2. Prehistoric Culture Paleolithic (“Old Stone”) ca. 6 million to 10,000 b.c.e. Tribal hunters and gatherers Crude stone and bone tools and weapons Cave painting and sculpture
4. Neolithic (“New Stone”) ca. 8,000 to 4,000 b.c.e. Farming and food production Polished stone and bone tools and weapons Architecture Pottery and weaving
7. Great Black Bull at Lascaux Paleolithic wall-paintings provide a visual record of such long-extinct animals as the hairy mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros.
8. What were the purpose and function of these vivid images?
16. Stonehenge Possibly served as a celestial observatory predicting the movements of the sun and moon, clocking the seasonal cycle, providing information that would have been essential to an agricultural society.
17. The Birth of CivilizationFrom Counting to Writing More process than an invention, writing evolved from counting.
18. Hieroglphs, Queen Nefertari before the Divine Scribe Thoth, from the tomb of Nefertari, north wall, Valley of the Queens, Egypt, New Kingdom, Nineteenth Dynasty, 1290-1224 B.C.E.
20. Metallurgy: The Bronze Age Metal began to replace stone and bone. Ceremonial vessel with a cover, late Shang dynasty, China, ca. 1000 B.C.E. Bronze, height 20-1/16 in. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
21. Mesopotamia “Land Between the Rivers” (Tigris and Euphrates river) Sargon conquered the Sumerian city-states . Head of an Akkadian ruler (Sargon l), from Nineveh, Iraq, c. 2350 B.C.E. Bronze, 12" high. Museum of Antiquities, Baghdad.
25. Epic of Gilgamesh Mesopotamia produced the world’s first literary epic. An epic is a long, narrative poem that recounts the deeds of a hero, one who undertakes some great quest or mission. Gilgamesh between two human-headed bulls (top portion). Soundbox of a harp, from Ur, Iraq, ca. 2600 B.C.E.
26. Babylon: Hammurabi’s Law Code inscribed with the law code of Hammurabi, Susa, capital of Elam (now in Iran), c. 1792-1750. Basalt, height of stele approx. 7', height of relief 28". Louvre, Paris.
27. Iron Technology Iron was introduced by the Hittites. Cheaper to produce and more durable then bronze. King Assurnasirpalll hunting lions (Lion Hunt), from Nimrud, Iraq, c. 883-859 B.C.E. Alabaster relief, 3' 3" x 8' 4". British Museum, London.
28. Scene from a Funerary Papyrus, Book of the Dead a set of Egyptian funerary prayers. A painted papyrus scroll brings to life the last judgment.
29. Egyptian pyramids function primarily as tombs. The pyramids were built to assure the ruler’s comfort in the afterlife. Pyramids at Giza, Egypt, c. 2500-2475 B.C.E.
30. King Tutankhamen Ca. 1345-1325 B.C.E. the tomb housed riches of astonishing variety, including the pharaoh’s solid gold coffin, inlaid with semi-precious carnelian and lapis lazuli
31. Egyptian cover of the coffin of Tutankhamen (portion), from the Valley of the Kings, ca. 1360 B.C.E. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
32. Canopiccoffinette (coffin of Tutankhamon), c. 1327 B.C.E. Gold inlaid with enamel and semiprecious stones, 15 3/4" high. Egyptian Museum, Cairo
33. Presentation of Nubian tribute to Tutankhamon (restored), tomb chapel of Huy, Thebes, 18th Dynasty, c. 1336-1327 B.C.E. Wall painting, 6' x 17 1/4'.
36. Scene of Fowling, tomb of Neb-amon Egyptian art mirrors the deep sense of order and regularity that dominated ancient Egyptian life.
37.
38.
39. Akhenaten is associated with monotheism as a religious view. Defied the tradition of polytheism by elevating Aten (God of the Sun Disk) to a positon of supremacy over all other gods. (Akhenaten about 1351-1334 BCE. Abraham lived 1812 BCE to 1637 BCE) Statue of Akhenaten, from Karnak, Egypt, Amarna Period, 1353-1350 B.C.E. Sandstone, approx. 13" high. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
40.
41. The mother of 6 daughters.Ca.1355 B.C.E. New Kingdom 18th dynasty, painted limestone
43. Africa : Western Sudan These portrait like heads are the earliest known 3-dimentional artworks of sub-Saharan African. Head, Nok culture, ca. 500 B.C.E.-200 C.E. Terracotta, height 14-3/16 in. National Museum, Lagos/Bridgeman.
44. Colossal Heads, Mexico Around 1200 b.c.e., Meso-America was the site of one of the largest and most advanced cultures: that of the Olmecs. They were called “Olmecs” (“rubber people”) by the Aztecs, because of the trees that flourished in their region. Probably to honor their rulers, the Olmecs carved colossal stone heads weighing some 20 tons .
45.
46.
