lecture 3 - outline
Neolithic - continued
Bronze Age

"Megalithic" culture culminates in Stonehenge:


March, 2013: Stonehenge May Have Been Burial Site for Stone Age Elite
- The Guardian

Jan., 2017: Sicily: Ancient 'Calendar Rock' Aligns With Winter Solstice
- Seeker.com

Rise of religion with concept of life after death - burial cairns:
Clava Cairns - Historic Environment Scotland

Stone Cairns - NativeStones.com
Neolithic Burial Cairns - Google Scholarly Article Search
Chambered Cairn - Wikipedia

Topics:

Advent of sun worship, astronomy

"Sunstone" - more at
Anynewsbd.com

Continued separation of 'Shaman' and 'Artist' roles,
eventually relegating the artist to Craftsman and creating a distinct Priest Class.

Shamanism - Ancient Wisdom
Shamanistic Traditions - WilliamJames.com
Prehistoric Art of the Stone Age: Types, Characteristics, Chronology
- Visual Arts Cork

Neolithic Revolution - Wikipedia | The Neolithic Revolution - Boundless.com
The Agrarian Revolution And The Birth Of Civilization - History World

The Neolithic Era - Human Journey
June, 2011: The Birth of Religion - National Geographic

The Coming of Farming - Time Maps

The First Cities

Jericho - c. 7000 BC

Jericho - Neolithic Tower

Jericho - Khan Academy

burial rites:

Plastered Skull from Jericho

Jan., 2014: The Plastered Skulls of Jericho - Ancient Origins


The First Towns: Seedbeds Of Civilization - History World
Catal Huyuk - Local Histories

Catul Huyuk c. 7000 - 6500 B.C. - (Pre-Hittite Anatolian) larger city - trade with Jericho.


wall paintings (example: fresco, "Great Bull")

'Venus Figure' - "Seated Goddess" (baked terra-cotta)

"Bronze Age"


Pre-Hittite Anatolian Bronze Sculpture c. 2100 B.C.
(Mother & Child; 8")

Aug., 2002: Anatolian Art and Architecture - Encyclopedia Brittanica

Mesopotamia - Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia:


Tablet, so-called 'Blau Monument', (6.25")

The Blau Monuments:
The British Museum
- Wikipedia - M.I.T.

Plaque of Ur-Nina, (15.75")
- The Louvre
- Wikipedia
Both above are Sumerian - c. 2500 BC

Ancient Mesopotamia - Penfield Central School District



Statuette of Sumerian Worshipper
(11", gypsum; 'early dynasty')


Sargon of Akkad
(bronze)

Sargon's daughter Enheduanna
was a poetess that was depicted in art
- click here for an article

'Naram-Sin Victory Stele'
(6' 6"; sandstone)
Both of the above c. 2300 B.C.

Stele of Hammurabi (Babylonian King)
(7' 4.5"; Basalt) 1790 B.C.

Vitally important in the history of Law and Civilization,
The Stele of Hammurabi is also significant in the history of portraiture.

Here the leader is seen receiving his divine authority to rule from Shamash.
The modern concept of a 'portrait' is still centuries away:
chiefly rulers, at this time in history still associated with divinity,
are uniquely portrayed in art.

Generalizations of soldiers, slaves, etc. are usually presented in groups:
only the most important individuals are formally depicted in this era.

Law Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon - The Louvre

The Stele of Hammurabi - Art History 235

Code of Hammurabi - Wikipedia

Hammurabi - History.com


Anatolian Steles - show 'formalization' in depictions of rulers; typical of this era :
An Anatolian Funerary Stele in an Antique Shop in Seville, Spain - Academia.edu
Kakasbos Stele - Wikipedia

 


Assyrian, Tell Ahmar, Syria - c. 880 B.C.
relief; fresco

Nimrud Relief Panel - The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mediterranean 'Aegean':
Cycladic - figurine 'idol'

marble, c. 2000 B.C.
Cycladic Head

marble, c. 3000 B.C., 11.5"

Minoan - fresco, "two ladies"


Mycenaean - Painted Stucco Head
limestone, c. 1300 B.C.

Early Cycladic Art and Culture - Metropolitan Museum of Art
Cycladic Sculpture - Ancient History Encyclopedia
Cycladic Art - Wikipedia

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