Çatalhöyük or Çatal Höyük (pronounced "cha-tal hay OOK") is not the oldest site of the Neolithic era

or the largest, but it is extremely important to the beginning of art. Located near the modern city of
Konya in south central Turkey, it was inhabited 9000 years ago by up to 8000 people who lived
together in a large town. Çatalhöyük, across its history, witnesses the transition from exclusively
hunting and gathering subsistence to increasing skill in plant and animal domestication. We might see
Çatalhöyük as a site whose history is about one of man’s most important transformations: from nomad
to settler. It is also a site at which we see art, both painting and sculpture, appear to play a newly
important role in the lives of settled people.
Nearly every house excavated at Çatalhöyük was
found to contain decorations on its walls and
platforms, most often in the main room of the
house. Moreover, this work was constantly being
renewed; the plaster of the main room of a house
seems to have been redone as frequently as every
month or season. Both geometric and figural
images were popular in two-dimensional wall
painting and the excavator of the site believes that
geometric wall painting was particularly associated
with adjacent buried youths. Figural paintings
show the animal world alone, such as, for
instance, two cranes facing each other standing
behind a fox, or in interaction with people, such as
a vulture pecking at a human corpse or hunting
scenes. Wall reliefs are found at Çatalhöyük with
some frequency, most often representing animals,
such as pairs of animals facing each other and
human-like creatures. These latter reliefs,
alternatively thought to be bears, goddesses or
regular humans, are always represented splayed,
with their heads, hands and feet removed,
presumably at the time the house was abandoned.
The most remarkable art found at Çatalhöyük, however, are the installations of animal remains and
among these the most striking are the bull bucrania. In many houses the main room was
decorated with several plastered skulls of bulls set into the walls (most common on East or West
walls) or platforms, the pointed horns thrust out into the communal space. Often the bucrania
would be painted ochre red. In addition to these, the remains of other animals’ skulls, teeth, beaks,
tusks or horns were set into the walls and platforms, plastered and painted. It would appear that
the ancient residents of Çatalhöyük were only interested in taking the pointy parts of the animals
back to their homes!
How can we possibly understand this practice of interior decoration with the remains of
animals? A clue might be in the types of creatures found and represented. Most of the animals
represented in the art of Çatalhöyük were not domesticated; wild animals dominate the art at the
site. Interestingly, examination of bone refuse shows that the majority of the meat which was
consumed was of wild animals, especially bulls. The excavator believes this selection in art and
cuisine had to do with the contemporary era of increased domestication of animals and what is
being celebrated are the animals which are part of the memory of the recent cultural past, when
hunting was much more important for survival.
The ancient Sumerians, the "black-headed ones," lived in the southern part of what is now Iraq. The
heartland of Sumer lay between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, in what the Greeks later called
Mesopotamia. This territory, once skillfully irrigated, proved very fertile, and major cities had long been
in existence before the period when archaeologists can identify the Sumerian people themselves.

The Sumerians were characteristically inventive, and are likely to have been responsible for the
development of the first writing. Well before 3000 B.C.E. Sumerians were recording their language
using simple pictures. They wrote on tablets of clay, later evolving the script that to us is known as
cuneiform, or "wedge-shaped.”

They were energetic farmers, traders and sailors. Their religion recognized many gods, whose feats
and escapades were described in stories that were often preserved for generations. Rituals as well as
parties were enlivened by skillful harpists and singers, and Sumerian musical instruments have even
been excavated by modern archaeologists.

Book-keeping was a feature of Sumerian life, and very detailed records on clay tablets of offerings,
rations, taxes and agricultural work have come down to us. Their favorite board game, Royal Game of
Ur, achieved popularity throughout the whole Middle Eastern world. Imported lapis lazuli and carnelian
was much prized for inlays and jewelry.

Archaeology has shown that in about 2500 B.C.E. the ruling elite in the city of Ur went to their final
resting place surrounded by their wealth and the attendant bodies of their court personnel.
 Uruk (modern Warka in Iraq)—where city life began more than five thousand years ago and where
the first writing emerged—was clearly one of the most important places in southern Mesopotamia.
Within Uruk, the greatest monument was the Anu Ziggurat on which the White Temple was built.
Dating to the late 4th millennium B.C.E. (the Late Uruk Period, or Uruk III) and dedicated to the sky
god Anu, this temple would have towered well above (approximately 40 feet) the flat plain of Uruk,
and been visible from a great distance—even over the defensive walls of the city.

Reconstructions of ancient sites or finds can help us to understand the distant past. For non-academics,
reconstructions offer a glimpse into that past, a kind of visual accumulation of scientific research
communicated by means of images, models or even virtual reality. We see reconstructions in films, museums
and magazines to illustrate the stories behind the historical or archaeological facts. For archaeologists like me
however, reconstructions are also an important tool to answer unsolved questions and even raise new ones.
One field where this is particularly true is the reconstruction of ancient architecture. Represent a CITY-STATE.
Title: Temple at Ur
Nanna Ziggurat
Source/Museum: Present-day Muqaiyir, Iraq
The first fully developed written
script, cuneiform, was invented to
account for something
unglamorous, but very important—
surplus commodities: bushels of
barley, head of cattle, and jars of
oil!
Sign with a Cylinder Seal
Cuneiform was used for official accounting, governmental and
theological pronouncements and a wide range of correspondence.
Nearly all of these documents required a formal “signature,” the
impression of a cylinder seal. Think bead. (Pictographs and cuniform).

A cylinder seal is a small pierced object, like a long round bead,

carved in reverse (intaglio) and hung on strings of fiber or leather.
These often beautiful objects were ubiquitous in the Ancient Near East
and remain a unique record of individuals from this era. Each seal was
owned by one person and was used and held by them in particularly
intimate ways, such as strung on a necklace or bracelet.

