The Ancient Near East includes geographical locations in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Ancient Iran (Persia) , develop a short essay that explainsways that ancient rulers or cultures used visual art.
Take account on:-Essay from the chapter 2 from the book below to write the essay
-Be sure you are properly identifying places and names.
-Using 250 words.
Book name: Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History.
PowerPoint Presentation A n c i e n t N e a r E a s t (Mesopotamia & Persia) https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/curatorial-departments/ancient-near-eastern-art Art History Map of the ancient Near East and the Middle East. The invention of writing that enabled record keeping and literature provides insights into the origins of human thought and civilization begins with Ancient Near East communities.. Art History Chalcolithic The later period of the (Upper)Neolithic Era, also known as Chalcolithic, specifically relating to the geographic region of the Ancient Near East. The early Neolithic Era specifically relates to Western Europe from a geography stand point. Greek word: khalkós = “copper” and litho = “stone” The Chalcolithic/Neolithic Period can be defined in terms of: Stone and metal tools, bone tools and other artifacts, pottery, town and village communities and farming communities, but particularly the introduction of metal (mostly copper) used in weapons and other implements. Neolithic Era Art History Jericho Artist’s reconstruction of the north side of ancient Jericho, based on the German excavations of 1907–1909. Note the houses built against the mud brick city wall, which rests on top of the stone retaining wall. The Bible says that Rahab’s house was built against the city wall (Joshua 2:15). Aerial view of Neolithic Jericho (looking east) A Neolithic settlement located near the Jordan river valley surrounded by a ditch and walls up to 12 feet thick and a tower up to 30 feet tall. Some archaeologist believe the biblical account of Joshua’s attack on Jericho (Joshua 6) refers to a later settlement (end of the bronze age). Mudbrick was the mainstay of ancient Near Eastern architecture used for ordinary buildings as well as for public architecture. Manufacturing of mud brick was inexpensive and easy to work with as well as suitable to the climate. The walls’ of Jericho mud brick houses were plastered and painted. Neolithic Era https://creation.com/the-walls-of-jericho https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Josh 2.15 https://www.vision.org/biography-kathleen-kenyon-larger-life-486 https://biblia.com/bible/esv/joshua/6 Art History Çatal Hüyük Located in Anatolia (Modern Turkey) is the largest Neolithic settlement site discovered in the ancient Near East. Archaeologists have found evidence of agriculture, trade, stoneware, and ceramics. Architectural interiors were furnished with built-in benches made of clay and skeletons were buried under floors and benches with deposits of jewelry and weapons on the remains, suggesting the belief of necessity in an afterlife. Object: Deer hunt, detail of a wall painting from level III, Original Location: Çatal Hüyük, Turkey Current Location: Museum of Anatolian Civilization, Ankara. Reconstruction of Çatal Hüyük, Turkey https://www.ktb.gov.tr/EN-113893/ankara---anatolian-civilizations-museum.html Art History Neolithic Era 9000-4500/4000 B.C • Jericho (in the West Bank area, near Jerusalem) • Catal Huyuk (in modern Turkey) Mesopotamia Uruk Period 3500-3100 B.C • Sumer Early Dynastic period 2800-2300 B.C Akkad 2300-2100 B.C • Neo-Sumerian period 2100- 1900/1800 B.C Babylon Old Babylonian period 1800-1600 B.C Neo-Babylonian period 612-539 B.C Assyrian Empire 1300-612 B.C • Modern Iraq Uruk Sumer Tell Asmar Ur • Akkad • Lagash • Babylon • Assur Anatolia Hittite Empire 1450-1200 B.C • Modern Turkey • Hattusas (modern Boghazkoy) Ancient Iran 5000-331 B.C Achaemenid Persia 559-331 B.C • Modern Iran • Persepolis (near modern Shiraz) Chronology of the Ancient Near East & Principal Sites Note: Dates are continuously influx and tend to differ slightly based on new information and interpretations by art historians and archaeologists. Art History Mesopotamia Greek word mesos = “middle” and potamos = “river” (land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (now Iraq, north-east Syria and part of south-east Turkey)) Object Type: Tablet Object Name: Map of the World Material: Clay Culture/Period: Late Babylonian Location: British Museum, London, UK Cuneiform Latin word cuneus = “wedge” abstract wedge shape characters appearing on clay and stone tablets provides the earliest writing and knowledge of Mesopotamian religious practices. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1882-0714-509 https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1882-0714-509 https://smarthistory.org/cuneiform/ Art History Uruk period The city of Uruk (known as Erech in the Bible (Gen 10:10 & Ezra 4:9) and Warka in present-day Iraq), was given its name to a period sometimes known as Protoliterate, because the earliest known writing developed. Mesopotamia towards the end of the Neolithic period (4500/4000 B.C) followed with urbanization and the construction of first known monumental temples dedicated to each city’s patron deity or deities. Object: Female head (Inanna?), from the Inanna temple complex Excavation Site: Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq, Material: Marble, 8" high. Location: National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad. Mesopotamia https://biblia.com/bible/esv/genesis/10/6-10 https://www.ancient.eu/image/10265/the-mask-of-warka-at-the-iraq-museum/ https://www.theiraqmuseum.com/ Art History Ziggurats Assyrian word meaning “raised up” or “high” is a uniquely Mesopotamian architectural form. Ziggurats are examples of load-bearing construction, a system, their massive walls had small openings or none, usually solid, stepped structures, tapering toward the top, with wide bases supporting the entire weight of the ziggurats. Mesopotamians believed that each city was under the protection of a god or gods to whom the city’s inhabitants owed service, they built imitation mountains, or ziggurats, as platforms for those gods. Mountains were believed to embody some of the immanent powers of nature, like sources