Arts of Africa UIOWA

Diepkloof Cave

Rock shelter that contained some of the earliest signs of human use of symbols.

Petroglyphs

Images on rocks.

Large Fauna Style

Style of cave/stone painting popular between 7500-5000 BCE that depicted animals.

Round Head Style

Figures outlined in black or white, could be a simple silhouette or have markings on the body, from 8000-6000 BCE.

Pastoralist Style

Scenes of cattle, women, men, and children that were pigment bound with cattle milk painted on cave walls (6300-700 BCE).

Horus

Bird creature/God.

Votive

Figure or object used for prayers, offerings, and gifts to Gods.

Papyrus

Conventionally used to symbolize Lower (northern) Egypt.

Bas-relief (low-relief)

Shallow stone engravings.

Registers

Sections of engravings/paintings in content.

Composite View

Figures posed with the lower body and head facing the side while the torso faces the front, known as 'twisted perspective'.

Hierarchy of Scale

The bigger the figure, the more important or high class it is.

Iconography

Identification, description, and interpretation of a piece of work.

Serekh

Fortress that bounds the king's name in hieroglyphs.

Canon of Proportions

Any sitting or standing figure that matches proportion.

Heliopolis

One of the oldest ancient civilizations in Egypt.

Upper Egypt

Southern Egypt, symbolized by the lotus and the white crown.

Lower Egypt

Northern Egypt, symbolized by papyrus and the red crown.

Ka

Spiritual double that survived a person's death but required a body to survive.

Mastabas

Rectangular superstructure of ancient Egyptian tombs.

Ben-Ben Stone

What all pyramids are based from.

Re/Ra

The sun God.

Serdab

Chamber for the statue of the deceased.

Mortuary Temple

Place of worship for the deceased king.

Causeway

Long covered footpath from the entrance of the pyramids to the rest of the structure.

Valley Temple

Marks the funeral procession before burial.

Boundary Wall

Surrounds the pyramids to protect the king.

Abydos

City in ancient Egypt.

Nemes

Headdress adorned with a uraeus.

Uraeus

Serpent that protected the king.

False Beard

Symbol worn by the pharaoh that connected him to Osiris, the god of the underworld.

Idealization

Artists creating things that reflect their own ideals, beliefs, faiths, and cultures.

Pylon

Monumental gateways to temple complexes.

Triad Temple

Smen (Sun), Mut (mother goddess), Khons (moon, their son) - three gods worshipped in ancient Egypt.

Axial Path

Path into the temple of a king that is on an axis.

Symmetry

An object/subject that is the same on each side if split down the middle.

Hypostyle

Hall inside of a temple full of columns supporting a roof.

Post and Lintel Construction

Two or more posts holding up a horizontal beam.

Primordial Marsh

Reference to creation and life.

Hieroglyphs

Writing system of ancient Egypt.

Clerestory

Lighting inside of temples caused by the columns.

El-Qurn

Point of the Theban hills that resembles a pyramid when viewed from the entrance to Valley of the Kings.

Valley of the Kings

Low point in Thebes where many tombs were carved (valley of the dead).

Power Over Nature

Divine ability to control and command the natural world.

Order (Ma’at)

Goddess and personification of truth, cosmic balance, and justice.

Female King

Hatshepsut, ruled ca 1473-1458 BCE.

Aten/Aton

Religious system in ancient Egypt.

Amarna Period

Period in the 1300s BCE when leader Akenhaten introduced many religious reforms.

Sunken Relief

Low relief carvings set below the surface.

Ankh

Hieroglyph word for life.

Obelisk

Tall, skinny monument with a pyramid-like structure on top.

Subterranean

Existing or created under the earth's surface.

Exana

King that converted Egypt to Christianity.

Mussolini

Invaded Ethiopia and stole funerary monoliths.

Zagwe Dynasty

Family that ruled Ethiopia in the 1300-1200s BCE.

New Jerusalem

God's city, the holy place that God and his people will live in.

Central Plan

A structure built around a central point.

Dome

Hemispherical structure often found as decoration over a mihrab.

Talisman

An object that has religious or magical powers.

Debtera

Religious figure in Ethiopian religion.

Ge’ez

South Semitic language in Ethiopia.

Baal

God worshipped in ancient Middle-Eastern communities.

Tanit

Punic goddess.

Tophet

Location in Jerusalem/ place of burning.

Colosseum

360 amphitheater in Rome.

Arcades

Columns attached to a wall.

Qur'an/Koran

Sacred book of Islam.

Islam

Submission to the one God.

Calligraphy

Practiced as sacred artistic expression.

Kufic Script

Script used by early calligraphers for transcription of the Koran.

Five Pillars

Principles of Islamic practice.

Qibla Wall

Wall in the mosque that faces Mecca.

Mihrab

Niche in the Qibla wall indicating prayer direction.

Kaaba

Islam's sacred center; direction of Qibla.

Minaret

Tower built into mosques for announcing prayers.

Hajj

Pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.

Mecca

Holiest city in Islam; point of prayer direction.

Mesjid

Muslim place of worship.

Minbar

Where prayers are led from.

Wudu

Purification ritual before prayers.

Buttress

Architectural support or reinforcement.

Khaymah

Nomadic groups in black tents.

Rataya

Saddle rug.

Inadan

Term for artists in ancient Northern Africa.

Ettama

Mystical power.

Tifinagh Alphabet

Berber language script.

Evil Eye

Believed to carry healing qualities and guard against misfortune.

1. Silhouette with original facing stone 

2. Thieves tunnels 

3. Entrance 

4. Grand gallery 

5. Kings chamber 

6. So called queens chamber 

7. False tomb chamber 

8. Relieving blocks  

9. Airshafts?