Chapter 14: Art of the Ancient World Flashcards
naturalism
representation that strives to imitate nature rather than to express intellectual theory
foreshortening
diminishing the size of the parts of an object that are represented as farthest from the viewer
venuses
the Roman goddess of beauty; a prehistoric fertility figure
megaliths
a huge stone, especially as used in prehistoric construction
cuneiform
wedge-shaped
ziggurat
a temple tower in the form of a terraced pyramid, built by ancient Assyrians and Babylonians
lapis lazuli
an opaque blue, semiprecious stone
basalt
a dark, tough volcanic rock
optical representation
the representation of objects and people from a fixed vantage point
fertile crescent
the arable land lying between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers in ancient Mesopotamia
fertile ribbon
the arable land lying along the Nile River in Egypt
registers
a horizontal segment of a structure or work of art
horus
ancient Egypt sun god
canon of proportions
relating different anatomical parts to one another
mortuary temple
an Egyptian temple of the New Kingdom in which the pharaoh worshiped and was worshiped after death
colonnades
a series of columns placed side by side to support a roof or a series of arches
pre-Hellenic
of ancient Greece before the eighth century bce
pictographs
a simplified symbol of an object or action
magazines
in architecture, a large supply chamber
cyclopes
members of a mythical race of one-eyed giants
Cyclopean masonry
a type of Mycenaean stonework that uses massive limestone boulders, which are fitted together without benefit of mortar
caste system
a class structure in which one’s social position is determined by birth, thereby preventing social mobility