When a signature was required, the seal was taken out and rolled on
the pliable clay document, leaving behind the positive impression of
the reverse images carved into it. However, some seals were valued Art historians are interested in
not for the impression they made, but instead, for the magic they were cylinder seals is because of the
thought to possess or for their beauty. iconography (the study of the
content of a work of art). Each
Each seal is a small time capsule of what sorts of motifs and styles character, gesture and decorative
were popular during the lifetime of the owner. These seals, which element can be “read” and reflected
survive in great numbers, offer important information to understand the back on the owner of the seal,
developing artistic styles of the Ancient Near East. revealing his or her social rank and
even sometimes the name of the
Reading- Epic of Gilgamesh (narrative through pictures) owner.
 Function:
-used as a well for grinding
and mixing makeup, like dark
eyeliner applied under eyes to
protect from the sun's harsh
glare (dessert region)
-found buried under the floor
of a temple in Hierakonpolis
-leaders, upper class people,
or anyone who had the
money would give objects
such as this to temples
Form: to demonstrate their piety and
-Palette of King Narmer. Predynastic Egypt. form a connection with the
c. 3000–2920 B.C.E. Greywacke God
-carved from slate (grayish/green siltstone), -this palette was a ceremonial
object, dedicated to a god,
In bas-relief, 2.1 feet high (very large for a used for rituals, and could
palette) have been used to apply
-typically palettes were smaller, very flat make up to the actual artistic
and didn’t depictions of the god in the
feature intricate designs, but the pallet of temple
Narmer is unique -would have been ritually
buried after new donations
-carved in stone, lasting, were received
demonstrates strength -makeup could have been
of culture mixed in the well formed by
-found in the temple of horas (showed in his the the two intertwining heads
representative falcon) of the mythical seopards
Content:
-uniquely displays human action,
opposed to animals or just mythical
imagery
-contains iconography that is
consistent with other Egyptian art
thousands of years later, consistency
representative of Egypts stability
-contains several scenes, symbols
and creatures of cultural significance
all explained in full in the above
images
-features the power of the king
through use of hierarchical scale,
registers, (uniquely) showingkilts,
royal beard, and bull tail, him in the
crown of both upper and lower
egypt, kilts, the royal beard, and a
bull tail
Context:
-palettes were very widely
distributed, as makeup in Egypt
was accessible for men and
women of all social classes
-the unification of upper and
lower Egypt under a single ruler
was a very significant event in
Egyptian history at this point in
time, the duality of the piece
with the king's two crowns and
the two different faces of
the palette represents their
unity, while depicting their
differences
-on both sides the lowest
register features the dead
bodies of defeated enemies,
again demonstrating Egyptian
strength, this time in a military
sense
-could also be depicting chaos Horizontal lines that divide the images into
and order, an essential belief in sections are called REGISTERS. The Cross-Cultural Comparison: Symbolism
the Egyptian understanding of narrative is the unification of the Upper and Delacriox, Liberty Leading the People
the cosmos Lower Egypt through the metaphor Journey Cotsiogo, Hide Painting of a Sun Dance
-some of the imagery could of the Sun and chaos to order. Ruler's Feathered Headdress
represent the journey of the sun
god
Vertical Lines are REGISTERS, FRIEZES and GROUNDLINES. The narrative is the Journey of the Sun
and Chaos versus Order as a UNIFICATION. Pictograph and hierarchy of scale,
014. Statues of Votive Figures from the Square Temple at Eshnunna (moden Tell
Asmar, Iraq)
Sumerian Ca. 2700 BCE
 Cross-Cultural
What culture created these statues, and what size are they? Connections:
Sumerian, ranging from under a foot to over two and a half feet. Female Deity from
Nukuoro
What kinds of beings do these figures portray? What was their purpose?
Veranda post
They portray mortals, as perpetual worshipers. ]Ikenga
What do the inscriptions on the figures contain?
The name of the donor, the deity to whom the prayers are addressed, and the text of the prayers.

Statues of Votive Figures

Context: 2900 B.C.E.
Aspect of Mesopotamian religion is the votive figure of mortal men and women. Worshipers would set up images of themselves
in a shrine before a larger image of god as part of devotional practice
Content:
Alabaster (soft stone). Pedestals (standing up during worship) . 1 to 3 ft tall
Figures of donor males and females. Hierarchical scale of individual parts of the body -- eyes are larger than the hands
Form: Individualized vs. stylized or symbolic. Realistic anatomy. Detailed eyes → significant, intricate.
Made of Lapis Lazuli. Materials → gypsum inlaid with shell and brick limestone.
¡ Faces and bodies in a V-shape with the skirt kicking out
¡ It is not a true portrait where you could recognize the individual
¡ Function
¡ Portable; temple away from place of worship
¡ Stand-in for owner (stylized for a specific person but not an individual)
¡ Inscription
§ Reminds anthropomorphic god to look favorably upon the donor
§ Wish to be granted
§ Increase the representation and status of the donor by showing the wealth of the votive offering

Painted Limestone with rock crystal,
magnesite, copper/arsenic inlay for
eyes and wooden nipples.
Cross-Cultural Comparison: Human Figure
Shiva as Nataraja
Great Buddha From Todai-ji
Abakanowicz, Androgyn III
Form
Unique that the figure is seated as opposed to upright and statuary.
Unique in its individualistic features
Irises are inlaid with rock crystal
Figure is limestone painted with red ocher.
Nipples made of wood
Would have been placed on top of a description piece about the scribe
Function
Commemorate and revere the scribe himself and his importance in preserving Egyptian
history.
Serves a funerary purpose to help the scribe transcend into the afterlife.
The position in which the scribe was posed was originially for royal sons
Content
Holds a papyrus scroll
Midriff fat shows his wealth and importance
His tranquil face symbolizes wisdom.
His calm gaze symbolizes his knowledge and intent desire to reach the afterlife
He would have been seated on a larger piece that would have had descriptions of his
titles and names
The scribe is depicted at work which is unusual for a Egyptian statue
The position of the scribe in this statue is a position of royalty in the sitting down
Context
Depicts a scribe from the Necropolis at Saqqara, Egypt.
Scribes were revered for their literacy and writing abilities, which were not ubiquitous at
the time.
Egyptian sites for years have been pillaged and it is very fortunate that an artwork like this
was recovered and sent to the Louvre
Title: Head of a man (known as Akkadian ruler)
Medium: Copper Alloy Absolute Monarchy. Details in hair and beard are
Size: height 14⅜" (36.5 cm) triangular. Considered formal (symmetrical)
Date: c. 2300–2200 BCE patterns. Overlapping of hair shows depth. Life
Source/Museum: Nineveh (present-day Kuyunjik, Iraq) / size. Foundry were present, hollow cast, oldest
Iraq Museum, Baghdad know life scaled sculpture.

Title: Stele of Naram-Sin

Medium: Limestone
Size: height 6'6" (1.98 m)
Date: c. 2220–2184 BCE

* Stele
Hierarchical scale
(Hieratic scale)
Ladder to Heaven/ devotion platform
Frieze format (3 levels-
orientation, the complication
and the resolution)
 CULTURAL COMPARISONS:
Column of Trajan
Bayeux Tapestry
Last Judgement of Hu-Nefer
(Book of the Dead)
Night Attack on the Sanjo
Palace

Wood inlaid with shell, lapis, lazuli, and red limestone.

Found in one of the largest graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, lying in the corner of a chamber
above a soldier who is believed to have carried it on a long pole as a standard, the royal emblem
of a king.

Narrative device: registers, hierrachy of scale and sequential ordering of story. TWISTED
PERSCPECTIVE.
Standard of Ur-
True King and Queen or Aristocrat and Priest? What details might held decide?
Lapis Lazuli is present but comes from Afghanistan. Why is this important?
Wooden box, flag or offering box to collect currency. Inlaid with shells and lapis with limestone details.
Most likely mounted on a pole as a flag or sound box or both.

2 sides- Part of a HISTORICAL Narrative. Read BOTTOM TO TOP.

3 horizontal bands (registers)

WAR side-
Composite view (vs twisted). Find the story. Note the action going on.

PEACE side-
Harp with player and singer (eunuch). Bull harp (Queen/ Lady Pu-abi- Embodied moon god Nanna)

THEMES: sacrifice, warfare , masculinity, community, power and authority, class divide, wealth and status

CONTEXT:
Found just south of modern day Iraq
Prosperous and fertile area for agriculture- profit and surplus of food built in more time for art
More levels of wealth and different roles in society (wealth led to more priests and organized religion)
Different classes of people reflected on the standard- poor on the bottom and rich on the top.
found in the Graves of Ur- used from 2600-2000 BCE
one grave could hold as many as 74 sacrificial victims
very rich resources/minerals found here
standard of Ur found in one of these graves
The main panels are known as "War" and "Peace." "War" shows one of the earliest representations
of a Sumerian army. Chariots, each pulled by four donkeys, trample enemies; infantry with cloaks
carry spears; enemy soldiers are killed with axes, others are paraded naked and presented to the
king who holds a spear.

