Ch 2 KW

Vocabulary terms and definitions from Chapter 2: Ancient Mesopotamia and Persia - The Ancient Near East.

Apotropaic

Having the power to ward off evil or bad luck.

Arch

A curved structural member that spans an opening and is generally composed of wedge-shaped blocks (voussoirs) that transmit downward pressure laterally (thrust).

Barrel vault

A deep arch over an oblong space.

Bent-axis plan

A processional pathway up to the temple, in the shape of an angular spiral.

Bestiary

A collection of real or imaginary animals.

Blind arcade

A series of arches having no openings.

Cella

A central room set aside for a divinity.

Citadel

A fortress or a stronghold that commands the city.

City-states

Independent cities which never become unified.

Composite View

Method in which artists depict the human form in his/her most recognizable form using a combination of profile and frontal features together (also called twisted perspective).

Cuneiform

Wedge shaped writing of the Sumerians.

Cylinder seal

A cylindrical piece of stone about an inch or so in height, decorated with an incised design, so that a raised pattern was left when the seal was rolled over soft clay used to sign, seal, and identify important property.

Facade

The front of a building.

Foreshortening

A device for suggesting depth by representing a figure or an object at an angle, rather than frontally or profile.

Glaze

A color made up of crushed glass, painted on sun dried bricks, which was heated to a high temperature until it was fused to the bricks.

Ground Line

A base line upon which figures stand.

Heraldic composition

One which is symmetrical around a central figure.

Hierarchy of scale

The representation of certain figures in the art in a larger size.

Lamassu

A winged man-headed bull.

Libation

The ritual pouring of a liquid.

Register (frieze, band)

A series of bands in a pictorial narrative.

Stele

Upright stone slab or pillar used to mark graves or to commemorate historical events.

Strict profile

Method in which artists depict an animal in its most recognizable form using a combination of profile and frontal features together, preventing confusion by using minimal overlapping.

Votive offering

A gift of gratitude to a deity usually made in fulfillment of a vow.

Ziggurat

A high, stepped, constructed platform on which the Sumerian temples stood.