Ancient Minoan Palace, Agean Sea-photos

The Minoans were a pre-Hellenic Bronze Age civilization in Crete in the Aegean Sea, flourishing from approximately 2600 to 1450 BC when their culture was superseded by the Mycenaean culture, which drew upon the Minoans.

Ancient Sea Monsters, Prehistoric Sea Creatures--Photos

Also called a straight ammonite, Bacculite is an ammonite mollusk with a straight, not spiraled, shell.

With its leathery skin, long tail, short legs, and needle-like teeth, the nothosaur resembled a prehistoric crocodile.

With eyes 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) wide, Temnodontosaurus could see in near-lightless conditions and probably dove for food.

Ancient Sea Monsters, Prehistoric Sea Creatures--Photos

Also called a straight ammonite, Bacculite is an ammonite mollusk with a straight, not spiraled, shell.

With its leathery skin, long tail, short legs, and needle-like teeth, the nothosaur resembled a prehistoric crocodile.

With eyes 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) wide, Temnodontosaurus could see in near-lightless conditions and probably dove for food.

The Ancient Maya-photos

Scholars have long puzzled over the Maya civilization's rise to glory and fall to ruin. The latest thinking is that a man named Fire Is Born made the Maya great. But no one person or problem caused the collapse. Simply put, everything went wrong.

The Kingmaker

THE STRANGER ARRIVED as the dry season began to harden the jungle paths, allowing armies to pass. Flanked by his warriors, he marched into the Maya city of Waka, past temples and markets and across broad plazas. Its citizens must have gaped, impressed not just by the show of force but also by the men's extravagant feathered headdresses, javelins, and mirrored shields—the regalia of a distant imperial city.

Ancient inscriptions give the date as January 8, 378, and the stranger's name as Fire Is Born. He arrived in Waka, in present-day Guatemala, as an envoy from a great power in the highlands of Mexico. In the coming decades, his name would appear on monuments all across the territory of the Maya, the jungle civilization of Mesoamerica. And in his wake, the Maya reached an apogee that lasted five centuries.The Maya have always been an enigma. Decades ago the glories of their ruined cities and their beautiful but undeciphered script had many researchers imagining a gentle society of priests and scribes. As epigraphers finally learned to read the Maya glyphs, a darker picture emerged, of warring dynasties, court rivalries, and palaces put to the torch. Maya history became a tapestry of precise dates and vividly named personages.But deep mysteries remained, among them what spurred the Maya's final leap toward greatness. Around the time Fire Is Born's fame was spreading, a wave of change swept the Maya world. What had been a collection of inward-looking city-states expanded their ties with their neighbors and other cultures and reached the heights of artistic achievement that define the Classic Maya period.New clues, unearthed from overgrown ruins and teased from newly deciphered texts, point to Fire Is Born as a central figure in this transformation.

Though fragmentary, the evidence that has emerged over the past decade suggests that this mysterious outsider remade the political leadership of the Maya world. Mixing diplomacy and force, he forged alliances, installed new dynasties, and spread the influence of the distant city-state he represented, the great metropolis of Teotihuacan near present-day Mexico City.

The Ancient Maya-photos

Scholars have long puzzled over the Maya civilization's rise to glory and fall to ruin. The latest thinking is that a man named Fire Is Born made the Maya great. But no one person or problem caused the collapse. Simply put, everything went wrong.

The Kingmaker

THE STRANGER ARRIVED as the dry season began to harden the jungle paths, allowing armies to pass. Flanked by his warriors, he marched into the Maya city of Waka, past temples and markets and across broad plazas. Its citizens must have gaped, impressed not just by the show of force but also by the men's extravagant feathered headdresses, javelins, and mirrored shields—the regalia of a distant imperial city.

Ancient inscriptions give the date as January 8, 378, and the stranger's name as Fire Is Born. He arrived in Waka, in present-day Guatemala, as an envoy from a great power in the highlands of Mexico. In the coming decades, his name would appear on monuments all across the territory of the Maya, the jungle civilization of Mesoamerica. And in his wake, the Maya reached an apogee that lasted five centuries.The Maya have always been an enigma. Decades ago the glories of their ruined cities and their beautiful but undeciphered script had many researchers imagining a gentle society of priests and scribes. As epigraphers finally learned to read the Maya glyphs, a darker picture emerged, of warring dynasties, court rivalries, and palaces put to the torch. Maya history became a tapestry of precise dates and vividly named personages.But deep mysteries remained, among them what spurred the Maya's final leap toward greatness. Around the time Fire Is Born's fame was spreading, a wave of change swept the Maya world. What had been a collection of inward-looking city-states expanded their ties with their neighbors and other cultures and reached the heights of artistic achievement that define the Classic Maya period.New clues, unearthed from overgrown ruins and teased from newly deciphered texts, point to Fire Is Born as a central figure in this transformation.

