Arts of Africa UIOWA

• Diepkloof cave- rock shelter that contained some of the eraliest signs of human use of symbols 

• Petroglyphs- images on rocks 

• Large fauna style- style of cave/stone painting that were popular in the 7500-5000 BCE that depicted animals 

• Round Head Style- figures outlines in black or white, could be a simple silhouette or have markings on the body. 8000- 6000 BCE 

• Pastoralist style- scenes of cattle, women, men and children that was 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- When the content of a piece of work had sections of engravings/paintings. Content is split up 

• Composite view- Figures are posed with the lower body and head facing the side while the torso faces the front. Twisted perspective 

• Hierarchy of Scale- the bigger the figure the more important/ high class 

• Iconography- identification, description and interpretation of a piece of work 

• Serekh- fortress that bounds the kings name in hieroglyphs 

• Canon of proportions- any sitting or standing figure will match proportion 

• Heliopolis- one of the oldest ancient civilizations of 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 statue of deceased 

Parts of the Great Pyramids  

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? 

• Mortuary temple- place of worship for the deceased king 

• Cause way- long covered footpath from the entrance of the pyramids entrance to the rest of the structure 

• Valley temple- marks the funeral procession before buriel 

• 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 pharoah that connected him to osiris, the god of the underworld 

• Idealization- artists creating things that are a perfect reflection of 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 that were hugely worhsipped in ancient Egypt 

• Axial path- path into the temple of a king that is on an axis 

• Symmetry- an object/Subject that is the exact same on each side if split down the middle 

• Hypostyle – hall inside of a temple that is a room full of columns holding up a roof, lets light in that creates certain shadows and curates the energy and emotion needed to enter a kings tomb 

• 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 theben hills and resembles a pyramid when viewed from the entrance to valley of the kings 

• Valley of the kings- a low point in thebes that many tombs were carved into (valley of the dead) 

• Power over nature - divine ability to control and command our natural world  

• Order (Ma’at)- Goddess and personification of truth, cosmic balance and justice. 

• Female King- Hatshepsut, ca 1473- 1458 BCE 

• Aten/ Aton- religious system in ancient egypt 

• Amarna period- period of time in the 1300’s BCE, leader Akenhaten introduced many religious reforms 

• Sunken relief- low relief carvings set below the surface. 

• Ankh- hieroglyph word for life 

• Signs of kingship 

• Nemes headdress 

• False beard 

• Shendyt-kilt 

• Shows herself as male 

• Claimed to be the daughter of Amen-Re 

• Obelisk- Tall, skinny and tapering monoment with a pyramid like structure on top, symbol for past  

• Subterranean- existing or created under the earths surface 

• Exana - king that converts Egypt to christianity 

• Mussolini- invaded ethiopia and stole funerary monoliths 

• Zagwe dynasty- family that ruled ethiopia in the 1300-1200s BCE 

• New jurusalem- Gods city, the holy place that God and his people will live in 

• Central Plan- a structure built around a central point 

• Dome- hemispeherical structure often found as decoration over a mihrab  

• Talisman- an object that has religious or magical powers that heal, protect or harm whom their made for. 

• Debtera- religious figure in ethiopian religion 

• Ge’ez- South semitic language in Ethiopia 

• Baal- God worshipped in Ancient Middle-eastern communitites 

• Tanit- Punic goddess 

• Tophet- location in jerusalem/ place of burning 

• Colosseum- 360 ampitheater in rome 

• Arcades- columns attached to a wall 

• Qur'ran/ Koran- sacred book 

• Islam- “submission to the one God” 

• Calligraphy- practiced as sacred artistic expression 

• Kufic script- script used by early calligraphers for transcription of the Koran and architecual decor 

• Five pillars- principles of islamic practice 

• Qibla wall- wall in the moque that faces the Mecca 

• Mihrab- niche in the quibla wall that indicates prayer direction 

• Kaaba - Islams sacred center. Direction of qibla (prayer) 

• Minaret- tower built into mosques to protect prayer 

• Hadj – pilgrimmage to the holy city of Mecca 

• Mecca- holiest city in islam, point or direction of prayer 

• Mesjid- Muslim place of worship 

• Minbar- where prayers are led from 

• Wudu- purification ritual 

• 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 or to embody magical attributes that guard against misfortune