Elaborate decorated stone facade in Monjas complex, The Nunnery (Nuns House), Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Yucatan, Mexico, North America

Indigenous rock art at Nourlangie, Kakadu National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, Pacific

Carved stonework figure, possibly erotic on smaller building, Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Yucatan, Mexico, North America

Detail of 18th century decoration in indigenous cement on brickwork in the Talatal Ghar Ahom Palace, Rangpur, Sivasagar, Assam, India, Asia

Bas-relief of life of Buddha, Borobudur, 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple, UNESCO, Java, Indonesia

Totem poles in the cemetery of the First Nations Kwakwaka'wakw people in Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada, North America

The Royal Complex at the Mesoamerican archaeological site of Lamanai (Submerged Crocodile), Belize

Rock art on a rock formation in Tigui, Tibesti Mountains, Chad

Rinconoda Community, Angochagua Parochia, Imbabura Province, Ecuador

The Mask Temple at the Mesoamerican archaeological site of Lamanai (Submerged Crocodile), Belize

The Temple Stela 9 complex at the Mesoamerican archaeological site of Lamanai (Submerged Crocodile), Belize

Rock art on a rock formation in Tigui, Tibesti Mountains, Chad

Inuit memorial, Grise Fjord, most northern community in America, Nunavut, Canadian Arctic, Canada, North America

The Mask Temple at the Mesoamerican archaeological site of Lamanai (Submerged Crocodile), Belize

Portrait of an elderly man of the Ifugao tribe wearing a woven hat decorated with feathers and carved bird at Banaue, Mountain Province, north Luzon, Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia

Maori totem carving, Ohinemutu village, Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Interior of Maori ancestral home in Auckland Museum, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Maori pataka in Auckland Museum, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Maori pataka in Auckland Museum, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Interior of Maori ancestral home in Auckland Museum, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Traditional Maori carving and Pohutu geyser, Whakarewarewa, Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Maori statue with 'Moko' facial tattoo, New Zealand, Pacific

Mask at Haida Heritage Centre at Kaay Llnagaay, Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia, Canada, North America

Maori wooden carving with tongue sticking out, Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Maori carved bargeboards on meeting house, Whakarewarewa centre, Rotorua, South Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Petroglyphs carved by Caribs, Old Road Town, St. Kitts, Leeward Islands, West Indies, Caribbean, Central America

First Nation's totem poles at the Museum of Northern British Columbia, Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada, North America

Mask at Haida Heritage Centre at Kaay Llnagaay, Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia, Canada, North America

Bargeboards representing ancestors' arms on a building in the Waitangi National Reserve, Whara Runanga, at Waitangi, Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

These reindeer peoples' entire existence is based around their herds of reindeer, which provide milk, skins for clothes, horn for carving and medicine, transport and occasionally, meat. the tsaatan are part of the tuvan ethnic group, which inhabits the tuvan republic of russia. there are only about 200 tsaatan in total, spread over 100,000 sq km of northern mongolia. they are nomadic, often moving their small encampments every three to four weeks, searching for special types of grass and moss loved by the reindeer. the tsaatan are strong practitioners of shamanism. west taiga, northern mongolia

Bayon Temple, Angkor, Cambodia, Asia

Detail of totem pole, Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, North America

Maori carving, Auckland Museum, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Detail of totem pole, Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, North America

Maori carving, Auckland Museum, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Maori carving, Auckland Museum, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Totem pole, Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, North America

Maori carving, town of Coromandel, North Island, New Zealand, Pacific

Alabaster carvers. Luxor, Nile Valley, Egypt, Africa

Local Inuit boy, carving from granite a polar bear. Cape Dorset, Baffin Island, Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada, North America

Local woman in a windows next to of a wall panting in San Juan La Laguna, Solol√°, Guatemala. Traditional mayan painting art Santiago Atitlan, lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

Local man walking in front of a wall panting in San Juan La Laguna, Solol√°, Guatemala. Traditional mayan painting art Santiago Atitlan, lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

Two girs walking in front of a wall panting in San Juan La Laguna, Solol√°, Guatemala. Traditional mayan painting art Santiago Atitlan, lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

