From prehistoric Ethiopia's Cradle of Mankind to the Roman Empire, antiquity is revived in fascinating museum presentations, many of which will travel.

Students of prehistoric, ancient Near Eastern, Egyptian, Eurasian, Greek and Roman art and civilizations will be thrilled to discover that numerous museum exhibitions on these subjects will be touring the United States, Germany and England in 2007 through 2010. They deal with topics as diverse as the roots of mankind in earliest Ethiopia through the Bronze Age terracotta army of Qin Shihuangdi (r. 221-210 B.C.), China's first emperor.

For special exhibitions on ancient Egyptian art and civilization, please click here.

For shows on classical Roman art and culture, please click here.

Art and Empire: Treasures from Assyria in the British Museum

The Assyrian Empire (9th through 7th Centuries B.C.) of ancient Mesopotamia is described by imposing stone palace reliefs, bronze and ivory sculptures, glassware and ceramic vessels, cuneiform tablets and cylinder seals.

• Museo Arqueologico Provincial de Alicante, Spain: April 2-September 30, 2007
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA USA: September 2008-January 2009

Cradle of Christianity: Jewish and Christian Treasures from the Holy Land

The common roots of the Judaic and Christian faiths from the 1st through 7th Centuries A.D. are explored through ancient sculptures, architectural fragments, personal belongings and religious objects from Jerusalem's Israel Museum.

• Michael C. Carlos Museum, Atlanta, GA USA: June 16-October 14, 2007

Under the Sign of the Golden Griffin: The Royal Tombs of the Scythians

This international loan exhibition describes the Scythians and other nomadic peoples of the Eurasian Steppes from 800 to 300 B.C. It includes their clothing, equestrian furniture and golden artifacts from royal kurgans or burial mounds.

• Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin, Germany: July 6-October 1, 2007
• Exhibition Hall of the Hypo Foundation for Culture, Munich, Germany: October 26, 2007-January 27, 2008
• Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany: February 15-May 25, 2008

Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur: Selected Objects

Ancient Mesopotamia's Sumerian culture at its height (2600-2500 B.C.) is described by famous tomb objects such as the bull-headed Great Lyre, the statuette of a Ram Caught in a Thicket and the ornamental Headdress of Queen Puabi (all ca. 2650-2550 B.C.). Excavation photographs and lively texts about the expedition of British archaeologist C. Leonard Woolley (1880-1960) supplement the works on display.

• University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA USA: Beginning August 28, 2007

Lucy's Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia

More than 100 hominid fossils, important manuscripts, musical instruments, objects of everyday use and religious significance, coins and paintings document the history and culture of Ethiopia from prehistoric times through the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie (1930-1974). Among the artifacts on display are the 47 bones of a 3.2 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis skeleton known as Lucy.

• Houston Museum of Natural Science, TX USA: August 31, 2007-April 20, 2008
• Future venues: TBA

The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army

Twenty terracotta warriors, court officials, acrobats, musicians and horses, joined by bronze avian statuary from the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi (r. 221-210 B.C.), describe the world of China's first emperor.

• The British Museum, London, England: September 13, 2007-April 6, 2008
• Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana, CA USA: May 18-October 12, 2008
• High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA USA: November 15, 2008-April 26, 2009
• Houston Museum of Natural Science, TX USA: May 18-September 25, 2009
• National Geographic Museum, Washington, D.C. USA: November 19, 2009-March 31, 2010

The Eye of Joséphine

More than 60 fresco fragments, bronze and marble sculptures, classical Greek vases and an ancient Egyptian sculpture have been reunited to describe the artistic taste of France's Empress Joséphine (1763-1814), the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821), while at Malmaison, her residence on Paris' outskirts.

• High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA USA: October 16, 2007-May 18, 2008

The Louvre and the Ancient World

Some 70 works of art from the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome are arranged to trace the evolution of the Musée du Louvre's antiquities collection from Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821) through the 20th Century.

• High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA USA: October 16, 2007-September 7, 2008

Babylon

This international loan exhibition brings together works of art that describe the history and myth of the Mesopotamian city of Babylon.

• Musée du Louvre, Paris, France: March 14-June 2, 2008