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June 14 is Flag Day, a day commemorating the official adoption of the U.S. Flag in 1777. As the original star-spangled banner turns 222, we look at the far longer history of the flag.

We don't know whether the very first flag was waved in ancient China or ancient India, but we do know that those standards (standard names the often elongated flag of an individual, cause, party, or unit, especially one serving as a rallying point) were used in both countries 1,000 years ago. In China, where the early royal flag was treated as if it were the king himself, touching the flag-bearer was a crime. In India, the flag was the first object of attack in battle, and its fall meant confusion if not