ARH 252 Exam 1

Paleolithic

Paleolithic

Old Stone Age lasting from 50000 BC to 9000 BC; when primitive stone tools were used; nomadic lifestyle

Neolithic

New Stone Age lasting from 8000 BC to 2300 BC depending on the area; when ground or polished stone tools were used; agricultural revolution when civilizations began to develop

Mural Painting (Cave Paintings)

oldest is the Wild Pig dating back to 45000 BC

Sculpture in the Round

3-D sculptures that were not part of a cave or rock formation

Megaliths (Megalithic)

large stones used to create a structure or monument (stonehenge)

Agricultural Revolution

plants and animals were domesticated and nomadic groups began to stay in one place

Corbel Vault

a vault formed by piling stone blocks in horizontal courses, cantilevered inward until the two walls meet in an arch

Post-and-Lintel Construction

a system of construction in which two vertical posts support a horizontal lintel

Henge

Stonehenge in Salisbury Plain, England, ca. 2550-1600 BC

Twisted Perspective

when a profile of an animal or human is shown while another portion of the same object is shown frontally

Composite Creature

a figure with an animal head on a human body

Mesopotamia/Fertile Crescent

an area that gave rise to some of the worlds first civilization; the fertile soil found near rivers allowed for farming and trade routes

Sumer

3500-2332 BC; an handful of independent city-states

Ziggurat

pyramidal stepped temple

Cuneiform

Sumer’s language that started as pictographs; considered the oldest written language

Lamassu

an Assyrian deity in the from of a winged, human-headed bull or lion; 720-705 BC

High Relief/ Low Relief

carved deep into the material/carved shallow into the material

Relief Sculpture

projects from a 2-D background (connected to what it was carved out of)

Hierarchy of Scale

whoever is the largest is the most important

Register

a horizontal level in a work that consists of several levels arranged above each other

Votive Statues

used in rituals to appease the gods

Ishtar Gate

one of the gateways into Babylon, Iraq, ca. 575 BC

Stele of Hammurabi

the laws of King Hammurabi of Babylon

Persepolis

Gate of All Nations or Gate of Xerxes at Persepolis, separated people based on their social status

Hollow-Cast Bronze Method (Lost Wax)

an ancient method used to make sculptures that were transportable and not too heavy

Predynastic and Early Dynastic Period

3500-2575 BC

Old Kingdom; New Kingdom

2575-2134 BC;1550-1070 BC

Amarna Period; First Millennium BCE

1000-30 BC

Column

column fluting

The sun god Ra (Ben-Ben)

a falcon headed god that ancient Egyptians worshipped; Ben-Ben is a pyramid associated with Ra who was also often depicted as a pyramid

Great Pyramids of Giza

great pyramids were built as burial sites for Egypt’s Pharaohs

Funerary Statue

held Ka (soul/spirit)

Canon of Proportions

a set of ideal, mathematical relationships in art

Hatshepsut

first female pharaoh

Akhenaton and Nefertiti

Akhenaton abandoned the worship of the Egyptian gods in Favor of Aton; Nefertiti was his chief wife and she took over after his death before his son was old enough to lead

Tutankhamen

the only pharaoh’s tomb we have found fully intact

Ptolemaic dynasty

Ptolemy (one of Alexander the Great’s generals) takes over Egypt after his death and him and his descendants rule until 30 BC when the Romans take over

Mastaba

ancient Egyptian tomb with sloping sides and a flat roof

Imhotep

first recorded artist, and creator of the Great Pyramids

Engaged Columns

a column that is built into a wall, serving as decoration

Mortuary Temple and Complex

where a pharaoh would be buried and monuments to their success would be placed

Sphinx

with the pyramid of Khafre, possibly associated with the Egyptian god Ra; there was a cult of the sphinx, but it was a secret society leaving little information behind

Rock-Cut Tomb

a tomb cut into an existing, naturally occurring rock formation

Ka

the life force or spirit of a person

Pylon Temple

a monumental tower/gate of an Egyptian temple

Hypostyle Hall

interior space where the roof rests on pillars or columns

Clerestory

a top row of windows or openings that let in light and air right where the roof is

Obelisk

tall rectangles topped with a pyramid, typically in pairs in front of temples; many are now in Rome

Book of the Dead

an ancient Egyptian book made to help the dead on their journey to the afterlife

Weighing of the Heart Ceremony

if the heart of the deceased weighed more than a feather then they would go with Amit (hell) if it weighed less then they got to go to the goof place

Akkad

2332-2150 BC; first Mesopotamian rulers to call themselves Kings

Babylonia; Neo-Sumerian

2150-1600 BC

Assyria; Neo-Babylonian

900-539 BC; Assyria conquered the majority of Mesopotamia and was heavily military based

Persia

559-330 BC

Human with feline head, from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany, ca. 40,000–28,000 BCE. Mammoth ivory,  (Paleolithic)

Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria, ca. 28,000–25,000 BCE. Limestone, (Paleolithic)

The Hall of the Bulls in the cave at Lascaux, France, c. 16,000-14,000 BCE.  (Paleolithic)

Human figure, from Ain Ghazal, Jordan, ca. 6750–6250 BCE. Plaster, painted and inlaid with bitumen,  (Neolithic)

Deer hunt, detail of a wall painting from Level III, Çatal Höyük, Turkey, ca. 5750 BCE. (Neolithic)

Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England, ca. 2550–1600 BCE.  (Neolithic)

Statuettes of two worshipers, from the Square Temple at Eshnunna, Iraq, ca. 2700 BCE. Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone, (Sumerian)

Peace side of the Standard of Ur, Royal Cemetery, Ur, Iraq, ca. 2600 BCE. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone set into bitumen, 7’ 7/8” x 1’ 6 1/2”.  (Sumerian)

Victory stele of Naram-Sin, from Susa, Iran, 2254–2218 BCE. Pink sandstone, 6’ 7” high. Louvre, Paris. (Akkadian)

Stele with law code of Hammurabi, from Susa, Iran, ca. 1780 BCE. Basalt, 7’ 4” high. Louvre, Paris. (Babylon)

Ashurbanipal hunting lions, relief from the north palace of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh, Iraq, ca. 645–635 bce. Gypsum, 5' 4" high. British Museum, London.  (Assyrian)

Ishtar Gate, Babylon, Iraq, ca. 575 BCE. (Neo-Babylonian)

Persians and Medes, Processional frieze on the terrace of the apadana, Persepolis, Iran, ca. 521–465 BCE. Limestone, (Persian)

Palette of King Narmer***,*** from Hierakonpolis, Egypt, ca. 3000–2920 BCE. Slate, (Predynastic)

Imhotep, Stepped Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Third Dynasty, ca. 2630–2611 BCE. (Early Dynasties)

Khafre enthroned, from Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2520–2494 BCE. Diorite, 5’ 6” high. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. (Old Kingdom)

Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1473–1458 BCE. (New Kingdom)

Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters, Amarna, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353–1335 BCE. Limestone, 1’ 1/4” high. (Amarna Period)

Last judgment of Hu-Nefer, Thebes, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290–1280 BCE. Painted papyrus scroll, (New Kingdom)

Temple of Horus, Edfu, Egypt, ca. 237 – 47 BCE. 1st Millennium BCE