{"id":1500,"date":"2024-08-12T22:02:39","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T22:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/chapter\/images-of-enlightenment-aniconic-vs-iconic-depictions-of-the-buddha-in-india\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T14:32:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T14:32:08","slug":"images-of-enlightenment-aniconic-vs-iconic-depictions-of-the-buddha-in-india","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/chapter\/images-of-enlightenment-aniconic-vs-iconic-depictions-of-the-buddha-in-india\/","title":{"raw":"2.9 Images of Enlightenment: Aniconic vs. Iconic Depictions of the Buddha in India","rendered":"2.9 Images of Enlightenment: Aniconic vs. Iconic Depictions of the Buddha in India"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n

by\u00a0<\/em>CRISTIN MCKNIGHT SETHI<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\r\n

\"A\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Sculptural fragment depicting a stupa and devotees, from Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, India, Sunga period, c. 100-80\u00a0B.C.E., reddish brown sandstone (Smithsonian, Freer Gallery of Art)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>Depicting the divine<\/h2>\r\n

Representing divine figures has long been\u00a0a thorny issue. After all, depicting\u00a0the divine in human form would seem to define and limit\u00a0the divine\u00a0in a manner which seems to contradict the idea of God as\u00a0infinite and all-powerful. There\u2019s also the fourth commandment, as offered in the Hebrew Bible, which reads:<\/p>\r\n

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of <\/em>any thing<\/em> that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. (Exodus 20:1-17)<\/em><\/p>\r\n

While this commandment has been interpreted in various ways, Judaism and Islam both prohibit the representation of God and other divine figures in human form. Christianity has long relied on images of God, Christ, and the saints as a way of educating the public, but even so, at several points in history, images of divine figures were destroyed\u2014often violently (the destruction of images is called \u201ciconoclasm\u201d).\u00a0The earliest images of the Buddha also appear to avoid depicting him in human form, though scholars are still debating\u00a0why this is the case.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>Buddha, enlightenment and the Bodhi tree<\/h2>\r\n

The man who became known as the Buddha was a Hindu prince, named Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in the 5th or 6th century B.C.E. to a royal family\u2014the leaders of the Shakya clan\u2014living in what is now Nepal. When he was about 29 years old, Prince Siddhartha (who was also known as Shakyamuni) traveled outside of his sheltered palace and encountered an old man, a sick man, and a corpse\u2014figures that, for the prince, epitomized the pain and suffering of the world. He also encountered an ascetic, someone who has chosen to abstain from the pleasures of life in order to pursue spiritual knowledge. After this experience, Prince Siddhartha decided to renounce his luxurious, royal life and to travel around the countryside as an ascetic, meditating and studying. Ultimately, Prince Siddhartha was seeking an end to worldly pain and suffering, and a release from the cycle of rebirth and death (samsara<\/em>) that characterizes Hindu concepts of time.<\/p>\r\n

One of the most important moments in the story of Prince Siddhartha is when he reached spiritual enlightenment\u2014a state of infinite knowledge\u2014and became known as the Buddha or \u201cthe enlightened one.\u201d This occurred about six years after the prince renounced his royal life, while he was meditating underneath a fig tree outside a small village in the present-day state of Bihar, India. The fig tree under which the Buddha reached enlightenment became known as the Bodhi (\u201cawakened\u201d or \u201cenlightened\u201d) tree, and the place where the Buddha sat became an important\u00a0tirtha<\/em>\u00a0or sacred place known as Bodh Gaya (\u201cawakened\u201d or \u201cenlightened\u201d place).<\/p>\r\n

\"A<\/p>\r\n

Detail, Enlightenment face of Prasenajit pillar, from Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, India, Sunga period, c. 100-80 B.C.E. reddish brown sandstone (Indian Museum, Kolkata) (photo:\u00a0Anandajoti<\/a> Bhikkhu<\/a>, CC BY-SA 3.0)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>Early images of the Buddha at Bharhut<\/h2>\r\n

Some of the earliest depictions of the Buddha reaching enlightenment appear as sculptural friezes on the exterior of sacred Buddhist monuments known as\u00a0stupas<\/em>, which Buddhist monks and nuns built as part of their monastic complexes.<\/p>\r\n

