The "lararium" in ancient Rome was a small domestic sanctuary in which offerings and prayers were made to the lares, the protective spirits of deceased ancestors, who watched over the proper functioning of the family and home. It could be located in different spaces of the houses, for example in the atrium (main courtyard of well-to-do Roman dwellings); in the most humble, which did not have it, it could often be placed in the kitchen, near the central fire. There could be more than one larario in the house. Each family worshiped their tutelary gods with offerings and daily rituals. If they were not carried out, they believed that they were exposed to various misfortunes. Family relics were also kept in the larario. The offerings were varied, but mainly flowers to decorate it, wine, incense, cereals, honey, perfumes, fruits, cakes or animal sacrifices. The master of the house dedicates a prayer: "May this home be for us a source of goods, a blessing of happiness and good luck." (Plautus)

Board game uncovered at the Palace of Knossos, Minoan, 1700-1500 BC

from The Heraklion Museum, Crete

Proof of Minoa Transgender

Tumba Ramsés V y Ramsés VI (Dinastía XX) Valle de los Reyes. Egipto

Cave paintings from Magura Cave, Bulgaria, estimated to be around 10k-8k years old depicting animals and people, hunting, ritual dances, and deities

Thinking about the Sarcophagus of the Spouses again

Minoan household shrine discovered at the archaeological site of Hagia Triada, Greece. 1600-1450 BC.

Ram in the Thicket

Iraq, 2450 BCE

Gold swivel ring depicting Isis and Horus, Ptolemaic Egypt, 330-30 BC

from The Art Institute of Chicago

Y'all ever feel like Terracotta mask in the shape of the head of a fox, dog, or bat ca. 600–480 BCE?

i made terracotta mask in the shape of the head of a fox, dog, or bat ca. 600–480 BCE in spore [2008]

This really brought Terracotta mask in the shape of the head of a fox, dog, or bat ca. 600–480 BCE to life!

Etruscan duck-shaped askoi (sort of a flask), created in the period around 350-325 BC in Clusium (today's Chiusi).

Bronze incense burner in the form of a peacock, Seljuk Empire, 12th-13th century

from The Brooklyn Museum of Art

Portrait of Queen Tiye

This small portrait of Queen Tiye was probably produced in the last years of rule of her husband because the queen is shown at an advanced age.

The artist produced a realistic face which captures the personality of Tiye: Intelligent, determined and assertive, all qualities which are also evident through historic-literary sources.

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III, ca. 1391-1353 BC. From Medinet el-Gurob. Now in the Neues Museum, Berlin. ÄM 21834, ÄM 17852

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This plush bird was sealed within the frozen barrows of Pazyryk, Siberia, for more than two millennia, where a unique microclimate enabled it to be preserved. The permafrost ice lense formation that runs below the barrows provided an insulating layer, preventing the soil from heating during the summer and allowing it to quickly freeze during the winter; these conditions produced a separate microclimate within the stone walls of the barrows themselves, thereby aiding in the preservation of the artifacts inside.

This is just one of the many well-preserved artifacts that have been found at Pazyryk. These artifacts are attributed to the Scythian/Altaic cultures.

Currently housed at the Hermitage Museum.

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This is a spreadsheet from Old Kingdom Egypt, written about 4500 years ago. It was part of the diary and logbook of Merer, an inspector responsible for the transportation of materials to Giza for the construction of Khufu's pyramid. There's something beautiful about the organization here, how his rows and columns would fit in just as well in Excel as any modern spreadsheet of delivery records. Across the yawning gulf of ages, we're united by this mundane and incredibly human task. I love reading things like this. They remind me of the fundamental similarity of humans across time. They were no less intelligent or skilled than we, and oftentimes had to be moreso, to account for the many technological aids they lacked.

I often hear people talk about how showing a smartphone to a medieval peasant would shock him, but I want to show Merer Excel. I think pivot tables would make him cry tears of joy.

Statuette (copper alloy) of the composite Greco-Egyptian deity Serapis Amun Agathodaimon.

1st cent. BCE/CE (late Hellenistic or early Imperial).

From Egypt; now in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece.