New 3D method maps Paleolithic engravings at Cova Matutano Researchers from Universitat Jaume I, the University of Barcelona, and ICREA tested a digital method to study very fine engravings on Late Paleolithic portable art... More information: archaeologymag.com/2026/02/pale... #archaeology

I've added a compelling frieze showing distressed bodies from Vichama in Peru. That's a late Caral Culture site perhaps occupied after the abandonment of Caral itself. Thumbnail image is from linked JAS (paywalled) article. Two additional entries from site also in GAERHF. gaerhf.org#famine-friez...

↓↓↓ *** APRIL 21st *** ↓↓↓ not the 1st. Sorry about that. -S.

On April 1st, 2026 at 5PM (Eastern time), I'll lead an @isawnyu.bsky.social "Expanding the Ancient World Workshop" titled "Digital Approaches to Global Art History: The Example of the Human Figure" and on topic of using GAERHF in teaching. isaw.nyu.edu/events/etaw-... to register. #GlobalAntiquity

As follow up: Schroda Male figurine now in GAERHF. gaerhf.org#male-anthrop... . At least on a preliminary basis.

The southern African "Lydenburg Heads" (C. 500 CE) are now in GAERHF. Along with the "Luzira Head" (C. 1000 CE ??) from Uganda. See gaerhf.org#lydenburg-he... & gaerhf.org#luzira-head . I'm looking for a good landing page and pic for figurines from Schroda. artsandculture.google.com/asset/schrod...

The concept "Behavioral Modernity" is generally of interest to GAERHF. Though not as a "meme" just to be accepted. Here's a 2025 thematic issue of "Biological Theory" under title "Behavioral Modernity: Reframing the Idea, or Past its Use-By Date?" ed. Kim Sterelny. link.springer.com/collections/...

How old is the rock art in Texas’ Lower Pecos Canyonlands? New radiocarbon dating sets it as far back as 6,000 years ago. Archaeologists think the images of animal- and human-like figures represent a sophisticated cosmology. archaeology.org/news/2025/12/02/new-dates-obtained-for-texas-rock-art/

More excavation results from SE Turkey. A head carved at the base of Pre Pottery Neolithic T-Column installation. gaerhf.org#head-base-pi... . Türkiye Today article has great pics.

Now in GAERHF: gaerhf.org#platform-hea... . Along with a fair amount of other regional PPNA and PPNB +/-figures.

Interesting find. www.turkiyetoday.com/culture/8500... And yes, expanding the narrative of human creativity to more sites is useful.

Ongoing interface and content work for GAERHF. Pic shows hovering over thumbnail for bigger image. And shows that I'm pasting in text from linked websites. I'm open to many sources. Text here is translation of inscription that dates figure as found on Wiki Commons. gaerhf.org#mankuwar-bud...

Join us online or in person for a talk from MAHSA’s Vaneshree Vidyarthi: ‘Mapping the Indian Palaeolithic’, part of the London Centre for the Ancient Near East’s Autumn seminar series. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lcane-autu...

GAERHF talk happening November 25th at 5PM in London. "Deep Time and Global Scope in a Digital Project: The example of the Human Figure" www.history.ac.uk/digital-huma... . It will be on Zoom as well. Link will be sent after registration (I think).

Working on color palette for GAERHF that's more likely to be discernible by more people. The light-ish purple circle on map is current figure whose details are shown. Brown marker borders show which figures have "ivory" as a keyword. Input at top-left to select that. gaerhf.org#ivory-female...

"Keyword Highlighting" in GAERHF more robust. Type "go" in top-left input field and you'll see options. Hover over options and relevant figures will be highlighted with green border. Click on a keyword and those markers will stay green. Current selected object is gaerhf.org#bimaran-casket

Interface improvement: When you hover over the image in the top pane, it expands. Definitely makes it easier to see detail. Try the so-called "Peedie Pict" from Orkney: gaerhf.org#figure-carve...

HTML, CSS, and JS cleanup in GAERHF. And honestly, VS Code's Copilot a huge help! I was pretty much vibe coding. Image works better, layout less clobber its various parts, try control-shift-L to change the color scheme of markers. A slider shows/hides. Figure is gaerhf.org#head-shaped-... .

The "Museo delle Statue Stele Lunigianesi" website is very nice. Here's a link to "Classification". Click through to pages with individual examples. And click around the entire site. It's well done. I'd like to visit! statuestele.org/stele-statue...

There are now 500 figures in GAERHF. And counting... Long way to go before it's anything like comprehensive. This face from Argentina captures my mood as I think about where this all will end up. gaerhf.org#condorhuasi-... (Pic of Mask from Met Museum, Public Domain.)

Semi-functional UI development: "Keyword Highlighting". See pic. There's a small textbox at top left with "Gold". Green rings are figures with that keyword. I've clicked on a S. American beaker, highlighted in red, details in top pane. Pop-up is on hover over green marker. gaerhf.org#beaker-figur...

A new "human figure" related article: N. Sugiyama, K. Taube, S. Sugiyama, & A.T. Muñoz. 2025. "Carved monuments from Cerro Patlachique in the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico" www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/c... (Many figurines and masks illustrated in the article.) #paywall

I'm working on a substantial UI update for GAERHF. Pic shows detail for a figure in Yemen, mouse is hovering over a figure across Red Sea, and a small gallery of all figures on screen is at bottom of page. Works best slightly zoomed in. Otherwise gallery too big. Try it at gaerhf.org#qatabanian-c...

