CIVILIZATIONS

ART AND DESIGN AESTHETICS ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN &

TECHNOLOGY

AKANKSHA SARKAR
10 EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF
THE WORLD
1. MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION
2. THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
3. INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
4. MAYAN CIVILIZATION
5. ANCIENT CHINA CIVILIZATION
6. ANCIENT GREEK CIVILIZATION
7. PERSIAN CIVILIZATION
8. THE ROMAN CIVILIZATION
9. AZTEC CIVILIZATION
10. THE INCAS CIVILIZATION
1.MESOPOTAMIAN
CIVILIZATION

This is the first of the civilization to have ever emerged on the face of our planet. The timeline of ancient Mesopotamia is
usually kept around 3300 BC – 750 BC. Mesopotamia is generally credited with being the first place where civilized
societies truly began to take shape. Once the Mesopotamians rose, they prospered in the regions of modern day Iraq – then
known as Babylonia, Sumer and Assyria highlands.
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF MESOPOTAMIA
The word Mesopotamia derives from the ancient words “mesos,” meaning between, and
“potamos,” meaning river. The name is fitting given the area was situated within the fertile valleys
between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, a region now occupied by modern-day Iraq, Kuwait,
Turkey, and Syria. Much of the history of this civilization is marked by its changing succession of
ruling bodies.

The first humans settled in this region in the Paleolithic era. By 14,000 B.C., people lived in small
settlements. Within the five thousand years that followed, these settlements turned into large
farming communities, following the development of agriculture and the domestication of animals.
In particular, they developed irrigation techniques that capitalized on the proximity of the rivers.

As these communities grew, they turned into larger cities (the Sumer are largely credited with The Euphrates River in Kemaliye,
Turkey.
creating the earliest examples). Uruk was the first to be built around 3200 B.C. With a population
of about 50,000 citizens, it featured a wealth of public art, large columns, and temples. By 3000
B.C., the Sumerian people had firm control over Mesopotamia under several city-states. The area
was ruled by many kings, one of which was Gilgamesh, believed to be born around 2700 B.C. The
Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient epic poem, is considered the earliest great work of literature.
A Mesopotamian carved relief depicting hunting a lion.
 MESOPOTAMIAN ART AND
ARCHITECTURE
Mesopotamia—a historical region of Western Asia situated
within the Tigris–Euphrates river system—housed the world’s
first urban civilization with a sophisticated cultural sphere
which included music, art, and literature. The Sumerians of
lower Mesopotamia founded the first cities, invented writing,
developed poetry, and created vast architectural structures.
The artwork to come out of this civilization is reflective of its
rich history, whose subject matter was heavily influenced by
its sociopolitical structure, military conquests, organized
religion, and natural environment. We look into Ziggurat at Ur (modern Tall al-Muqayyar, Iraq).

Mesopotamian art, specifically architecture and sculpture, to

better understand the craftsmanship of the people who
inhabited the land at this time and how it influenced cultures
to follow.
MESOPOTAMIAN ART AND
ARCHITECTURE
Artisans played an important role in the culture of the Mesopotamian people. They
made everyday useful items like dishes, pots, clothing, baskets, boats, and weapons.
They also created works of art meant to glorify the gods and the king.
The art and craftsmanship of the Sumerians was a thing to behold.  They worked in
gold and lapis as well as clay and wood.  They made intricate chairs from wood and
reeds.  They made musical instruments. The thing that they did best was pottery. 
Their pottery was so good that they used it as a money system, trading pottery for
food and other items. Archaeologists have found partial remains of some of their
mosaics, which appear to be portraits of animals and people, as well as geometric
patterns. They made beautiful jewelry from gold and lapis.
 THE SUMERIAN PERIOD (~4500–1750 B.C.)

ARCHITECTURE
The Sumerian Period introduced the rise of monumental religious
structures. They typically constructed two forms of temples: a platform
variety and a structure built at ground level. Platform temples originally
stood within walled, oval enclosures. They contained accommodation for
priests. Those built at ground level were more rectangular, entered on the
cross axis. They included an altar, offering table, and pedestals for statues
used during worship.

Temple interiors were adorned with patterned mosaics of terra-cotta cones

that sunk into the walls. The parts that remained exposed were dipped in Restored Sumerian ziggurat in the ancient city of Ur
bright colors or sheathed in bronze. Often, painted murals depicted
mythical scenes. There is less known about palaces and other secular
buildings throughout this period.
SCULPTURE
Sculptures served as adornment or ritual equipment for the
temples. Though identifiable cult statues—those that were
venerated or worshipped for the deity that they represented—of
gods or goddesses have yet to be found, some had common
themes worth mentioning. Male statues typically stood with their
hands clasped in prayer, and were clad with a woolen skirt.
Female statues were more varied, but many wore a heavy coil
arranged from ear to ear and a chignon (hair knot at the nape of
the neck). Sometimes, the hair was concealed by a headdress.
Due to a lack of available stone, sculptures during the Sumerian
period utilized alternative materials. Exquisite examples of metal
casting have been found during this period. Sumerian artists were
also skilled in creating composite figures, and notable examples
of these have been found within the tombs at Ur. An example of
this type of craftsmanship includes a bull’s head decorating a
harp, covered with gold and wearing a lapis lazuli beard.
Sumerian alabaster figure of a worshipper.
Relief stone carving was also a popular form of art. It was most Sold for $1,720,000 via Sotheby’s (June
commonly created on stone plaques, squares sized one foot or 2007).
larger, which often depicted mythological or religious scenes in a
series of horizontal rows.
 ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA WRITING STYLE
The Sumerians developed the first form of writing. As Sumerian towns grew into cities, the
people needed a way to keep track of business transactions, ownership rights, and
government records. Around 3300 BC the Sumerians began to use picture symbols marked
into clay tablets to keep their records.

Clay Tablets

Writing was inscribed on clay tablets. Scribes would take a stylus (a stick made from a reed)
and press the lines and symbols into soft, moist clay. Once they were done, they would let
the clay harden and they had a permanent record.
Sumerian Writing by Unknown
Cuneiform Symbols were made with wedge shaped marks
on clay tablets
The initial writing of the Sumerians utilized simple pictures or pictograms. For example, a
drawing of a person's head, meant the word "head". Over time, however, the writing of the
Sumerians further developed to include sounds and meanings. Scribes would use the stylus
to make wedge shaped marks in the clay. This type of writing is called cuneiform writing,
which means "wedge-shaped".
THE OLD BABYLONIAN PERIOD (~2000–
1600 B.C.)
ARCHITECTURE AND STATUES
After the fall of Sumer in around 1750 B.C., Babylon
began to grow and became a particularly powerful city-
state under the Amorites, the first dynasty of Babylon.
The most notable works of art from this period are the
statuaries that were produced. Artists specialized in free
standing sanctuaries, and figures were three-
dimensional and largely realistic. Some of the most
famous examples are the Statues of Gudea, a group of
approximately twenty seven statues that depicted the Cylinder seal from the Old Babylonian period.
ruler of the state of Lagash (who reigned between 2144
and 2124 B.C.). The statues were carved mainly from
diorite, but also used alabaster, steatite, and limestone
and were considered the most sophisticated level of
craftsmanship during the time.
THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD (~1365–609 B.C.)
ARCHITECTURE
Much of the architecture throughout the beginning of the
Assyrian reign was a continuation of Old Babylonian
construction. There were a few innovations including the
incorporation of small, twin ziggurats in the design of a
single temple, the lengthening of sanctuaries on their main
axis, and altars were withdrawn into a deep recess.

By the 9th century, the vast palaces of the Assyrian kings

emphasized a new interest in secular building and reflected
the ostentatious grandeur of those who ruled during this time.
The gates of these palaces featured colossal portal sculptures
built in stone and internal chambers decorated with pictorial Ruins of Resafa from the Assyrian period.
reliefs.
SCULPTURE
Sculpture during this period was concerned primarily with
relief carving. One popular form was “double aspect”
relief, a type that derived from a Hittite invention of the
14th century and was intended to be seen from the front or
side. These often depicted human heads, bulls, or lions, and
decorated the arched gateways.
A popular theme in sculpture later in the period was that of
military conquest and the ruthless suppression of revolt.
These were typically arranged episodically to represent
successive events.
PAINTING AND DECORATIVE ART
Ashurbanipal taking aim at a lion (detail), Lion Hunts of
In many cases, murals took the place of reliefs as Ashurbanipal (ruled 669-630 B.C.E.), c. 645 B.C.E.,
a decorative element. Additionally, Assyrian palaces were gypsum,Neo-Assyrian, hall reliefs from Palace at
equipped with furniture, and ivory ornaments have Ninevah across the Tigris from present day Mosul, Iraq
survived in great quantities. Furniture was adorned with (British Museum)
relief panels, inlays, and other forms of ornament, and this
ornamentation was further enriched with gold and other
semiprecious stones to give it an increased opulence.
 THE NEO-BABYLONIAN PERIOD (~626–539
B.C.)
The Neo-Babylonian period saw a great flourishing of art, architecture,
and science, particularly under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled
from 604 to 562 B.C. He was a great patron of art and urban development,
and rebuilt the city of Babylon to reflect its ancient glory.