The "Peace" panel depicts animals, fish and other goods brought in procession to a banquet.
Seated figures, wearing woolen fleeces or fringed skirts, drink to the accompaniment of a musician
playing a lyre. Banquet scenes such as this are common on cylinder seals of the period, such as on
the seal of the "Queen" Pu-abi, also in the British Museum (see image above).

The royal graves of Ur

Close to temple buildings at the center of the city of Ur, sat a rubbish dump built up over centuries.
Unable to use the area for building, the people of Ur started to bury their dead there. The cemetery
was used between about 2600-2000 B.C.E. and hundreds of burials were made in pits. Many of
these contained very rich materials.

In one area of the cemetery a group of sixteen graves was dated to the mid-third millennium. These
large, shaft graves were distinct from the surrounding burials and consisted of a tomb, made of
stone, rubble and bricks, built at the bottom of a pit. The layout of the tombs varied, some occupied
the entire floor of the pit and had multiple chambers. The most complete tomb discovered belonged
to a lady identified as Pu-abi from the name carved on a cylinder seal found with the burial.
Each progression shows an increase in height which is symbolic
as an assending to the Sun.
Religion
¡ Polytheistic
¡ Compound deities
¡ Multiple aspects
¡ Pantheon
¡ Foreign Gods

Chronology
¡ Predynastic Period: 5,000 – 2,950 BCE
¡ Early Dynastic Egypt: 2,950 – 2,575 BCE
¡ The Old Kingdom: 2,575 – 2,150 BCE
¡ The Middle Kingdom: 1,975 – 1,640 BCE
¡ The New Kingdom: 1,539 – 1,075 BCE
¡ Late Dynastic
¡ Intermediate

Hieroglyphs
¡ Hieroglyphs
¡ Hieratic
¡ Demotic
¡ Coptic
Cut limestone. The Great Sphinx is believed to be the most immense stone sculpture ever made by
man. (stone, tombs, statues, animal symbolism)

Form: bedrock, local core stones, Tura limestone casing, red granite, mortar. Nearly perfect pyramids.
Edges aligned with cardinal pts.

Function: burial sites for kings. Royal Mortuary complex. perhaps intended as a solidified version of the
rays of the sun.

Content: three major pyramids for three rulers over three generations and many other smaller cemeteries
and temples. Representations of the passages of the dead.

Context: tallest things for over 4000 years. Ancient Egypt. People had to have everything for the afterlife,
so they are buried with all the things they need in life. We still don't know how these were built. Pharaohs
were kings, but also divine
The plan shows processional routes and secondary
structures that were primarily intended to facilitate
priestly offerings of food and drink to the deceased.
Three pyramids, three rulers
The three primary pyramids on the Giza
plateau were built over the span of three
generations by the rulers Khufu, Khafre,
and Menkaure. Each pyramid was part of
a royal mortuary complex that also
included a temple at its base and a long
stone causeway (some nearly 1 kilometer
in length) leading east from the plateau to
a valley temple on the edge of the
floodplain.

Other (smaller) pyramids, and small

tombs
In addition to these major structures,
several smaller pyramids belonging to
queens are arranged as satellites. A major
cemetery of smaller tombs, known as
mastabas (Arabic for ‘bench’ in reference
to their shape—flat-roofed, rectangular,
with sloping sides), fills the area to the
east and west of the pyramid of Khufu and
were constructed in a grid-like pattern for
prominent members of the court. Being
buried near the pharaoh was a great
honor and helped ensure a prized place in
the afterlife.
A reference to the sun
The shape of the pyramid was a solar reference, perhaps intended as a solidified version of the rays of the sun. Texts
talk about the sun’s rays as a ramp the pharaoh mounts to climb to the sky—the earliest pyramids, such as the Step
Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara—were actually designed as a staircase. The pyramid was also clearly connected to the
sacred ben-ben stone, an icon of the primeval mound that was considered the place of initial creation. The pyramid was
considered a place of regeneration for the deceased ruler.

It is likely that there was a permanent group of skilled craftsmen and builders who were supplemented by seasonal
crews of approximately 2,000 conscripted peasants. These crews were divided into gangs of 200 men, with each group
further divided into teams of 20. Experiments indicate that these groups of 20 men could haul the 2.5 ton blocks from
quarry to pyramid in about 20 minutes, their path eased by a lubricated surface of wet silt. An estimated 340 stones
could be moved daily from quarry to construction site, particularly when one considers that many of the blocks (such as
those in the upper courses) were considerably smaller.

Form: bedrock, local core stones, Tura limestone casing, red granite, mortar. Nearly perfect pyramids. Edges aligned
with cardinal pts.

Function: burial sites for kings. Royal Mortuary complex. perhaps intended as a solidified version of the rays of the sun.

Content: three major pyramids for three rulers over three generations and many other smaller cemeteries and temples.
Representations of the passages of the dead.

Context: tallest things for over 4000 years. Ancient Egypt. People had to have everything for the afterlife, so they are
buried with all the things they need in life. Pharaohs were kings, but also divine.

Items were stylized for the Pharaohs. These items were not for everyone to see. We protect what is valuable-
cultural and spiritual, beliefs and morals.
Diagram of the interior of the Pyramid of
Khufu
Above the King’s Chamber are five stress-
relieving chambers of massive granite
blocks topped with immense cantilevered
blocks forming a pent roof to distribute the
weight of the mountain of masonry above it.
The king’s sarcophagus, also carved from
red granite, sits empty at the exact central
axis of the pyramid. This burial chamber was
sealed with a series of massive granite
blocks and the entrance to the shaft filled
with limestone in an effort to obscure the
opening.

At the very top of the pyramid would have

sat a capstone, known as a pyramidion, that
may have been gilt. This dazzling point,
shining in the intense sunlight, would have
been visible for a great distance.

Boat for the afterlife- The River Nile.

Amarna style Necropolis
art created during the reign of Akhenaton, which features a more literally, a "city of the dead," a large burial area
relaxed figure style than in Old and Middle Kingdom art papyrus
ankh a tall aquatic plant whose fiber is used as a writing surface in ancient
an Egyptian symbol of life Egypt peristyle
axial plan a colonnade surrounding a building or enclosing a courtyard
a building with an elongated ground plan pharaoh
clerestory a king of ancient Egypt
a roof that rises above lower roofs and thus has window space beneath pylon
engaged column a monumental gateway to an Egyptian temple marked by two flat,
a column that is not freestanding but attached to a wall sloping walls between which is a smaller entrance
ground line register
a base line upon which figures stand a horizontal band, often on top of another, that tells a narrative story
hierarchy of scale relief sculpture
a system of representation that expresses a person's importance by sculpture which projects from a flat background. A very shallow
the size of his or her representation in a work of art relief sculpture is called a bas-relief (pronounced: bah-relief)
hieroglyphics sarcophagus (plural, sarcophagi)
Egyptian writing using symbols or pictures as characters a stone coffin
hypostyle stylized
a hall in an Egyptian temple that has a roof support by a dense thicket a schematic, non-realistic manner of representing the visible world
of columns and its contents, abstracted from the way that they appear in nature
In situ sunken relief
a Latin expression that means that something is in its original location a carving in which the outlines of figures are deeply carved into a
Ka surface so that the figures seem to project forward
the soul, or spiritual essence, of a human being that either ascends to
heaven or can live in an Egyptian statue of itself old kingdom 2575- 2150 BCE
Mastaba middle kingdom 1975-1640 BCE
Arabic for "bench," a low, flat-roofed Egyptian tomb with side sloping new kingdom. 1539-1075 BCE
down to the ground
To create the proportions of human form in
artwork, Egyptians used the canon ofproportions,
or a set of guidelines, to give order to their art. This
system was based on a grid of 19 squares high
(including one square from the hairline to the top of
the head, usually hidden under a crown).