Man carving Tibetan Buddisht mantras on a stone plate, Zanskar Valley, Zanskar, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Himalayas, North India, India, Asia

Entrance gate to a Marae-meeting place of the Maoris, South Island, New Zealand

Aboriginal rock carvings, Nabulwinjbulwinj, Nourlangie Rock, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia

Arch with carved marble window Mughal style Humayun's tomb, Delhi

Ca. 3000 year old rock paintings by Native American Indians, Sand Island, near Bluff, Northern Utah, USA, North America

About 1500 year old palm prints and drawings of Native Americans, Mystery Valley, Arizona, USA

About 3000 year old rock paintings by Native Americans, Sand Island, near Bluff, North Utah, USA

Aboriginal rock carvings, Nabulwinjbulwinj, Nourlangie Rock, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia

Teak carving, Amerindian lovers, indigenous art, Guyana, South America

Rock carvings or petroglyphs of Native Americans, from around 1100, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA, North America

Petroglyphs of the native Americans, about 1500 years old, near Wolf Ranch, Arches National Park, Utah, USA

Carved wooden sculpture made by Maori, the native inhabitants, man in a boat, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Each summer the Sami reindeer herders of Northern Scandinavia face the challenge of ear-marking each of the new calves born to their herd. Using the ancient mark of their family, the small carvings made in the ears allow the herders to recognise their herd whilst they graze. It's a daunting task given the number of reindeer they are responsible for and the vast distances they cover as they graze across the mountain pastures north of the Arctic Circle.Sweden?????s indigenous Sami reindeer herders are demanding state aid to help them cope with the impact of this summer?????s unprecedented drought and wildfires, saying their future is at risk as global warming changes the environment in the far north. The Swedish government this week announced five major investigations aimed at preparing the country for the kind of extreme heatwave it experienced in July, when temperatures exceeded 30C (86F) and forest fires raged inside the Arctic circle.

Each summer the Sami reindeer herders of Northern Scandinavia face the challenge of ear-marking each of the new calves born to their herd. Using the ancient mark of their family, the small carvings made in the ears allow the herders to recognise their herd whilst they graze. It's a daunting task given the number of reindeer they are responsible for and the vast distances they cover as they graze across the mountain pastures north of the Arctic Circle.Sweden?????s indigenous Sami reindeer herders are demanding state aid to help them cope with the impact of this summer?????s unprecedented drought and wildfires, saying their future is at risk as global warming changes the environment in the far north. The Swedish government this week announced five major investigations aimed at preparing the country for the kind of extreme heatwave it experienced in July, when temperatures exceeded 30C (86F) and forest fires raged inside the Arctic circle.

Each summer the Sami reindeer herders of Northern Scandinavia face the challenge of ear-marking each of the new calves born to their herd. Using the ancient mark of their family, the small carvings made in the ears allow the herders to recognise their herd whilst they graze. It's a daunting task given the number of reindeer they are responsible for and the vast distances they cover as they graze across the mountain pastures north of the Arctic Circle.Sweden?????s indigenous Sami reindeer herders are demanding state aid to help them cope with the impact of this summer?????s unprecedented drought and wildfires, saying their future is at risk as global warming changes the environment in the far north. The Swedish government this week announced five major investigations aimed at preparing the country for the kind of extreme heatwave it experienced in July, when temperatures exceeded 30C (86F) and forest fires raged inside the Arctic circle.

Each summer the Sami reindeer herders of Northern Scandinavia face the challenge of ear-marking each of the new calves born to their herd. Using the ancient mark of their family, the small carvings made in the ears allow the herders to recognise their herd whilst they graze. It's a daunting task given the number of reindeer they are responsible for and the vast distances they cover as they graze across the mountain pastures north of the Arctic Circle.Sweden?????s indigenous Sami reindeer herders are demanding state aid to help them cope with the impact of this summer?????s unprecedented drought and wildfires, saying their future is at risk as global warming changes the environment in the far north. The Swedish government this week announced five major investigations aimed at preparing the country for the kind of extreme heatwave it experienced in July, when temperatures exceeded 30C (86F) and forest fires raged inside the Arctic circle.

Palestinian woodcarver making Christian souvenirs, Bethlehem, Israel, Middle East