Art History Archeology

Archeology
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looking at and studying things from the past

unearthing of objects/people that allow us into the glimpse of how things
work
useful for tracing the future
historical buildings are built without any technology and are still standing
today
o mathematical precision
dying form
French government puts a lot of money in archeological studies
Canada is number 3 in the world
R.O.M. has mostly objects found on Canadian archeological digs

Mesopotamians
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on the Syrian border

lost culture
o really focused on family
o role of female was to teach children
sewing
cooking
o looking for useful things
objects made of stone that were found in graves
o woman, no face, chubby
The Venus of Willendorf
o nude females are called Venus
o found fabric in the Venus of Willendorf
people think they were dolls for children
children practiced sewing clothing for these
dolls
can paint the face on
usually they try to associate artifacts to religions
women need to have some meat because that means youre ready to give
birth

The Gilgamesh Epic

o pictograph is a language in pictures
o story written on stone tablets
o like a comic strip
o about an ordinary guy and his life/travels/battles
o no religious reason for this, just for children
teaches about the values of Mesopotamian
culture
worried about preservation of core values

Ziggurat
o name is taken
from the Egyptians
o didnt know what it was used for
o they think it may have been a public
market place or an observation
o Egyptians dont want it to exist
similar to a pyramid
o anything in historic times has
approximate dating
o must have been multipurpose
because it was in the middle of the
towns
o used rocks and mud from the river,
let it dry and then shape them
key points
o importance of family & children
o carrying on tradition
o importance of structures
o major buildings that help sustain cultures

Egypt
-

big trade community

lots of gold
civilization was developed, peaceful and had a sound economy
one of the first cultures that allowed women to be in power
cities of the living
o nothing left
o here and now
o little houses, clothing
o anything needed for day to day activity
o all perishable
cities of the dead
o death and process of dying was excepted
o lived in order to get to the next life
o current life was just something to get through in order to get to the
next life

o all things that are remaining were part of the cities of the dead
pyramids
o rough shape because of pollution, people and bird poo
o interior structures are still intact
o scorpions take rock from the pyramids
o valley of the kings is east of the big pyramids
o archeological work is completely stopped in Egypt
o theres a door in between the paws of the Sphinx
o 250 pyramids have been identified
o if the whole family was important, the family would be buried in the
same pyramid
o archeologists got lost in pyramids, ran out of air and died
o archeologists also died from scorpion bites
o piles put into place and then chiselled
o built from the inside out
o layer for the coffin, then build out
soul divided into 3 parts
o Kah (Ka) sculpture
door is behind
marked the place where the mummy was usually kept
individualized
soul goes into the Kah
o Bak (Ba)
part of your soul that turns into a bird
o Ank (Ahk)
soul leaves and becomes a light in the sky
preservation so that the bodies could go to the after life
o Egyptians mastered mummification
o flesh, hair follicles, fabrics still preserved
o sand mummy
people in fetus form
sand acts as a covering
left for tourists to find
buried with possessions
like cups
o takes 71 days
o body put on raft after you die
o flows to the end of the Nile river
(family follows)
o guy at hut with Jackle head takes
the body
o bodies were washed
o any organ that absorbed blood was taken out

stomach
brain
heart
kidneys
o bodies hung upside down to dry
o soaked with aloe and filled with salt
o linens soaked in aloe and wrapped
around body
o after 71 days, body is placed on a raft
o placed in final resting place (in a
pyramid)
o family gifted with 4 jars (canopic jars)
brain
heart
lungs
stomach/intestine
o culture/celebration
Akhenaten
o chiseled jaw
o deep set eyes
o African-American characteristics
o pharaoh
o had a problem with religion
o no way there are over 250 gods in the Egyptian
religion
o felt the religion was too overstretched
o believed that gods walked among them
o started a new religion prayed to one god
o Aten (god) = ultimate power
o said he was the physical metamorphous of Aten
o sculpture exaggerated because of public perception
Nefretiti & Cleopatra
o military trained
o powerful, strong
o Nefretiti ruled peacefully for around 40 years
o Cleopatra slept with a ton of Romans
lead to the downfall of her empire
o traded with Rome
o Romans took over
o wasnt necessarily pretty but people were drawn to her because she
was so powerful

Greece
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important in creating things we still use today

artifacts uncovered by chance
evidence of past culture
no real understanding of the culture

pottery
o used to carry water
o shape is dependent on the function of the pot
o natural colour is terracotta
o orange colour depends how long its left in the fire
o red figure pottery & black figure pottery
o ash from bottom of fire, mix with aloe, make pot black, refire pot
o swastika used to be a symbol of unity and peace
o hitler used swastika
Kouros (male) & Kore (female)
o male and female version of average Greeks
o both had long hair (almost dread like)
o eyes seem hollow
o no evidence that they had painted eyeballs
o all are smiling the Archaic smile
o no teeth
o Kourus = representation of athlete
nude male athletes competed in games
wide shoulders
have six-packs
one leg in front of another (helps balance the form)
hips are wider
s-stance
o Kore
fully dressed
dress helps balance sculpture
o first time seeing an average human
Parthenon
o trying to do reconstructive work
o armed military
o highest point in the city of Athens
o damage because of pollution and
tourists
Pantheon
o looks like the White House
o in perfect condition
o oc(c)ulus is the only source of
natural light 27 feet wide
o tilted down on to a central drain for
the rain
o now covered with plexi glass so it
cant rain inside
o square carvings (coffers) inside the
dome to make the weight of the
dome lighter
pattern of coffers is like Greek architecture
lacks decoration

Coliseum
o ancient architecture moving into
modern architecture
o ampitheatre
o used to put a canopy over the top
when it rained
o in bad shape
o people used to go for social events
o used to have 4 levels
o everyone filtered into one arch for
payment etc.
o great for sound because of the
roundness
o floor has crumbled
o theatres now are like this so that sound
is nice
o credit Romans for entertainment
aqueducts
o carries water down to city centres
o needed fresh water source for
Olympics
o from mountain to city at a slight slant
o have to maintain the channel because
the water cannot be stopped
o women crochet mesh out of fabric so all
the dirt would stay on one side
roads
o credit Romans for roads also
o they first made roads
columns
o Doric basic, common columns
o Ionic swirls
o Corinthian most heavily decorated