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Ancient Geography of India
The first text in Greek devoted entirely to India was written by Ctesias in the fourth century BCE. Only fragments of it survive. Yet he was probably the most widely quoted author on India, although Aristotle treated him with contempt. However...
Definition
Claudius Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (c. 100 to c. 170 CE) was an Alexandrian mathematician, astronomer, and geographer. His works survived antiquity and the Middle Ages intact, and his theories, particularly on a geocentric model of the universe with planets...
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Ancient Jordan
Jordan is a country in the Near East bordered by Israel, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia which was part of the Land of Canaan in ancient times. The country is named for the River Jordan which flows between modern-day Jordan and Israel and whose...
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A Gallery of Historical Maps
This gallery of 30 maps traces the history of cartography, with examples of maps made by cultures from the Paleolithic to the early modern period. The maps cover cities, states, continents, sometimes the entire world as it was known at the...
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Two-Headed Statue from Ain Ghazal
This two-headed statue (upper torso) was made of lime plaster, reed, and bitumen and was found in modern-day Ain Ghazal city in the outskirt of Amman, Jordan Hashemite Kingdom. Between 1983-1985 CE, 15 statues and 15 busts made of lime plaster...
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Statue from Ain Ghazal
This statue (upper torso) was made of lime plaster, reed, and bitumen and was found in modern-day Ain Ghazal city in the outskirts of Amman, Jordan Hashemite Kingdom. Between 1983-1985 CE, 15 statues and 15 busts made of lime plaster and...
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Oldest Large-Scale Slab in the Levant
This is a stone slab incised with a repeated array of concentric irregular squares. A line of 3 slabs bearing this decoration was found in a wall inside "Structure 2" at Wadi al-Hammeh 27. They were supported by a backing of rubble, with...
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Nabataean Relief Sculpture of Atargatis
This stone sculpture of Atargatis (Ataratheh), the Syrian goddess of fertility in Classical Antiquity, once decorated the entrance of a Nabataean temple in modern-day southern Jordan. The Nabataeans were a prosperous people who built a wealthy...
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Decorated Pottery Jar from Abu Hamid
This type is similar to the ones used for infant burials, but this one is painted with red strips using iron oxide (hematite), material already known during the Neolithic period for coloring plaster. The Jar was carefully made on a straw...
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Pottery Figurine from Tell al-Sa'idiyya
This is the upper half of a female figurine. Her facial features, hair, and necklace were carefully made in spite of being small in size. The breasts are prominent. Late Bronze Age, 1550-1200 BCE. From Tell al-Sa'idiyya, Jordan Valley, Jordan...