ARCHITECTURE
Many of the grandiose architectural achievements of this time period are
reflected in the inner city gates that were constructed. The most elaborate
example is the Ishtar Gate, which today resides in the Pergamon Museum
in Berlin. Created in 575 B.C., the gate is known for its bas-relief dragons
and accompanying Processional Way, which was additionally lined with
statues of dragons. It is covered in lapis lazuli-glazed bricks, which
created a gleaming, blue surface.
Another notable architectural achievement was the ziggurat Etemenaki,
the “temple of the foundation of heaven and earth.” Originally seven
stories high, it is believed to have been used as inspiration for the biblical
story of the Tower of Babel. Ishtar Gate in Pergamon Museum in Berlin,
Germany.
Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, those who inhabited the
vast region of Mesopotamia developed an incredibly sophisticated system
of art and architecture.
ORIGIN OF COSTUMES AND
TEXTILES
In early times both sexes wore sheepskin skirts with the skin turned
inside and the wool combed into decorative tufts. These wraparound
skirts were pinned in place and extended from the waist to the knees
or, for more important persons, to the ankles. The upper part of the
torso was bare or clothed by another sheepskin cloaking the
shoulders. From about 2500 BCE a woven woolen fabric replaced
the sheepskin, but the tufted effect was retained, either by sewing
tufts onto the garment or by weaving loops into the fabric.
Named kaunakes by the Greeks, this tufted fabric is shown in all the
sculptures and mosaics of the period, as, for example, in the art
from the excavations at Ur exhibited in the British Museum in
London. At this time, also, long cloaks were worn, and materials for
garments and head coverings included felted wool and leather.
 2.THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
CIVILIZATION
The ancient Egypt is one of the oldest and
culturally richest civilizations. The ancient
Egyptians are known for their prodigious
culture, the ever standing pyramids and
the sphinx, the Pharaohs and the once a
majestic civilization that resided by the
banks of the river Nile. The civilization
started around 3150 BC with the political
unification of Upper and Lower Egypt
under the first Pharaoh. The ancient Egypt
reached at its pinnacle towards the New
Kingdom, where Pharaohs like Ramsee
the Great ruled with such authority that
another civilization of the Nubians also
came under Egyptian rule.
 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
CIVILIZATION
With a civilization so advanced and in many ways so modern, ancient Egyptians seem very much
like ourselves we feel that if we were somehow transported to ancient Egypt we would find kindred
souls. The people we would actually encounter, however, provide the great paradox of ancient
Egypt. Despite their precociousness in many areas, they were not like us at all in the most
fundamental ways. Their buildings, architecture, clothing, food and medicine may have been
thousands of years ahead of their time, but their view of the world was closer to a prehistoric
caveman’s than to ours. 
 HISTORY
When Herodotus, the world’s first historian, visited Egypt in the fifth century b.c., he asked its priests
what was the key to Egypt’s greatness. “Egypt is the gift of the Nile,” they said; and so, from the very
beginning, it was. Egyptian civilization would never have accomplished its wonders had it not been
for this gift of nature, so crucial to its people and so mysterious that they considered it divine.

Like clockwork each spring the usually placid Nile roared more than twice as high as during the rest
of the year in a torrent into southern Egypt. River banks could not contain the increased volume
which spilled over in some places for as much as a mile and covered flat plains on either side. As the
flood gradually emptied into the Mediterranean in Egypt’s extreme north, the water receded, leaving
behind a residue of millions of tons of fertile silt. Surrounded as Egypt was by the Sahara Desert, it
should have been a desolate, arid environment, but thanks to the Nile, it enjoyed unrivaled fertility.
Not only did the Nile provide water so Egyptians need not depend on unpredictable rain, but its
annual floods replenished soil that would otherwise be drained of nutrients by continual planting.

Growing more food with less manpower than any other country in the world, Egypt acquired a
surplus to trade and time to devote to matters other than mere survival.
ART AND CRAFTS
Craftsmen toiled in anonymity, signed none of their works and attained no fame
during their lifetimes. Their society recognized no difference between fine art forms,
such as painting and sculpting, and “lesser arts,” such as pottery or cabinetry.
Practitioners of any of these skills were regarded as simple workers on a level with,
say, carpenters. Art was produced cooperatively in workshops, in a kind of
assembly line. One worker chiseled a statue’s arm, another smoothed the curve of its
cheek, while still another etched the line of a toenail  all working at the same time on
one statue. In the case of a painted wall, one crew filled in a single color, followed
by the next crew with a second color, and so forth, until a last crew added the
fine details. With rare exceptions, no artist could point to anything and boast, “I
made that myself.” Art was a team project supervised by an overseer responsible
much as a modern-day general contractor schedules workers and monitors
production for the quality of the work, but certainly not the level of creativity.
This sketch of a tomb painting shows three men
working together on an over life-sized
statue using scaffolding to reach the top parts
Egyptian artists developed their methods with different goals in mind from those of artists who work
today. Statues, carvings or paintings, first and foremost, were created for utilitarian purposes, rather than to
generate enjoyment for the viewer or to excite his admiration. Some of the finest art, in fact, lay in tombs
intended to be sealed for eternity from the eyes of any living person. Since most Egyptian creations were
commissioned by individual citizens to serve their needs in the afterlife, artists were forced to maintain a
certain realism in their work. A statue for a tomb owner might be more handsome, lean and muscular than
the subject was in life, but it had to resemble that person.

Scenes in his tomb that depicted feasting, hunting and so on had to portray those activities clearly to the
gods on judgment day.
(Egyptians fashioned animals with particular care, as well, because of their reverence for the god
represented by each creature.) The need for accuracy and realism, however, did not destroy the beauty of
Egyptian art: the more pleasing the portrayals, the better its utilitarian purpose was served.
SCULPTURES
Sculpture, the preeminent Egyptian art form along with architecture, evolved from humble origins. Before 3000 b.c.,
crude animal figures, of which only a few survive, were carved clumsily in soft stone or barely molded from clay.
Then, just before the dawn of the First Dynasty, a remarkable series of royal palettes and mace heads, vigorously
carved in low relief, appeared. For the first time, figures of people and various animals, especially a large bull, were
represented with sinews and muscles in the act of moving.
The skills required to achieve such depictions were not discovered suddenly but evolved from centuries of stone
carving. Egyptians had mastered the hardest granite and dolerite by the fourth millennium, shaping it to a desired
form as if it were pliable clay. Some pieces were clearly modeled on clay vessels; even the tied string that sealed the
lid was reproduced in stone. Another, in fragile schist, copied every reed of a woven basket. Vases and cosmetic jars
from half an inch to several feet in height were produced from every available kind of stone in sophisticated styles
and proportions which demonstrate that stonework served as the basis for Egyptians’ sculpting techniques.
A bull, representing the might of the pharaoh, in low relief on a Predynastic
slate palette
horemheb last king of dynasty xviii
before atum
luxor west bank tombs, upper
egypt

Egyptian statue – Met NY

This nineteenth-century photograph shows the obelisk now in New
Tutankhamun Colossus
York’s Central Park in its original location in Alexandria, Egypt
 
 This stone head of one of
Akhenaten’s daughters shows the
elongated head, jutting jaw and slanting
face characteristic of art
during his reign.
 Sunken relief models shapes by carving an image
below the background
level, as opposed to raised relief in which shapes rise
above the background.
Sunken relief can be very effective when the bright
Egyptian sun causes strong shadows
Two geese from an Old Kingdom tomb whose colors remain fresh and
bright today
 Scene of a marsh from the
Fourth- Dynasty tomb of the royal
hairdresser
Ti. The strong vertical lines of the reeds
make an effective background
for birds above, and the large figure of Ti,
fishermen and fish below
When representing a figure in
motion the requirements of
Egyptian art often produced
comical distortions as in the
impossible arms of this man
harvesting
The grid that represented the Egyptian art canon
 ARCHITECTURE
In addition to erecting the most massive stone building in the world (the Great Pyramid) and the largest place
of worship (Karnak Temple), Egypt contributed several new forms to architecture: columns, pylons and at
least three kinds of decoration. These innovations are discussed here; for the development of architecture,
see Chapter 7.
Egyptians were the first people to erect stone columns a fact of no great surprise since they were the first to
build with durable materials. The first stone building, the pharaoh Zoser’s Step Pyramid, included an entrance
court lined on each side with two rows of near-columns.
These columns were ribbed and formed of stone drums stacked one on top of the other—the harbingers of the
great Greek fluted columns—although these served no architectural purpose, only an aesthetic one. Nor were
they true columns because horizontal supports anchored them to the wall.
The same architect carved other near-columns; these were only half-round, forming part of a wall in the face
of a temple inside the enclosure, but faceted—the models for the freestanding, true fluted columns that had
arrived in Egypt by the Middle Kingdom. That this was no accident or mistake is proven by their repetition in
three other locations in Zoser’s complex. Why the architect faceted his near-columns is not known.
Earlier wood examples certainly provided inspiration as demonstrated by the drooping, ribbed leaves at
the tops of these stone columns.
One possibility is that he copied wood poles tied together in bundles that were used at the time in house
construction. This probably explains the engaged columns in the entrance court, which are ribbed like a
bundle of trunks; however, this theory does not account for the carved leaves at the top. Perhaps these
facets represented the marks an adz would make as it sliced down a circular trunk.

Neither theory is plausible enough for us to feel we understand why this architect or the Greeks at a
later time decided to flute otherwise circular columns. That it adds interest to the architecture is certain,
and, in the end, that may be the only explanation.

Whatever their origin, true, freestanding fluted columns  predating Greek versions by a millennium and
a half had appeared in Egypt by the Middle Kingdom, primarily in rock-cut tombs of the governors of a
central Egyptian province known today as Beni Hassan. Interestingly, the Egyptians did not greatly
favor this form of column; they chose other types for more important buildings.
PYRAMIDS OF GIZAPYRAMIDS OF GIZA, CAIRO, EGYPT.
 temple of HatshepsutTemple of Hatshepsut at
Dayr al-Baḥrī, Thebes, Egypt.

uxor temple complexsphinxes lining a path to

the entrance of the luxor temple complex in
luxor, egypt.
 The main types of Egyptian capitals. From top left: a
closed lotus bud,
an open lotus flower, palm fronds, and a representation
of the goddess H
This drawing shows the imposing pylons that form the entrance to Luxor
Temple. The flag staffs would have been over fifty feet tall
 The kheker frieze was a common decorative motif used at the top of a wall of
painted scenes
 Probably it represents the large “thistle” of a papyrus plant tied together at the top
and bottom
 GREAT TEMPLE OF Great Temple of Ramses IIGreat Temple of Ramses II,
AMONHYPOSTYLE (PILLARED) the larger of the two temples at Abu Simbel, now located
HALL IN THE GREAT TEMPLE OF in Aswān muḥāfaẓah (governorate), southern Egypt.
AMON AT KARNAK, EGYPT.
Classic Egyptian Alphabet
 CERAMICS AND GLASS
Egyptian pottery adequately served its purpose, but it never achieved the quality of Egyptian sculpture, painting and
architecture. Bowls could convey charm, however, as in the case of small predynastic “footed” ones which rested on two
tiny human feet.
The most interesting pottery also dates back to such early times. Two-color pots were produced by oxidizing iron impurities
in the clay which fired it to a red color, while the top of the pot lay buried under the fire’s ashes to carbonize black. The
finished product, which could be as thin as an eighth of an inch for a pot over a foot tall, exhibits a distinct shine that came
not from a glaze but from being burnished with a smooth stone before firing.

