For millennia, humans have been making things, breaking things, and burying them in the ground. And over the past few centuries, archaeologists have been digging them up. Thanks to their work, we can travel the world's museums and marvel at some of the oldest objects ever found.

There's nothing quite like the feeling of a human connection across history, and there's nothing quite like being delivered the wrong grade of copper. At the British Museum you can see a 4000 year old complaint from one ancient Babylonian merchant to another.

It reads: "Tell Ea-Nasir: Nanni sends the following message: When you came, you said to me: "I will give fine quality copper ingots." You left, but you did not do what you promised me. You put ingots which were not good before my messenger…"

And in a room nearby, you can find one of the earliest mentions of beer. This clay cuneiform tablet was made around 3100–3000BCE in southern Iraq, known as Mesopotamia, and the text records how much beer was given to workers as part of their daily rations.

The oldest surviving wheel in the world is now kept in the City Museum Ljubljana, Slovenia, after being discovered in a marsh near the town of Vrhnika. We know it would have belonged to a two-wheeled cart, as it was found complete with its axle.

Çatalhöyük is believed to be one of the oldest settlements in human history. It dates to a time before civilisation as we know it: before writing, cities, or even agriculture. There were no temples or palaces. It seems the people here lived in unparalleled social equality.

This modern recreation of one of the Çatalhöyük homes shows how sparse and simple these little dwellings were. Each house had a simple oven, storage space, and bed platform made from clay, and was accessed from the roof by a ladder.

The remains of five bows dating to the Mesolithic era were discovered at Holmegårds Mose, Denmark, and are now held at the National Museum. By modern standards, the designs are simple and ineffective but unbelievably they would have been used to bring down enormous wild aurochs.

The curious stone structures of Göbekli Tepe, Turkey, have baffled archaeologists ever since they were uncovered in 1994. At the time, nobody expected to find megalithic monuments dating to a time before the existence of cities. This discovery has rewritten the history books.

The small German town of Blaubeuren is home to the oldest known human figurine. The enigmatic 'Venus of Hohle Fels' was discovered in 2008 in a cave in nearby Schelklingen, and is dated to between 28,000 and 33,000 years old.

The statue is small, only a few centimetres, and made of mammoth ivory. It depicts an exaggerated female body, with large buttocks, breasts, and prominent genitals. Similar figures are found across central Europe, and are believed to represent a shared matriarchal culture.

Even older than the Venus of Hohle Fels is this, the so-called Lion-Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel. Interestingly, this was found not far from the Venus, but dates to nearly 5000 years previously, showing that complex cultures have inhabited the area for an unimaginably long time.

At 3.3 million years old, tools unearthed at Lomekwi are the oldest stone tools ever discovered - older than humanity itself. The tools were used by an unknown and extinct, but advanced, species of hominin. They're now held at the National Museum of Nairobi.

Look up to the heavens on most any night and you'll see the same moon our ancestors saw, still casting its glow down on us. In fact, due to tidal forces, we even see the same side of the moon all the time!

From ancient Egyptian deities to walking on the moon's surface, humanity's fascination with our satellite pervades cultures around the world. Scroll to see perspectives of the moon from throughout history.

This Egyptian pendant, currently residing at The Metropolitan Museum in New York, was created between 1295 and 1070 BCE. It depicts the moon god Khonsu as a falcon, wearing a headdress of the crescent moon and sun.

Almost 3000 years later, German artist Caspar David Friedrich painted this rendition of the same crescent moon. The captivating work is on display at the New Masters Gallery in Dresden, Germany.

This piece is the first of three versions by the artist, created in approximately 1819. The men in the painting are said to be the artist and his disciple August Heinrich.

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi was one of the last masters of ukiyo-e, a Japanese form of woodblock art. He created this piece in 1892 as part of his series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon. This print is on display at the Art Gallery of South Australia. 

The gargantuan moon shines brightly low in the sky, just above the fox's head. Why does the moon appear larger when it's closer to the horizon? There are multiple hypotheses, from atmospheric refraction to an optical illusion due to relative size.

