Studied by 50 people
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Woman of Willendorf, Austria, 2400-22,000 BCE
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Royal Standard of Ur, Iraq, 2500-2400 BCE
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Palette of Narmer, Egypt, 3000 BCE
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Ishtar Gate, Babylon, 605-562 BCE
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Colossal Statue of Akhenaten, Egypt, 1350 BCE
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Last Judgement before Osiris, Book of the Dead, Egypt, 1275 BCE
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Terra Cotta Army of the First Emperor of Qin, China, 210 BCE
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Light well in the Palace at Knossos, Crete, 1700-1500 BCE
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La Venta Throne, Olmec, 900-400 BCE
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Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon, Athens, 447-432 BCE
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Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear Bearer), 450-440 BCE
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Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace, Greece, 220-150 BCE
Paleolithic
30,000 BCE - 10,000 BCE, produced the first accomplishments in human creativity
Radiocarbon dating
a method that provides objective age estimates for carbon-based materials that originated from living organisms
Megalithic
relating to or denoting prehistoric monuments made of or containing large stones.
Post and lintel
a building system where strong horizontal elements are held up by strong vertical elements with large spaces between them.
Adobe
a building material made from earth and organic materials. Commonly found in Spanish heritage areas.
Register
a horizontal level in a work that consists of several levels arranged one above the other, especially where the levels are clearly separated by lines
Cuneiform
Denoting or relating to the wedge-shaped characters used in the ancient writing systems of Mesopotamia, Persia, and Ugarit, surviving mainly impressed on clay tablets.
Votive
a painting, sculpture or other object given to a church or chapel in accordance with a vow, for prayers answered or favours requested
Hierarchy of scale
a compositional technique utilized to define the important principles that differentiate scale and proportion in art
Stele
An ancient, upright stone monument
Ziggurat
ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top
Hieroglyph
a character used in a system of pictorial writing, particularly that form used on ancient Egyptian monuments.
Necropolis
a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments
Mastaba
Rectangular superstructure of ancient Egyptian tombs, built of mud brick or, later, stone, with sloping walls and a flat roof.
Ka
a type of ancient Egyptian statue intended to provide a resting place for the ka (life-force or spirit) of the person after death
Serdab
a narrow chamber of the ancient Egyptian mastaba either concealed or accessible only by a narrow passage and containing a statue of the deceased
Step pyramid
an architectural structure that uses flat platforms, or steps, receding from the ground up, to achieve a completed shape similar to a geometric pyramid
Lamassu
not sculptures in the round but “double-aspect” reliefs that are meant to be viewed from the front or the side.
Sarcophagus
a coffin for inhumation burials
Sunken relief
a technique of relief sculpture in which figures or images are carved in low relief, but set within a sunken area, so that the relief never rises beyond the original flat surface
Obelisk
tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top.
Book of the dead
ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom
Material culture
Consists of the tools, art, buildings, written records, and any other objects produced or used by humans.
Zoomorphic
Having or representing animal forms or gods of animal form
Fang ding
A rectangular, four-legged bronze vessel used for ritual offerings in ancient China.
Taotie
monster mask commonly found on ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessels and implements
Corbeled roof
A roof constructed using stone slabs that progressively overlap each other to create a false vault or dome, the top being finished with a single capston
Fresco
a painting done rapidly in watercolor on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling, so that the colors penetrate the plaster and become fixed as it dries.
Shaft grave
a type of deep rectangular burial structure, similar in shape to the much shallower cist grave
Tholos
a circular building with a conical or vaulted roof and with or without a peristyle
Incised
mark or decorate (an object or surface) with a cut or a series of cuts.
Relief
a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material.
High relief
Relief that approaches three dimensions
Low relief
Relief with less than 50% depth
Sanctuary
areas set apart for devotion to the gods, where people made sacrifices and other offerings
Doric order
One of the orders of classical architecture, characterized by a simple and austere column and capital
Ionic order
one of the orders of classical architecture. Its distinguishing feature is the twin volutes, or spiral scrolls, of its capitaL
Corinthian order
One of the classical orders of architecture. Its main characteristic is an ornate capital carved with stylized acanthus leaves.
Frieze
a broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration, especially on a wall near the ceiling.
Stylobate
a continuous base supporting a row of columns in classical Greek architecture.
Pediment
the triangular upper part of the front of a building in classical style, typically surmounting a portico of columns.
Cella
The inner area of an ancient temple, especially one housing the hidden cult image in a Greek or Roman temple.
Archaic smile
characteristically appears on the faces of Greek statues of the Archaic period
Entasis
a slight convex curve in the shaft of a column, introduced to correct the visual illusion of concavity produced by a straight shaft.
Karyatid
a stone carving of a draped female figure, used as a pillar to support the entablature of a Greek or Greek-style building.
Metope
a square space between triglyphs in a Doric frieze.
Krater
ancient Greek vessel used for diluting wine with water.
Capital
crowning member of a column, pier, anta, pilaster, or other columnar form, providing a structural support for the horizontal member (entablature) or arch above.
Agora
open place for assembly
Kouros
a male nude standing with fists to its sides and left foot forward
Kore
a statue of a young woman used to mark graves or, more often, as a votive offering to the gods in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE
Lost-wax casting
method of metal casting in which a molten metal is poured into a mold that has been created by means of a wax model.
Contrapposto
a sculptural scheme, originated by the ancient Greeks, in which the standing human figure is poised such that the weight rests on one leg
“Canon of Polykleitos”
a treatise on creating and proportioning sculpture. It is one of the most important Western artistic and sculptural canons.
Agora
open place for assembly
Akropolis
The citadel or fortress of an ancient Greek city, typically built on a hill.
Wet drapery
A style of sculpture in Greek art where the clothing appears transparent and clings to the body, in the manner of wet clothe, in order to keep a figure
Gigantomachy
a representation of battles between the Olympian gods and Giants in antiquity
