Symbols are fundamental to human cognition and communication, transcending time and culture. They serve as visual or conceptual representations that encapsulate complex ideas, beliefs, and values.

An analysis of ancient “nailed heads” from Spain found some local skulls, likely symbols of respect, and foreign ones, likely symbols of intimidation. Photo from the Autonomous University of Barcelona ...

When pictures surfaced of James Alex Fields Jr. and others carrying shields with fasces (a bundle of rods or sticks) emblazoned on them at the Charlottesville protests, historians took note. But they ...

Depiction of a relief from Khorsabad, the Assyrian capital during the time of Sargon II. For roughly two centuries, from ca. 900 -- 700 BCE, the Near Eastern empires of Neo-Assyria and Urartu ...

Cylinder seals from Ur, c. 2450 BC, Penn Museum, Philadelphia, USA In the first article of this series, I provided a brief historical overview of the Neo-Assyrian, Urartian, and Achaemenid empires, ...