Something like a potter’s wheel was invented during the Old Kingdom, if not before. A heavy circular stone rested on a
pivot for turning by hand or foot, at a level lower than our modern version. It spun more slowly, but produced round vessels
of consistent thickness. The kiln was also an early invention. In the Egyptian version, a tall, conical brick structure held a
fire at the bottom while a shelf supported the unfired clay above the ashes. In this simple way pots were produced for
cooking, storing and carrying during all ancient Egypt’s history. Because they were utilitarian objects, their makers seldom
paid much attention to their beauty. 
When artisans turned their attention to ceramic amulets, however, they invested more imagination and care and
produced thousands of images from the tiny to a foot in height depicting gods, the magical eye of Horus (for health),
the djed pillar (of stability), the sacred scarab beetle (for long life) and even images of servants, called ushabtis, which each
person took to his tomb to magically work for him during his afterlife.
These figures, generally colored a rich sky blue, aqua or green, were not molded from clay, but from a material of Egyptian
invention. Called Egyptian faience, it consisted of a core produced from finely ground quartz coated with a glass-like glaze.
Composed of a solution of natron and quartz dust, it could be shaped by hand or pressed into a clay mold.
When fired, it solidified into a solid mass harder than soft stone. The glaze consisted of natron again, mixed in solution with
malachite or another oxide of copper. The solution, which was washed over the object to be glazed then heated to fuse with
the silicon of the quartz, produced a blue or green glass that was literally bound to the object. Instead of washing the
coloring agent over the object, it could instead be mixed in with the quartz powder before firing.
When heated, it would rise to the surface as a self-glaze. In addition to making delicate figures by the thousands,
Egyptians used their faience to manufacture small bowls and dishes of rich blue. They even learned, by changing the oxide,
to produce red and yellow versions and to create objects in two and three colors.
One early experiment produced the first glazed tiles in history. A room in a second tomb of Zoser, called the Southern
Burial, was found lined with rows of lovely green-blue tiles, about three inches long by an inch and a half wide. A method
to fix them to a wall was lacking, however. The tiles were attached to the wall by a string through a hole in the back of each.
Egyptian glaze not only shone like glass, it actually was glass, so Egyptians must be counted among the very first glass
producers.
 Egyptian glass jar

Ancient Egyptian glass vessel

Large Egyptian storage pots

glass and bronze grapes
Neues Museum Berlin
Eye of Horus ceramic vase, gold and blue

This is a superb example of a core-formed glass vessel, a method of producing glass

vessels introduced to Egypt from neighbouring Syria early in the New Kingdom (ca. 1539–
1075 B.C.E.).
These small vessels were fashioned as containers for costly perfumed ointments, scented
oils, and cosmetics.
Funerary Vessel of the Wab-priest of Amon, Nefer-
her, painted to imitate granite stone.
Thebes, Egypt  ca. 1479-1279 B.C.E  ( Brooklyn
Museum NY )

Egyptian Faience Lotiform Cup, c.945–715 BC, 22nd Dynasty ( The Met )
This cup, made of brilliantly glazed Egyptian faience, imitates the slender form of the
flower and is decorated in relief with scenes depicting the plant’s marshy habitat.
Such cups were funerary offerings made to be placed in tombs.
CLOTHES AND ADORNMENTS
What did an Egyptian man wear under his kilt or an Egyptian woman under her dress? Probably nothing. Garments designed
for modesty would have to wait for people more obsessed with sex than the ancient Egyptians who were practical to the point
of working naked in hot, swampy terrain. Yet they loved clothes. A New Kingdom architect’s tomb contained seventeen
sleeveless tunics, twenty-six shirts and fifty triangular loincloths to assure his fashionable appearance in the Next World.1 The
loincloths, simple linen triangles with strings at two corners, were worn by draping the point down the back and tying the
strings around the waist before pulling the point through the legs to tuck in the string at the front. Most likely no additional
layers covered them, since similar loincloths are pictured as the sole attire of other workers. Of course, loincloths represented
the low end of the Egyptian wardrobe. When attired for formal occasions, Egyptians could outdress anyone with lovely,
elegant gowns worn by both genders  the original unisex clothing. White the whiter the better was the color of choice in most
eras; color was added by numerous accessories.
Dresses fit close to the body to reveal any imperfections of figure, which may be why Egyptians maintained the slim
shapes depicted in their portraits. Heads were adorned, and cosmetics generously painted the faces of both women and men.
As in every other culture, differences in style proclaimed differences in social status.
 Above, a kilt with a flap in front.
The steps required to wrap a kilt and
flap
are shown above it

Scenes of spinning and weaving

Varieties of Egyptian sandals. Egyptians did not wear shoes
 Protective Amulets
Protective amulets could be worn as independent pieces, but
they were often fused into Egyptian jewelry. These amulets
were talismans or charms that were believed to either infuse the
amulet with power, or to protect the wearer.

Gold diadem found in Tutankhamen’s tomb.

All types of Egypti an jewelry were popular, including
bracelets, earrings, collar pieces, anklets, armbands, and
rings.
CLOTHING IN ANCIENT EGYPT

Ancient Egyptian clothes refers to clothing worn in

ancient Egypt from the end of the Neolithic period (prior
to 3100 BC) to the collapse of the Ptolemaic Kingdom
with the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC. Egyptian clothing
was filled with a variety of colours. Adorned with precious
gems and jewels, the fashions of the ancient Egyptians
were made for not only beauty but also comfort. Egyptian
fashion was created to keep cool while in the hot desert.

The clothing of men and women of several social levels of ancient

Egypt are depicted in this tomb mural from the Eighteenth Dynasty
(15th century BC).
ELEMENTS OF EGYPTIAN
CLOTHING
In ancient Egypt, linen was by far the most common textile. It helped people to be
comfortable in the subtropical heat. Spinning, weaving and sewing were very
important techniques for all Egyptian societies. Plant dyes could be applied to
clothing but the clothing was usually left in its natural colour. Wool was known,
but considered impure. Only the wealthy wore animal fibres that were the object
of taboos. They were used on occasion for overcoats, but were forbidden in
temples and sanctuaries.
Peasants, workers and other people of modest condition often wore nothing, but
the shenti (made of flax). Slaves often worked naked.
The most common headdress was the khat (which is a head cloth) or nemes, a
striped cloth worn by men.
Material:
The materials used in the costumes was chiefly linen. In the most ancient types it
was of a fairly thick, coarse weave; but later a fine thin linen, loosely woven so as Sample of ancient Egyptian
linen from Saqqara, dating to
to appear almost transparent was used. 390-343 BC (Late Period).
 The traditional Egyptian trousers are called
“sserual”. They are worn under the gallibaya
sometimes, but they are optional.
The most widespread outerwear in Egypt is a
garment called “kaftan” and worn over the
gallibaya. It is a long coat-like piece with long
wide sleeves. Kaftan is open in front and
belted with a sash called “hizan”. Kaftan is
often made from a striped cloth (half-silk,
cotton, satin, brocade, etc.). Example for Egyptian striped male kaftan
and a matching vest.

Over the kaftan, various other outer garments were

used by locals in different regions of the country and
historical periods. They are a “binish” – dark fabric
overcoat with wide sleeves and simple cut; a “djubbeh”
– overcoat with long sleeves that has a more
complicated design than the binish; a “jubbah” – long
wide-sleeved overcoat buttoned halfway down. The
mentioned garments are similar but each of them has
its own distinctive features. Egyptian djubbeh overcoat. It has a
rather complicated cut.
3. INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
BRIEF HISTORY
Indus civilization, also called Indus valley civilization or Harappan civilization, the earliest known urban
culture of the Indian subcontinent. The nuclear dates of the civilization appear to be about 2500–1700 BCE, though
the southern sites may have lasted later into the 2nd millennium BCE.

At its peak, the Indus Valley Civilization may had a population of over five million people. It is considered a Bronze
Age society, and inhabitants of the ancient Indus River Valley developed new techniques in metallurgy—the science
of working with copper, bronze, lead, and tin. They also performed intricate handicraft, especially using products
made of the semi-precious gemstone Carnelian, as well as seal carving— the cutting
of patterns into the bottom face of a seal used for stamping. The Indus cities are noted for their urban planning, baked
brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, and clusters of large, non-residential buildings.

The Indus Valley Civilization is also known as the Harappan Civilization, after Harappa, the first of its sites to be
excavated in the 1920s, in what was then the Punjab province of British India and is now in Pakistan. The discoveries
of Harappa, and the site of its fellow Indus city Mohenjo-daro, were the culmination of work beginning in 1861 with
the founding of the Archaeological Survey of India in the British Raj, the common name for British imperial rule
over the Indian subcontinent from 1858 through 1947.
HARAPPA AND MOHENJO-
DARO
Harappa was a fortified city in modern-day Pakistan that is believed to have been home to as many as 23,500 residents living in
sculpted houses with flat roofs made of red sand and clay. The city spread over 150 hectares (370 acres) and had fortified
administrative and religious centers of the same type used in Mohenjo-daro. The modern village of Harappa, used as a railway
station during the Raj, is six kilometers (3.7 miles) from the ancient city site, which suffered heavy damage during the British
period of rule.

Mohenjo-daro is thought to have been built in the 26th century BCE and became not only the largest city of the Indus Valley
Civilization but one of the world’s earliest, major urban centers. Located west of the Indus River in the Larkana District,
Mohenjo-daro was one of the most sophisticated cities of the period, with sophisticated engineering and urban planning. Cock-
fighting was thought to have religious and ritual significance, with domesticated chickens bred for religion rather than food
(although the city may have been a point of origin for the worldwide domestication of chickens). Mohenjo-daro was abandoned
around 1900 BCE when the Indus Civilization went into sudden decline.

