Religion
Short Teaching Module: Examining Early Genoese Voyages through Maps
The medieval Genoese ranged from China to the Atlantic, and their experience in navigation, the sugar industry, and the slave trade were the elemental foundation of Iberian colonial expansion.
Catalan Map of the World, c.1450
Dated to the mid-fifteenth century, this Catalan world map is over a meter in diameter on a sheet of vellum (high-quality parchment made of calfskin). Unlike many other surviving charts, this was not meant for practical navigation, though it was based on such nautical charts.
Calendar from Cham manuscript, early 20th century
An image of the Cham calendar from an early 20th century Cham manuscript. The column on the left and top row indicate measurements of months of the calendar drawn from the Islamic lunar calendar. Numerals written in Cham script in the middle are symbolic of the Cham Hindu solar calendar.
Ariya Cam Bini
Ariya Cam Bini is one of the few ariya that has little to no historical references in the poem. It is possible to deduce from the language of the poem and from the study of extant versions of the manuscript that its origins likely lie in the 19th century.
Short Teaching Module: Ariya Cam Bini, a 19th century Cham Poem
Ariya Cam Bini is a 19th–century epic poem written in the Austronesian Cham language of mainland Southeast Asia. The poem comes from the area called Pāṇḍuraṅga or Nâgar Cam, a pluralistic society in terms of culture, religion, and identity.
Short Teaching Module: Maya Writing
In the period from 200 to 900 C.E, which scholars later labelled the Classic Period, the Maya developed the most complex writing system in the Americas, a script with nearly a thousand characters (termed “glyphs”) that represent concepts and sounds, which over the last fifty years has been largel
Maya Deity-Face Jade Pendant, 7th-8th century
This small carved jade ornament, about 2 inches square, was most likely the central ornament on the paper headband of a Maya ruler.
Maya Vase with Mythological Scene, 7th-8th century
This drinking cup shows the aging Rain God Chank with a ceremonial ax in one hand and the other on a building that has split open.
Maya Monument with glyphs, 4th-9th centuries
This stone monument carved with glyphs comes from Tortuguero, a Maya archeological site in southernmost Tabasco, Mexico that has been badly damaged by development. The monument is in a museum in Tabasco, and the smaller fragment is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.
Mijikenda textiles
Words are historical ar