One such depiction is originally from the\u00a0stupa<\/em>\u00a0at Bharhut in the present-day state of Madhya Pradesh, India (left). Carved in reddish-brown sandstone sometime around 80-100 B.C.E. this depiction appears on a railing (vedika<\/em>) pillar that once surrounded the main\u00a0stupa<\/em>. The scene shows several figures kneeling and standing on an architectural form that encircles a large tree.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>The place of enlightenment or the moment of enlightenment?<\/h2>\r\n

An inscription that accompanies this scene, carved into the roof of the architectural form, identifies it as \u201cthe Bodhi tree of holy Shakyamuni\u201d [1] which has led some scholars to interpret this depiction as the location, or the\u00a0tirtha<\/em>, where the Buddha\u2019s enlightenment took place\u2014the tree under which Prince Siddhartha reached enlightenment and the temple that devotees later constructed at this sacred site.<\/p>\r\n

Some\u00a0of the figures in the scene appear kneeling in prayer in front of an altar at the base of the tree. Celestial beings fly near the top of the tree, and appear to toss flower garlands on the branches. Their presence reinforces the sacrality of the site.<\/p>\r\n

On the right side of the relief, \u00a0we see a pillar topped with an elephant capital, which, scholars argue, supports the interpretation of this scene as the site of enlightenment.\u00a0This pillar recalls those constructed by Emperor Ashoka\u2014one of the first Buddhist rulers in India\u2014who erected pillars with animal capitals\u00a0at important sites of the Buddha\u2019s life (below, left).<\/p>\r\n

\"image\"<\/p>\r\n

Ashokan pillar, c. 279 B.C.E. \u2013 232 B.C.E, Vaishali, India (where Buddha preached his last sermon). Photo:\u00a0Rajeev Kumar<\/a>, CC: BY-SA 2.5)<\/p>\r\n

In this interpretation, the Bharhut scene could be a depiction of pilgrimage\u2014the kneeling devotees could be Buddhist practitioners traveling to Bodh Gaya as part of religious devotion, to visit the site where the Buddha reached enlightenment hundreds of years before.<\/p>\r\n

However, some scholars argue that it is not simply the location (tirtha<\/em>) of the Buddha\u2019s enlightenment depicted in this scene, but rather the actual moment of enlightenment itself\u2014complete with an aniconic, symbolic representation of the Buddha.\u00a0(What does\u00a0aniconic mean?)<\/p>\r\n

In this interpretation of the scene on the pillar from Bharhut, the Buddha appears not in human form\u2014but rather symbolically, represented by the altar. What we are seeing here is a representation of the Buddha\u2019s formless state upon reaching spiritual enlightenment. In fact, some believe the inscription translates as \u201cenlightenment of the Holy One Shakyamuni\u201d[2] rather than the \u201cBodhi tree of holy Shakyamuni\u201d\u2014a reading that supports the interpretation of this scene as a depiction of the event of enlightenment not simply the place where enlightenment happened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>Other aniconic images of the Buddha<\/h2>\r\n

\"A<\/p>\r\n

Story of Serpent King Erapata, with Erapata\u00a0worshipping empty throne, on Prasenajit pillar, from Bharhut,\u00a0Madhya Pradesh, India, Sunga period, c. 100-80 B.C.E., reddish\u00a0brown sandstone (Indian Museum, Kolkata) (photo:\u00a0Anandajoti<\/a> Bhikkhu<\/a>, CC BY-SA 3.0)<\/p>\r\n

Along the same lines, scholars argue that other sculptural friezes at important early Buddhist stupas like Bharhut depict scenes from the life of the Buddha, with the Buddha represented in aniconic form\u2014as an empty throne (above), a wheel signifying the Buddha\u2019s creation of the Wheel of Law or Dharma (below, right), or footsteps (below, left), and sometimes even as a\u00a0stupa<\/em>\u00a0(see the image at the top of this page). A third way to interpret the enlightenment scene from the Bharhut\u00a0stupa<\/em>\u00a0and other so-called aniconic depictions of the Buddha is to read them as depictions of Buddhist doctrine or belief.<\/p>\r\n