The ruins of Harappa were first described in 1842 by Charles Masson in his book, Narrative of Various Journeys in
Balochistan, Afghanistan, the Panjab, & Kalât. In 1856, British engineers John and William Brunton were laying the East
Indian Railway Company line connecting the cities of Karachi and Lahore, when their crew discovered hard, well-burnt bricks
in the area and used them for ballast for the railroad track, unwittingly dismantling the ruins of the ancient city of Brahminabad.
THE LIVES OF PEOPLE OF
MOHENJO DARO AND
HARAPPA
– 1) AGRICULTURE was their main economic activity.
– 2) They had irrigation systems.
– 3) They had pottery and jewelry making.
– 4) Houses were made of clay bricks.
– 5) Their leaders were priest-kings.
– 6) Their religion was animism and polytheism.
They worshipped many gods some of which were animals like the very revered
BULL.
The Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro, a city in the Indus River Valley Civilization.
UNIQUE FEATURE OF THE
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
–The structure of the houses has one or more toilets or toilet connected to a
centralized system.
– Underground sewer pipes are said to be planned and organized by a centralized
government .
ARCHITECTURE
Harappans demonstrated advanced architecture with
dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick platforms,
and protective walls. These massive walls likely
protected the Harappans from floods and may have
dissuaded military conflicts. Unlike Mesopotamia
and Ancient Egypt, the inhabitants of the Indus
Valley Civilization did not build large, monumental
structures. There is no conclusive evidence of
palaces or temples (or even of kings, armies, or
priests), and the largest structures may be granaries.
The city of Mohenjo-daro contains the “Great Bath,” Sokhta Koh: Sokhta Koh, a Harappan coastal
which may have been a large, public bathing and settlement near Pasni, Pakistan, is depicted in
social area. a computer reconstruction. Sokhta Koh means
“burnt hill,” and corresponds to the browned-
out earth due to extensive firing of pottery in
open pit ovens.
The Great Bath
The Streets of Mohenjo-daro
The Granary at Harappa
Public Well, Harappa
The Assembly Hall
EARLIEST FORM OF SANITARY
ENGINEERING
The ancient Indus systems of sewage and drainage that
were developed and used in cities throughout the Indus
Empire were far more advanced than any found in
contemporary urban sites in the Middle East and even more
efficient than those in some areas of modern Pakistan and
India today.
1. 1 st known toilets and running water in residential
buildings in the world.
2. By 2500BC, highly developed drainage system where
wastewater from each house flowed into the main drain.
Bath Area, Mohenjo-Daro Drain, Harappa
TECHNOLOGY
The people of the Indus Valley, also known as Harappan (Harappa was the first city in the region
found by archaeologists), achieved many notable advances in technology, including great
accuracy in their systems and tools for measuring length and mass.
Harappans were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures that
conformed to a successive scale. The smallest division, approximately 1.6 mm, was marked on an
ivory scale found in Lothal, a prominent Indus Valley city in the modern Indian state of Gujarat. It
stands as the smallest division ever recorded on a Bronze Age scale. Another indication of an
advanced measurement system is the fact that the bricks used to build Indus cities were uniform in
size.
Harappans demonstrated advanced architecture with dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick
platforms, and protective walls. The ancient Indus systems of sewerage and drainage developed
and used in cities throughout the region were far more advanced than any found in contemporary
urban sites in the Middle East, and even more efficient than those in many areas of Pakistan and
India today.
Harappans were thought to have been proficient in seal carving, the cutting of
patterns into the bottom face of a seal, and used distinctive seals for the
identification of property and to stamp clay on trade goods. Seals have been one
of the most commonly discovered artifacts in Indus Valley cities, decorated with
animal figures, such as elephants, tigers, and water buffalos.
Harappans also developed new techniques in metallurgy—the science of
working with copper, bronze, lead, and tin—and performed intricate handicraft
using products made of the semi-precious gemstone, Carnelian.
ART
Indus Valley excavation sites have revealed a number of distinct examples of the
culture’s art, including sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry, and anatomically detailed
figurines in terracotta, bronze, and steatite—more commonly known as Soapstone.
Among the various gold, terracotta, and stone figurines found, a figure of a “Priest-
King” displayed a beard and patterned robe. Another figurine in bronze, known as the
“Dancing Girl,” is only 11 cm. high and shows a female figure in a pose that suggests
the presence of some choreographed dance form enjoyed by members of the civilization.
Terracotta works also included cows, bears, monkeys, and dogs. In addition to figurines,
the Indus River Valley people are believed to have created necklaces, bangles, and other
ornaments.
Miniature Votive Images or Toy Models from Harappa, c. 2500 BCE: The Indus River Valley Civilization created
figurines from terracotta, as well as bronze and steatite. It is still unknown whether these figurines have religious
significance.
STONE STATUES
Statues whether in stone, bronze or terracotta found in Harappan sites
are not abundant, but refined. The stone statuaries found at Harappa
and Mohenjodaro are excellent examples of handling three-dimensional
volumes. In stone are two male figures—one is a torso in red sandstone
and the other is a bust of a bearded man in soapstone—which are
extensively discussed. The figure of the bearded man, interpreted as a
priest, is draped in a shawl coming under the right arm and covering
the left shoulder. This shawl is decorated with trefoil patterns. The eyes
are a little elongated, and half-closed as in meditative concentration.
The nose is well formed and of medium size; the mouth is of average
size with close-cut moustache and a short beard and whiskers; the ears
resemble double shells with a hole in the middle. The hair is parted in Bust of a bearded priest
the middle, and a plain woven fillet is passed round the head. An armlet
is worn on the right hand and holes around the neck suggest a necklace.
BRONZE CASTING
The art of bronze-casting was practiced on a wide scale by the Harappans. Their bronze statues were made using
the ‘lost wax’ technique in which the wax figures were first covered with a coating of clay and allowed to dry.
Then the wax was heated and the molten wax was drained out through a tiny hole made in the clay cover. The
hollow mold thus created was filled with molten metal which took the original shape of the object. Once the metal
cooled, the clay cover was completely removed. In bronze we find human as well as animal figures, the best
example of the former being the statue of a girl popularly titled ‘Dancing Girl’. Amongst animal figures in bronze
the buffalo with its uplifted head, back and sweeping horns and the goat are of artistic merit. Bronze casting was
popular at all the major centers of the Indus Valley Civilization. The copper dog and bird of Lothal and the bronze
figure of a bull from Kalibangan are in no way inferior to the human figures of copper and bronze from Harappa
and Mohenjo-daro. Metal casting appears to be a continuous tradition. The late Harappan and Chalcolithic sites
like Daimabad in Maharashtra yielded excellent examples of metal-cast sculptures. They mainly consist of
human and animal figures. It shows how the tradition of figure sculpture continued down the ages.
DANCING GIRL
One of the best known artefacts from the Indus
Valley is this approximately four-inch-high
copper figure of a dancing girl. Found in
Mohenjo-daro, this exquisite casting depicts a girl
whose long hair is tied in a bun. Bangles cover
her left arm, a bracelet and an amulet or bangle
adorn her right arm, and a cowry shell necklace is
seen around her neck. Her right hand is on her hip
and her left hand is clasped in a traditional Indian
dance gesture. She has large eyes and flat nose.
This figure is full of expression and bodily vigour
and conveys a lot of information.
BULL
This bronze figure of a bull from Mohenjo-
daro deserves mention. The massiveness of
the bull and the fury of the charge are
eloquently expressed. The animal is shown
standing with his head turned to the right
and with a cord around the neck
 Terracotta figurines

Mother goddess, terracotta

SEALS
Archaeologists have discovered thousands of seals, mostly made of steatite, and
occasionally of agate, chert, copper, faience and terracotta, with beautiful figures of
animals, such as unicorn bull, rhinoceros, tiger, elephant, bison, goat, buffalo, etc.
The realistic rendering of these animals in various moods is remarkable. The purpose
of producing seals was mainly commercial. It appears that the seals were also used
as amulets, carried on the persons of their owners, perhaps as modern-day identity
cards. The standard Harappan seal was a square plaque 2×2 square inches, made
from steatite. Every seal is engraved in a pictographic script which is yet to be
deciphered. Some seals have also been found in ivory. They all bear a great variety
of motifs, most often of animals including those of the bull, with or without the
hump, the elephant, tiger, goat and also monsters. Sometimes trees or human figures
were also depicted.
Unicorn seals
POTTERY
A large quantity of pottery excavated from the
sites, enable us to understand the gradual
evolution of various design motifs as employed in
different shapes, and styles. The Indus Valley
pottery consists chiefly of very fine wheel made
wares, very few being hand-made. Plain pottery is
more common than painted ware. Plain pottery is
generally of red clay, with or without a fine red or
grey slip. It includes knobbed ware, ornamented Perforated jar
with rows of knobs. The black painted ware has a
fine coating of red slip on which geometric and
animal designs are executed in glossy black paint.
Pottery
BEADS AND ORNAMENTS
The Harappan men and women decorated themselves with a large variety of
ornaments produced from every conceivable material ranging from precious metals
and gemstones to bone and baked clay. While necklaces, fillets, armlets and finger-
rings were commonly worn by both sexes, women wore girdles, earrings and anklets.
Hoards of jewellery found at Mohenjodaro and Lothal include necklaces of gold and
semi-precious stones, copper bracelets and beads, gold earrings and head ornaments,
faience pendants and buttons, and beads of steatite and gemstones. All ornaments are
well crafted. It may be noted that a cemetery has been found at Farmana in Haryana
where dead bodies were buried with ornaments.
Harappa
Ancient Indus Ornaments
WRITING
Harappans are believed to have used Indus Script, a language consisting of symbols. A
collection of written texts on clay and stone tablets unearthed at Harappa, which have been
carbon dated 3300-3200 BCE, contain trident-shaped, plant-like markings. This Indus Script
suggests that writing developed independently in the Indus River Valley Civilization from the
script employed in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.
As many as 600 distinct Indus symbols have been found on seals, small tablets, ceramic pots,
and more than a dozen other materials. Typical Indus inscriptions are no more than four or
five characters in length, most of which are very small. The longest on a single surface, which
is less than 1 inch (or 2.54 cm.) square, is 17 signs long. The characters are largely pictorial,
but include many abstract signs that do not appear to have changed over time.
Indus Script: These ten Indus Script symbols were found
on a “sign board” in the ancient city of Dholavira
 COSTUMES
Textiles are rarely preserved and back at those days the
Harappan figurines are usually unclothed, so there is
not much evidence of Harappan clothing. Small
fragments of cloth preserved in the corrosion products
of metal objects show that the Harappans wove a range
of grades of cotton cloth. Flax was grown and may
have been used for fibers (alternatively it was grown
for its oil seed). Native Indian species of silkworm may
have been utilized for silk (inferior to Chinese silk), as
they were a little later in South Asia. It is not known
whether the Harappans raised woolly sheep, but their
trade with Mesopotamia probably brought them
abundant supplies of Mesopotamian woolen textiles.
4. MAYAN CIVILIZATION
The Maya are an indigenous people of Mexico and Central America
who have continuously inhabited the lands comprising modern-day
Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Tabasco, and Chiapas in Mexico
and southward through Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and
Honduras. The designation Maya comes from the ancient
Yucatan city of Mayapan, the last capital of a Mayan Kingdom in
the Post-Classic Period. The Maya people refer to themselves by
ethnicity and language bonds such as Quiche in the south
or Yucatec in the north (though there are many others). The
`Mysterious Maya’ have intrigued the world since their `discovery’
in the 1840's by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Cather wood
but, in reality, much of the culture is not that mysterious when
understood. Contrary to popular imagination, the Maya did not
vanish and the descendants of the people who built the
great cities of Chichen Itza, Bonampak, Uxmal and Altun Ha still
exist on the same lands their ancestors did and continue to practice,
sometimes in a modified form, the same rituals which would be
recognized by a native of the land one thousand years ago.
BRIEF HISTORY
The history of Mesoamerica is usually divided into specific periods which, taken together, reveal the development of culture in
the region and, for the purposes of this definition, the emergence and cultivation of the Maya Civilization.

