Science Source December 28, 2009 DVD

Deatil of a relief showing the head of a warrior in the ruins of Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is a pre-Columbian Mayan city in Yucatan, Mexico.

Gold mask in the Calima style, dating from 300 BC, found in Inza, Cauca, Colombia, and now in the Gold Museum, Bogota.

Babylonian clay tablet from about 3000 B.C.

A serpent god on a building in the ruins of Teotihuacan, Mexico. Teotihuacan is an enormous archaeological site in Mexico. The place reached its peak...

Ruins of Machu Picchu, Peru. Found within the Peruvian Andes, Machu Picchu was an ancient Inca fortress city northwest of Cuzco, Peru. The ruins were...

Detail of a wooden tablet written in Rongorongo. Rongo is an ancient hieroglyphic language from Easter Island.

Detail of a wooden tablet written in Rongorongo. Rongo is an ancient hieroglyphic language from Easter Island.

Frescoes removed from Pompeii, Italy. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and destroyed this city.

Ruins of Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, destroying the city of Pompeii, Italy.

Kushite pyramids in the ancient city of Meroe, Sudan.

A prehistoric cave painting of a goat and a wounded bison in the Cave of Niaux, France.

Upper Paleolithic cave painting of a reclining bison in the Cave of Altamira, Spain.

Close up of a calculating machine invented by Samuel Morlando in 1661, built by Henry Sutton and Sam Knibb of London in 1664 and offered to the Grandu...

Brass quadrant made in 1553 in Naples, Italy. Radius 17 centimeters. On display at the Museum of the History of Sciences, Florence, Italy.

Gilded brass astrolabe from circa 1500, 13.4 diameter, on display in the Museo Storia Scienza, Firenze, Italy. The astrolabe is a historical astronomi...

Bronze astrolabe on display in the Museo Storia Scienza, Firenze, Italy. The astrolabe is a historical astronomical instrument used by classical astro...

Bronze astrolabe on display in the Museo Storia Scienza, Firenze, Italy. The astrolabe is a historical astronomical instrument used by classical astro...

Polyhedral sundial with 26 faces, dating from the 16th century. On display at the Museum of the History of Sciences in Florence, Italy.

Polyhedral sundials with hexagonal and square faces. A different type of sundial (horizontal, vertical or inclined), complete with gnomon (the part th...

Brass calculating machine made by Tito Livio Burattini in the mid-17th century, measuring 20 centimeters in length. Donated to Grand Duke Ferdinando I...

A prehistoric cave painting of a stag and a horse in the Cave of Niaux, France.

Fundus photograph showing a normal optic disc (optic nerve) on the retina.

Drug Abuse. Drug injects heroin intravenously into his arm. Stockholm, Sweden.

A prehistoric cave painting of a speared bison in the Cave of Niaux, France.

Upper Paleolithic cave painting of a bison in the Cave of Altamira, Spain.

Control Data System 6400 Computer, Los Angeles, California. A member of the CDC 6000 series, the 6400 was a mainframe computer made by Control Data Co...

Exterior of the linear accelerator at Stanford University, which has been operational since 1966.

Historic image a keypunch operator.

Historic image, (1968), of a corporate computer room.

A mosaic from the ruins of Herculaneum. Like Pompeii, Herculaneum was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Historic image of a woman working on an early mainframe computer system, the IBM 360, which was released in 1964. The model #40 is shown here.

Cliff dwellings built by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people around 700 AD. Montezuma Castle National Monument, Arizona.

View of a room in the Museum of Science History, Florence, Italy. The enormous gilt armillary sphere in the center was built by Santucci Pomerance for...

Detail of a wooden armillary sphere made by Santucci dalle Pomarance, showing the planetary system and the northern hemisphere. Museum of History of S...

Historical scientific instruments from the Museum of History of Science in Florence, Italy. Clockwise from top: armillary sphere made in 1557 by Girol...

Fine, white opals.

Polished geode, lined with amethyst.

Labradorite, an iridescent plagioclase feldspar mineral from Labrador.

Cave painting of hunters by prehistoric bushmen from West Africa near Omaruru, Namibia.

"The objective lens" with which Galileo discovered Jupiter and its planets. It was accidentally broken by Galileo himself. Museum of the History of Sc...

Detail of a wall painting in the Temple of the Frescoes at Tulum, showing an aged goddess carrying images of the rain god Chac. Yucatan, Mexico. Tulum...

Prehistoric painting depicting figures with ornaments, Tassili n'Ajjer plateau, South Algeria.

Prehistoric paintings, Tassili n'Ajjer plateau, South Algeria.

Prehistoric paintings, Tassili n'Ajjer plateau, South Algeria.

A sculpture of a red jaguar, Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is a pre-Columbian Mayan city in Yucatan, Mexico.

Prehistoric painting of a woman with body decoration, Tassili n'Ajjer plateau, South Algeria.

Historic image, (1972), of a man working on an early computer; magnetic storage tapes can be seen in the background.

Historic image, (1972), of a man working on an early computer; magnetic storage tapes can be seen in the background.

Historic image, (1972), of a woman working on an early computer; magnetic storage tapes can be seen in the background.

A scupture of a runner crouched for the start of a race, from ancient Colima, Mexico.