Canon of Proportions
Khafre
The lion was a royal symbol as well as being
connected with the sun as a symbol of the
horizon; the fusion of this powerful animal with
the head of the pharaoh was an icon that
survived and was often used throughout
Egyptian history. The king’s head is on a
smaller scale than the body. This appears to
have been due to a defect in the stone; a
weakness recognized by the sculptors who
compensated by elongating the body.

Directly in front of the Sphinx is a separate

temple dedicated to the worship of its cult, but
very little is known about it since there are no
Old Kingdom texts that refer to the Sphinx or
its temple. The temple is similar to Khafre’s
mortuary temple and has granite pillars forming
a colonnade around a central
courtyard. However, it is unique in that it has
two sanctuaries—one on the east and one on
the west—likely connected to the rising and
setting sun.
Greywacke. Representational, proportional, frontal viewpoint, hierarchical structure. They were perfectly preserved and
nearly life-size. This was the modern world's first glimpse of one of humankind's artistic masterworks, the statue of king
Menkaura and queen Khamerernebty.

The two figures stand side-by-side on a simple, squared base and are
supported by a shared back pillar. They both face to the front, although
Menkaure’s head is noticeably turned to his right—this image was likely
originally positioned within an architectural niche, making it appear as
though they were emerging from the structure. The broad-shouldered,
youthful body of the king is covered only with a traditional short pleated
kilt, known as a shendjet, and his head sports the primary pharaonic
insignia of the iconic striped nemes headdress (so well known from the
mask of Tutankhamun) and an artificial royal beard. In his clenched fists,
held straight down at his sides, Menkaure grasps ritual cloth rolls. His
body is straight, strong, and eternally youthful with no signs of age. His
facial features are remarkably individualized with prominent eyes, a fleshy
nose, rounded cheeks, and full mouth with protruding lower lip.

Menkaure and his queen stride forward with their left feet—this is entirely
expected for the king, as males in Egyptian sculpture almost always do
so, but it is unusual for the female since they are generally depicted with
feet together. They both look beyond the present and into timeless
eternity, their otherworldly visage displaying no human emotion
whatsoever. The cobra that usually adorns the King is missing but may
have been out of a material that did not survive.

Left in an incomplete state, the image was erected in the temple and was
brightly painted—there are traces of red around the king’s ears and mouth
and yellow on the queen’s face.
For Eyes of the Royal Only

Based on comparison with other images, there is no doubt that this sculpture shows Menkaure, but the
identity of the queen is a different matter. She is clearly a royal female. She stands at nearly equal height
with the king and, of the two of them, she is the one who is entirely frontal. In fact, it may be that this dyad
is focused on the queen as its central figure rather than Menkaure. The prominence of the royal female—
at equal height and frontal—in addition to the protective gesture she extends has suggested that, rather
than one of Mekaure’s wives, this is actually his queen-mother. The function of the sculpture in any case
was to ensure rebirth for the king in the Afterlife. https://smarthistory.org/king-menkaure-mycerinus-and-
queen/

Remember pyramids are not stand-alone structures. Those at Giza formed only a part of a much larger
complex that included a temple at the base of the pyramid itself, long causeways and corridors, small
subsidiary pyramids, and a second temple (known as a valley temple) some distance from the pyramid.
These Valley Temples were used to perpetuate the cult of the deceased king and were active places of
worship for hundreds of years (sometimes much longer) after the king’s death. Images of the king were
placed in these temples to serve as a focus for worship—several such images have been found in these
contexts, including the magnificent seated statue of Khafre, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

The three primary pyramids at Giza were constructed during the height of a period known as the Old
Kingdom and served as burial places, memorials, and places of worship for a series of deceased rulers--
the largest belonging to King Khufu, the middle to his son Khafre, and the smallest of the three to Khufu's
grandson, Menkaure.
Title: Stele of Hammurabi
Medium: Diorite, Basalt
Size: height of stele approx. 7' (2.13 m) height of relief 28“ (71.1 cm)
Date: c. 1792–1750 BCE
Source/Museum: Susa (present-day Shush, Iran)

In its original
context, the
interaction between
the god Shamash
and Hammurabi on
the Code of
Hammurabi was
intended to cause in
viewers a sense of
respect for the laws
recorded on the Hammurabi
stele by suggesting
their divine origin.

Shamash
This is the Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi.

It is one of the most popular objects to look at here (it was made in the Babylonian Kingdom which is now in Iraq) and I think
it's because of our modern interest and reliance on law as the founding principles of a civilization. And this is such an ancient
object, this is nearly 4,000 years old.

A stele is a tall carved object. This one is carved in relief at the top, and then below that, and on all sides, we have inscribed
cuneiform (script that is used on the stele) It's written in the language of Akkadian (which is the court language of the
Babylonians). Which was used for official government decrees. That's the language. The script is cuneiform.

It's divided into three parts. There's a prologue, which talks about the scene that's being represented at the top, the
Investiture of Hammurabi. What we see is the king on the left, he's smaller, and he's facing the god, Shamash. This is the sun
god, the god of justice. And we can tell he's a god because of the special horned crown that he wears and the flames or light
that emanate from his shoulders. We can think of this as a kind of divine light, the way that in so much Christian imagery, we
see a halo. And we have that composite view that we often see in Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Near-Eastern art, where the
shoulders are frontal but the face is represented in profile. Shamash sits on a throne, and if you look closely you can see
under his feet the representation of mountains that he rises from each day. He's giving to the king a scepter and a ring, these
are signs of power. - Hammurabi is demonstrating here that these are divine laws. That his authority comes from Shamash.

We have more than 300 laws here. And they're very particular. Scholars believe that they weren't so much written by the king
as listed from judgments that have already been meted out. They're legal precedents, and they take the form of announcing
an action and its consequences. If you do X, Y is the consequence. For example, if a man builds a house and the house falls
on the owner, the builder is put to death. There's a kind of equivalence, and this might remind us of the Biblical law of, "An
eye for an eye "or a tooth for a tooth." - Which is also found on the stele, and it's important and interesting to note that the
stele predates that Biblical text. The last part of the text, what is often referred to as the epilogue, speaks to the posterity of
the king, of the importance of his rule and the idea that he will be remembered for all time.

This is certainly not a unique stele in terms of recording laws, but it does survive largely intact. When it was discovered, it
was broken only into three parts, which you can still see today. These laws, almost 4,000 years old, tell us a tremendous
amount about Babylonian culture, about what was important to them. Many of these laws deal with agricultural issues, issues
of irrigation, and are clearly expressing points of tension in society. A lot of them have to do with family life, too, and the king
is, after all, responsible for the peace and prosperity and feeding of his people. And the stele is such a wonderful reminder
that Mesopotamia was such an advanced culture. Here, almost 4,000 years ago, we have cities that are dependent on good
crop yields, that require laws to maintain civil society. And a reminder of the debt that the world owes to the ancient
civilizations of Mesopotamia and the area that is seeing so much conflict now.
Cut sandstone and mud brick. The Hypostyle Hall is also the largest and most elaborately decorated of
all such buildings in Egypt and the patchwork of artistic styles and different royal names seen in these
inscriptions and relief sculptures reflect the different stages at which they were carved over the
centuries. As the temple of Amun-re is the largest religious complex in the world. The columns
represent the papyrus reeds.
020. Temple of Amun-Re and Hypostyle Hall

Cross-Cultural Connections:
- White Temple and its ziggurat
- These two religious sites have several things
in common. First, they are somewhat similar in
form. Both were constructed on the cardinal
directions and are built vertically to be close to
the heavens. Both are also built for the elites
of society to honor certain deities, and are very
large in size.