of life-giving water. Uruk Architecture White Temple, Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq, Mesopotamian Religion polytheistic (Greek word ploy = “many” and theos = “god”) Mesopotamia Art History The earliest written language known comes from Sumer, in southern Mesopotamia and persisted as the language of the priestly and intellectual classes throughout Mesopotamia history. After the invention of writing, literature developed, the written word originated in response to a practical need for daily record keeping, and became a tool of creative expression. Mesopotamia poetry deals with the origins of gods and humans, the history of kingship, the founding of cities and the development of civilization. Uruk Period Object: The Gilgamesh Tablet Material: Clay Tablet Location: British Museum, London, UK Mesopotamia https://blogs.soas.ac.uk/centenarytimeline/2016/03/18/gilgamesh-and-soas-30-years-of-scholarly-contribution-to-the-worlds-oldest-story/ https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_K-3375 https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_K-3375 Art History . Uruk Period Object: Cylinder impression and Seal from Uruk Material: Clay Location: Pierpont Morgan Library, New York Cylinder Seals • Cylinder seals are classed as glyptic art • (Greek word glyptos = “carved”) produced during the Uruk period. Process of intaglio printing is used to create impression, specifically with the cylinders that were rolled across clay tablet producing a continuous band of images. Seal impressions were used originally to designate ownership, keep inventories and accounts and later to legalize private and state documents Mesopotamia https://www.themorgan.org/seals-and-tablets/83623 https://www.themorgan.org/seals-and-tablets/83623 Art History Lists of royal families; ancient Sumerian rulers have survived, and other documents provide the picture of a society in which people played specialized roles: canal builders, artisans, merchants, and bureaucrats under the administration of a class of priests. Early Dynastic Period Dynasty- succession of rulers of same line of descent also known as royal families. The Sumerian and Akkadian cultures coexisted for many centuries and their languages roughly correspond to the two main geographical divisions of Mesopotamia, Sumer, and Akkad. Both lie between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Geographical divisions of Mesopotamia Sumer (south) & Akkad (north) Ancient Mesopotamia and Persia Mesopotamia Art History Many small cult figures were produced during the Early Dynastic period. • Hierarchical proportions- suggested wealth • Stylization- physical features, eyes, beard Sumer Object: Statues from the Abu Temple at Tell Asmar Location: Iraq Museum, Baghdad and Oriental Institute, University of Chicago Excavation site sponsored by OI,UC where some statues of Abu Temple found. Mesopotamia https://oi.uchicago.edu/museum-exhibits/mesopotamian-gallery https://oi.uchicago.edu/collections/highlights/clothing-representations Art History The Akkadians were Semitic-speaking Mesopotamian people who lived in the north of Sumer. The Akkadians dominated one city-state after another until they ruled Mesopotamia. City-states were now subordinate to a larger political entity, an empire, and Akkadian became the dominant language. Sargon I was the founder of the Akkadian dynasty and reigned for over half a century gaining control over most of Mesopotamia and the lands beyond the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Akkad Object: Head of an Akkadian ruler (Sargon I?) Material: Bronze Location: Museum of Antiquities, Baghdad Mesopotamia https://www.ancient.eu/review/45/the-looting-of-the-iraq-museum-baghdad-the-lost-le/ Art History After 200 years, the Akkadian dynasty was defeated by the Guti, mountain people from the northeast who ruled Mesopotamia for about 60 years. Only one city-state, Lagash managed to hold out and it prospered. The overthrowing of the Guti lead to a newly united southern city-states, a period referred to as Neo-Sumerian. Neo-Sumerian Culture Lagash • Gudea was the ruler of Lagash and initiated an extensive construction program that included several temples. Gudea embodies the transition between gods and humans. Just as the ziggurats linked earth with the heavens, so Mesopotamian rulers were viewed as the gods’ chosen intermediaries on earth. These ideas form the basis for continuing beliefs in the divine rights of kings. Object: Head of Gudea Material: Diorite From: Lagash, Iraq, c2100 B.C Location: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Mesopotamia https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/gudea-prince-lagash-seated-statue-dedicated-god-ningishzida https://collections.mfa.org/objects/155973 Art History Mesopotamia reverted to rule by independent city-state after the last Neo Sumerian king was overthrown by foreign invaders. The next few centuries, warfare and invasions continued from all directions leading to frequent rise and fall of different cultural groups. The Amorites, a Semitic speaking people from Arabia established their capital at Babylon and ushered in the Old Babylonian period. The most famous king of the Amorite dynasty was Hammurabi, who is best known for his law code which he inscribed on black basalt stele. The text was based on local Sumerian legal traditions and remains an important historical document, articulating the relationship of law to society. Babylon was sacked by Hittites from Anatolia ending the Old Babylonian period. Babylon Object: Code de Hammurabi Material: Basalt Location: Louvre Museum, Paris, France Mesopotamia https://smarthistory.org/hammurabi/ https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/law-code-hammurabi-king-babylon Art History Hittites Empire Hittites were Indo-Europeans who settled in Anatolia, their capital city, Hattusa, was located in modern Boghazköy, in central Turkey. Like Mesopotamians, they kept records in cuneiform on clay tablets, which were stored on shelves, systematically catalogued and labeled as in a modern library. These archives include thousands of tablets and are the first known records in an Indo-European language and cultural and artistic achievements of the Hittites are well documented. There is much evidence of monumental palaces, temples, cities, and massive