Stone Age - Mesopotamia Flashcards
Period when Homo Sapiens or Cro-Magnon man used chipped stones, and also represents a giant key in human cognition, abstract thinking; they attempt to gain some sort of control over their management by magic or ritual
Paleolithic / Old Stone Age (10,000 - 30,000 BC)
Small figurines or decorative objects were carved or modeled with clay,
collectively known as?
Venus
Painted with four great bulls; believed to express belief in the power of animals
Great Hall of the Bulls (Lascaux, France)
-4 1/2” tall made of limestone; stumpy female figure features penduluos breasts, an obese
middle, belly and buttocks
- Also called sculpture-in-the-round
Venus of Willendorf (Austria)
Old stone age’s sub period when they used pigments for bodily ornamentation
Mousterian
Old stone age’s sub period when cave paintings was started
Aurignacian
Old stone age’s sub period when it was the last of the hunter gatherers; art found are engraving of animals on bone
Magdelanian
Old stone age’s sub period when people were nomadic hunters
Glacial Age
Period when settled communities and farming started; the invention of bow and arrow, pottery, and food storage, and domestication of small animals.
Mesolithic Age / Middle Stone Age (10,000 - 8,000 BC)
Period when agriculture was first developed and people settled in permanent villages; mud bricks were first used
Neolothic / New Stone Age (7,000 - 3,000 BC)
Type of architecture in the New Stone Age that is conical, stone roofed building
Trullo
Type of architecture in the New Stone Age that looks like a Beehive
Beehive hut
A large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument either
alone or with other stones
Megalith
Single upright standing stone
Menhir
Free standing chambers, covered by a capstone as a lid; (used for burial and were
covered
Dolmen
an upright slab forming part of a larger structure
Orthostat
stones forming circle together
Stone circle
linear arrangement of parallel stones
Stone row
stones forming ‘T’
Taula
two parallel upright stones with horizontal stone (lintel) placed on top
Trilithlon
Period when copper and tin were widely used; advanced pottery
Bronze Age
“Cradle of Civilizations” because of their contributions including domestication of animals,
trade and coinage, legal government, potter’s wheel, wagon wheel, alphabet, etc.
Mesopotamian Civilization (4300 - 331 BC)
Location of Mesopotamian civilization are surrounded by which 2 rivers?
Tigris and Euphrates River
- Started ‘Cuneiform’
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
- Ziggurat architecture
Sumerian Period (6000 - 4000 BC)
- First Mesopotamian rulers to call themselves kings
- First to cast hollow life-size bronze sculptures using The Lost Wax Method or Cire-predue
Akkadian Period
Stone slab used as a marker; Earliest known monument to the glory of a conqueror. Naramsin alone stands triumphant as the defeated enemy soldiers plead for mercy
Stele of Naram-sin
System of writing by use of characters formed by the arrangement of small wedge-shaped elements
Cuneiform
World’s first literature (first written
records/ documents)
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Constructed one of the largest ziggurat in mesopotamia at Ur
Neo-Sumerian Period
Period when Hammurabi formulated laws
Babylonian Period (Chaldean Period; 4000 - 700 BC)
Babylon’s greatest king
Hammurabi
Period when Nebuchadnezzar II has been associated with the architectural wonders of
Babylon
Neo Babylonian Period
Law comprising of 300 statues written in Akkadian on 51 columns
The Law Code of Hammurabi
Entrance gate to the Palace of Sargon; named after the goddess of love, fertility;
semi-circular arch covered with colored tiles
Ishtar Gate
seven-tiered ziggurat rising from a base of 397 sq.ft.
Tower of Babel
Palace built by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife, Amytis
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Artificial mountains made of tiered rectangular layer which rose in number from one to seven
Ziggurat
Key Characteristics of Paleolitihic period or Old Stone AGE
- Concerned itself with food or Fertility
- Magic or Ritual
- Abstract thinking
Factors of Historical Development
- Rational, Technological and Constructional
- Social and Religious
- Economic, Cultural and Political
- Zeitgeist or Spirit of the Age
- Any human being which is part human and part animal
- Someone with an intense spiritual or psychological identification with a non-human animal.
- They believe they already are their animal, inside.
Therianthrope
- Spirit-animals, calling them from the underworld through the cave walls into their presence
- Goal of this is usually to direct these spirits or spiritual energies into the physical world, for healing or another purpose.
Shaman/Shamanism
Sculptural technique where the sculpted elements remain attached to a solid background of the same material
To give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane
Relief
Also known as Horn of Plenty
Cornucopia
How do the remains of Assyrian culture in architecture and sculpture reflect their society?
They reflect the might and power of their kings, using art and architecture to display power, wealth, and intimidate enemies.
What was the significance of wood in the hall of the Palace of Sargon II?
Wood represented wealth because vegetation was not prevalent, making it costly and expensive.
How was fortification used in Assyrian architecture?
It indicated the presence of war, as archers strategically used walls or crenellations during battles.
What is a human-headed winged lion statue that served as a palace protector?
A Lamassu.
Where were the Lamassu statues excavated?
At the Nimrud Gate at the Palace of Sargon II.
How did the Assyrians make their Lamassu statues appear lifelike?
By combining both sculpture in the round and relief sculpture techniques.
What did relief carvings of kings killing wild animals symbolize in Assyrian art?
A display of power and intimidation.
Who were the early goldsmiths from the kingdom of Iran in Southwest Asia?
The Persians.
What is the origin of the term ‘Persia’?
It comes from a region in southern Iran previously known as Persis or Parse, named after an Indo-European nomadic tribe.
What does the name ‘Persepolis’ mean?
‘City of the Persians.’
Who founded the Persian Achaemenid Dynasty, the largest empire in the world?
King Cyrus II, also known as Cyrus the Great.
What is the Persian belief system that emphasizes the duality of light and dark?
Zoroastrianism.
Why were there no temples during the Persian period?
Because rituals were held outdoors, making palaces the most important architectural and cultural structures.
What architectural element introduced by the Persians symbolized power and fertility?
The Bull Capital or Impost Blocks.
What did the bull symbolize in Persian architecture?
Power, fertility, and the king’s position as the head of state.
What is the function of the Propylaeum built by Xerxes?
It served as the gateway to the palace.
What was the Apadana used for?
It was an audience hall where the king received guests and contained 36 massive columns.
What structure built by Darius contained a vast number of columns?
The Hall of a Hundred Columns.
What were the two main palaces at Persepolis?
The Palace of Darius and the Palace of Xerxes.
What was the first arcaded construction built in the Persian Empire?
The Palace of Shapur I.
Where was the Palace of Shapur I located?
In Ctesiphon, Iraq, between 242-272 A.D.
