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Ancient Artz, Culture, and Creativity

Ancient Artz, Culture, and Creativity
  • PublishedSeptember 29, 2024

From the dawn of civilization, humans have expressed their creativity and culture through art. Ancient artz forms offer a fascinating window into the past, revealing the values, beliefs, and daily life style of early societies. 

Whether it’s the intricate pottery of Mesopotamia, the majestic sculptures of Egypt, or the evocative cave paintings left by our prehistoric ancestors, these artistic creations serve as timeless reminders of humanity’s shared heritage. 

This blog explores the stunning artistry of ancient civilizations, focusing on the works that have transcended millennia and influenced countless generations of artists, from the early craftspeople of Mesopotamia to modern visionaries like Felipe Galindo. 

Join us as we embark on a journey through the art of Mesopotamia, Egypt, France, and beyond, and discover how these ancient masterpieces continue to inspire and shape the world of art today.

Ancient Art of Mesopotamia

Mesopotamian Pottery

The first and most common type of ancient artz from Mesopotamia is pottery made out of baked clay. It’s often the most useful artifact for archaeologists because changes in the style of pottery or other ceramic objects can help them to identify and date the different early cultures that once occupied a given area. Bowls, jars, cups, boxes, and other objects, or at least fragments of them, have been found all over Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent. One can say that it’s the oldest recognized art form in the ancient Near East.

Ancient Artz of Mesopotamian pottery
Painted ceramic vase from the period of Djemdet Nasr, from Khafadje. Museum of the Oriental Institute of Chicago.

Though often formed in distinctive shapes and painted with geometric designs and later animals, the pottery of ancient Mesopotamia, even during times of great cultural achievement and prosperity, was relatively basic in comparison to those of other cultures. The earliest clay pottery to have been discovered dates back to around 7000 BC and was shaped by hand and then baked over an open fire. About a thousand years later, hotter, more controlled firing was made possible with the introduction of primitive kilns, which themselves were made out of baked clay bricks.

In addition to shaping them by hand, early potters also used simple molds into which they pressed moist clay, which were then baked over a hand-operated potter’s wheel. Over time, as this technology advanced, it allowed for the mass production of such bowls and jars, which were needed to help feed the growing population.

The British Museum, London, England
Bevel Rimmed Bowl. The British Museum, London, England

Though by 2000 BC, some pottery in Babylonia and also Assyria began to be glazed in bright colors, they were still relatively simple in comparison to those of Egypt and later the Greek-speaking world.

This is because most people who could afford ornately decorated pottery actually preferred jars, bowls, and utensils made of silver, gold, copper, bronze, glass, or even stone, all materials that we’ll take a look at shortly.

Mesopotamian Metal Work

Of all of the crafts in ancient Mesopotamia, metalworking was probably the most important. It was essential to all aspects of life, such as agriculture, where it was used as the primary material for plows, and of course weapons and armor made of bronze and iron. It had its household purposes as well and was used for cups, bowls, jars, and the like. Such items were not only considered more valuable than their clay and ceramic counterparts but also much more durable.

Openwork plaque with figures MetMuseum.Org

Though archaeologists have excavated the remains of several metalsmith workshops, most of the metals smelted there were actually not from the region. Mesopotamia had and still has few deposits of useful metals, so these had to be imported. For example, most of the copper that found its way into the great cities of Sumer and Akkad came from Anatolia, Iran, and Canaan. 

Tin was even harder to get and likely came from mines in Anatolia and as far away as Central Asia. Both of these elements are needed for the creation of bronze, which by the fourth millennium BC became the principal alloy for many useful objects, such as weapons, helmets, cooking utensils, pins, plows, plates, and eventually for statues, both of gods and kings.

Though used much less, gold, silver, and electrum, which is a mixture of gold and silver, were also relatively common in the urban centers of Mesopotamia. Due to their malleability, these metals were used a lot in jewelry.

Mesopotamian Jewelry

This brings us to another common type of material art seen in ancient Mesopotamia—jewelry, which used many of the metals and alloys mentioned earlier. In addition, most fine or luxury jewelry included precious and semi-precious stones, such as lapis lazuli and jade. Like most metals, these were also imported, mostly scholars believe from Afghanistan.

Gold Leaf Necklace from the Royal Cemetery of Ur

From objects discovered in the graves of elites, as well as reliefs from the walls of buildings, both men and women valued and wore jewelry. Common to both genders of higher social status were strings of beads, amulets, and bracelets made of bronze, silver, or gold. 

Earrings were also popular, generally in the shape of rings, crescent moons, cones, and sometimes animal or human heads.

Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals

Next, we come to another fascinating form of ancient Mesopotamian art—cylinder seals. These were generally made out of small pieces of stone or clay, but sometimes also copper, bronze, silver, gold, bone, lapis lazuli, or even shell. 

They were engraved with pictures and short inscriptions that formed impressions when pushed onto soft surfaces, which were usually wet clay.

The images could depict anything—a specific event, the image of a ruler or priest, complex geometric patterns, an animal, a scene from daily life, or a battle—but most seem to have had some religious meaning or reference and contained images of deities or some scene from Sumerian or local mythology. 

Creating the images on cylinder seals was delicate work, and due to their curved surfaces, it was quite difficult for the artist to create correctly proportioned scenes and figures.