Quick note that I've added this Parthian "lute player" and that I'm happy to admit that I hadn't known that there is a series of Parthian musical figurines. See the linked wiki page for another example. gaerhf.org#parthian-lut... #AncientMusic

I'm working on an improvement to the GAERHF user experience. Links such as gaerhf.org#standing-fem... will highlight the location in red and maintain that highlight as you hover over other figures. Big picture: The spatial and temporal context of any one figure can be explored in relation to others.

I'm not going to include the "Nine Maidens" stone circle in GAERHF. It is a useful illustration of our willingness to find – to project – evocations of the human form in many contexts. No doubt a relatively recent name, which is on point. (P.s. Here's wiki page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Ma... )

First go at getting some Scandinavian and Icelandic "Viking Period" figures into GAERHF. 1: Female Sword Bearer from Hårby. C. 800. gaerhf.org#female-sword... #ArtHistory #GlobalArtHistory

Overlapping conceptions of the human form from Malta and Sardinia. I don't mean that as any formal "Art Historical" statement. Just allowing for overlap in the Central Mediterranean. And beyond. 1: Bonu Ighinu Statuette from Sardiina (C. 4500 BCE) gaerhf.org#bonu-ighinu-... ... 🧵

Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered an 11,000-year-old carved face at Karahan Tepe, offering new insight into early human expression and symbolism. buff.ly/JbuYz8k

There are now 450 entries in GAERHF. So I made a video of scrolling through the "List" view. And paused to click on a few along the way. That was a bit random. This all neither here nor there yet. Much work to do! I had to compress it a bit to get under 100 mb. #GlobalAntiquity #GlobalDH gaerhf.org

GAERHF is beginning - though only that! - to capture the range and time depth of representations of human figures from the Arabian Peninsula. Here's a thread in chronological order of what's been entered so far. With more lined up... #GlobalAntiquity #Arabia

Early Holocene human figure petroglyph from Saudi Arabia published in recent article www.nature.com/articles/s41... . Now in GAERHF at gaerhf.org#human-figure... .

Many cultures produced so-called "Face Pots". And why not? Using colloquial language, a fairly natural combo. I've just added this piece from the Swat Region in Pakistan and of the "Gandhara Grave Culture". 1200 to 800 BCE. (Piece in Los Angeles, click thru for more info.) gaerhf.org#gandhara-gra...

These reactions to contemporary portraits are broadly relevant to GAERHF: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/a...

Interesting job description, "Assistant Professor, Global Ancient Art, Architecture, Material Culture": arthist.net/archive/50717

Bibliographic note for upcoming data entry: Aurel Rustoiu. 2012. "The Ceramic Human Head from Deta Timiş County. About the La Tène Vessels with Anthropomorphic Decoration from the Carpathian Basin" ANALELE BANATULUI, S.N., ARHEOLOGIE – ISTORIE, XX. Online at: analelebanatului.ro/en/view-arti...

And now pleased to have in hand a reprint of N. Morss. (1964). “Clay Figurines of the American Southwest”. Need to go through it. The plate shows possible c. 1000 BCE - 500 CE “Basket Maker II” figurines. That’s rough chronology!! Details to come??

I can’t claim to have read every word yet, but was happy to see “The Colossal Statue of Shapur I in the Context of Sasanian Sculptures” came via ILL. Waiting for me over summer. Quick scan suggests it’s well titled. -S.

10400 BCE! Yikes. How'd I cut those two characters out?!? Those 10,000 years. -S.

GAERHF isn't strong on Pre-Pottery Neolithic yet. Think Gobekli Tepe. I've wanted to ease into that well-represented period. To give it context. I've now added a bowl from Körtik Tepe (c. 400 BCE to 9250 BCE so a hint early). With an anthropomorphic figure. gaerhf.org#stone-bowl-h... More coming...

The so-called "Redhorn Panel" from Picture Cave in Missouri (c. 10th Century CE) now in GAERHF. With a link to the Internet Archive for discussion (you may need to be logged in to see that page??). gaerhf.org#redhorn-pane... And the cluster of Adena->Hopewell->Mississippian figures is growing.

Dipping into past and recent bibliography on North American Middle Woodland (C. 200 BCE – 500 CE) figurines. E.g., 1945's "Painted Pottery Figurines from Illinois" doi.org/10.2307/275132 & 2024's "Settling down with anthropomorphic clay figurines in eastern North America" doi.org/10.3389/fhum... .

Niels, a very late reply that here's another interesting story of disappearance and return: traffickingculture.org/encyclopedia... . See "An anonymous delivery". One of many such stories, of course. But perhaps of interest. -Sebastian

This Maya ceramic figurine dating to ca. 700–500 B.C. was found in the Puuc region of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, and is the only such Preclassic statuette from the area. archaeology.org/issues/july-august-2025/artifacts/maya-ceramic-figurine/

Ancient stone carvings depicting humans and abstract forms uncovered on Hawaiian beach www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/08/08/a...

Added the Phaistos Disk - with signs including ‘pedestrian’, ‘plumed head’, 'tattooed head’, ‘captive’, ‘child’, and ‘woman’ - to GAERHF. gaerhf.org#phaistos-disk (This comes after an unintended break.)

Added this Gallo-Roman figurine, an ex-voto dedication associated with the temple in Forêt d'Halatte, not too far from Paris. It's part of a large group. This piece might represent a pregnant person? Or some malady? Interesting either way. gaerhf.org#figurine-tem... See next post for more links. 1/2

Two Iberian stone chalcolithic/bronze-age so-called "Idols" added to GAERHF: gaerhf.org#idol-garrovi... & gaerhf.org#idol-ciudad-... .

A few military helmets and visors in the form of human heads and/or faces have been added to GAERHF. Here's a thread. 1: Emesa Helmet. gaerhf.org#emesa-helmet... #ArtHistory