\"Stone\r\n\r\n

Left: Descent on Ajatachatru pillar, from Bharhut, Madhya\u00a0Pradesh, India. Sunga period, c. 100-80 B.C.E., reddish brown\u00a0sandstone and right: Wheel of Law on Prasenajit pillar, from Bharhut,\u00a0Madhya Pradesh, India, Sunga period, c. 100-80 B.C.E., reddish\u00a0brown sandstone (both, Indian Museum, Kolkata) (photo:\u00a0Anandajoti<\/a> Bhikkhu<\/a>, CC BY-SA 3.0)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>Imagining the Buddha\u2019s Corporeal Body<\/h2>\r\n

This trend of depicting the Buddha in aniconic form continues until after the turn of the 1st century C.E. with the development of Mahayana Buddhism when we begin to see a large number of images of the Buddha in human or anthropomorphic form (below). These new, iconic images of the Buddha were particularly popular in the region of Gandhara (in present-day Pakistan) during the Kushana period and include depictions of the Buddha\u2019s enlightenment at Bodh Gaya (below). These anthropomorphic images usher in a new phase of Buddhist art in which artists convey meaning through the depiction of special bodily marks (lakshanas<\/em>) and hand gestures (mudras<\/em>) of the Buddha. In this anthropomorphic image of the Buddha\u2019s enlightenment, the artist depicts Prince Siddhartha seated on a throne, surrounded by the demon Mara and his army, who attempted\u2014unsuccessfully\u2014to thwart Prince Siddhartha\u2019s attainment of enlightenment. At the moment of enlightenment, the prince reaches his right hand towards the ground in a gesture (or\u00a0mudra<\/em>, and specifically the\u00a0bhumisparshamudra<\/em>)\u00a0) of calling the earth to witness his spiritual awakening. In doing so he becomes the Buddha.<\/p>\r\n

\"image\"<\/p>\r\n

Sculptural fragment depicting Buddha\u2019s enlightenment, Gandhara, Kushana period, 2nd-3rd century C.E., schist, (Smithsonian, Freer Gallery of Art)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>Additional resources:<\/h2>\r\n

Images of Bharhut stupa in Indian Museum, Kolkata<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\r\n

3-minute youtube video about Bharhut stupa<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Late 19th century photographs in British Library Collection of British excavation of Bharhut stupa<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Buddhism from the Freer Gallery of Art<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Cristin McKnight Sethi, \"Images of Enlightenment: Aniconic vs. Iconic Depictions of the Buddha in India,\" in\u00a0Smarthistory<\/em>, February 14, 2016, accessed February 6, 2017,\u00a0https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/aniconic-vs-iconic-depictions-of-the-buddha-in-india\/<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

\n

by\u00a0<\/em>CRISTIN MCKNIGHT SETHI<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Sculptural fragment depicting a stupa and devotees, from Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, India, Sunga period, c. 100-80\u00a0B.C.E., reddish brown sandstone (Smithsonian, Freer Gallery of Art)<\/p>\n

<\/a>Depicting the divine<\/h2>\n

Representing divine figures has long been\u00a0a thorny issue. After all, depicting\u00a0the divine in human form would seem to define and limit\u00a0the divine\u00a0in a manner which seems to contradict the idea of God as\u00a0infinite and all-powerful. There\u2019s also the fourth commandment, as offered in the Hebrew Bible, which reads:<\/p>\n

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of <\/em>any thing<\/em> that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. (Exodus 20:1-17)<\/em><\/p>\n

While this commandment has been interpreted in various ways, Judaism and Islam both prohibit the representation of God and other divine figures in human form. Christianity has long relied on images of God, Christ, and the saints as a way of educating the public, but even so, at several points in history, images of divine figures were destroyed\u2014often violently (the destruction of images is called \u201ciconoclasm\u201d).\u00a0The earliest images of the Buddha also appear to avoid depicting him in human form, though scholars are still debating\u00a0why this is the case.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Buddha, enlightenment and the Bodhi tree<\/h2>\n

The man who became known as the Buddha was a Hindu prince, named Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in the 5th or 6th century B.C.E. to a royal family\u2014the leaders of the Shakya clan\u2014living in what is now Nepal. When he was about 29 years old, Prince Siddhartha (who was also known as Shakyamuni) traveled outside of his sheltered palace and encountered an old man, a sick man, and a corpse\u2014figures that, for the prince, epitomized the pain and suffering of the world. He also encountered an ascetic, someone who has chosen to abstain from the pleasures of life in order to pursue spiritual knowledge. After this experience, Prince Siddhartha decided to renounce his luxurious, royal life and to travel around the countryside as an ascetic, meditating and studying. Ultimately, Prince Siddhartha was seeking an end to worldly pain and suffering, and a release from the cycle of rebirth and death (samsara<\/em>) that characterizes Hindu concepts of time.<\/p>\n