Thousands of miles away, French painter Henri Rousseau created a similar view of the moon in 1907. Relative to the other subjects in the piece, this moon looks much smaller than the one in Yoshitoshi's work.

On the ground, a flute-playing woman charms a snake. Many of Rousseau's other pieces also feature the full moon. Do you think it held any special significance to him?

Earth's lunar counterpart also plays a prominent role in Vincent Van Gogh's famous Starry Night. A yellow crescent moon hangs in the sky above the sleepy village, surrounded by a pale halo like the other celestial beacons.

The topography of Van Gogh's built-up brushstrokes is difficult to capture in two dimensions, but a closer view gives a detailed perspective of the swirling colors. To see the breathtaking texture in person, visit MoMA in New York City.

One of the most ubiquitous representations of the moon is that of the "Man in the Moon." The sea-like dark areas on the surface contribute to the illusion. This perpetual lunar calendar, which appears courtesy of the Adler Planetarium, was crafted in Germany circa 1700 CE.

John Adams Whipple and James Wallace Black produced this early photograph of the moon around 1860. How incredible it must have been for the average person to see the view through the largest telescope in the world. 

In 1969, our perspective of the moon changed forever. For the first time, human beings broke free of our earthly confines and touched down on another world. This photograph shows our home planet from almost 240,000 away!

The personification of the moon has continued to be a theme in media, in spite of our accurate imagery. This iconic example appeared in French filmmaker Georges Méliès' Le Voyage dans la Lune.

Today, we even have photographs of the dark side of the moon. Can you imagine Galileo's reaction to this mind-blowing image?
Below, you can take a magnificent tour of the moon's splendor, captured in a video by NASA.

Animals have been used in art as metaphors since ancient times. Pre-historic cave paintings often featured animals which were thought to inspire good luck during hunting or for religious purposes. But it was perhaps during the Renaissance period that artists began to use animals to illustrate their own religious and mythological meanings. 

The inclusion of animals in paintings was often based on older symbolism, although these earlier meanings were often altered during the Renaissance to represent contemporary attitudes. Let’s take a closer look at some Renaissance masterpieces and see if we can spot the animals before working out what they might be supposed to represent.

Can you spot the goldfinch in Rafael's masterpiece? And what could it mean?

Images of birds often represented sacrifice, resurrection, the soul or death. The goldfinch was regularly used in Renaissance art and also symbolizes redemption and healing. It's all based on the biblical story when a goldfinch plucks a thorn from the crucified head of Christ, and a drop of blood falls on its head, leaving a red patch. Rafael uses this symbolism in his Madonna of the Goldfinch.

What might the serpent represent?

Snakes and other reptiles have often been used as symbols of evil, especially in the Christian iconography of the Renaissance era. In Albrecht Durer’s Fall of Man (also known as Adam and Eve), a snake is seen encouraging them to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, resulting in their banishment from the Garden of Eden. However, reptiles can also represents rejuvenation because they are able to regrow severed tails and limbs.

What could this small, furry mammal mean?

The ermine has been a symbol of purity and chastity since ancient times, with the belief that this small creature would rather die than soil its white coat. However, in this Da Vinci masterpiece, the ermine may be less to do with chastity, as the subject Cecilia Galleriano already had a son. The ermine may represent her lover, Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, who had been appointed to the chivalric Order of the Ermine by the King of Naples. 

Can you spot the sleeping dog? Do you know why it's there?

Dogs often appear as status symbols in Renaissance paintings - combined with a suggestion of fidelity or loyalty. In Titian’s Venus of Urbino, the dog is meant as a symbol of marital fidelity. 

Can you spot the strutting peacock? What could it mean?

The majestic peacock became a symbol of immortality in Christian art. It all stemmed from the belief that its flesh never decayed, which is why it can be found in large numbers of Renaissance nativity scenes. It serves as a reminder of the Resurrection and eternal life. The peacock’s flamboyant tail is also associated with pride and vanity, although this tends to be used with other subject matter.