The Archaic Period: 7000-2000 BCE – During this time a hunter-gatherer culture began to cultivate crops such as maize,
beans and other vegetables and the domestication of animals (most notably dogs and turkeys) and plants became widely
practiced. The first villages of the region were established during this period which included sacred spots and temples
dedicated to various gods. The villages excavated thus far are dated from 2000-1500 BCE.

The Olmec Period: 1500-200 BCE – This era is also known as the Pre-Classic or Formative Period when the Olmecs, the
oldest culture in Mesoamerica, thrived. The Olmecs settled along the Gulf of Mexico and began building great cities of stone
and brick. The famous Olmec heads strongly suggest highly sophisticated skill in sculpture and the first indications of
Shamanic religious practices date from this period. The enormous size and scope of Olmec ruins gave birth to the idea that the
land was once populated by giants. Though no one knows where the Olmecs came from, nor what happened to them, they lay
the foundation for all the future civilizations in Mesoamerica.
The Zapotec Period: 600 BCE-800 CE – In the region surrounding modern-day Oaxaca, the
cultural center now known as Monte Alban was founded which became the capital of the Zapotec
kingdom. The Zapotecs were clearly influenced by (or, perhaps, related to) the Olmecs and,
through them, some of the most important cultural elements of the region were disseminated such
as writing, mathematics, astronomy and the development of the calendar; all of which the Maya
would refine.
The Teotihuacan Period: 200-900 CE – During this era the great city of Teotihuacan grew from a
small village to a metropolis of enormous size and influence. Early on, Teotihuacan was a rival of
another city called Cuicuilco but, when that community was destroyed by a volcano c. 100 CE,
Teotihuacan became dominant in the region. Archaeological evidence suggests that Teotihuacan
was an important religious center which was devoted to the worship of a Great Mother Goddess
and her consort the Plumed Serpent. The Plumed Serpent god  Kukulkan (also known as
Gucamatz) was the most popular deity among the Maya. Like many of the cities which now lie in
ruin throughout the southern Americas, Teotihuacan was abandoned sometime around 900 CE.
The El Tajin Period: 250-900 CE – This
period is also known as the Classic Period in
Mesoamerican and Mayan history. The name
`El Tajin’ refers to the great city complex on
the Gulf of Mexico which has been
recognized as one of the most important sites
in Mesoamerica. During this time the great
urban centers rose across the land and the
Maya numbered in the millions. The very
important ball game which came to be known
as Poc-a-Toc was developed and more ball
courts have been found in and around the city
of El Tajin than anywhere else in the region. The Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque,
Who, precisely, the people were who Mexico. The pyramid was completed c. 682
inhabited El Tajin remains unknown as there CE and used as the tomb of
were over fifty different ethnic groups the Maya king Kinich Janaab Pacal (r. 615-
represented in the city and dominance has 683 CE).
been ascribed to both the Maya and the
Totonac.
 MAYA CALENDAR
There are two calendars at work simultaneously in the
Maya system: the Haab, or civil calendar of 365 days in an
18 month period of 20 days each, and the Tzolkin, or
sacred calendar, of 260 days divided into three groups of
months of 20 days. The Haab and the Tzolkin work
together, like gears interlocking in a machine, to create
what is known as the Calendar Round but cannot account
for dates farther in the future than 52 days. For longer
calculations, the Maya devised what is known as the Long
Count Calendar and is this which has attracted so much
international attention in recent years regarding the end of
the world on 21 December 2012 CE. As the long count
calendar begins 11 August 3114 BCE, it goes into its next
cycle (known as a Baktun) on 21 December 2012 CE.
 MAYA ARCHITECTURE 
Maya architecture is best characterized by the
soaring pyramid temples and ornate palaces which were built in
all Maya centres across Mesoamerica from El Tajin in the north
to Copan in the south. The Maya civilization was formed of
independent city-states and, consequently, there are regional
variations in architecture but almost all buildings were constructed
with a precise attention to position and layout and a general style
prevails. Multi-level elevated platforms, massive step-pyramids,
corbelled roofing, monumental stairways, and exteriors decorated
with sculpture and mouldings of Maya glyphs, geometric shapes,
and iconography from religion such as serpent masks are all
typical features of Maya architecture. Interestingly, unlike many
other cultures, Maya architecture makes no particular distinction
between religious and non-religious buildings.
Copan Site Plan
Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque
 Ball Court, Copan

Nunnery Quadrangle, Uxmal

 MAYAN ART
Mayan art refers to the artworks done by the ancient
Mayan civilization. It involves any painting, architecture,
wood carvings, sculptures and figures made from wood,
stone, stucco, and precious gems like jade, weaving and
textile, and even their literature. These art pieces are
considered as precious artifacts these days and are in the
care of museums around the world. The Mayan people
lived in North America to South America. The
Mesoamerican culture existed from 500 BCE to 900 CE or
during what is known as the preclassic period to the
postclassic period. To this day, several areas of Mayan art
Mayan face pendant
survived and practiced, particularly in weaving.
Cancuen, panel 3, seated king with two subordinates.
Second half 8th century.

Copan stela A, Maudslay cast

Bonampak mural, room 1, east wall: Musicians

San Bartolo mural: The king as Hunahpu

CERAMICS

Unlike utility ceramics found in such large numbers

among the debris of archaeological sites, most of the
decorated pottery (cylinder vessels, lidded dishes,
vases, bowls) once was 'social currency' among the
Maya nobility, and, preserved as heirlooms, also
accompanied the nobles into their graves. The
aristocratic tradition of gift-giving feasts and
ceremonial visits, and the emulation that inevitably
went with these exchanges, goes a long way towards Codex style cylinder vessel,
explaining the high level of artistry reached in Classical courtly ritual
times.

Jaina, nobleman
 WRITING AND CODICES
Maya’s writing system has around 1,000 unique and distinct characters which are known as
glyphs or hieroglyphs. Just like with the Ancient Egyptian civilization, Maya’s writing system
includes a mixture of logograms as well as syllabic signs.

The ancient civilization has used the writing system from the 3rd century BCE until the Spanish
conquest arrived during the 16th century. As of 2017, the Maya script was already read but their
meanings still held a hint of mystery.

When it comes to bookmaking, the Mayans used leather leaves or bark paper with a layer of
adhesive stucco where they write. The covers are made from either jaguar skins or wooden
boards. There have been quite a few numbers of these books that were discovered, probably from
Madrid Codex
the diviners back then who needed them.

As of now, three codices exist. They date back from the Post-classic period. There’s a fourth one
that is said to be of Mayan origin, but its authenticity is still doubted.
ANCIENT MAYA CLOTHING
The ancient Maya are well-known for their exotic, vibrant, appearances and
practice of unusual body modifications. They exploited the materials available
to them in their tropical environments to manufacture colorful textiles and
striking ornamentation. They produced a wide range of outfits for different
occasions, including lavish dress for large public events; vibrant dance
costumes; protective armour for conflicts; sporting attire; and simpler, yet no
less sophisticated, clothing for everyday situations.

EVERYDAY CLOTHING

Basic components of everyday dress included a loincloth or short skirt for men
and a huipil or long skirt (perhaps paired with a quechquemitl) for women (see
image to right). These outfits would often be embellished with jewellery such as
bracelets and anklets, necklaces, and ear jewellery. Hairstyles were given much
attention, and would be tied up (almost never left loose) and decorated with
bands of fabric and long feathers. The ancient Maya show neatly maintained
hairstyles in their art, suggesting that they may have put a stiffener in their hair
to keep it in place.
 ANCIENT CHINESE
CIVILIZATION
Ancient China was one of the oldest
civilizations in the world and continues to the
present day. It has its origins in the Yellow
River Basin, where the first Xia, Shang and
Zhou dynasties emerged. Let’s dive into its
development, culture, society, religion and
more.

The imperial era was 221 BC – 1912 AD, from

China's unification under Qin rule until the end
of the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China era
was from 1912 until 1949, and the modern
China era from 1949 until the present day.
 THE XIA DYNASTY (C. 2070–1600 BC) — EARLY BRONZE
AGE CHINA

Possibly the first dynasty in ancient China, it's generally

believed that the Xia Dynasty consisted of several clans
living alongside the Yellow River. Most of the evidence for
the Xia Dynasty, including its name, is perhaps just
legend.

