Religion
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
Short Teaching Module: Precolonial Kenya, a Small-Scale History
World historians like to focus on large-scale interactions between d
The Miracles of Sainte Foy, Bernard of Angers, c. 1013–1020
In 1013, Bernard of Angers visited the relics of Sainte Foy at the abbey of Conques, in southern France. Initially skeptical of the cult which had formed around this little girl martyr, Bernard nonetheless fell under her spell.
Theophilus, On Diverse Arts (De diversis artibus), c. 1120
Theophilus’ De diversis artibus is the only complete treatise on art to survive from the High Middle Ages.
Bernard of Clairvaux, Apology (Apologia), 1125
Bernard of Clairvaux was abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Clairvaux, in Burgundy, France, and a well-known preacher who travelled widely and was involved with many of the most pressing issues of his day, from papal power to the Crusades.
Abbot Suger, On What Was Done In His Administration (De administratione), 1144–1148
In the later 1140s, Abbot Suger of the Royal Abbey of Saint Denis, outside Paris, wrote an account of his extensive project to rebuild and redecorate his abbey church.