Like the seals of today, these impressions were used to identify or verify official documents. Seals have been found on royal correspondence, legal documents, marriage contracts, account ledgers, jars, doors—basically any surface where verification was necessary. 

Cylinder seals have been extremely important finds for archaeologists because they’ve provided valuable information about ancient Mesopotamian religion, mythology, kings, governors, and other rulers, and have even helped verify the dates of specific events.

Mesopotamian Sculpture

During the third millennium BC, sculpture became an important form of artistic expression in both Mesopotamia and the ancient Near East in general, though it had been around for much longer than that, actually thousands of years before the first cities. The earliest sculptures were made of clay, but much like other forms of art we’ve discussed, they were soon formed out of other materials, including wood, different types of stone, and metals such as copper and bronze. 

Some were hybrids, carved or whittled from wood and then covered with thin metal. An example of this is the remains of the bull-headed harp found in the royal cemetery of Ur. The core material was wood, but it was covered by thin layers of gold and embellished with lapis lazuli.

The best-preserved sculptures that we have are those made of stone, many of which can still be seen in museums all over the world. Good stone, though, was hard to find, so much of it had to be imported from other areas, such as southwestern Anatolia and the mountains of Iran. Most of the limestone, gypsum, and alabaster that we see in statues, figurines, and wall reliefs came from these areas. However, the most valuable or prized stone was diorite, mostly imported from what is today Oman.

For many, sculptures were luxury items and may have been used for decoration. Most seem to have had a religious purpose and were used as votive offerings to be placed in temples and other holy sites. It was believed that such statues, especially those of deities and individuals, contained the spirit or essence of the one being represented inside them.

Perhaps the greatest number of surviving statues and reliefs come from what was once ancient Assyria, specifically the palaces and temples of Kalhu (Nimrud), Dur-Sharrukin, Ashur, and of course, Nineveh. Whether they were statues of great kings, animals, mythical creatures, or reliefs on wall panels depicting great battles or glorifying rulers, sculpture in Mesopotamia seems to have reached its zenith during the Neo-Assyrian period.

Ancient Artz from Egypt Paintings and Relief Sculptures

Carved around 3000 B.C.E., the Palette of Narmer is one of the earliest religious relief sculptures of Ancient Egypt. In subsequent years, sculptures like this would be carved into the walls of temples.

This wooden panel, from the burial grounds at Saqqarah, depicts the Egyptian dignitary Hesire. Carved between 2649-2575 B.C.E., it demonstrates careful detail in low relief.

The tomb of Kheti at the Beni Hasan necropolis (1938-1630 B.C.E.) demonstrates how entire rooms could be covered with relief sculpture or paintings. Many Egyptians believed this type of decoration guaranteed a continuation of life.

The below wall painting from Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple at Dayr al-Bahri displays vibrant color and striking detail. Hatshepsut gained unprecedented power for a woman, reigning over Egypt from 1473-1458 B.C.E.

This wall painting depicts King Tutankhamen with Egyptian gods Anubis and Nephthys. King Tut ruled from 1333-1323 B.C.E.

Ancient Artz in Cave

Wooly mammoths, steppe bison, and other large mammals once roamed alongside people across Eurasia. Tens of thousands of years later, we may have a glimpse into this Ice Age world through the cave art left behind by early humans.

Cave Art Locations

Around 400 art-filled caves and shelters, predominantly located in France and Spain, have been discovered so far. Some of the most elaborate prehistoric artwork exists in caves in France known as Lascaux Grotto and Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc.

Dating the Cave Art

Cave art dates as far back as 65,000 years ago, to the time of the Neanderthals. However, radiocarbon dating and other methods have revealed that most art is less than 40,000 years old and was created by Homo sapiens.

Depictions in Cave Art

The majority of cave art depicts animals that humans would have encountered or hunted during the Ice Age, such as mammoths, horses, lions, aurochs, and deer. Some human figures and symbols have also been discovered.

Materials and Techniques

Cave paintings were mostly created with red or black pigments made from rocks. Some artworks were painted directly onto cave walls, while others were first engraved into the stone with tools. Occasionally, artists would follow the natural contours of the stone walls to accentuate an animal’s features.

Interpretation and Debate

Since the late 1800s, people have debated the meaning and purpose of cave art. Some scholars believe that cave paintings were created by shamans who would go deep into caves, enter a trance-like state, and draw animals they encountered in the spirit world. Symbols repeated across artworks may suggest that those symbols had agreed-upon meanings among the artists, possibly representing the earliest form of graphic communication.

Ancient Artz Symbols

Possible Reasons for Cave Art

In reality, cave art may have been created for a variety of reasons. While we may never know with absolute certainty why cave art was made, or the meaning behind individual paintings, these works give us insight into the evolving minds of our prehistoric ancestors and the world in which they lived.

Significance of Cave Art

By one view, cave artists were prehistoric naturalists, and their detailed drawings may teach us about the appearance and behavior of animals that have long been extinct. More significantly, cave art may provide evidence of a time when humans were first able to etch their thoughts in stone, contributing to our never-ending quest to understand who we are and where we came from.

Written By
Hunter Cole

Hunter Cole is a versatile writer contributing to Cluster Corner, with a focus on entertainment, celebrities, and lifestyle. Known for his engaging, insightful articles, he covers a wide range of topics, from celebrity profiles to TV and movie news.

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