There was a Bronze Age Yellow River civilization at this

time at Erlitou in Henan; however, artifacts don't show Ancient bronze objects
conclusively that this was the Xia Dynasty of later writings.
ANCIENT CHINA (C. 1600–221 BC)
Chinese civilization began along the Yellow River in the Shang era, and spread from there when Bronze Age culture
reached its peak.
Then, traditional Chinese philosophies, such as Confucianism and Daoism, developed in the feudal Zhou era as China
expanded in territory and population.
Ancient China finally fractured into warring kingdoms for 200 years, and its reunification marked the start of the
imperial China age.
 THE SHANG DYNASTY (C. 1600–1046 BC)

The Shang Dynasty was the first to have historical records remaining. Many bronze objects and jade articles,
which date back to 1600 BC, have been found to support these early archaeological records.

The earliest form of Chinese writing – oracle bones – was found. The inscriptions on animal bones had
pictographic characters. The Shang Dynasty’s capital was Yin (Anyang) and its territory stretched between the
lower reaches of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers.

THE ZHOU DYNASTY (1045-221 BC)

After the Shang era, the larger Zhou era territory was divided by a network of feudal states and was ruled over
by kings.

The king of Zhou only had direct control over a small portion of the realm and received tributes from the feudal
states.

The first part of the Zhou era was called the Western Zhou (1045–771 BC). It was a fairly peaceful time but,
after 770 BC, the Zhou king lost his authority and seven prominent states emerged.

This era was divided into three periods: the Western Zhou Dynasty (1045–771 BC); the Spring and Autumn Confucius lived in the Spring
Period (770–476 BC), and the Warring States Period (475–221 BC). It marked the transition from tribal society and Autumn Period and had a
to feudal society. strong influence on China's
subsequent history.
Major philosophies and religions emerged that were the basis of Chinese beliefs in later eras, such
as Confucianism and Daoism.
IMPERIAL CHINA (221 BC – 1912 AD)
From the first centralized feudal empire, the Qin Dynasty, which was established in
221 BC, until the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, this period is known as the
imperial era of China.
The imperial China period makes up the bulk of Chinese history. With the cyclical
rise and fall of dynasties, Chinese civilization was cultivated and prospered in times of
peace, then reformed after rebellions and conquests.
THE QIN AND HAN DYNASTIES (221BC –220 AD)
The Qin and Han dynasties were the initial period of the Chinese empire. During
this period, a number of institutions were established that laid the foundation of the
basic political system for the next 2,000 years.
The short-lived Qin Dynasty was the first to unite China as a country under an
emperor instead of a ruling clan. A bureaucratic government was introduced, and was
continued by the less extreme Han Dynasty.
 THE QIN DYNASTY (221–206 BC)
The First Emperor — Qin Shi Huang was first to use the title of emperor in China. He
and his Qin state united China by conquering the other warring states, and he ruled with
an iron fist.
Qin Shi Huang centralized the power of the empire after he took the throne and set up
a system of laws. He standardized units of weight and measurements, as well as the
writing system.
The Qin Dynasty was the first and shortest imperial dynasty in China. It was famous
for great building projects, such as the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army, which
guarded the First Emperor’s burial objects and was to protect him in his afterlife.
The Silk Road feautured strongly in China's history
THE HAN DYNASTY (206 BC – 220 AD) as a gateway for trade and cultural exchange.

The longest imperial dynasty, the Han Dynasty, was known for starting the Silk Road trade and connecting China with Central Asia
and Europe.

In the Han Dynasty, a bureaucratic system in which promotion was based on merit was established and Confucianism was adopted
by the state for national governance. What’s more, agriculture, handicrafts, and commerce developed rapidly.
During the reign of Emperor Wudi (r. 140–87 BC), the Han regime prospered most. The multiethnic country became more
united during the Han regime.
The Han Dynasty was one of the most powerful and important dynasties in China’s history. It had far-reaching impacts for every
dynasty that followed
 MEDIEVAL CHINA (581–1368)
China's Middle Ages saw steady growth through a series of
regime changes.
China went from having four warring kingdoms to being the
most culturally sophisticated and technologically
developed nation. Finally, it was consumed by the rise and
fall of the phenomenal Mongol Empire, which stretched to
Europe. The Grand Canal, representing
China's huge civil engineering feats,
THE SUI DYNASTY (581–618) is another feature of China's
history.
In 581, Yang Jian usurped the throne in the north and, as Emperor Wen, united the rest of China under the Sui Dynasty.
It was a short, intense dynasty, with great conquests and achievements, such as the Grand Canal and the rebuilding of
the Great Wall.
One of Emperor Wen’s most prominent achievements was to create the imperial examination system to select talented
individuals for bureaucratic positions.
Most of this dynasty’s government institutions were adopted by later dynasties. It's considered, along with the following
Tang Dynasty, to be a great Chinese era.
Ancient Chinese Sui Dynasty
THE TANG DYNASTY (618-907)
After the short-lived Sui Dynasty, the powerful and prosperous Tang Dynasty unified China once again. The Tang Dynasty continued
with the Sui’s imperial examination system and optimized it.

It ruled for three centuries, and it was also the golden age for poetry, painting, tricolored glazed pottery, and woodblock printing.

In the middle of the Tang Dynasty, an immense rebellion appeared and some regions refused to follow the state’s authority. This
situation continued to the end of the Tang Dynasty.

After the Tang Dynasty came half a century of division in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907–960). This ended
when one of the northern kingdoms defeated its neighbors and established the Song Dynasty.

THE SONG DYNASTY (960–1297)

The Song Dynasty unified the Central Plain and Southern China. However, the territory under the Northern Song Dynasty’s (960–
1127) control was smaller than the Tang Dynasty’s.

The modern-day northern Hebei Province was occupied by the Khitan and was under the control of the Liao Dynasty (907–1125). In
the northwest, the Western Xia Dynasty (1038–1227) – ruled by the Tanguts – controlled the modern-day Gansu and northwestern
Shaanxi.

Until the first half of the 12th century, the Jurchens (ancestors of modern-day Manchus) annihilated the Liao Dynasty and invaded
the Northern Song’s capital.
THE YUAN DYNASTY (1279–1368) — MONGOL RULE
In 1206, Genghis Khan unified all the tribes in Mongolia, founded the
Mongol khanate, and conquered an unprecedented swathe of Asia.
At the end of the 12th century, Mongolian rule grew steadily. With
Genghis Khan and his descendants expanding their territory, the Mongol
Empire extended all the way to Eastern Europe.
The part of the Mongolian khanate that ruled China was known as the
Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368).
From 1271 to 1279, his grandson, Kublai Khan, finally conquered the
Song Dynasty and founded the Yuan Dynasty. He made Dadu (modern-
day Beijing) the capital of the first foreign-led dynasty in China.
 THE FINAL DYNASTIES (1368–1912) —
RENAISSANCE AND MORE FOREIGN RULE
Ming Dynasty
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the imperial social structure (the royal/rich class, the scholarly class, the working class, and the
slaves) and imperial examinations continued. However, they became increasingly inadequate in the ages of exploration, colonization,
and industrialization.

THE MING DYNASTY (1368–1644)

After a series of natural disasters and rebellion movements led by the Han people, a new native dynasty was established in 1368.

The founder, Zhu Yuanzhang, replaced the waning Mongol Empire in China with the Ming Dynasty. It was the last ethnic Chinese
dynasty, sandwiched between two foreign ones. The Ming Dynasty represented a long period of stability.

When his son and successor, Zhu Di, ascended the throne, he started to build the Forbidden City in Beijing. In 1421, he officially
made Beijing his capital. He was very supportive of international trade and sponsored several voyages to the West.

It was an era of native Chinese strength and prosperity, which faltered due to natural disasters and greedy leadership, as had so many
dynasties before it. Eventually, the Ming Dynasty fell due to the frequent peasant rebellions and Manchu attacks.
THE QING DYNASTY (1644–1912)
In the late Ming Dynasty, the Manchus in Northeast China
grew in strength. The Manchus attacked China for three
generations in succession, and finally founded the Qing
Dynasty. It was the last imperial dynasty in China’s history.
The two most famous emperors of the Qing Dynasty
were Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661–1772) and Emperor Qianlong
(r. 1735–96). Their reigns were "a golden age of prosperity".
However, the last Chinese dynasty is shamefully remembered
for the forced trade of the late Qing era. China was reduced
to being a semi-colonial, semi-imperial country after the First
Opium War, which began in 1839.
Modern China's territory was established during this era. Ancient Chinese Qing Dynasty
ANCIENT CHINESE
ARCHITECTURE
Together with European and Arabian architecture, ancient Chinese architecture is an important
component of the world architectural system. During its long development, it gradually formed
into a style which featured timberwork combining stone carving, rammed earth construction,
bucket arch buildings and many other techniques. Industrious Chinese laboring people created
many architectural miracles such as the Great Wall, Forbidden City and the Mausoleum of the First
Qin Emperor.

Forbidden City, Beijing Badaling Great Wall, Beijing

Intricate painted ceiling of a pavilion Symmetrical layout of a courtyard
The pagoda of the Tianning Temple, The Great Wall of China
Beijing. Constructed during
the Khitan Liao dynasty (907-1125 CE).
LANGUAGE AND WRITING
The Chinese have enjoyed a written language for more than 3,000 years.
The Chinese language is monosyllabic. It consists of 450 syllables,
approximately, in turn, there are more than 1200 words due to the different
intonation with which they are pronounced. Many of these words tend to have
about 50 meanings, that is why their writing is made up of more than 80,000
signs.
Although the Chinese language is made up of more than one dozen spoken
dialects, all the writing systems use the same characters. This literary unit has
been important to the historical unity of the Chinese people since the Shang
dynasty (1766 – 1027 BC) the invention of Chinese writing system is Ancient Chinese script
attributed to Fu-Shi, a legendary emperor who lived 5 millennia ago.
Inscriptions on the oracle bones
ART OF ANCIENT CHINESE CIVILIZATION
Art of ancient Chinese Civilization is very peculiar, distintive from others because Chinese Civilization is likely one;
among most ancient civilizations that have particularly maintained a cultural continuity and philosophical cohesion
throughout its history, thanks in part to its geography location that is unique, situated at the end of the Asian continent facing
the Pacific Ocean, which allowed them to keep their strong culture pretty much intact, but thanks also to their way of life,
which was very intimate keeping their distances from the influences of the outside world across millenniums.

