From Archeology & Art on Twitter, a necklace of gold and glass beads (for the toads’ eyes) from the Moche civilization of Peru. Unknown date except that the Moche clung to a narrow stretch of the Pacific coast in what is now northern Peru and for a brilliant six or so centuries existed from about AD 100 to 700, so this was made sometime in there. We can only guess at their demise. A thirty year super El Niño followed by a thirty year drought doubtless brought them to the brink, and then archeological evidence of civil war and—perhaps the final blow—attacks from the Huari civilization to the east (one of the succession of pre-Incan civilizations in the Peruvian highlands) seems to precede their final disappearance. Beyond the archeological evidence and supposition, though, little remains to us, such being the fate of non-literate civilizations. Instead all we can do is look at their extraordinary artwork, like these lovely little golden frogs, and wonder about the people who made them.