The Ancient Near East Mesopotamia Neolithic Era 9000-4500/4000BC Art History Vincent Baldassano Invention of writing Poetry History Economic records Religious texts

Neolithic Era Ancient Near East Farming began in the Middle East in an area called the Fertile Crescent Development of agriculture-irrigation systems (People noticed that seeds which had fallen on the ground grew into plants. They began to collect the seeds and plant them on purpose. The first crops grown were wheat and barley)

Neolithic Era Ancient Near East (con’t) Domestication of sheep and goats Earliest cities in Mesopotamia Copper smelting developed Development of complex urban societies Urban planning Mud-brick mainstay of architecture

Key Visual Art Historical Monuments Babylon Stele- Law of Hammurabi-1792- 1750 BC, Basalt (stone) 7 feet by 28 inches Anatolia (Turkey) The Hittites Hittite War God, from Kings Gate, Hattusas Boghazkoy, Turkey, 1400BC, 6 feet , 6 inches high Assyrian King Assurnasirpal II hunting lions, from Nimrud, Irag, 883-859 BC, Alabaster Relief, 3 feet by 8 feet Dying Lioness (detail from the Lion Hunt) from the palace of King Assurbanipal II, Nineveh, 668-627 BC, Alabaster relief, Height 13 inches Neo-Babylonian Ishtar Gate C575 BC, Glazed Brick Scythian Stag, Russia, 7th C BC, Gold, 12 ½ inches Stag, 4th C. BC, gold, bronze, siver, wood, 20 inches

Inventions Writing Poetry History Economic records Religious texts

Key Terms Armature Mural Polytheistic From Greek- Poly (many) Theos-(God) Anthropomorphic Human in form Cuneiform Cone mosaics Registers Inlaid Glyptic

The First Towns Jericho Near present day Jerusalem People lived houses made of mud brick Dead were buried beneath their homes Town was protected by a massive stone wall Textbook Photo- “Neolithic Plaster Skull from Jerico” c.7000 BC

The First Towns (con’t) Catal Huyuk (pronounced chatal hoo-yook) was the largest of the early towns. Contained nearly 6000 people. Catal Huyuk in Anatolia (modern day Turkey) Deity – Mother Goddess made of clay reminiscent of the “Venus of Willendorf” Town planned without streets,connected by roofs skeletons were buried beneath floors and bences

Catal Huyuk c.6500-5500 bce. Largest neolithic site in ancient Near East. Deliberate city planning took place here. There were rooftop walkways/no streets. Preliterate society (no known written language)

Focus on the Object Two cowrie shells were set horizontally into the eye sockets creating a ‘sleepy expression’ which resonates through to the present day. It is thought that the jaw bone was removed intentionally and that the clay would have been built up to create a neat artificial chin. The plasterwork does not extend over the back of the skull, which was perhaps originally provided with some other material to look like hair. Separation of the skull was a common practice among the early farming populations. This example was found, together with six other skulls in a pile beneath the floor of a house. It is suggested that the heads preserved were those of venerated ancestors. They were kept for some sort of ancestor worship and then discarded after a generation or two.                                                                                                                                            Jericho Skull c.8000 – 7000 BC Ancient Jericho, West Bank (formerly Jordan) Gallery 32, Ancient Near East  

The skull formed the basis of a sculpture The skull formed the basis of a sculpture. Below… on the surface of the skull there are the remains of clay and plaster. It was made over 9,000 years ago. Then we would have seen little or none of the skull itself. Clay was built up around the skull and then plaster was applied to provide a smooth surface.

Mother Goddess, c. 6000 bce, baked clay, h. 8”, Chatal Huyuk, Turkey.

Mesopotamia Near Eastern Conventions: Creation of composite view of human form Legs and head in profile Torso turned slightly Eyes frontal

Sumarian

Ziggurat Ziggurat- means raised up or high- a uniquely Mesopotamian architectural form Imitation mountains as platforms for the gods who protected the city Mountains believed to embody immanent posers of nature (life giving water that flowed in the plains and made agriculture possible) Ziggurat considered a transition space between people and gods Example of load-bearing construction- solid, step structures tapering towards the top with wide bases made of solid clay reinforced with brick an asphalt, white potter jars were embedded in the walls Top of Ziggurat was the Temple