Though fragmentary, the evidence that has emerged over the past decade suggests that this mysterious outsider remade the political leadership of the Maya world. Mixing diplomacy and force, he forged alliances, installed new dynasties, and spread the influence of the distant city-state he represented, the great metropolis of Teotihuacan near present-day Mexico City.

Sweet Good-Byes of Ancient Egypt-video

This video is for all who love Ancient Egypt. You can see them gently waving good-bye to each other in these Ancient Egyptian Tomb paintings. The Treasures are from King Tut and the beautiful paintings with green accents are from Cleopatra's Tomb.
Scroll down and turn off the Odeo Music Player before watching this video.

Sweet Good-Byes of Ancient Egypt-video

This video is for all who love Ancient Egypt. You can see them gently waving good-bye to each other in these Ancient Egyptian Tomb paintings. The Treasures are from King Tut and the beautiful paintings with green accents are from Cleopatra's Tomb.
Scroll down and turn off the Odeo Music Player before watching this video.

Ancient Egyptian Jewelry-Photos

The Egyptians wore regular clothes but always wore elaborate jewelry. The personal jewelry was worn for ornamention and to show how wealthy the person was. Some of the jewelry included earrings, bracelets, anklets, rings, and beaded necklaces. The gems the Egyptians put in the jewelry were garnet, onyx, turquoise, amethyst, and lapis lazuli. They also added copper, gold, and shells. Egyptians also wore necklaces of colorful beads and amulets. They thought that wearing jewelry brought good luck.

Jewelry was extremely popular throughout the history of the Egyptian nation. Excavations of tombs have shown that queens of Egypt were almost always buried with a multitude of jewelry to be used in the afterlife. The amount of jewelry worn by an individual often indicated their social position and level of wealth. Jeweled collars, such as the one depicted on the Nefertiti costume of the statue uncovered and now on display in Berlin, were very popular and usually made of very brightly colored gems. The clothing of Nefertiti was not displayed on the statue, save the headdress; however it is quite easy to imagine that her dress was just as elaborate and bejeweled. Rings, anklets and bracelets were also part of the normal ancient Egypt fashion. Earrings, even in ancient Egypt, were common among wealthy women.
Even the poor, who could not afford much, attempted to adorn themselves with as much jewelry as was possible. While not nearly as expensive, the jewelry of the commoner was usually very brightly colored and was constructed of materials such as pottery.

Ancient Egyptian Jewelry-Photos

The Egyptians wore regular clothes but always wore elaborate jewelry. The personal jewelry was worn for ornamention and to show how wealthy the person was. Some of the jewelry included earrings, bracelets, anklets, rings, and beaded necklaces. The gems the Egyptians put in the jewelry were garnet, onyx, turquoise, amethyst, and lapis lazuli. They also added copper, gold, and shells. Egyptians also wore necklaces of colorful beads and amulets. They thought that wearing jewelry brought good luck.

Jewelry was extremely popular throughout the history of the Egyptian nation. Excavations of tombs have shown that queens of Egypt were almost always buried with a multitude of jewelry to be used in the afterlife. The amount of jewelry worn by an individual often indicated their social position and level of wealth. Jeweled collars, such as the one depicted on the Nefertiti costume of the statue uncovered and now on display in Berlin, were very popular and usually made of very brightly colored gems. The clothing of Nefertiti was not displayed on the statue, save the headdress; however it is quite easy to imagine that her dress was just as elaborate and bejeweled. Rings, anklets and bracelets were also part of the normal ancient Egypt fashion. Earrings, even in ancient Egypt, were common among wealthy women.
Even the poor, who could not afford much, attempted to adorn themselves with as much jewelry as was possible. While not nearly as expensive, the jewelry of the commoner was usually very brightly colored and was constructed of materials such as pottery.