- Forbidden City
- Both of these sites use a lot of architecture
that is unique to that specific time period and
location. For example, the Forbidden City
includes lots of dragon carvings, courtyards,
and gardens. This, however, uses obelisks, a
sphinx, and lighting from above.
 Temple of Amun-Re
Form:
- Made of cut sandstone and mud brick
- Axis designed and created on the four
cardinal direction points
- Had both a north/south and an east/west axes
- "Hypostyle"=columns supporting a ceiling
- Made great usage of these columns, hence
the name
- One of the largest temple constructions in the
world
- Includes several unique forms of architecture
such as a sphinx and the tallest obelisk in Egypt
Content:
- The Pharaohs continued to add to it over time
- Clerestory lighting, meaning it was natural
and coming from openings above
- Creates a sort of heavenly, godly feeling
- Existed in Karnak, near Luxor, Egypt
- Architecture such as the obelisk and sphinx make
it uniquely Egyptian
Themes:
- Power and authority
- Religion, spirituality
- Legend/mythology
- God, the role of god in society
- Architectural renderings and influence
- Nature and the environment
Hypostyle Hall
Function:
- The principal religious center of the god Amun-Re
- Also honors several other Egyptian gods and
goddesses
- Especially present were the gods Mut and Montu
- Known as "The Most Select of Places"
- There was a community of religious peoples and elites
that lived there
- Has a rich economic, political, and social history as
well
- Served for some time as a small city in a sense,
epicenter of life
Context:
- Built and heavily used during the New Kingdom of
Ancient Egypt, especially the 18th and 19th
dynasties.
- Temple was built around 1550 BCE
- Hall was built around 1250 BCE
- Certain areas were very restrictive and only able to
be accessed by the elite individuals and Pharaohs
- Currently in a poor state due to a lack of preservation
- Still able to show us a lot about the architecture,
religion, and life of Ancient Egypt
 020. Temple of Amun-Re and Hypostyle Hall

The massive temple complex of Karnak was the principal religious center of the god Amun-Re in Thebes during the New Kingdom
(which lasted from 1550 until 1070 B.C.E.). The complex remains one of the largest religious complexes in the world. However,
Karnak was not just one temple dedicated to one god—it held not only the main precinct to the god Amun-Re—but also the precincts
of the gods Mut and Montu.

The main temple of Amun-Re had two axes—one that went north/south and the other that extended east/west. The southern axis
continued towards the temple of Luxor and was connected by an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes.

While the sanctuary was plundered for stone in ancient times, there are still a number of unique architectural features within this vast
complex. For example, the tallest obelisk in Egypt stood at Karnak and was dedicated by the female pharaoh Hatshepsut who ruled
Egypt during the New Kingdom. Made of one piece of red granite, it originally had a matching obelisk that was removed by the
Roman emperor Constantine and re-erected in Rome. Another unusual feature was the Festival Temple of Thutmose III, which had
columns that represented tent poles, a feature this pharaoh was no doubt familiar with from his many war campaigns

Hypostyle Hall
One of the greatest architectural marvels of Karnak is the hypostyle hall built during the Ramesside period (a hypostyle hall is a
space with a roof supported by columns). The hall has 134 massive sandstone columns with the center twelve columns standing at
69 feet. Like most of the temple decoration, the hall would have been brightly painted and some of this paint still exists on the upper
portions of the columns and ceiling today. With the center of the hall taller than the spaces on either side, the Egyptians allowed for
clerestory lighting (a section of wall that allowed light and air into the otherwise dark space below). In fact, the earliest evidence for
clerestory lighting comes from Egypt. Not many ancient Egyptians would have had access to this hall, since the further one went into
the temple, the more restricted access became.

An obelisk in ancient Egypt is commonly a very tall four-sided stone that tapers upward and is topped with a pyramid shape. Each
side is often heavily inscribed with hieroglyphs. The stone is often a single piece of granite. The obelisk from Karnak (now in Rome) is
estimated to weigh more than 900,000 pounds.

Ramesside refers to the period when Egypt was ruled by the eleven pharaohs named Ramses.
Clerestory refers to windows placed high on a wall often just below the roof.
Temple as cosmos
Conceptually, temples in Egypt were connected to the idea of zep tepi, or “the first time,” the beginnings of the creation of the
world. The temple was a reflection of this time, when the mound of creation emerged from the primeval waters. The pylons, or
gateways in the temple represent the horizon, and as one moves further into the temple, the floor rises until it reaches the
sanctuary of the god, giving the impression of a rising mound, like that during creation. The temple roof represented the sky and
was often decorated with stars and birds. The columns were designed with lotus, papyrus, and palm plants in order to reflect the
marsh-like environment of creation. The outer areas of Karnak, which was located near the Nile River, would flood during the
annual inundation—an intentional effect by the ancient designers no doubt, in order to enhance the temple's symbolism.
Sandstone, partially carved into a rock cliff, and red granite.
It sits directly against the rock which forms a natural amphitheater around it so that the temple itself
seems to grow from the living rock. Most beautiful of all of the temples of Ancient Egypt
Had terraces filled with exotic
trees and plants.
 https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/ancient-mediterranean-
ap/ancient-egypt-ap/v/mortuary-temple-of-hatshepsut-and-large-kneeling-statue-
new-kingdom-egypt
Form
Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is cut into the stone of the cliff-side done purposefully to increase the perceived power of a
structure by making it seem as though it is almost a part of nature and holds the stability of the mountainside it selfwe can
see aspects of symmetry as well as the use of columns (Egyptians didn't know how else to hold up a roof!)

Kneeling Statue is made from granite, which is very durable is also very large at almost nine feet tall (would impress any
viewer, especially because it would be placed with a number of other large statues depicting the queen)

Content
Kneeling Statue depicts Queen Hatshepsut in a kneeling position she was one of the only, and most powerful, female
pharaohs though we can tell that she is female, she has many male physical features thier breasts are de-emphasized, she
has the classic beard of the pharaohs, and wears the royal male headdress her masculine depiction is consistent with the
upkeep of continuity and stability for Egyptian rulers (there is no word for "queen" in Egyptian--she truly saw herself as a
king) different style than other Egyptian statues--her kneeling position humanizes her, and she is depicted in offering, most
likely to a deity
Temple features a lengthy, colonnaded terrace you must walk up a long ramp to enter into the temple (reminiscent of the
horizon, Egyptian creation mound) temple held many statues of Hatshepsut, as well as relief depictions of her as well as the
gods in the afterlife aligned with the winter solstice sun

Function
Mortuary Temple was a funerary shrine to Queen Hatshepsut was a place for people to go and appreciate her power by
looking at all of the different statues of her especially important because she was female, so she had to work extra hard to
establish her authority meant to help her in her journey to the afterlife people could pray to the gods "housed" in the temple
statues impressed upon people Hatshepsut's power and piety

Context
shows an interesting aspect to traditional Egyptian continuity break in continuity that Hatshepsut was a female, but many
aspects were kept the same--she was still depicted in the stiff, idealized form for her statue, and wore the male
accoutrements of office
 Limestone. This small stele, probably used as a home
altar, gives a seldom opportunity to view a scene from
the private life of the king and queen.

