Ancient Near East

Art History

Ancient Near East & Mesopotamia

Stokstad Chapter 2, pgs 27-51

Gardner Chapter 2, pgs 42-63*** correction from syllabus

Vocabulary

Citadel

Crenellation

Palace complex

Pictographs

Registers

Stele

Ziggurat

Cuneiform

Cone mosaic

Cylinder seals

Stylized

Stylus

Votive figures

Glaze

Incised

Inlays

High relief

Low relief monumental

Historical Evidence

1. Who was the first group of people to rise to a power in the Ancient Near East? 

2. What do we know about the origins of the Sumerians?

3. The oldest form of writing was developed by the Sumerians. What is it called? What did the first written documents pertain to?

Interpretation and Meaning

1. What was the purpose of a Ziggurat? What did it look like and how was it decorated?

2. Why do we think the “Votive Statues,” from the Square Temple, Eshnunna represent an early example of Ancient Near eastern religious practice?

3. How does the Stele of Naramsin convey the concept of imperial authority?

4. What do the cuneiform inscriptions on the Statue of Gudea refer to?

5. Why is the Stele of Hammurabi so significant? Who is Shamash?

6. The relief sculptures discovered at Persepolis were concerned with what themes?

Style

1. Note where the Ishtar gate is located and why its details are so extraordinary.

2. Describe the imperial (palace) complex at Persepolis, Iran. What stylistic influences are evident at the imperial palace as evident in the column sculptures?

Compare and Discuss

1. How do the sculptural themes in the Akkadian and Assyrian Empires differ from those in the Persian Empire?

2. What artistic styles emerge in the Persian Empire? Can you site specific examples as evidenced in the architectural and sculptural remains of Persepolis?