Ancient World
Sanxingdui: The Mysterious Bronze Masks of Ancient Sichuan
The finds revealed an independent Bronze Age civilisation in the Sichuan Basin, distinct from but in contact with the Shang of the Yellow River valley.
Region
Asia
Ancient World
Trojan War: History, Archaeology and the Legend of Troy
Troy was a real and important Bronze Age city destroyed more than once, but whether a war like Homer's took place remains unproven.
Ancient World
Battle of Muye (1046 BC): The Zhou Conquest of the Shang
Decisive Zhou victory; the Shang dynasty fell, Di Xin died, and the Zhou dynasty was founded.
Ancient World
Duke of Zhou: The Regent Who Secured the Zhou Dynasty in China
The Duke of Zhou defeated the rebellion, extended Zhou rule over the east and handed power back to King Cheng, consolidating the new dynasty.
Ancient World
Arzhan Kurgans: Early Scythian Royal Tombs in Tuva, Siberia
The Arzhan mounds showed that the Scythian royal burial tradition and animal-style art were already developed in southern Siberia by the 9th-7th centuries BC.
Ancient World
Sulba Sutras: Vedic Geometry and Altar Building in India
The oldest surviving Indian geometry texts, recording exact rules for building altars, the Pythagorean relation and a very accurate value for the square root of 2.
Ancient World
Upanishads: Origins of Ancient Indian Philosophy and Brahman
The Upanishads introduced the ideas of brahman, atman, karma, rebirth and liberation that became central to Hindu philosophy and shaped Buddhism and Jainism.
Ancient World
Fall of the Western Zhou (771 BC): King You and the Move East
King You was killed and the western capital lost; the Zhou court re-formed at Luoyi in the east, beginning the Eastern Zhou and a long decline of royal power.
Ancient World
Guan Zhong and Duke Huan of Qi: The First Hegemon of China
Qi became the dominant state of the early Spring and Autumn period, and Duke Huan was recognised as the first ba, or hegemon, leading the Zhou states.
Ancient World
Battle of Chengpu (632 BC): Jin Checks the Rise of Chu
Jin and its allies defeated Chu; Duke Wen of Jin was recognised by the Zhou king as hegemon and Chu's advance into the northern states was halted.
Ancient World
Sushruta Samhita: Ancient Indian Surgery and Early Rhinoplasty
Became the leading surgical text of Ayurveda and the source of the Indian method of nose reconstruction that influenced modern plastic surgery.
Ancient World
Mahajanapadas: The Sixteen Great Kingdoms of Ancient India
Rival states of the Gangetic plain were absorbed one by one into Magadha, which grew into the first large empire of northern India.