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-
history/ancient-mediterranean-ap/ancient-egypt-
ap/v/house-altar-depicting-akhenaten-nefertiti-and-
three-daughters

In the work shown from the Amarna period, the

use of sunken-relief carving creates strong
contours that accentuate the figure’s
curvilinear form and elongated features
Form: Bas-relief carving, limestone, 32.5 cm high

Content:
Bepicts King Akhenaten, his wife Nefertiti, seated on thrones holding three of their daughters on their laps
Iconography: monotheistic god, "Aten", represented by the sun disc in the center. Cobra in the sun disk implies SOLE
leadership, ONLY ONE GOD (monotheism); Aten is the supreme deity ankhs (symbol of life) radiate out from the sun disc and
reach toward the king and his wife this shows that Aten connects directly to the royal family, and to them alone

Function:
This piece was meant to be a house altar. The iconography of Aten and the depiction of the royal family of Akhenaten
was propagated to encourage people to embrace the new monotheistic religion works such as this relief carving were present
and central to everyday life; the house altar serves a practical function as well as an artistic one, so the underlying message
becomes present and visible in the family's daily life.

Context:
Egyptian art and culture generally experienced little change; the Amarna period is an exception
pharaoh Akhenaten changed state religion from worship of god Amun to monotheistic worship of a new, sun god, Aten. Pharaoh
and his wife, Nefertiti, were made to be the only earthly representatives of this new god.
This upsets the entire Egyptian priesthood because it takes all their power and influence away and leaves it in the hands of the
royal family. The change in religion was not made because of the pharaoh's real, religious beliefs, but for purely selfish reasons:
to make himself and his family more powerful. After Akhenaten dies, Egypt returns to traditional religion so, brief "blip" in
Egyptian history.
There are also significant stylistic changes: domestic focus, tenderness, more informal: softer, less rigid and permanent than
what we see in typical Egyptian artwork, disproportionate bodies. Art historians once thought that perhaps Akhenaten and his
family had some genetic disease that mutated the shape of their bodies. However, it is now believed that the artist just did not
have the skill to proportionally render the human body, and that the sloping, relaxed forms, were meant to be an encouragement
of curvilinear forms in artwork. Akhenaten encouraged this stylistic change from rectilinear forms to curvilinear as another
hallmark of his "new era"
Gold with inlay of enamel and semiprecious
stones. The king’s gold inner coffin, shown above,
displays a quality of workmanship and an attention
to detail which is unsurpassed. It is a stunning
example of the Ancient goldsmith's art
Form:
Tutankhamen’s sarcophagus had three coffins for the kings’ body. Outer two coffins were crafted in wood and covered in
gold along with semiprecious stones like lapis lazuli and turquoise.
The inner coffin was made of solid gold. When found it was “covered with a thick black pitch-like layer which extended from
the hands down to the ankles
The death mask originally rested on shoulders of the mummy inside the pure gold coffin made of two sheets of gold that
were hammered together and weighs 22.5 pounds (10.23 kg)

Function:
Spell 151b from the Book of the Dead on the back of Tutankhamen’s mask. Egyptians used as a road map for the afterlife.
Spell protects the various limbs of Tutankhamen as he moves into the underworld. The sarcophagus was meant to preserve
and protect the pharaoh in the afterlife.

Content:
Tutankhamen’s sarcophagus had three coffins for the kings’ body. Outer two coffins were crafted in wood and covered in
gold along with semiprecious stones ike lapis lazuli and turquoise. The gods were thought to have skin of gold, bones of
silver, and hair of lapis lazuli. King is shown here in his divine form in the afterlife. He holds the crook and flail -- symbols of
the king’s right to rule
The goddesses Nekhbet (vulture) and Wadjet (cobra), inlaid with semiprecious stones, stretch their wings across torso
Beneath goddesses are two more—Isis and Nephthys. The death mask originally rested on shoulders of the mummy inside
the pure gold coffin. Made of two sheets of gold that were hammered together and weighs 22.5 pounds (10.23 kg)
Tutankhamen is depicted wearing the striped nemes headdress (the striped head-cloth typically worn by pharaohs in ancient
Egypt). Goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet depicted protecting his brow. He also wears a false beard that further connects him
to the image of a god. He wears a broad collar –– in terminals shaped as falcon head
Other things found in the tomb were :
http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/discoveringTut/
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tuta/hd_tuta.htm
Context:
Elaborate sarcophagus's like this one were only meant for kings and the rich, others were simply mummified or buried in the
sand. Tut was 9 when he became Pharaoh (18 dynasty –– New Kingdom ). New kingdom after Amarna age.
Tut is son of Akhenaten
Tut lived from 1332-1323 BCE
accented moved Egypt's capital to akhenaten/ amarna (mid egypt)
after dads rule and smenkhkare Tut shifted back to Amun’s worship and capital back to Thebes
Tut married half sis (Ankhesenamun) but no heirs. Died at 18 — don't know. Chariot accident, a swift kick from a
horse, hippopotamus attack??
Tutankhamun’s older advisor (and possible step-grandfather), Ay, married Ankhesenamun (Tut’s half sis) and became pharaoh
after his death
Painted papyrus scroll. In Hu-Nefer's scroll, the figures
have all the formality of stance, shape, and attitude of
traditional Egyptian art. Abstract figures and
hieroglyphs alike are aligned rigidly. Nothing here was
painted in the flexible, curvilinear style suggestive of
movement that was evident in the art of Amarna and
Tutankhamen. The return to conservatism is
unmistakable.
Symbols:
Ankh- eternal life
Anubis- God
Book of the Dead- Passage to the Afterlife
Heart/ Feather- Judgement

Egyptian gods were painted with a yellow skin color

and that living ordinary people were painted with a
red skin color.

Painted papyrus found in a in a tomb to guide a

deceased person in the afterlife. The visual
organization of the work is meant to suggest a In the last judgment of Hu-Nefer, from his tomb (page from
the Book of the Dead), the presence of the ibis-headed
sequence of successive events in an important
god Thoth demonstrates that the ancient Egyptians placed
narrative. The scenes depicted in the work are
great importance in written records and observations.
intended to convey the ancient Egyptian concept of
justice and morality, by depicting the divine judgment
of a mortal person’s life. In its original function, the
work is most similar to the Great Pyramids
(Menkaura, Khafre, Khufu) and Great Sphinx.
Hunefer: An ancient Egyptian official
Hunefer and his wife Nasha lived during the Nineteenth Dynasty, in around 1310 B.C.E.. He was a "Royal Scribe" and "Scribe of
Divine Offerings." He was also "Overseer of Royal Cattle," and steward of King Sety I. These titles indicate that he held
prominent administrative offices, and would have been close to the king. The location of his tomb is not known, but he may have
been buried at Memphis.

