Transcript MESOPOTAMIAN ART 1

MESOPOTAMIAN ART 1
Jericho, Catal Huyuk, Sumer, Akkad, and
Babylon
JERICHO:
One of the Oldest Walls on earth
Jericho is one of the
most ancient urban
archaeology sites in the
world.
Walls made of mud and
hardened in the sun.
Walls were 5 feet thick
and 16-17 feet high.
Protected 2000 people.
Portrait Head
Bones have been found to
be buried in the floors of
their homes, suggesting an
ancestor cult.
Further evidence are the
portrait heads. These are
human skulls that have
then had plaster molded on
top of it to represent the
features of the deceased.
Catal Huyuk
City without streets
CATAL HUYUK
Sizable city in Anatolia (modern day Turkey)
around 6500 to 5500 B.C. Thriving obsidian
trade.
City had no streets. Made it very easily
defendable and tight-knit social structure.
People moved about rooftop to rooftop and came
in through windows and down ladders.
shrine room
CATAL HUYUK
Insides were elaborately
decorated.
Walls had bold geometric
designs and animal
scenes wit skulls and
horns.
Goddess Giving Birth Between Two Animals
Found items suggesting
worship of fertility
goddesses but too little is
known.
SUMER (SUMERIA)
Culture of many “firsts.” First to invent wagon
wheel and the plow. Invented casting objects of
copper and bronze. And, most importantly,
invented writing.
Main cities were Ur and Uruk. Located on the
Euphrates river.
Ziggurats
Ziggurat of Ur
Stepped pyramid designed to look like
a mountain with a temple of shrine on
top.
Ziggurats started by building temples
on elevated platforms to protect from
flooding. Evolved into massive
pyramids.
Meeting place for humans and
immortals. Manned by priests and
priestesses.
Not only was size impressive, but the
exterior was painted or inlaid with tile
mosaics.
Statuettes from Abu temple
votive statues
The eyes were considered the windows to the soul.
Standard of Ur
Detail from Standard of Ur
Detail from Bull Lyre
Bull Lyre
From the tomb of Queen
Puabi. Made of wood, gold,
lapis lazuli, and shell.
Bull head, though stylized,
is quite naturalistic.
Below the head is a panel
of four horizontal registers.
Bull Lyre Panels
Top panel, is athletic man with long hair,
naked except for belt grabbing two
human-headed bulls.
Next, animal attendants bringing food
and drink for a feast. Wolf has a knife
carries table full of pork. Lion brings
wine jug and drinking bowl.
Animal musicians. Donkey plucks
strings of bull lyre. Bear braces lyre.
Jackal plays a rattle.
Man in scorpion dress holds ritual
objects. Goat stands on legs and holds
two cups.
Steps to Writing
Started by carving
pictures into cylinders
and rolling it across a clay
tablet.
Then decided to just
make marks directly onto
the clay.
Used a wedge-shaped
tool called a stylus to
make the marks.
Cuneiform
Writing was first
developed to keep track
of land for taxes.
Sumerians developed it to
record great epics like the
Epic of Gilgamesh.
AKKAD
The Akkadians lived north of the Sumerians. Under
the powerful leader, Sargon I (2232-2279 B.C. rule),
they conquered Sumer and expanded their territory
for a short time.
Sargon ruled from the city, Akkad. He had great
power and elevated himself to the status of a God.
His daughter became the chief priestess for the two
most important temples and elevated herself to the
status of goddess. She united the religion with
politics and set a precedent for the princess to be
high priestess.
Bust of Man (Sargon I?)
Several brass heads
have been found.
Stylized to show ideal
beauty rather than
personal traits.
Stylized beard is typical
for time.
Head was symbolically
mutilated to destroy its
power. Ears, eyes
removed.
Babylon
After Sargon, the Akkadian empire lacked
leadership. Mesopotamia fell into political turmoil
for about 300 years.
Finally, a leader named Hammurabi emerged
from the western deserts and united the land.
His empire and kingdom were centered in
Babylon. (1792-1750 B.C.)
His empire lasted longer than his reign, but was
never as powerful as when he ruled.
Stele of Hammurabi
Basalt stele approximately
7’ high.
Upon it is carved
Hammurabi’s law. One of
the first ever records of
political laws and
punishments.
Depicts him receiving the
law from the sun god,
Shamash. Size shows
importance.