47. Ancient India 1500 B.C.E. - Ayrans (light-skinned people) enslaved dark-skinned populations of Sind and established a set of societal divisions that anticipated the caste system. Bearded Man, MohenjoDaro, Indus Valley, c. 2000 B.C.E. Limestone, 7" high. National Museum, New Delhi. Scala/Art Resource, NY
48. Ancient China China’sroyal tombs were filled with treasures, most of which took the form of carved jade and worked bronze objects. Standing figure, late Shang dynasty, ca. 1300-1100 B.C.E., from Pit 2 at Sanxingdui, Guanghan, Sichuan Province. Bronze, height 8 ft. 7 in.
49. Yin and the Yang Yin/Yang, “the foundation of the entire universe,” interprets all nature as the dynamic product of two interacting cosmic forces, or modes of energy.
50. Procession of female musicians with instruments, including a harp, double pipes, and a lyre, Tomb of Djeserkarasneb, Thebes, ca. 1580-1314 B.C.E.
Explain b.c.e. – before central era, is the same as B.C – before Christ, c.e – central era is the same as A.C. - Anno Domini - the term Anno Domini is Medieval Latin, translated as In the year of (the/Our) Lord.There is no year zero in this scheme, so the year AD 1 immediately follows the year 1 BC. This dating system was devised in 525, but was not widely used until after 800,[1] and even after that, other systems were still widely used throughout Europe
Length of individual bulls 13-26 ft.Bison, horses, reindeer, and a host of other creatures are shown standing or running, often with spears and lances.
The invention of pottery occurred on the other side of the world in Japan, in an ancient culture known as the Jomon. The Jomon Period occupied a long span of Japanese history from 14,000 to 400 B.C.E.hoto:
In her role as child bearer, the female assures the continuity of humankind.Perceived as life-giver, and identified with the mysterious powers of procreation, she was exalted as Mother Earth. Made Small possibly for easy traveling
Lacking the pronounced sexual characteristics of the Venus, the figure probably played a similar role in rituals that sought the blessings of Mother Earth.
(don’t cite)Possibly served as a celestial observatory predicting the movements of the sun and moon, clocking the seasonal cycle, providing information that would have been essential to an agricultural society. Recent excavations suggest that it may also have functioned as the site of funerary rituals for the cremated dead.
Recent excavations suggest that it may also have functioned as the site of funerary rituals for the cremated dead.
7500 b.c.e. merchants used tokens – pieces of clay molded into the shapes of objects – to represent specific commodities.By 3100 b.c.e., pictorial symbols, or pictographs , had replaced the tokens. Cuneiform ( from cuneus, the Latin word for “wedge” ) became the type of script used throughout the Near East for well over three thousand years.
Cuneiform - with the narrowly triangular shape of a wedge
But by 2000 b.c.e., Sargon’s empire had fallen in turn to the attacks of a new group of invaders, who- established a pattern that dominated Mesopotamian history for 3000 years. The Tigris and Euphrates River are located in present day Iraq.Story – Early Man felt if they destroy or damage sculptures or images of their enemies rulers that they would actually cause real harm or possible erase the memory of that ruler.
They looked upon the forces of nature – sun, wind, and rain – as vital and alive, indeed, as inhabited by living spirits – a belief known as animism. Myths – that is stories that explained the workings of nature – were part of the ritual fabric of everyday life.
The larger figures may be priests, and the smaller figures, laypersons.
Epics are usually tales of adventure that reflect the ideas and values of the community in which they originate. The Epic of Gilgamesh was recited orally for centuries before it was written down at Sumer in the late 3rd century. It precedes Before the Hebrew Bible. Story : The Gilgamesh epic celebrates the Sumerian king, Uru-inim-gina, as tragic hero. A masterpiece of Mespotamian literature, the epic recounts the pursuit of fame and immortality by the semi-legendary king of Uruk. Based on at least five earlier Sumerian legends, the epic was amalgamated into a unified whole early in the second millennium B.C.The plot of the epic goes something like this: The gods had created Enkidu -- a wild creature -- in the hope that he might challenge the arrogant and ruthless Gilgamesh and thus temper his excesses. After an initial confrontation, Gilgamesh and Enkidu become friends. On an expedition to the west, they confront an evil monster, Humbaba, in the Cedar Forest. Enkidu slays Humbaba and, in retribution, the gods take Enkidu's life. Enkidu's death so haunts Gilgamesh that he undertakes to seek eternal life, and so Gilgamesh the mighty hero is transformed into Gilgamesh the broken mortal. The pursuit of immortality leads Gilgamesh into further adventures. The most famous is his encounter with Utnapishtim, and ancient hero who had survived a tragic flood. His tale, recounted in the epic, bears many resemblances to the Biblical story of the Flood that Utnapishtim is often called the Babylonian Noah. Gilgamesh, following Utnapishtim's advice, finds a plant capable of rendering him immortal, only to have it stolen by a snake while he sleeps, exhausted from his quest. On this note, the epic ends.
The code is not the first example of recorded law among the Babylonian kings, it is the most extensive and comprehensive set of laws to survive from ancient times.