Hunefer's high status is reflected in the fine quality of his Book of the Dead, which was specially produced for him. This, and a
Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure, inside which the papyrus was found, are the only objects which can be ascribed to Hunefer. The
papyrus of Hunefer is characterized by its good state of preservation and the large, and clear vignettes (illustrations) are
beautifully drawn and painted. The vignette illustrating the "Opening of the Mouth" ritual is one of the most famous pieces of
papyrus in The British Museum collection, and gives a great deal of information about this part of the funeral.

The centerpiece of the upper scene is the mummy of Hunefer, shown supported by the god Anubis (or a priest wearing a jackal
mask). Hunefer's wife and daughter mourn, and three priests perform rituals. The two priests with white sashes are carrying out
the Opening of the Mouth ritual. The white building at the right is a representation of the tomb, complete with portal doorway and
small pyramid. Both these features can be seen in real tombs of this date from Thebes. To the left of the tomb is a picture of the
stela which would have stood to one side of the tomb entrance. Following the normal conventions of Egyptian art, it is shown
much larger than normal size, in order that its content (the deceased worshipping Osiris, together with a standard offering
formula) is absolutely legible.

At the right of the lower scene is a table bearing the various implements needed for the Opening of the Mouth ritual. At the left is
shown a ritual, where the foreleg of a calf, cut off while the animal is alive, is offered. The animal was then sacrificed. The calf is
shown together with its mother, who might be interpreted as showing signs of distress.

The scene reads from left to right. To the left, Anubis brings Hunefer into the judgement area. Anubis is also shown supervizing
the judgement scales. Hunefer's heart, represented as a pot, is being weighed against a feather, the symbol of Maat, the
established order of things, in this context meaning 'what is right'. The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the seat of
the emotions, the intellect and the character, and thus represented the good or bad aspects of a person's life. If the heart did
not balance with the feather, then the dead person was condemned to non-existence, and consumption by the ferocious
"devourer," the strange beast shown here which is part-crocodile, part-lion, and part-hippopotamus.

However, as a papyrus devoted to ensuring Hunefer's continued existence in the Afterlife is not likely to depict this outcome, he
is shown to the right, brought into the presence of Osiris by his son Horus, having become "true of voice" or "justified." This was
a standard epithet applied to dead individuals in their texts. Osiris is shown seated under a canopy, with his sisters Isis
and Nephthys. At the top, Hunefer is shown adoring a row of deities who supervise the judgement.
"The ritual that would re-animate the deceased was called The Opening of the Mouth ceremony. It was an important ritual
in both funerary and in temple practice. The Opening of the Mouth originated as a ritual to endow statues with the capacity
to support the living ka, and to receive offerings. It was performed on cult statues of gods, kings, and private individuals, as
well as on the mummies of both humans and Apis bulls. It was even performed on the individual rooms of temples and on
the entire temple structure.

The effect of the ritual was to animate the recipient (or, in the case of a deceased individual, to re-animate it). The ritual
allowed the mummy, statue, or temple, to eat, breathe, see, hear and enjoy the offerings and provisions performed by the
priests and officiants, thus to sustain the ka. .

The ceremony should be carried out in the House of Gold. Once the deceased had arrived at his tomb, the akhu rituals
were performed to bring about his transfiguration The rite consisted of many acts, the opening of the mouth being just one,
but central. The first part was the lustration or washing. The deceaseds mummy was first set up on a clean mound of sand,
facing south. He should be purified with water poured from nmst and dshrt jars, and his mouth especially purified with balls
of natron from Upper and Lower Egypt.

The deceased should then be fumigated by incense. This part of the purification harks back to the Pyramid Texts, such as
spells 16-29, where perfume is used. The stm priest should be awakened. After he is dressed in his panther-skin garb. The
stm-priest identifies himself with Horus and opens the mouth of the statue with his fingers rather than with the adze.

The ox/bull is butchered and the heart presented to the deceased, its foreleg is severed and pointed towards the
deceased. The hieroglyph for foreleg denoted strength, and perhaps it was considered that the foreleg transferred the life-
force of the bull to the recipient of the Opening of the mouth (alternately, the bull may have had to do with reviving sexual
powers).
Then the mouth is opened with the ntjrwy tool, and the mummy is presented to the son "who loves him." More scenes
depict the son coming to the House of Gold, opening the mouth with the mdjdft-tool, and touching the mummy's mouth with
the little finger again.

An ostrich feather is presented, the psh-kef knife is presented, and more aromatics are burned. Grapes and other foods
are offered. Then the newly animated mummy is brought to his place. The ceremony is done."

Read more: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/open.htm#ixzz3o5CPJpmB

During the ancient Egyptian times, the Egyptians felt that it was important to communicate and record the information about
their government and religion (just as the modern world records their information) because of this reason they invented written
scripts. Ancient Egyptians use hieroglyphics to record their documents. The hieroglyphics are a way Egyptians wrote using
pictures and symbols. In the Greek language, hieroglyphics mean sacred carvings. Hieroglyphics lasted for over three
thousand years. Ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics on temples, monuments and stone. Egyptians copied the words for the
kinds and queens. Those words were known as the words of their gods. Instead of reading right to left, some of the
hieroglyphics read from left to right. The Egyptians knew which way to read the hieroglyphics by the way animal was facing.
Visit other countries and learn more about other cultures and ways of life.

The ancient Egyptians created the Rosetta stone. The Rosetta stone was a piece of stone that was black in color. This stone
was found in 1799 around the city of Rosetta by some French soldiers. The Rosetta stone had three different languages on it.
One of the languages was Greek and the other two languages were a form of Egyptian language (hieroglyphs and diotic).
Scholars were able to decipher the Greek letters, but after they studied the two languages for twenty years, they were not able
to figure it out. Finally, Jean Champollion discovered that the characters written by the Egyptians stood for sounds and that
was the mystery language. Champollion discovered this because he was able to read both Coptic and Greek. When this was
discovered, the scholars were finally able to figure out what the writing on the walls of pyramids and tombs means. The
Rosetta stone has helped everyone to understand more about the ancient Egyptian people.

It is believed that the Rosetta stone was carved in 196 B.C. (King Ptolemy v who repealed
Taxes) The Rosetta stone is called the Rosetta stone because it was found around Rosetta.
The Rosetta stone has writings from a group of priests that were in Egypt in order to honor
the Egyptian pharaoh. On the Rosetta stone, you will find a list of all the stuff the pharaoh had
done that was good for the people and priests of Egypt.
http://www.egyptiandiamond.com/ancient-egyptian-hieroglyphics.php
¡ KEY IDEAS
¡ Mud bricks are the main building block
from soil deposits left by the Tigris and the
Euphrates Rivers
¡ Conventions of hierarchy
¡ Early images often depict royalty and
deities
¡ Figures and animals are depicted in profile
or in twisted perspective
¡ New gods or guardian figures (Composite
creatures)
¡ Assyrian lion reliefs are some of the first
narratives in art history
¡ Invention of cuneiform- first wedge-shaped
writing
¡ Nudity is a sign of debasement (lowering
the status or quality)
¡ Constant political change and ruling
groups\
¡ The cosmos play a roll in in architecture
and rituals
¡ KEY PERIODS
¡ Sumerian Art: 300-2000 BCE
Akkadian Art: 2300-2150 BCE
Neo-Sumerian Art: 2150-2000 BCE
Babylonian Art: 2000-1750 BCE
¡
Assyrian Art: 1200-612 BCE
Battle of Ninevah, 612 BCE (modern
day Iraq) Babylon won
thus resurrecting their former glory!
¡
Neo-Babylonian Art: 612- 539 BCE
Persian King, Cyrus, overthrows
Babylon
¡
Persian Art: 539-330 BCE
Height of Persia ends at the razing of
Persepolis by Alexander the Great
 ¡ CHARACTERISTICS OF ARCHITECTURE

