Browse Primary Sources

Locate primary sources, including images, objects, media, and texts. Annotations by scholars contextualize sources.

A large, earthen mound covered in grass set against a blue sky. The mound has stairs with people using them.

Poverty Point in Louisiana, United States

Poverty Point is a prehistoric earthenwork site featuring mounds, ridges, and a ceremonial plaza located in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The mounds and ridges on the site were constructed between the period of 1700 and 1100 BCE during the Late Archaic period and is the largest and most complex archaeological site from that time period.

A stone monument with two stones acting as posts and a third stone sitting vertically atop the others. The monument sits on grass and there are trees seen in the background.

Ha’amonga ‘a Maui in Tonga

Ha’amonga ‘a Maui is a stone trilithon located on the island of Tongatapu in Tonga. A stone trilithon is a stone monument with two large vertical stones acting as a post for the third stone set horizontally across the top.

A light-colored limestone altar. The altar is round and has glyph blocks in the center that are word and faded. Two cracks are on the altar but have had repairs lessening the lines.

Altar from the Classic Maya Period

This limestone altar was created by the Maya culture sometime between 300 and 900 CE and found in Belize in Central America. The altar is round and was carved with twenty glyph blocks on top, which are now faded and display cracks but also attempts at repairs. The altar is around 5 inches tall, 20 inches wide, and 20 inches deep (13.6 cm, 51.5 cm, 52.50 cm).

A large, earthen mound covered in grass set against a blue sky. The mound has stairs with people using them.

The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is an archaeological site of a pre-Columbian Native American city located in southwestern Illinois, near St. Louis, Missouri. The original name is unknown, and the site is named for the Cahokia tribe, a historic people that were living in the region in the 17th century when Europeans first arrived.

A tan colored tunic stretched to show the height and width. The tunic has a simple slit for the neck, a red and brown geometric design along the chest, and red embroidery along the hem.

Inca Miniature Tunic

This cotton and camelid hair tunic dates from the 14th-16th century CE in Peru, and was simply constructed from a rectangle of fabric, with a slit for the neck and open sides for the arms. The is a red square/rectangular geometric design on the chest and red embroidery along the hem, similar to other Inca designs.

Islands under the sphere of Tongan influence in Oceania. The islands are green and the background is blue to represent the water. The screenshot is cropped to focus on the islands in the northwest of the empire.

Tu'i Tonga Empire Map

The Tu’i Tonga Empire was an Oceanic maritime chiefdom centered on the island of Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga, and flourished between 1200-1500 CE. The empire arose when Samoa’s Tui Manu’a empire declined around 950s CE, when, according to oral tradition, ‘Aho’eitu, the son of a god and human woman, was the first leader of the empire and began expanding.

A large canoe with wooden rows and red detailing. The canoe sits amidst a museum with items from the collection surrounding it.

Te Paranihi, or Maori War Canoe

Te Paranihi is a 17-meter (55 feet) war canoe, or waka taua, from the Maori culture indigenous to New Zealand. Waka means ‘canoe’ and taua means ‘army’ or ‘war party,’ and these vessels were designed specifically for combat, unlike smaller, less ornamented canoes simply called waka used primarily for fishing.

A map centered on Oceania with the three dominant cultures highlighted. The Micronesia in the top left is pink, Melanesia is under Micronesia and labeled blue.

Pacific Culture Areas Map

This map illustrates the three dominant cultures in Oceania, Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia, and which islands occupy each region. This map successfully highlights the number of island nations/cultures and the overall size of Oceania. This easy-to-read map would be useful for students to study an oft-forgotten region.

A blue, circular icon with an image of a document in the center. Underneath are the words "view document"

Polynesian Oral Traditions

This collection compiled by Rawiri Taonui, a professor of Indigenous Studies, includes creation myths and stories about gods, the origin of humanity, and cultural heroes for several Polynesian cultures, such as Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, and numerous others.

A moai head with distinctively large nose and lips, rectangular ears, and a large forehead.