One of the most important moments in the story of Prince Siddhartha is when he reached spiritual enlightenment\u2014a state of infinite knowledge\u2014and became known as the Buddha or \u201cthe enlightened one.\u201d This occurred about six years after the prince renounced his royal life, while he was meditating underneath a fig tree outside a small village in the present-day state of Bihar, India. The fig tree under which the Buddha reached enlightenment became known as the Bodhi (\u201cawakened\u201d or \u201cenlightened\u201d) tree, and the place where the Buddha sat became an important\u00a0tirtha<\/em>\u00a0or sacred place known as Bodh Gaya (\u201cawakened\u201d or \u201cenlightened\u201d place).<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Detail, Enlightenment face of Prasenajit pillar, from Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, India, Sunga period, c. 100-80 B.C.E. reddish brown sandstone (Indian Museum, Kolkata) (photo:\u00a0Anandajoti<\/a> Bhikkhu<\/a>, CC BY-SA 3.0)<\/p>\n

<\/a>Early images of the Buddha at Bharhut<\/h2>\n

Some of the earliest depictions of the Buddha reaching enlightenment appear as sculptural friezes on the exterior of sacred Buddhist monuments known as\u00a0stupas<\/em>, which Buddhist monks and nuns built as part of their monastic complexes.<\/p>\n

One such depiction is originally from the\u00a0stupa<\/em>\u00a0at Bharhut in the present-day state of Madhya Pradesh, India (left). Carved in reddish-brown sandstone sometime around 80-100 B.C.E. this depiction appears on a railing (vedika<\/em>) pillar that once surrounded the main\u00a0stupa<\/em>. The scene shows several figures kneeling and standing on an architectural form that encircles a large tree.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The place of enlightenment or the moment of enlightenment?<\/h2>\n

An inscription that accompanies this scene, carved into the roof of the architectural form, identifies it as \u201cthe Bodhi tree of holy Shakyamuni\u201d [1] which has led some scholars to interpret this depiction as the location, or the\u00a0tirtha<\/em>, where the Buddha\u2019s enlightenment took place\u2014the tree under which Prince Siddhartha reached enlightenment and the temple that devotees later constructed at this sacred site.<\/p>\n

Some\u00a0of the figures in the scene appear kneeling in prayer in front of an altar at the base of the tree. Celestial beings fly near the top of the tree, and appear to toss flower garlands on the branches. Their presence reinforces the sacrality of the site.<\/p>\n

On the right side of the relief, \u00a0we see a pillar topped with an elephant capital, which, scholars argue, supports the interpretation of this scene as the site of enlightenment.\u00a0This pillar recalls those constructed by Emperor Ashoka\u2014one of the first Buddhist rulers in India\u2014who erected pillars with animal capitals\u00a0at important sites of the Buddha\u2019s life (below, left).<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Ashokan pillar, c. 279 B.C.E. \u2013 232 B.C.E, Vaishali, India (where Buddha preached his last sermon). Photo:\u00a0Rajeev Kumar<\/a>, CC: BY-SA 2.5)<\/p>\n

In this interpretation, the Bharhut scene could be a depiction of pilgrimage\u2014the kneeling devotees could be Buddhist practitioners traveling to Bodh Gaya as part of religious devotion, to visit the site where the Buddha reached enlightenment hundreds of years before.<\/p>\n

However, some scholars argue that it is not simply the location (tirtha<\/em>) of the Buddha\u2019s enlightenment depicted in this scene, but rather the actual moment of enlightenment itself\u2014complete with an aniconic, symbolic representation of the Buddha.\u00a0(What does\u00a0aniconic mean?)<\/p>\n