¡ CHARACTERISTICS OF ¡ S: Architecture was created for religious

purposes
SCULPTURE
¡ S: Size of sculpture ¡ B: World Wonder: Hanging Gardens
increases- shows
¡ H: Used stone blocks rather than baked
permanence of cities mudbricks
¡ S: Large scale reliefs within
¡ P: Persepolis
palaces
¡ S: Stelai commemorating the ¡ VOCABULARY
1. REGISTERS/FRIEZES
achievements of rulers 2. LAPIZ LAZULI
¡ AK: Deification of rulers 3. HIERARCHY OF SCALE
4. VOTIVE OFFERING
¡ B: Stele of Hammurabi- new 5. BENT AXIS
6. CELLA
set of laws 7. STELE
¡ AS: Rulers are portrayed as 8. APADANA
9. COLUMN
stoic 10. CAPITAL
11. SHAFT
¡ AS: Cuneiform takes a leap 12. BASE
13. VOLUTES
14. HYPOSTYLE HALL
Alabaster. The Assyrian lamassu sculptures are partly in the round, but the sculptor nonetheless
conceived them as high reliefs on adjacent sides of a corner. The combine the front view of the animal at
rest with the side view of it in motion. Seeking to present a complete picture of the lamas from both the
front and the side, the sculptor gave the monster five legs- two seen from the front, four seen from the
side.

Sphinx
Buk Mask
Mutu, Preying Mantra
¡ Form:
high relief sculpture from a monolithic stone
of gypseous alabaster
13'9" tall
It stands more than 4 meters high by 4 meters
wide and is a meter in depth
¡ Human headed winged bulls were very large
protective genies called shedu/ lamassu, and were
placed as guardians at certain gates/ doorways of
the city and the palace.
¡ Carved from a single block
¡ the original position of these winged bulls: This
one formed the left jamb of Door K in the palace
¡ Function:
Guardian figures at the city and citadel gates
symbol of the king's power
also architectural purpose to hold up an arch to
enter the citadel
Protective spiritual guardians were placed on
either side of these entrances to act as guardians.
They also had a strictly architectural function, as
they bore some of the weight of the arch above An
inscription on two panels between the hind legs of
the bull: praises the ruler by rehearsing his virtues
and calls down a curse on who ever should seek
to harm the edifice
Symbols combining man, bull, and bird, they
offered protection against enemies.
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Context:
Assyrians (1000-500 BCE), Iraq
Mesopotamia - constantly at war, being conquered by
different people
Palace of Sargon II
713 BC Sargon II founded his capital, Dur Sharrukin,
(present-day Khorsabad)
he enclosed it, together with several palaces, within a
great wall of unbaked brick pierced by seven
gatesThese bulls are motifs of Syrian inspiration and
one of the characteristic features of the decoration of
Assyrian palacesThey make their first appearance at
Nimrud in the reign of Ashurnasirpal II, and disappear
again after the reign of Ashurbanipal
height of Assyrian power
¡ different Assyrian kings made their palaces in
different cities.
¡ These sculptures are enormous, but they would
have been dwarfed by the architecture of the
citadel
¡ Content:
bulls with head of man and wings
combination of the natural and the supernatural
¡ v powerful
¡ Super cool crown and detail in wings, double horns, decorations, beard, earrings
¡ around the lamassu, inscriptions detailing the king's power and damnnation for those who would threaten the citadel aka the
power of the king
¡ 5 legs
¡ two standing static when you look at it from the front
¡ four moving forewords when you look at it from the side
¡ High relief was much prized in the time of Sargon II (when modeling became more marked)
¡ The head, the only human element
¡ ears are those of a bull
¡ has a man's bearded face with very precisely modeled features
¡ The eyes are expressive
¡ the thick eyebrows
¡ prominent nose
¡ soft mouth thin mustache
¡ A curly beard covers the jaw and chin
¡ while the hair falls down to the shoulders= framing the face
¡ This human head wears a starred tiara= flanked by pairs of horns and topped by a row of feathers.
¡ The body: its anatomy very precisely carved to be is that of a bull
¡ the beast has five legs (not 4 legs)
¡ so that it looks as if standing still when seen from the front, and as if walking when seen from the side
¡ From the shoulders spring the wings of a bird of prey, only one being visible, curving above the back
¡ broad panels of curls cover the breast, belly, back, and butt
¡ The tail is very long and curly at the end
¡ Form:
Carved primarily of Limestone
¡ The carvings on the walls were bas-relief
§ Display the importance and authority of the King
¡ The column capitals were high-relief
§ Only a few examples remain
¡ The hall was hypostyle architecture
§ columns holding up the roof
¡ Function:
Represent the expansive nature of the Persian Empire
and Emperor's power
¡ Ceremonial Hall
¡ Served as the center of the Persian Empire's capital
¡ Content:
72 columns
§ each 24 meters tall
§ extremely intricate
§ The column capitals were animals (Persian)
▪ bulls, eagles, and lions; all symbols of royalty
¡ 2 monumental staircases
¡ The walls were carved with illustrations of hundreds of
figures bringing offerings to the king from all the states
conquered by the Persian Empire
¡ Context:
Built in Persepolis in the Persian Empire, modern day
Iran
¡ 6th century BCE
¡ Built by Darius I
¡ The Persian empire was very tolerant for the era
§ represented in the bas-relief carvings displaying
all the ethnic groups the Persians conquered
¡ Was later conquered by Alexander the Great
§ Even he was impressed by the Persian empire and
culture as he respectfully buried the last Persian
Emperor (Darius III)

• Location:
• Sumerian civilization was along the plains of Tigris
and Euphrates, which is the present day Iraq.
• Egyptian civilization was along the Nile valley.
• Time:
• Sumerian civilization is believed to have first evolved
between 5500 and 4000 BC.
• Egyptian civilization is believed to have first evolved
in about 3150 BC.
• Gods:
• Sumerians worshiped the heaven, earth, air, and
water. They considered these four as gods.
• Egyptians recognized more number of gods and
goddesses than the Sumerians and even worshipped
individual animals.
• Worshipping the King:
• The Sumerians did not consider their ruler as a living
god and worship him.
• The Egyptians considered their king, the Pharaoh, as
a living god and worshipped him or her too.
• Rituals:
• Sumerians were satisfied in worshipping the four main gods
that they believed created life. Their rituals were simple. The
deities worshipped by the Sumerians were the god of heaven,
the god of air, the god of water and the goddess of earth.
• Egyptians had institutionalized religious rituals and believed in
offerings to gods to get their help.
• Preparation for Death:
• Sumerians did not prepare for death or the afterlife in a grand
manner.
• Egyptians believed in life after death. They also had great
preparations for afterlife as they had preparations for everything
in their lives.
• Government:
• The Sumerians had a state based government where each
state operated as they wanted.
• Egyptians had a central government led by the king that
controlled everything in the country.
• Writing Technology:
• Sumerians were the first ever civilization to develop a system
of writing (cuneiform). Sumerians used clay tablets for writing
purposes.
• Egyptians used papyrus to write (Hieroglyphs, Hieratic,
Demotic and Coptic)
https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-sumerians-and-
egyptians/