If you could predict the future, would you share your knowledge? In 1933, the archeologist André Parrot uncovered 32 clay tablets shaped like sheep's livers. They document the practice of hepatoscopy, a form of divination where abnormalities in the livers of sacrificed animals were used to foretell coming events. And in the case of this liver, the future was looking grim indeed.

Jade cong are among the most enimatic Neolithic artefacts. Cong are found ringed around bodies found in China's Liangzhu grave sites. No language remains from the Liangzhu culture, so we don't know what meaning the cong had — but if you look closely, each outer edge is inscribed with rows of stylized faces.

It's hard to overstate the incredible clarity and beauty of traditional Arabic calligraphy. Calligraphy was and is a major element of Islamic design, found on household objects, weapons and armor, and embedded in architecture. Calligraphy, like Egyptian heiroglyphics, was used as both art and communication.