In addition to their iron weapons, they made active use of horse-drawn war chariots. This gave the Hittites clear military superiority over all of Mesopotamia.
The enthroned Osiris, god of the underworld (far right) and his wife Isis (far left) oversee the ceremony in which the heart of the deceased Princess Entiu-ny is weighed against the figure of Truth. If the heart is not found true “by trial of the great balance”, it will be devoured by the monster Ament, thus meeting a second death. If pure it might sail with the sun up and down the river. (Anubus)
Figures are usually sized according to a strict hierarchy or graded order: upper-class individuals are shown larger that lower-class one.
In this freestanding sculpture of the Old Kingdom pharaoh Mycerinus. the queen stands proudly at his side, one arm around his waist and the other gently touching his arm.A sense of shared purpose is conveyed by their lifted chins and confident demeanor.
As pharaoh, Hatshepsut (reigned from c1479 - 1458 BC)was different - she was a woman. Customarily Egyptian culture restricted kingship to men, but Hatshepsut's determination and cunning silenced her enemies and enhanced her reputation. Ancient Egyptian society gave women far more respect than most other societies of the time . But it was still extremely unusual for a woman to become pharaoh. A man's worldDespite their relatively high status, many thought that it was fundamentally wrong for a woman to rule. So Hatshepsut had to spend her reign securing her position and fighting to be seen as a legitimate ruler. After the death of her father, Tuthmosis I, Hatshepsut became queen to Tuthmosis II, her half-brother. After he died, power passed to her stepson, Tuthmosis III, while he was still a small boy. A grab for power Hatshepsut became co-regent, ruling with others on behalf of her stepson until he grew up. This was standard practice, but Hatshepsut then surprised everyone by grabbing sole power for herself and declaring herself Pharaoh - just the third woman to be pharaoh in 3,000 years. At first, Hatshepsut's move was very unpopular. To persuade her people, Hatshepsut stressed her royal ancestry and claimed that her father had publicly appointed her as his successor. Click on the image for a gallery viewTelling tales She also relied heavily on propaganda. On her temple walls she ordered carvings that told how the god Amen had taken on her father's appearance on the day she was conceived. This effectively made Hatshepsut the daughter of the chief of all Egyptian gods. Then Hatshepsut made sure that she was portrayed in pictures as a man, with a male body and even a false beard. Finally, she replaced her husband and father's old courtiers with new supporters, so if she went, they went too. Family problems Despite these efforts, Hatshepsut was still worried about her position. In particular, she had to deal with her army, which was led by her stepson (and rightful pharaoh), Tuthmosis. She had a dilemma: if she led them into battle and lost, she would be blamed and could lose power. If her army won the battle, Tuthmosis would get all the credit and she could lose power. Hatshepsut was nothing if not cunning, and she devised a win-win solution. She ordered the army to make itself useful, not by going into battle, but by setting off on a trading expedition to the land of Punt, where no Egyptian had been for more than 500 years. A cunning plan The expedition had a double advantage: it would keep her army busy so that Tuthmosis posed no danger to her. It also offered Hatshepsut the chance to bring back to Egypt a wide variety of valuable and exotic goods, such as ivory, leopard skins and incense. Click on the image for a gallery viewThe expedition was an enormous success and enhanced Hatshepsut's reputation. She became the ruler who had reached out to foreign countries and who had delivered to Egyptians marvelous wonders from far away. Erased from history After 22 years of reign, Hatshepsut died and her stepson, Tuthmosis III, finally gained the throne that had been rightfully his for decades. Tuthmosis resented his long wait for power and was determined to make Hatshepsut pay. He wanted to wipe her from history so that Egyptians would forget that she had ever ruled. In a massive operation, he ordered that her name and image be removed from every part of Egypt. He was so successful that Hatshepsut was totally erased from Egyptian history until 1903, when British archaeologist Howard Carter found her tomb and her story was rediscovered for the first time in 3,500 years.
She is often pictured as Isis, the goddess from whom all Egyptian queens were said to have descended.
Found in 1931 near a farming village called Nok located along the Niger River in western Sudan. Western parts of the continent were not fully investigated by modern archaeologists until the mid 20th century.
Because they wore helmets it was once theorized to be ballplayers, it is now generally accepted that these heads are portraits of rules, perhaps dressed a s ballplayers.
India developed the most rigid kind of class stratification, which prevailed until modern times.By 1000 b.c.e. four principal castes existed: priests and scholars, rulers and warriors, artisans and merchants, and unskilled workers. At the very bottom of the social order lay those who held the most menial and degrading occupations. They became known as Untouchables.
Chinese found harmony and order in the regularity of the seasons and the everyday workings of nature. Yin/Yang, this principle which ancient Chinese emperors called “the foundation of the entire universe,” interprets all nature as the dynamic product of two interacting cosmic forces, or modes of energy, commonly configured as twin interpenetrating shapes enclosed with in a circle