Even though few of the invaders along Chinese history could have diluted their way of life and Idiosyncrasy by absorbency,
the Chinese choose to stick to their traditions and belief firmly, continued their devotion to nature and their ancestors, even
when different religious believes were sustained in the country, as well as when invaders forced their violent ways in China.

Chinese people keep as well their country, reliable on a self-sufficient economic, since traditional customs and artisanal
trades knowledge pass from generation to generation among members of the families. Their art productions were a direct
reflection of their particular believe and their philosophy of life. Particularly in early times, art also had social and moral
functions. Witch the beginnings of the modern world in the XVI century was brought to them as well the effects of a huge
wave of events that imposed important changes in the world. Chinese culture was also in certain way influenced by those
changes and other internal issues, but this article would concentrate in ancient Chinese period art.
Chinese Bronze Zhou Dynasty (1046-256).
Freer Gallery of Art. W.D.C
Hand Fans
HISTORY OF CHINESE CLOTHING
The history of Tranditional Chinese Clothing here will introduce the brief history of the development of
Chinese costume. China has many ethnic groups with a long history while Han people dominate most periods
in history. For thousands of years, generations of clothing designers have devoted themselves to building the
Kingdom of Clothes, making the garments that cover the human body into an important component of Chinese
culture. The progress of nation can be seen through its changes in clothing styles.
Clothing manufacture in China dates back to prehistoric times, at least 7,000 years ago. Archaeological
findings of 18,000 year-old artifacts such as bone sewing needles and stone beads and shells with holes bored
in them attest to the existence of ornamentation and of sewing extremely early in Chinese civilization.

The idea of fashion reached a new height during the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods, when
wars broke out frequently and the various states spared no effort to enhance their strength. The different styles
of clothes showed people's positions and the states they came from.
Chinese Clothing during Qin and Han Dynasties(221 B.C.--220 A.D.)
Chinese Clothing during Wei,Jin, South & North Dynasties(220-589)
Chinese Clothing during Tang Dynasty(618-907)
Chinese Clothing during Song, Yuan, Ming Dynasties
Chinese Clothing from 1930s till Modern Era
ANCIENT GREEK
CIVILIZATION
BRONZE AGE AND PROTO-GREEK
CIVILIZATIONS
CYCLADIC CIVILIZATION
During the Bronze Age, several distinct cultures developed around the Aegean. The Cycladic
civilization, around the Cyclades Islands, thrived from 3,000 to 2,000 BCE. Little is known about the
Cycladic civilization because they left no written records. Their material culture is mainly excavated
from grave sites, which reveal that the people produced unique, geometric marble figures.

MINOAN CIVILIZATION
The Minoan civilization stretches from 3700 BCE until 1200 BCE, and thrived during their
Neopalatial period (from 1700 to 1400 BCE), with the large-scale building of communal palaces.
Numerous archives have been discovered at Minoan sites; however their language, Linear A , has yet
to be deciphered. The culture was centered on trade and production, and the Minoans were great
seafarers on the Mediterranean Sea.
MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION
A proto-Greek culture known as the Mycenaeans developed and flourished on the mainland,
eventually conquering the Aegean Islands and Crete, where the Minoan civilization was
centered. The Mycenaeans developed a fractious, war-like culture that was centered on the
authority of a single ruler. Their culture eventually collapsed, but many of their citadel sites
were occupied through the Greek Dark Age and rebuilt into Greek city-states.
THE DARK AGE
From around 1200 BCE, the palace centers and outlying settlements of the Mycenaeans’ culture
began to be abandoned or destroyed. By 1050 BCE, the recognizable features of Mycenaean
culture had disappeared.
Many explanations attribute the fall of the Mycenaean civilization and the collapse of the
Bronze Age to climatic or environmental catastrophe, combined with an invasion by the
Dorians or by the Sea Peoples, or to the widespread availability of edged weapons of iron, but
no single explanation fits the available archaeological evidence.
This two- to three-century span of history is also known as the Homeric Age. It is believed that
the Homeric epics The Iliad and The Odyssey were first recited around this time.
THE GEOMETRIC AND ORIENTALIZING PERIODS
The Geometric period (c. 900–700 BCE), which derives its name from the proliferation of
geometric designs and rendering of figures in art, witnessed the emergence of a new culture
on the Greek mainland. The culture’s change in language, its adaptation of the Phoenician
alphabet, and its new funerary practices and material culture suggest the ethnic population
changed from the mainland’s previous inhabitants, the Mycenaeans.
During this time, the new culture was centered on the people and independent poleis, which
divided the land into regional populations. This period witnessed a growth in population
and the revival of trade.
The Orientalizing period (c. 700–600 BCE) is named for the cultural exchanges the Greeks
had with Eastern, or Oriental civilizations. During this time, international trade began to
flourish. Art from this period reflects contact with locations such as Egypt, Syria, Assyria,
Phoenicia, and Israel.
ARCHAIC GREECE
Greece’s Archaic period lasted from 600 to 480 BCE, in which the Greek culture expanded. The population in
Greece began to rise and the Greeks began to colonize along the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The
poleis at this time were typically ruled by a single ruler who commanded the city by force.
For the city of Athens, this led to the creation of democracy. Several city-states emerged as major powers, including
Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes. These poleis were often warring with each other, and formed coalitions to gain
power and allies. The Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BCE marked the end of the Archaic period.

CLASSICAL GREECE
The era of Classical Greece began in 480 BCE with the sacking of Athens by the Persians. The Persian invasion of
Greece, first lead by Darius I and then by his son Xerxes, united Greece against a common enemy.

With the defeat of the Persian threat, Athens became the most powerful polis until the start of the Peloponnesian
War in 431 BCE. These wars continued on and off until 400 BCE. While marred by war, the Classical period saw
the height of Greek culture and the creation of some of Greece’s most famous art and architecture.

However, peace and stability in Greece was not achieved until it was conquered and united by Macedonia under the
leadership of Philip II and Alexander the Great in the mid-third century BCE.
HELLENISTIC GREECE
The Hellenistic period began with the death of
Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, and ended with
the Roman victory at the Battle of Actium in 30
BCE. Greece poleis spent this time under the
hegemony of foreign rulers, first the Macedons
and then the Romans, starting in 146 BCE.
New centers of Hellenic culture flourished
through Greece and on foreign soil, including the
cities of Pergamon, Antioch, and Alexandria—the
capitals of the Attalids, Seleucids, and Ptolemies.

Hellenistic Art
ANCIENT GREEK ART &
SCULPTURE
Ancient Greek art proper "emerged" during the 8th century BCE (700-800), as things calmed down around the
Aegean. (See also Etruscan art) About this time, iron was made into weapons/tools, people started using an
alphabet, the first Olympic Games took place (776), a complex religion emerged, and a loose sense of cultural
identity grew up around the idea of "Hellas" (Greece). By about 700, kingdoms began to be replaced by
oligarchies and city-states. However, early forms of Greek art were largely confined to ceramic pottery, as the
region suffered continued disruption from widespread famine, forced emigration (many Greeks left the
mainland to colonize towns in Asia Minor and Italy), and social unrest. This restricted the development of
architecture and most other types of art. Not until about 650, when maritime trade links were re-established
between Greece and Egypt, as well as Anatolia, did Greek prosperity finally return and facilitate an upsurge of
Greek culture.
Modern scholarship identifies three major stages of a Greek sculpture – the Archaic period, Classical and
Hellenistic. Frequent subjects were the battles, mythology, and rulers of the area historically known as ancient
Greece. Regarding the materials, Greek sculpture was most often in bronze and porous limestone, but whilst
bronze seems never to have gone out of fashion, the stone of choice would become marble. There is a trouble
with bronze – as it was a very precious material and very often the original bronze sculptures were melted. 
Etruscan Mural (showing the influence of realistic Greek painting)
Abduction of Persephone
Discus Thrower (Discobolus)
Winged Victory of Samothrace
Roman copy of the original
Photo by Adrian Pingstone
bronze by Myron (425 BCE)
National Museum, Rome.
 The Artemisian Bronze, c.
460 BCE,National
Archaeological Museum,
Athens

Aphrodite, known as the “Venus de

Milo”, C. 100 BC, Musée du Louvre
SCENES OF EVERYDAY LIFE DEPICTED ON
ANCIENT GREEK VASES

Euphronious krater
Red-figure Jar
TIME OF DAY ON PAINTED ATHENIAN
VASES

Ajax and Achilles playing a game

ANCIENT GREEK POTTERY
Ceramics created by the Greeks were far superior
to anything made by civilizations that preceded it.
The Greeks produced vases, urns and bowls. They
were known for their craftsmanship. The most
famous pieces were vases with paintings such as
Apollo playing a tortoise shell lyre. Unlike
oriental pottery which came in all kinds of shapes,
ancient Greek pottery was more limited,
comprised of only a few dozen shapes that
changed little over time.
8th century BC jug
THE OLYMPIAN GODS
Best known among the pantheon are the
twelve Olympian gods and goddesses who
resided on Mt. Olympus in northern Greece.
Zeus, the youngest son of Rhea and Kronos,
was hidden from his father, instead of being
swallowed. Once he became a man, he
challenged his father’s rule, forcing Kronos to
regurgitate the rest of his swallowed children.
These children were Zeus’s siblings, and
together they overthrew Kronos, making Zeus
the father of gods and men.
Themis: One of the first 12 Titans, Themis
was the personification of divine law, as
opposed to human ordinance.
HEROES

Heroes, who were often demigods , were also important characters in Greek mythology. The two most
important heroes are Perseus and Hercules.

PERSEUS

Perseus is known for defeating the Gorgon, Medusa. He slew her with help from the gods: Athena gave
him armor and a reflective shield, and Hermes provided Perseus with winged sandals so he could fly.

