Mesopotamian Arts & Sciences

Arts

Sculpture

Mesopotamian sculpture was very advanced and used many materials to create incredible things. Artists specialized in free standing sanctuaries, and figures were three-dimensional and largely realistic. Mesopotamians also made colorful murals as well as Relief stone carving being also a popular form of art. The art was often covered with gold or semi precious stones to make it look richer.Cylinder seals were incredible sculptures that were very popular. Many sculptures were created for the temples and for religious reasons. Murals showed mythical scenes and recorded history. Human heads and animal heads were often shown in the art.The items Leonard Woolley found amazed the world when they were made public. (AdC)

Pottery

Ancient Mesopotamian pottery started about 6,000 years ago. Ancient Mesopotamian pottery was hand made using a variety of different methods including coil building, slab building and pinch pottery. This was a popular job in the mesopotamian civilisation even though it wasn't high up in the social classes. It is amazing to see the art from so long ago and how it has survived for so long. The uses for pottery back then were for storing food, and ritual purposes. Depending on the design of how the pottery piece looks helps archeologists have a clue with what its purpose was.

Jewelry

Jewelry was a way showing status and expressing yourself for Mesopotamians. Jewelry became very popular and almost everybody had some. Popular decorative items that were worn by both men and females included ankle bracelets, silver hair rings, gold earrings, hair ribbons made from thin gold leaves, elaborate hair beads, medallion pendants, signet rings, amulets and cylinder seals.. Jewelry was also offered to the gods at temples to please the gods so they had an easy afterlife. In their jewelry designs the Mesopotamians used leaves, branches, twigs, grapes, cones, spiral objects that were imprinted into the jewelry. Everybody wanted jewelry so it turned into a jewelry trade network and a business. The trade network and business thrived and was just one of the many trades in this great civilization. (AdC)

Cylinder Seals

Cylinder seals are ancient hard stones made to tell stories and history in ancient Mesopotamia.

In Mesopotamia people would make cylinder seals. People would use cylinder seals to tell a story with illustrations. There was never the same design or illustration. Another purpose for the cylinder seals was to put names on them and to say that it was your name and illustration. They're still around because they are made of hard stone. People would use big copper tools to carve the illustrations.

Sciences

Math

Mesopatamians used the base 60 system for counting. When they invented the system they first made a lunar calendar to keep track of days. They also needed numbers for astronomy. They started by using the base 60 system. So they used a small clay cone for one, a clay ball for ten, and a big clay cone for 60. If you wanted to do 154 you would use 2 large cones, 3 balls, and 4 small cones. Eventually objects were replaced by cunie form math equations. (CB)

Astronomy

Astronomy was big in ancient Mesopotamia. It was sort of like how Mesopotamians relied on gods to help them and warn them. Astronomy would tell the Mesopotamia's about events. Sort of like fortune telling. Astronomers were special people who looked at the stars and night sky and made observations. They saw in the sky omens for future events. They kept archives on all their findings over hundreds of years. (CB)

Writing

The Sumerians were the first to develop a writing system. The earliest writing was based on pictograms. Pictograms were used to communicate basic information about crops and taxes. The original form of Sumerian writing was called cuneiform which used pictograms. Sumerians were using written communication by 2800 B.C. Translating Mesopotamian writing is difficult for archaeologists today. (GM)

Boats

The Sumerians had invented sailboats. "The Sumerian sailboat was constructed from light materials which not only allowed it to float but allowed the boats to easily be ferried from land to sea and back again." The Mesopotamian sailboat was made out of bundles of wood and a material called papyrus. "They were primitive in design, but the sailboats helped the Mesopotamians in trade and commerce." The hull or the body of the boat was made of wood. Trees were cut and made into planks, and the planks were roughly shaped and joined together to make the body of the boat. (GM)

Page updated

Report abuse