Paleolithic
Old stone age
Neolithic
New stone age
Megalith
Greek. "great stone", a large, roughly hewn stone used in the construction of monumental prehistoric structures
Lintel
horizontal beam used to span an opening (Stone Henge)
Bucrania
Latin, "bovine skull", a common motif in classical architectural ornament
Landscape
picture of the land (nature)
Ground Line
baseline; indicates the bottom
Composite
a convention of representation in which part of the figure is shown in profile and another part of the same figure is shown frontally; also called twisted perspective
Descriptive
describing something, naming characteristics
Fanciful
imaginative, surreal
Optical
visual, things you see
Profile
side view
Tomb Figure
figures put in front of a burial chamber to give recognition of the person buried
Rock-Cut-Relief
a relief in the mountain/wall (Triumph of Shapur I) (Bishapar, Iran)
Figurine
smaller statue (Ain Ghazel; Venus of Willindorf, Austria)
Engraving
incise, to cut into
Frieze
band at the top of the temple, border
Monument
big, usually in honor or memory of someone of importance
In the Round
statue you can physically walk around
Circa
(c. 200) means "about"
Hierarchy of Scale
using size to show the importance/status of someone/something
Menhir
a large uncut stone used as a monument
Post-and-Lintel
door frame like structures, Stone Henge
Negative Space
background (signatures in Pech-Merle)
Positive Space
actual picture, characters/subject of the painting
Shamarism
belief that spirits could go into a trance; spirit being of nature
Apadana
audience hall; auditorium for the king
Capital
top of the columns with decoration (Persopolis)
Cella
center room; place where the priest called down to the gods
Crenellations
alternating solid merlons and open crenels in the notched tops of walls, as in battlements
Cuneiform
wedge-shaped characters, incised with a stylus on soft clay
Cylinder Seal
kind of like a dog tag, decorated with incised design, stamp, sign of identification
Facade
the front of a building; also, the other sides when they are emphasized architecturally
Lamassu
five legged winged, man-headed bulls at the Citadel of Sargon II, colossal limestone monsters; Dur Sharrukin
Lapis Lazuli
beautiful blue stone; Standard of Ur; ancient Ur
Motif
reoccurring pattern (Ishtar Gate)
Relief Sculpture
projects out from a flat surface
Bas Relief
low-relief, barely stands above the flat surface (rings)
High Relief
juts out farther from the surface, almost 3D
Registers
bands, horizontal, usually tell a story, Standard of Ur
Stele
a stone slab used to mark a site or a grave (Narim-Sin of Akkad; Hammurabi of Babylon)
Stylization
unrealistic features, unnatural
Tribute
payment to the king in turn of protection
Ziggurat
made of mud bricks, place where the priest would call to the gods
Paradigm
unspoken rule, unwritten law
Connotations
associated meanings, unrealistic, not meant to take literal, figurative
Denotations
literal meaning, realistic
Spoof
Parody, joke, making fun of
Paleolithic, used as survival guide (Lascaux, France)
Hall of the Bulls
Paleolithic, sign of fertility (Austria)
Venus of Willindorf
Neolithic, Jericho, spirit trap
Human Skull from Jericho
Neolithic, No streets or doors, (Turkey)
Catal Hoyuk (First known landscape of Volcano)
Wiltshire England, Post and Lintel
Stonehenge
Sumerians, Ancient Near East, Uruk, white washed walls, holy temple
Ziggurat
Tell Asmar, Sumeria, wakefulness, devotion, sytlization
Statuettes of Temple of Abu
Sumeria, narrative, registers, two sides
Standard of Ur
Akkad, Sargon and Naram Sin, Hierarchy, Bucrania, one of the first artworks depicting a human as a god
Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
Nineveh, powerful, centered, positional and personal power, abstract patterns
Head of an Akkadian Ruler
Neo Sumerian, devoted, placed in many temples, diorite (Tellon)
Gudea of Lagash
Babylon, Shamash appointing Hammurabi, Hierarchy
Stele of Hammurabi
Hittites, defeated Babylon, Anatolia, limestone, protected the city (Boghazkoy, Turkey)
Lion Gate
Assyria, protected the palace, five legged, winged, man-headed bull
Lamassu
Ninevah, powerful king, bas relief, demonstrating king's power
Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions
Babylon, also Inanna, glazed bricks, motif, seven wonders of the world, Nebechanezzar
Ishtar Gate
Persians, Apadana with Capitols, palace of Darius I (Persepolis)
Royal Audience Hall