In this interpretation of the scene on the pillar from Bharhut, the Buddha appears not in human form\u2014but rather symbolically, represented by the altar. What we are seeing here is a representation of the Buddha\u2019s formless state upon reaching spiritual enlightenment. In fact, some believe the inscription translates as \u201cenlightenment of the Holy One Shakyamuni\u201d[2] rather than the \u201cBodhi tree of holy Shakyamuni\u201d\u2014a reading that supports the interpretation of this scene as a depiction of the event of enlightenment not simply the place where enlightenment happened.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Other aniconic images of the Buddha<\/h2>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Story of Serpent King Erapata, with Erapata\u00a0worshipping empty throne, on Prasenajit pillar, from Bharhut,\u00a0Madhya Pradesh, India, Sunga period, c. 100-80 B.C.E., reddish\u00a0brown sandstone (Indian Museum, Kolkata) (photo:\u00a0Anandajoti<\/a> Bhikkhu<\/a>, CC BY-SA 3.0)<\/p>\n

Along the same lines, scholars argue that other sculptural friezes at important early Buddhist stupas like Bharhut depict scenes from the life of the Buddha, with the Buddha represented in aniconic form\u2014as an empty throne (above), a wheel signifying the Buddha\u2019s creation of the Wheel of Law or Dharma (below, right), or footsteps (below, left), and sometimes even as a\u00a0stupa<\/em>\u00a0(see the image at the top of this page). A third way to interpret the enlightenment scene from the Bharhut\u00a0stupa<\/em>\u00a0and other so-called aniconic depictions of the Buddha is to read them as depictions of Buddhist doctrine or belief.<\/p>\n

\"Stone<\/p>\n

Left: Descent on Ajatachatru pillar, from Bharhut, Madhya\u00a0Pradesh, India. Sunga period, c. 100-80 B.C.E., reddish brown\u00a0sandstone and right: Wheel of Law on Prasenajit pillar, from Bharhut,\u00a0Madhya Pradesh, India, Sunga period, c. 100-80 B.C.E., reddish\u00a0brown sandstone (both, Indian Museum, Kolkata) (photo:\u00a0Anandajoti<\/a> Bhikkhu<\/a>, CC BY-SA 3.0)<\/p>\n

<\/a>Imagining the Buddha\u2019s Corporeal Body<\/h2>\n

This trend of depicting the Buddha in aniconic form continues until after the turn of the 1st century C.E. with the development of Mahayana Buddhism when we begin to see a large number of images of the Buddha in human or anthropomorphic form (below). These new, iconic images of the Buddha were particularly popular in the region of Gandhara (in present-day Pakistan) during the Kushana period and include depictions of the Buddha\u2019s enlightenment at Bodh Gaya (below). These anthropomorphic images usher in a new phase of Buddhist art in which artists convey meaning through the depiction of special bodily marks (lakshanas<\/em>) and hand gestures (mudras<\/em>) of the Buddha. In this anthropomorphic image of the Buddha\u2019s enlightenment, the artist depicts Prince Siddhartha seated on a throne, surrounded by the demon Mara and his army, who attempted\u2014unsuccessfully\u2014to thwart Prince Siddhartha\u2019s attainment of enlightenment. At the moment of enlightenment, the prince reaches his right hand towards the ground in a gesture (or\u00a0mudra<\/em>, and specifically the\u00a0bhumisparshamudra<\/em>)\u00a0) of calling the earth to witness his spiritual awakening. In doing so he becomes the Buddha.<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Sculptural fragment depicting Buddha\u2019s enlightenment, Gandhara, Kushana period, 2nd-3rd century C.E., schist, (Smithsonian, Freer Gallery of Art)<\/p>\n

<\/a>Additional resources:<\/h2>\n

Images of Bharhut stupa in Indian Museum, Kolkata<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

3-minute youtube video about Bharhut stupa<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Late 19th century photographs in British Library Collection of British excavation of Bharhut stupa<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Buddhism from the Freer Gallery of Art<\/a><\/p>\n

Cristin McKnight Sethi, “Images of Enlightenment: Aniconic vs. Iconic Depictions of the Buddha in India,” in\u00a0Smarthistory<\/em>, February 14, 2016, accessed February 6, 2017,\u00a0https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/aniconic-vs-iconic-depictions-of-the-buddha-in-india\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"menu_order":11,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-1500","chapter","type-chapter","status-web-only","hentry"],"part":256,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1536,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1500\/revisions\/1536"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/256"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1500\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=1500"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1500"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1021earlycivilizations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}