Moai on Easter Island

The Moai are large statues on Easter Island in Oceania, known for their distinctive head and facial features. The moai were created by the Rapa Nui people likely between 1250 and 1600 CE. The moai have distinctively large heads and disproportionately small bodies and are often called the “Easter Island Heads,” despite most having bodies.

The edge of a counter with a man's shoulder and lettering in detail.

Early Modern Counter

An early modern counter of the "Reichenmaster" style, with one side showing a picture of a man using a counting board and the other side showing the alphabet. These counters were used in classrooms to teach students both to read and perform basic arithmetic.

A woven textile with A closeup of a woven textile featuring a figure that may be a human-animal hybrid. He wears red and blue clothing, dark colored sandals, and has a golden-colored headpiece.

Coca Bag

This coca bag is from the Moche culture that existed in Peru between the period of 100 to 700 AD. The Moche are known for their ceramics, textiles, and metalworking practices, and this bag demonstrates the skill of Moche weavers. This coca bag dates from the 5th-7th century, and was woven from cotton and the hair of a camelid.

A sandstone featuring Meroitic hieroglyphs in three columns.

Meroitic Script

The Meroitic Script was used in the Kingdom of Kush beginning in the 3rd Century BCE, or the Meroitic Period, and had two forms, Meroitic Cursive and Meroitic hieroglyphs. There were 23 letters with four vowels in the Meroitic alphasyllabary (an alphabet where consonant/vowel units are written together).

A green background with counters on a counting board and pen and paper math.

Division with an Early Modern Counting Board

Before the rise of literacy rates, counting boards such as the one featured in the video were the most common way to perform arithmetic. After pen-and-paper arithmetic replaced counting boards, Arabic numerals also became dominant throughout Europe. 

A green background with counters on a counter board.

Multiplication with an Early Modern Counting Board

Before the rise of literacy rates, counting boards such as the one featured in the video were the most common way to perform arithmetic. After pen-and-paper arithmetic replaced counting boards, Arabic numerals also became dominant throughout Europe. 

A man sits in front of a counting board with a pile of counters in front of him and a counter in one hand.

Engraving of a Rechentisch (Counting Board)

This image of an engraving depicts a man using a rechentisch, or counting board, the earliest known counting device and a precursor the abacus. The earliest known counting board is the Salamis Tablet, dating from 300 BCE, but may have been used more for gaming than for calculating. There are few surviving counting boards due to the materials used for construction and their use in daily life.

A terracotta sculpture of a male figure with defined facial features, a hairstyle with multiple buns and caps over the ears, and numerous necklaces and other jewelry.

Nok Terracotta Sculptures

Nok terracotta sculptures are the earliest-known sculptures from sub-Saharan Africa, created by the Nok culture of which little is known except their ironworking and terracotta sculptures that flourished circa 1500 BCE to 1 BCE. The sculptures are figurative, with the heads or figures of humans represented, as well as animals, each unique.

Stepped platforms made from tan-colored adobe bricks located on the plaza at Huaca Pucllana

Huaca Pucllana, Ancient Pyramid in Peru

Huaca Pucllana is a pyramid site built around 500 AD by the Lima culture of Peru. The pyramid was built with seven platforms made from adobe bricks and is around 82 feet (25 meters) high, and has a plaza surrounding it. The pyramid was a site of ceremonial and religious power.

The well-known portrait vessel called Huaco Retrato Mochica, which depicts a man's head wearing a turban with red detailing and a two headed bird on either side.

Moche Portrait Vessels

Moche portrait vessels are ceramic vessels that often featured only heads, but some also have full human bodies as well, and most are representations of adult men. The Moche existed in Peru between the period of 100 to 700 AD and are known for their ceramics, textiles, and metalworking practices, and these portrait vessels demonstrate the ceramic skill of the culture.

Cave painting with red paint outlining hands.

Cueva de los Manos, Rio Pinturas

Cueva de las Manos, Rio Pinturas is an archealogical site and World Heritage Site in Argentina that features cave art and rock are that dates to around 9500 to 13000 years old. The site is significant for its well-preserved depictions of art that features animals, hunting scense, and human figures, as well as outlined hands painted on the walls that the name comes from.