Ancient World Artifacts

“Artifacts of the Ancient World”

The great civilizations of India, China, Japan, Africa and Mesoamerica left behind artifacts that are preserved in museums across the world. The Art Institute Museum, in Chicago, carries artifacts from each one of these great civilizations. One artifact from each civilization can and does best represent each civilization. But lets see what artifact best describes the civilization of India. Present day India began on the Indus River in what is called the Indus Valley. This was one of the most powerful urban river civilizations in the ancient world. Around 2000 BCE a people called the Aryans came down from central Asia and moved into India. This period was called the Vedic period. “The Vedic period witnessed the formation of three of the four major enduring religions of India- Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism”. One particular artifact at the museum that best represents the peoples of India would have to be the “Stele with Buddhas and Tara.” This stele depicts the eight events of Buddha’s life. Not only does this artifact represent an entire religion, but it also helps to see into the beliefs of a people. The artifact is a stele of Buddha standing with one arms palm out, and the other arm down at its side. Like Egyptian art, there was a canon of
The reason the tipi curtain best represents the entire Mesoamerican and North American cultures, is because it depicts their animal of choice used for hunting and thus their means of survival. The tipi curtain also shows their means of transportation and how they would fight off enemies of the tribe. Though some Native Americans were hunters and gatherers, some Native American people settled down and built permanent towns made of mud brick. These were artifacts that were also left behind, but the tipi curtain best represents the American culture as an art piece, a cultural symbol, and a social