KEY IDEAS

• Mudbricks are the main building block from soil deposits left by the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers

• Conventions of hierarchal

• Early images often depict royalty and deities

• Figures and animals are depicted in profile or in twisted perspective

• New gods or guardian figures (Composite creatures)

• Assyrian lion reliefs are some of the first narratives in art history

• Invention of cuneiform- first wedge-shaped writing

• Nudity is a sign of debasement (lowering the status or quality)

• Constant political change and ruling groups

• The cosmos play a roll in architecture and rituals

5. Beaker with ibex motifs. Susa, Iran. 4200–3500 B.C.E. Painted terra cotta. UNIT 1

6. Anthropomorphic stele. Arabian Peninsula. Fourth millennium B.C.E. Sandstone. UNIT 1

12. White Temple and its ziggurat. Uruk (modern Warka, Iraq). Sumerian. c. 3500–3000 B.C.E. Mud brick. (essay, image 1, image 2, additional resources) https://smarthistory.org/white-temple-and-ziggurat-uruk/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQtrDAdxMbc vimeo.com/148629834

14. Statues of votive figures, from the Square Temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar, Iraq). Sumerian.c. 2700 B.C.E. Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone.

16. Standard of Ur from the Royal Tombs at Ur (modern Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq). Sumerian. c. 2600–2400 B.C.E. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone.

19. The Code of Hammurabi. Babylon (modern Iran). Susian. c. 1792–1750 B.C.E. Basalt.

25. Lamassu from the Citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad, Iraq). Neo-Assyrian. c. 720–705 B.C.E. Alabaster.

30. Audience Hall (apadana) of Darius and Xerxes. Persepolis, Iran. Persian. c. 520–465 ​B.C.E. Limestone.