Nanna Ziggurat Ur, c.2100- 2050 BC Mud-Brick Ziggurats linked earth with the heavens Mesopotamian rulers were viewed as the gods chosen intermediaqries on earth, thae basis for the continuing belief in the divine right of kings Three stages were constructed around the mud-brick core and culminated in a shrine, accessible by a short stairway on the northeast side. The mud-brick was faced with baked brick embedded in mortar made of bitumen (a type of asphalt)

Bull Lyre 2680 BC Wood,gold, Lapis Lazuli, & Shell From the tomb of Queen Pu-abi, Ur (modern Iraq)

Sumarian

Gudea with a temple plan Lagash,Iraq c. 2100 Diorite 29 inches high Neo-Sumerian Culture (c2100-1900/1800BC) A system of kingshiip gradually developed in the Sumerian city-states. Control of man’s destiny was believed to lie with the gods. Each major urban center was the home of a different divinity, although other gods were worshipped as well. Gudea was a governor of Lagash a Sumerian city-state. On the skirt of a stature of the seated Gudea is an inscription listing various temples he erected as ruler. Medium- Diorite Stone Height- 29 inches

Seated statue of Gudea, c Seated statue of Gudea, c. 2100 bce, diorite, NeoSumerian period, Tello (Lagash), Iraq. http://www.bible-history.com/ancient_art/seated_gudea_lagash.html

Gudea with Temple Plan(left) Seated Gudea (right) c. 2150 B. C. E Gudea with Temple Plan(left) Seated Gudea (right) c. 2150 B.C.E. 29" h. diorite 

PLEASE NOTE The Many Versions Of Gudea… Note the similarities also how the artist consistently renders certain elements such as around the eyes and the shoulder/bicep/forearm Seated statue of Gudea, 2150–2100 B.C.; Neo-Sumerian period southern Mesopotamia Diorite; H. 17 3/8 in. (44 cm) Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1959

Statue of Gudea (standing figure) From Lagash c. 2120 BC Diorite Height 29 inches

Akadian

Neo- Sumerian

Hammurabi stands before the Akkadian sun god, Shamash Stele (detail) Law code of Hammurabi Susa,Iran Hammurabi stands before the Akkadian sun god, Shamash Medium Basalt Page 63 in text Height 7 feet This is a detail of the top Hammurabi stands be for the Akkadian sun god Shamash Receiving the blessing on the Law Code Reign of Hammurabi (1792-1700BC) The First Dynasty of Babylon ruled much of Mesopotamia Hammurabi best know for his law code Law code was inscribed on black basalt (stone) stele which articulated the relationship of law to society.

Hittite

Lion Gate (Royal Gate)Hattusas,Turkey Media- stone 1400 BC Hattusa, Turkey (Anatolia) Hittite Kept cuniform records on clay tablets Stored on shelves (prototype of our modern day library) Cremated their dead and placed them in funeral urns Stone lions face the visitor approaching the citadel (urban fortress) Served as a warning and symbolically protected the inhabitants Lion Gate (Royal Gate)Hattusas,Turkey

Audience Hall of Darius,Persepolis,Iran 500bc

Neo-Babylonian

Ishtar Gate Babylon C575 Glazed brick

Neo-Babylonian

Lamassu, from the gateway,SargonII’s palace at Dur,720BC,Limestone,Iraq

King Assurnasirpal II,Hunting Lions,Nimrud,Iraq,c883-859,Alabaster relief,3x8ft

Dying Lioness (detail of the great lion hunt),668-627BC,Alabaster relief,13inches high,Iraq

Synthian

Stag, from Kostromskaya, Russa, 7thC,Chased gold ,121/2 in

Key Visual Art Historical Monuments Babylon Stele- Law of Hammurabi-1792- 1750 BC, Basalt (stone) 7 feet by 28 inches Anatolia (Turkey) The Hittites Hittite War God, from Kings Gate, Hattusas Boghazkoy, Turkey, 1400BC, 6 feet , 6 inches high Assyrian King Assurnasirpal II hunting lions, from Nimrud, Irag, 883-859 BC, Alabaster Relief, 3 feet by 8 feet Dying Lioness (detail from the Lion Hunt) from the palace of King Assurbanipal II, Nineveh, 668-627 BC, Alabaster relief, Height 13 inches Neo-Babylonian Ishtar Gate C575 BC, Glazed BrickScythian Stag, Russia, 7th C BC, Gold, 12 ½ inches Stag, 4th C. BC, gold, bronze, siver, wood, 20 inches

The End