 Paleolithic/Old Stone Age › The first stage in human culture  Neolithic/New Stone Age › The second stage in human culture  Cuneiform › A writing style made up of wedge shaped markings that were pressed into damp clay  Civilization › Advanced state of human development; contain social, political, and cultural complexity

 Pantheon › A large group of gods; all the gods of a certain culture/civilization  Hierarchy › A system of persons or things ranked one above another  Hieroglyphic › Writing style made up of pictures and symbols  Polytheistic › Having multiple gods

 Goes back to over 1,000,000,000 BCE  Humans… › Were nomadic (moved from place to place) › Hunted and Gathered › Discovered fire, clothing, and simple social organization

 Between 8,000 and 3,000 BCE  Also known as Agricultural Period  Humans… › Began to settle down › Raised crops › Saw improvements in stone tools, pottery and textiles › Learned to live together in small villages

 Wide area of land in the “Fertile Crescent” › Between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers › Located in modern day Iraq  Considered to be the birthplace of civilization  Sumerians › First civilization to emerge in the ancient world

 Hammurabi › First great ruler to emerge in Mesopotamia  Babylon › The capitol city Hammurabi chose for himself and his people › Hence, his people were known as Babylonians  The Code of Hammurabi › A wide-ranged legal system › Made up of 282 articles › Meant to answer all of the legal questions of the time › “Eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”

 Sumerians wrote using Cuneiform › Writing style made up of wedge shaped markings  Benefits of a Written Language › Document the past › Increased communication › Keeping Records (taxes, irrigation patterns, storage details, etc.) › Strengthens government  Literacy indicated class and therefore power

 Sumerians were Polytheistic  Life was the focus of their religion › Gods were often given attributes of humans and animals › Individual gods served specific purposes › Gods were placed in a hierarchy  Some cities placed different gods at the top of their hierarchy › Kings answered to the gods alone  Social classes were tied into religion as well

 Egyptian civilization developed around the same time as the Sumerians  Settlements located along the Nile River in modern day Egypt  Egyptians depended on the annual flooding of the Nile to plant crops

 Literacy › Used Hieroglyphics (picture writing) › Each picture represents a syllable, not actual words or objects

 Religion › Egyptians were Polytheistic › Identified the pharaoh (king) with the sun god › Pharaoh was also physical manifestation of the sky god › Death opened the path to the afterlife › The body had to be preserved in some way for the soul to live on  Mummification, embalming, etc.

 Egyptian art and architecture focused on Death or the Afterlife.  Art and Architecture functioned as an eternal dwelling place for the dead  Egyptian mortuaries (funeral homes) were highly decorated › Mortuaries also contain funeral imagery and narratives for those who dwelled there

 Pharaohs were considered the link to the afterlife › Common citizens worked to secure the pharaoh’s existence in the afterworld  Offerings, sacrifices, etc.

 Cave Paintings › The Cave of Lascaux  Discovered in 1940 by a group of children  Cave was sealed off in 1963 to protect it from atmospheric damage  An exact replica exists in a quarry 600 ft. away › Contains paintings of various bulls, horses, and deer

 The Tombs of Thebes › Burial sites located in the ancient city of Thebes › Provides most of what we know about Egyptian painting › Comprised of funerary art (art made for rituals of death)

 The Tombs of Thebes cont. › First discovered representations of the gods › Portrayed everyday life as well › Utilized four hues(colors) that never changed in value › Showed people in profile (viewed from the side)  No attempt at lifelikeness was made

 Sumerian › Focused on kings  Usually performing devotional (religious) acts › Sumerian court (royalty) generated sculptures out of gold › Emphasized the importance of religion in Sumerian culture

 Egyptian › Major art form of the Egyptians › Avoided lifelike sculptures for two reasons  1.) A close likeness could capture the soul  2.) Lifelikeness was too technically challenging › Egyptians were very detailed with sculptures of the human body › Surfaces were painted for decoration

› The Great Sphinx  Carved out of the natural rock  Portrays the head of the pharaoh on the body of a lion  Reinforces the relationship between the pharaoh and the gods  Egyptian cont.

› The Funerary Mask of Tutankhamun (King Tut)  Made of solid gold  Inlaid with semiprecious stone and colored glass  Meant to record his likeness and cover his mummified head  Reveals the royal nemes (headdress) and two symbolic creatures that protect Egypt

 Egyptian Pyramids › Oldest existing buildings in the world › Filled with secret passageways and rooms › Meant to protect the bodies of the pharaohs

 Egyptian Pyramids cont. › Usually constructed with a nearby temple › The pyramids at Giza have a carefully planned layout  Each pyramid’s faces point directly north, south, east, and west  The size and position of the pyramids may be symbolizing the stars in Orion’s belt

 Sumerian › Mostly used as a source of entertainment › Mostly used stringed instruments › Some vocal music with instrumental accompaniment existed  Egyptian › Instruments consisted of  Harps, lyres, pipes, flutes, cymbals, and bells › Harps were the basic instrument

 Egyptian cont. › Tamboura  Similar to modern violins or guitars  Cat gut was used to make strings for instruments

 Egyptian › Stride Dances  Formal style of dancing  Typically consists of forward motions based on rhythmic themes  Were part of larger ceremonial dances for funerals and fertility

 Sumerian › The Epic of Gilgamesh  Oldest known story in the world  Contains a story of a great flood much like the story of Noah in the Bible  A story about the physical and spiritual trials of Gilgamesh

 Egyptian › The Book of the Dead  Collection of mortuary texts  Contained spells, magic formulas to protect and serve the dead in the afterlife