Turquoise: Did you mean...?

How the Hopi Indians Reached Their World is the creation story of the Native American Hopi nation (the Hopi tribe of Arizona) located today within the Navajo Nation reservation. The legend details the ascent of the Hopi from below the earth...

Traditional Lebanese handicrafts are considered to be a major sector of the living cultural heritage in the rural areas of Lebanon. Transmitted from one generation to another, traditional rural Lebanese handicrafts have been able to persist...

The Lycian Way follows over 540km (335 miles) of ancient roadways, mule tracks and shepherds' paths along one of Turkey's most remote and untouched coastlines. Theresa Thompson discovers the joys of following the trail and finding the ancient...

Ancient Mesoamerica (modern-day Mexico and Central America) witnessed an extraordinary flourishing of cultures from the beginnings of the Olmec civilization around 1200 BCE, through the Maya civilization and on to the catastrophic fall of...

The love of masks is one of the striking similarities across global cultures. In this gallery of images, we showcase 25 masks from world history. Very often made with precious materials such as gold, jade and turquoise, these finely-crafted...

An Aztec ceremonial knife with a cedarwood handle and flint blade. The figure of the handle is covered in turquoise and shell mosiac and represents an Aztec Eagle knight. 1400-1521 CE. (British Museum, London)

An 1868-9 oil on canvas painting, The Balcony, by Edouard Manet (1832-83), the French modernist painter. Manet liked intimate scenes with a very tight focus which presented sometimes more theatre than realism. Here, three figures stand, or...

The lighting of fires during the Aztec New Fire Ceremony of 1507, a ritual held every 52 years to ensure the continuation of the Sun. The priests carry fire bundles and wear turquoise masks in imitation of the fire god Xiuhtecuhtli, as do...

18th Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III (c. 1390-1352 BCE) Bronze or copper alloy, faience, glass, agate, carnelian, lapis lazuli, turquoise Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of the Egyptian king's principal duties was to defend and expand the borders of Egypt. This ivory label, once tied to a pair of sandals, depicts king Den smiting a foreigner from the east. Rock carvings of Den near the turquoise mines...