Beginnings of Western Art Chapter 3 Lesson 2 Stylized – sophisticated Cromlech- giant stones Lintels horizontals elements Ziggurats- stone temples Cella- Main Room Stele - Upright slab Low relief – a surface that has slight variations between the highest and lowest parts

More Cave Drawings… The Lascaux and Altamira caves date from BC – Colors made from various earth hues red, yellow, brown, violet and lampblack – made from soot – Colors applied directly on to the damp limestone walls and ceilings of the caves – Applied with moss or hair or through tubular bones onto the walls – The caves have been sealed since 1963 due to deterioration of the paintings

Carvings of the Paleolithic Era Carvings of the Paleolithic Era may be the oldest forms of art – Carvings of female figures have been discovered in many places in Europe and Western Asia The 'Venus of Willendorf' is the name that was given to a female figurine that was found in 1908 by an archeologist named Joseph Szombathy in a Aurignacian loess deposit near the town of Willendorf in Austria. This statue is an important icon of prehistory. Archeologists have suggested many different ways of understanding its significance for the nomadic society which made it. The first suggestion is that it was a "Venus figure" or "Goddess," used as a symbol of fertility

Architecture of Neolithic Era Architecture became a vital concern to ancient people of the Neolithic Era-New Stone Age BC Humans started leaving their caves and began to form communities They herded cattle and raised simple crops Recent excavations have uncovered a town of mud brick at Jericho in Israel that dates from 8000 BC

Ruins of Jericho Found a group of sculpted heads dated about 7000 BC. The heads are actual human skulls with plaster applied to reconstruct the facial features

First civilization The first civilization we know of formed in Sumer, an area in Mesopotamia The Sumerians designed and built huge temples called ziggurats – Also, the center of the city – Ziggurats complexs were designed to make the worshippers go around as many corners as possible before reaching the cella – Main room – Most famous ziggurat was built at UR about 2100 BC – They invented writing, created sculptures of stone and made beautiful musical instruments – Highly accomplished artists who formalized the first style of art depicting the human form

Ziggurat at Ur Royal architects who designed the ziggurat at Ur included stepped levels, dramatic staircases and subtly curved lines 3 single staircases They converged at a gate tower The facing has withstood floods and weathering so well that it is the best preserved ziggurat in southern Mesopotamia

Ziggurat at UR Standard of Ur: Peace

Sumerians The Sumerian civilization emerged upon the flood plain of the lower reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers about 4000 B.C. The Sumerian communities were city states organized around a temple and ruled by a priesthood. – The bulk of the people were considered to be the servant- slaves of the god of the temple. Community Early Life There was a class of craftsmen in addition to the priests and peasants. The craftmen devoted most of their time to producing things for either the temples or the warrior- soldiers which protected the temple community.