Midterm Cultural Foundations Review Chapter 2 Art of the Ancient Near East 1 Overview Mesopotamia literally Land between two rivers and today known as fertile crescent occupied villages that later turned into city states each with their own gods and governments Traded with other cultures had social hierarchies and developed specialized skills in pottery metal etc Each city had own deity and religious building and services Fertile land and defenseless city states leads to political upheaval Power ranges from north vs south and internal vs external invaders First in control were Sumerians south 3500 2340 BCE who created literacy art architecture and technology Next Akkadians north came to power but were conquered by people in the north soon after Then Sumerians regained power Next were Amorites south from which King Hammurabi and his society came about o Sumer 3500 2340 BCE established literacy art architecture and technology First written script 3400 3200 BCE using clay tablets Also created Ziggurats stepped structures with shrine on top high up to avoid flooding and to show wealth prestige and glorification of gods 2 1 Stele of Naram Sin 2200 s BCE Sippar Near East Akkadian Ruler Portrays a strong statement of military and Time period Place Significance political capabilities Use of Hierarchic Scale Naram Sin is made to look larger and more powerful than all others sculpted He wears a helmet with horns a sign of godliness claiming his divinity The soldier with a spear 2 in his neck shows Naram Sin s opponents defeat His men look up at him and stand in uniform ready for battle The stones shape aligns perfectly with the mountain sculpted in it 2900 2600 BCE Near East Sumerian Figures of men and women dedicated to gods The figures show 2 5 Votive Figures Time Period Place Significance their dedication to the Gods through their posture their hands and their wide eyes They are focused and in awe of their gods Conventions are seen in these votive figures in their faces cylindrically shaped bodies and clothing and their beards Sumerian way of worshipping was to gaze with open eyes at the Gods Men are muscular with big shoulder and heavy legs 2600 2500 BCE Ur Near East Sumerian 2 7 2 8 The Great Lyre with Bull s Head Time period Place Significance ceremony Bull s head and front panel was part of a sound box that deteriorated over time Panel seems to relate to epic of Gilgamesh with scorpion men and the man at the top of the panel battling two bulls on either side may be Gilgamesh himself He looks like he is in control of the bulls but the have human face and they are perfectly symmetrical Also the man s penis is bigger than the bulls penises showing his strength and power Found in burial plot of woman who played it at royal funeral 3 2 15 Stele of Hammurabi 1792 1750 BCE Sippar Near East Ammorites Time period Place Hammurabi standing with god Shamash Significance sun justice god with rays of light coming out of gods shoulders Sits with horned cap and gives laws to Hammurabi found on the bottom half of the stone God given laws are a tradition seen in Near East later with Moses and 10 commandments Stele gives laws uniforms treatment of people justice to prevail and destroy wicked cannot opress each other Porperty matters physical assault etc Punishments based on wealth class gender Wealthy men and citizens all favored over inferiors Famous for eye for an eye tooth for a tooth etc Regulated laws and punishments rather than letting a rulers mood decide And set precedent for writing on stones 2 17 Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions 870 s BCE Near East Assyrian Assurnasirpal II is on his chariot shooting a Time Period Place Significance lion behind him with a dead lion underneath his chariot A ceremonial Lion hunt where king is protected by men with weapons and kills animals behind him in enclosed area Depicts a change in Mesopotamian art goes from serious solemn to dramatic emotional realistic showing a real action event A relief cut into stone not completely through like a statue but more than a painting is shown but a Low relief not jumping out too much 4 2 19 Guardian Figures at Gate A of the Citadel of Sargon II 721 706 BCE Dur Sharrukin Near East Assyrian Time Period Place Significance Lamassus and have a bearded human head with the body of a lion or bull eagle wings horned headdress of a god power divinity similar to Naram Sin Braided beards show specific detail Guardian figures at palace in Assyrian capital They are known as 575 BCE Babylon 2 22 Ishtar Gate Time Period Place Significance road It has 4 crenellated towers notches for military defense as a symbol of Babylonia s power Lions for Ishtar goddess dragons for Marduk god and bulls for Adad storm god Used stone material with a colored glass glazed on top Through the gates details we appreciate how different cultures express their beliefs through art and relate to people who came after The ceremonial entrance to the city along the processional way 5 Chapter 3 Art of Ancient Egypt Overview The nile is the longest river in the world that overflows several months a year leaving behind fertile land In 8000 BCE cvilizations lived off of fish game and plants In 5000 BCE they had devloped an agricultural system called basin irrigation managing flood waters of the Nile In the Predynastic Period 5000 2950 BCE was a period of unification leading to Egypt falling under one ruler Federations developed and conquered small weaker communities leading to chiefdoms city states in the Nile Valley Remnants of the Predynastic Period are pottery reliefs carved in stone figurines etc Other significant time periods include 1 Early Dyanastic Period 2950 2575 BCE 2 Old Kingdom 2575 2150 BCE 3 Middle Kingdom 1975 1640 BCE 4 New Kingdom 1539 1075 BCE 5 Third Intermediate Period 1075 715 BCE 6 Late Period 715 332 BCE 6 1332 1322 BCE Valley of the Kings Egypt King Tut was the son of Akhenatan He restored traditional 3 1 Funerary Mask of King Tutankhamun Time Period Place Significance Egyptian beliefs and changed capital back to Thebes A gold funerary mask over Tut s head and shoulders which was within three coffins innermost made of gold Coffins were placed in a yellow stone coffin sarcophagus On innermost gold coffin king holds flail wears a royal headcloth and has a fake blue beard Died from birth defects from royal inbreeding Page 52 Palette of Narmer Horus at Hierakonpolis Represents the unification of Egypt and beginning of Egypt s Time Period 2950 BCE