Prehistoric and Antiquity Flashcards
Lecture 1 (1/31)
BCE
Before the Common Era
CE
Common Era
BC
Before Christ
AD
Anno Domini (“In the year of our Lord” in Latin)
Found spaces / nature made
caves
Oldest painting dates back to
35,000 years ago
Famous Cave system discovered
Southwestern France - Lascaux
When were the Lascaux Caves discovered?
1940
When did the Lascaux Caves date back to?
15,000 BCE
Who were Funerary Steles done for?
People of wealth or importance
How do we know what old interiors look like when wood and textiles didn’t survive?
Stone art tablets with carvings
What age does The Ancient Kingdom of Phrygia belong to?
The Bronze Age
Who was the first foreigner to dedicate an offering, a throne at the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi
Midas
One of the earliest urban developments in the world
Catalhoyuk, Turkey
Catalhoyuk, Turkey - Neolithic Site
7,400 BC
Why is Catalhoyuk, Turkey on a sloped site?
Houses started on flat site
Interiors were white washed and over time blacked by hearth
Repeatedly re-white washed causing the interiors to shrink
Would half demolish homes and rebuild larger homes above when too small
Causing the hill to form
There were no streets in Catalhoyuk, Turkey. How did they enter homes?
Entrance from above the home
What religious significance was in Catalhoyuk, Turkey homes?
Would bury loved ones within the home
Bull skulls placed in home for religious significance
What type of lifestyle did the people of Catalhoyuk, Turkey live and how do we know?
Hunter Gatherers displayed in paintings
What is the possible meaning for the 3 meter long painting found in Catalhoyuk, Turkey?
Mellaart argued that this was a town plan and a volcano for some kind of a religious ritual
Dolmens (Portal or megalithic tomb)
2 or more upright stones and on horizontal stone
Stonehenge and Salisbury Plain (Britain) use?
Rituals connected with observation of astronomical movements
Stonehenge timeline
2750-1500 BC
Why are roofs throughout history always an issue until advanced materials and construction methods?
Taller ceiling height = thicker walls = smaller spaces
Light has trouble getting through thick wall openings
Larger rooms aren’t possible until more materials
Oldest build human shelter found in?
Terra Amata (Southern France)
How old are the homes in Terra Amata (Southern France)?
Believed to be 400,000 years old
What were the Terra Amata (Southern France) building materials
Hut made from tree branches
“Primitive” shelters basics
Generally quite small
Almost invariably circular
Use of local materials available
Use of materials with short lifespan
Key inventions after permanent settlements?
Controlled use of fire
Use of language
Development of agriculture
Why did people settle?
To remain close to harvest the crops
To exchange goods
Sumerians dates?
(3500-1800 BC)
Sumerians government?
Monarchy
Sumerian structure?
Ziggurat
Ancient Egypt skills
Great knowledge and skill in geometry and proportion evidenced in their monumental architecture
Tomb of Pa-Schedu
Thebes - 1,500 BC
Wooden Drawing board with a figure of Thutmose III
1450 BC
Egyptian Interiors
Axial Planning and Sequencing of spaces
Skiomorphosis
a design feature which no longer has any function but served some purpose in earlier periods
Use of joinery
mortise and tenon, miter, and dovetail
Use of bas relief (low relief)
surface is carved away to reveal an image
Applied polychromy
painted surfaces
Incised ornament
cut in or engraved ornamentation
