If you’re interested in ancient art, be sure to check out the Google Art Project. With access to high-resolution images of works of art from over forty museums from around the world, this is a fantastic free resource. Recently, the Google Art Project has been incorporating works of ancient African art and sculpture to their online library: allAfrica.com reports that Google has agreed to work with the Rock Art Research Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa and with the South African National Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa. Please click here for more information.

At the Ancient History Encyclopedia, we like providing you with the latest information pertaining to exhibitions of interest to the scholar and enthusiast alike. Here are some new exhibitions to make note of: Mummies of the World: The Exhibition makes its Florida debut at the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI), in Tampa, Florida USA, on Friday, April 27 and will remain on display until September 2012. This exhibition features an impressive collection of mummies from Asia, Oceania, South America, Europe, as well as ancient Egypt, some dating back almost 7.000 years. This exhibition of mummies and related artifacts is the largest ever assembled in the world. The Sanctuaries of Demeter and Persephone at Morgantina has just opened at the Getty Villa Museum, in Los Angeles, California USA. This exhibition features over thirty-five Greek objects, from Sicily, which will be on display until January 21, 2013. The artifacts date from the 4th to the 2nd centuries BCE and are exquisite in their ornamentation. 2012 is going to be a big year for the United Kingdom …

The Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace), also called the “Ara Pacis,” is a famous Roman monument housed in the Museo dell’Ara Pacis, in Rome, Italy. Built between 13-9 BCE, it is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful of all Roman monuments. Here, you can view high-resolution beautiful images and access 3-D models of what the Ara Pacis looked like during Rome’s apogee. The website, created by professors of Reed College in the United States, is a great resource and is available in English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. Take your pick and enjoy!

We wanted to inform our contributors and visitors from the UK that an exciting exhibition has just opened at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth, UK.  2012 BC: Cornwall and the Sea in the Bronze Age is a special exhibition which traces Cornish mining, trading, and maritime exchange with Bronze Age Europe. Among the highlights are the lovely Nebra Sky Disc, one of the oldest representations of the cosmos ever found in Europe, and a reconstructed ancient ship. Please click here to read more about this exhibition from Culture24.

The BBC is reporting that a team of archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of several prehistoric structures on the remote Skmore Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. Better known for its diverse flora and fauna, Skmore Island is now believed to have been inhabited around 5.000 years ago. Please click here to read the article in its entirety.

The New York Times ran an article on the ancient Chinese ziqi today. The instrument is making something of a comeback in contemporary China and dates from the Waring States Period (c. 600 BCE). Please click here to learn more about its revival in relation to renewed interest in traditional Chinese culture.

At the Ancient History Encyclopedia, we like to introduce our users and contributors to other organizations and institutions which provide assistance in the study and preservation of the ancient past. One such organization is Archaeology Southwest. This is a private nonprofit which aims to increase public awareness in the rich past of the ancient cultures of the American Southwest and Northeast Mexico. Based in the United States, Archaeology Southwest is committed to the creation of research initiatives designed to protect artifacts and heritage sites alike. Be sure to check out their homepage and beautiful magazine–Archaeology Southwest Magazine–too!

Teachers or instructors might be interested in accessing images of the ancient world from the New York Public Library’s Picture Collection. With over 1.700 images covering a range of subjects from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and other cultures around the Mediterranean, this is a great resource for the classroom. All the images were rendered or conceived by artists, scholars, and travelers from the early 18th century until the 20th century, and include rare periodical illustrations, lithographs, photographs, paintings, and engravings. Please click here to access the link and database.

For several decades, scholars and archaeologists have debated what caused the decline and collapse of the Classical Maya (c. 250-900 CE). Most content that it was a combination of agricultural mismanagement and environmental changes, which doomed the city-states of the formidable Maya. MSNBC published this article last month, which suggested that changes in religious rites also could have played a decisive role in the Maya’s decline. Please click here to access the article.

Rock art is both ubiquitous and mysterious: it exists on every continent except Antarctica, yet remains largely enigmatic. With advances in neuroscience and with the aid of medical imaging technology, scholars are now beginning to unravel the mysterious of rock art design and purpose. What has been uncovered is likely to both shock and surprise you. Click here to read this recently featured article, from Cosmos Magazine, in order to learn more.