horns. Japan, Edo period, 1600s
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Ancient Greek Corinthian helmet, c. 700-500 BCE.
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4 statues in Venice, made in the 1300s, representing 3 Greek brothers, who came to Venice in 1112 as merchants, and their slave. In the 1800s, one of the statues lost its nose and was replaced with a piece of iron. From that time on, a legend grew that rubbing his nose would bring luck
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A Samurai Hoshi Bachi Kabuto, Japan, circa 1800, from Czerny’s International.
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Gold and enamel ring from Hungary, the 1800s, from The British Museum.
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A Roman Moon and Stars Ring in Carnelian , 100-300 AD.
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Another golden oldie from Sweden. Man works on restoring a cracked runestone at Svedjorna in Södra Ving. The inscription reads, “Tole and Torny made these monuments in memory of Tore and Klakke, their sons.”photo taken in 1936
