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– 400 C.E.
Ancient Cultures

Prehistoric More
Paleolithic Introduction Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf) Neolithic Neolithic Revolution Jericho Çatal Höyük Stonehenge Neolithic Jade Cong
Ancient Near East More
Introduction Sumerian Art It all begins at Uruk The Invention of Writing Standard of Ur Perforated Relief of Ur-Nanshe Ziggurat of Ur Art of Akkad and Ur Victory Stele of Naram-Sin Babylonian Art Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi Unfinished Kudurru Assyrian Art Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions Neo-Babylonian Art Ishtar Gate and Processional Way (reconstruction) Art of the Persian Empire Relief Scupture from Persepolis
Ancient Egypt More
Introduction Egyptian Art Materials & Techniques The Mummification Process Exploring a natural mummy from early Egypt Old Kingdom Seated Scribe The Great Pyramids of Giza (Introduction) Pyramid of Khufu Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Sphinx Pyramid of Menkaure New Kingdom House Altar with Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Three Daughters Portrait Head of Queen Tiye with a Crown of Two Feathers Bust of Nefertiti Book of the Dead Ramesses II Ptolemaic Period Rosetta Stone
Ancient Aegean More
Mycenaen The "Palace" and Grave Circle A (Mycenae) Lion Gate (Mycenae) The Treasury of Atreus
Ancient Greece More
Introduction The Classical Orders Ancient Greek Vase Production and the Black-Figure Technique Making Greek vases Geometric Krater Archaic Exekias, Attic Black Figure Amphora Exekias, Dionysos Kylix Odysseus Mixing Vessel Euphronios, Attic Red Figure Calyx-Krater New York Kouros Early Classical Charioteer of Delphi Kritios Boy Classical Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) Temples at Paestum Pediments, Temple of Aphaia, Aegina Myron, Discobolus (Discus Thrower) Iktinos & Kallikrates, The Parthenon Parthenon: East Pediment Parthenon: Frieze Parthenon: Metopes Erechtheion: Caryatid and Column Stele of Hegeso Late Classical (4th Century) Lysippos, Farnese Hercules Apoxyomenos (Scraper) Praxiteles, Venus The Hellenistic World Barberini Faun Dying Gaul Nike of Samothrace Pergamon Altar Apollonius, Boxer at Rest Alexander Mosaic Laocoön and his Sons Eros Sleeping and Old Market Woman Petra: Introduction Petra: Rock-cut Façades Petra: Urban Metropolis
Etruscan More
Introduction Temple of Minerva and the Sculpture of Apollo Sarcophagus of the Spouses
Ancient Rome More
Introduction Digging through Time Roman Republic Temple of Portunus Veristic Male Portrait Roman Empire Pantheon (virtual tour) Augustus of Primaporta Painted Garden, Villa of Livia Head of Augustus Ara Pacis Gemma Augustea Villa of Mysteries, Pompeii Colosseum Arch of Titus Hadrian's Villa Maritime Theatre, Hadrian's Villa Centaurs Fighting Cats of Prey, Hadrian's Villa Column of Trajan Medea Sarcophagus Equestrian Sculpture of Marcus Aurelius Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus Tetrarchs Arch of Constantine Colossus of Constantine
Buddhist Art More
The Historical Buddha Introduction to Buddhism Four Buddhas at the American Museum of Natural History Buddhist Monasteries The Stupa India The Pillars of Ashoka Lion Capital of Sarnath Caves at Ajanta China Dunhuang Cave-temples Bodhisattva, probably Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin)

Sumerian Art

The region of southern Mesopotamia is known as Sumer, and it is in Sumer that we find some of the oldest known cities, including Ur and Uruk.

Uruk
Prehistory ends with Uruk, where we find some of the earliest written records. This large city-state (and it environs) was largely dedicated to agriculture and eventually dominated southern Mesopotamia. Uruk perfected Mesopotamian irrigation and administration systems.

Map of Mesopotamia
Uruk is circled in the region of Sumer, as are other city-states discussed in Smarthistory.

An Agricultural Theocracy
Within the city of Uruk, there was a large temple complex dedicated to Innana, the patron goddess of the city. The City-State's agricultural production would be “given” to her and stored at her temple. Harvested crops would then be processed (grain ground into flour, barley fermented into beer) and given back to the citizens of Uruk in equal share at regular intervals.

The head of the temple administration, the chief priest of Innana, also served as political leader, making Uruk the first known theocracy.

Cuneiform legal tablet in case We know many details about this theocratic administration because the Sumarians left numerous documents in cuneiform script.

Cuneiform tablet (right), still in its clay case: legal case from Niqmepuh, King of Iamhad (Aleppo), 1720 B.C.E., 3.94 x 2" (British Museum)

These tablets made of dried mud and many were sealed in clay envelopes and signed using cylinder seals. A cylinder seals is a small pierced object like a long bead that is carved in reverse (intaglio) with a unique image and sometimes the name of the owner.

The seal was rolled over the soft clay of a tablet and functioned as a signature. The minute images on these seals use a system of symbolic representation that identifies the political status of the owner.