HERCULES

Hercules was a strong but unkind man, a drunkard who conducted huge misdeeds and social faux pas.
Hercules was sent on twelve labors to atone for his sins as punishment for his misdeeds. These deeds, and
several other stories, were often depicted in art, on ceramic pots, or on temple metopes . The most famous
of his deeds include slaying both the Nemean Lion and the Hydra, capturing Cerberus (the dog of the
underworld), and obtaining the apples of the Hesperides.

THESEUS

A third hero, Theseus, was an Athenian hero known for slaying King Minos’s Minotaur . Other major
heros in Greek mythology include the warriors and participants of the Trojan War, such as Achilles, Ajax,
Hermes and the Infant Dionysos by
Odysseus, Agamemnon, Paris, Hector, and Helen.
Praxiteles: Here, Hermes cares for the
now motherless Dionysos. Originally,
Hermes held a bunch of grapes, with
which he teased the infant god of wine. c.
4th century BCE.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
Greek architects provided some of the finest and
most distinctive buildings in the entire Ancient
World and some of their structures, such as
temples, theatres, and stadia, would become staple
features of towns and cities from antiquity
onwards. In addition, the Greek concern with
simplicity, proportion, perspective, and harmony
in their buildings would go on to greatly influence
architects in the Roman world and provide the
foundation for the classical architectural orders
which would dominate the western world from the
Ionic capital from the Acropolis, Athens, (447-432
Renaissance to the present day. BCE).
Greek architectural orders
 The Temple of Hera (aka Temple 'E'),
from Selinus (Selinunte) in Sicily. The temple
was dedicated to Hera in the 5th century BCE.

A corinthian capital, situated in the Agora of Athens.

 Ancient Stadium, Nemea, Greece

The theatre of Delphi and the temple of Apollo below (4th

century BCE). The capacity of the theatre was around
5,000 spectators.
Iktinos and Kallikrates, The Parthenon, Athens, 447 – 432 B.C.E. ,
photo: Steven Zucker (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
ANCIENT GREEK CLOTHING
Clothing in Ancient Greece consisted of lengths of rectangular linen
or wool fabric. The Greeks wore light clothes as the climate was hot
for most of the year. Their garment usually consisted of two main
parts: a tunic (either a peplos or chiton) and a cloak (himation).
Clothes were secured with ornamental clasps or pins at the shoulder
and belt, sash, or girdle at the waist. Length of clothing differed
between men and women. Women clothing was to their ankles while
men wore their robe to the knees.
Inner tunic that was worn by women was a “peplos”. It was made of
wool and had clasps at shoulders. The upper part of the peplos was
folded down to the waist and formed so-called apoptygma. Chiton
was lighter tunic, often pleated, made of linen and worn by both
genders and all ages. Chitons also had knee-length for men and ankle-
length for women.
The undergarment that women wore around the mid-portion of the
body was called strophion while the shawl that they wore over the tunic
was called epiblema. Some women wore a loose veil as well while at
public places. The women also wore necklaces, made of gold and
silver, and had earrings and bracelets.
A rectangle, woolen, blanket-sized robe that men wore was called
chlamys. It was a typical Greek military attire and when it was not used
as a robe it was wrapped around the arm and used as a light shield in
combat.
During winter, Ancient Greeks wore the himation -a larger cloak worn
over the peplos or chlamys. Over time, himation was made from lighter
materials and was worn in every weather.
Footwear was not used very often and Greeks mostly walked barefoot,
especially in the house, but in case they needed one, they wore leather
sandals or leather boots. Most Greeks could go their entire lives
without wearing shoes.
To protect themselves from the summer heat, Greek men wore
petasos, a type of a wide-brimmed hat. It was mostly used for
traveling. Women also wore hats with high-peaked crowns.
Fabrics were dyed by natural plants. The most common colors
used for dyeing the clothing were violet, green and grey while
materials were decorated in checks, wavy lines, stripes and
flowered designs. Colored clothing was always more expensive
than plain.
Wool was very expensive at the time, because it was imported
from India which made clothing also expensive. Wealthy people
could afford to by clothing while poorer had to make their own.
Women and slaves were the one that made clothing in Ancient
Greece.
In hot weather working men would often just wore a loincloth.
PERSIAN
CIVILIZATION 
The Persian civilization developed in what is current Iran. It is a plateau in Asia, neighbor to
Mesopotamia, which was a witness to important historical events. This plateau, which occupies
two million square kilometers, can be delimited:
•To the West: the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates (from which they are separated by the Zagros
Mountains);
•To the East: the Indus River Valley;
•To the North: the Caspian Sea and Turkestan;
•To the South: the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

The heart of its territory is a desert zone, surrounded by high mountains. The fertile lands, fit for
cultivation and livestock, are found on the slopes and the valleys of these mountains. In the
present, the region is occupied by the states of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
In ancient times, it was the site chosen by two peoples to settle and develop their civilization:
the Medes and the Persians.
THE MEDES
A people of Aryan shepherds, on settling they began to practice agriculture. Their organization was initially tribal,
that is to say, they were divided into tribes which would unite, in the case of war, against a common enemy.

In the 9th and 8th Centuries B.C. they were subdued to tribute by their powerful neighbors in Mesopotamia: the
Assyrians, who also dominated the Persians.

At the end of the 8th Century B.C., the Medes organized a state and subdued the Persians. They remained under
Assyrian dominion just the sam until their king Cyaxares united with the Babylonian king Nabopolassar and
together they planned to put and end to the Assyrian domination. This undertaking was successful.

At its end, Cyaxares and the Chaldean king divided the territories of the Assyrians; for the Medes was left Upper
Mesopotamia and western Iran.

Its hegemony ended in the 6th Century B.C. when a new power arose, that of their brothers the Persians.
THE PERSIANS
The ancient Persians would develop a new expansion policy
which would turn them into the owners of the Near East.
In the beginning, they were divided into 10 or 12 tribes, whose
chiefs had the title of King. There was no agreement between
them to unify in one tribe, because of which they suffered the
domination of the Medes. According to
tradition, Achaemenes, who guided the Persians toward the
South, founded the Achaemenid dynasty, to which the great kings Ancient Persian civilization
who would come later belonged.
But it was Cyrus who achieved the unification of the distinct
tribes into which the Persians were divided, to later overthrow the
Medes and put and end to their supremacy. Cyrus converted the
city of Susa into the capital of the new state in 550 B.C. and
decided to begin a policy of conquests of the neighboring
territories.
ANCIENT PERSIAN ART AND
ARCHITECTURE

Persian art and architecture in the present day is associated with the nation of Iran and usually designated
as beginning with the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE) but has an even longer history with its
origins dating back to before the Persians arrived on the Iranian Plateau sometime in the 3rd millennium
BCE. Persian art and architecture was influenced early on by the older civilizations of Elam and Susiana in
the region and by neighboring Mesopotamia.

Early Elamite artworks focused on depictions of animals and the use of geometric and imaginative designs
and the art of Susa mirrored this paradigm but expanded upon it through the representations of dogs. Dogs,
in fact, seem to have been among the most popular artistic representations of Susiana. Monumental
architecture of this period is best exemplified in the site of Chogha Zanbil (earlier known as Dur Untash)
with its towering ziggurat and walls and more modest structures which exhibit the same care in design and
construction; these same techniques and designs, minus the ziggurat, would later influence Persian works.
METALWORKING

Gold chariot from Oxus Treasure, amalgamated

from fragments of other objects in the trove
Gold rhyton (550–330 BCE)
Bracelet from the Oxus Treasure:
Indentations show where the bracelet once
held enamel and stone inlay.
Cyrus the Great as a winged guardian figure:
This stylized relief of Cyrus borrows from the
Egyptian style of depicting the human body
and proclaims the king’s ethnicity and rank in
three languages.
Tomb of Cyrus the Great: Syncretic
attributes include the pyramidal base of the
tomb.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE
ACHAEMENID EMPIRE
The Achaemenid Empire was known for its eclectic style of art and architecture synthesized from many
foreign influences between 550 and 330 BCE.

Decorative frieze from the palace of

Darius the Great at Susa, ca. 510
BCE: Decorative panels from the
terra-cotta griffins’ frieze. The vivid
colors were preserved, thanks to the
ruins being buried underground and
protected from the elements.
Persepolis: A panoramic view of its ruins.
Relief from Apadana
Hall, Persepolis:
Features 5th century BC
carving of Persian and
Median soldiers in
traditional costume. Note
the subtle differences in
the clothing and style of
the soldiers on each side.
The Medians are wearing
rounded hats and boots.
The Cyrus Cylinder
Takhte-Jamshid The Palace of Ardeshir
ARAB CONQUEST AND START OF ISLAMIC
ERA

Jameh Mosque of Isfahan Gonbad-e Qabus Tower

THE MONGOL INVASION (13TH – 16TH
CENTURY)
The Mongol invasions started in the 13th century, and many of the towns and art
in Persia were lost as a result.
Ali Qapu Palace Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque
 An iwan is a vaulted
space that opens on
one side to a
courtyard. The iwan
developed in pre-
Islamic Iran where it
was used in
monumental and
imperial architecture.
Strongly associated
with Persian
architecture, the iwan
continued to be used
in monumental
architecture in the
Islamic era.
 
CALLIGRAPHY
Iranians’ passion for using the script as
an artistic impression goes back to pre-
Islamic times but it is the work of
Islamic era calligraphers and
illuminators that elevated its use into
the high art we appreciate today.
Encouraged by the Islamic preference
for the art of calligraphy over
representational arts, it developed from
epoch to epoch and from style to style.
HISTORY OF PERSIAN LANGUAGE
The history of the Persian language is divided into three eras: Old Persian (ca. 525 BC- 300 BC),
Middle Persian (c. 300 BC- 800 AD), and Modern Persian (800 AD to the present day). The
Persian language has been written with a number of different scripts during its history including
the Old Persian Cuneiform (e.g. Bistoon inscription of the Achaemenid Darius I) and Middle
Persian (Pahlavi) alphabets (e.g. Husrō ī kavādān ud rēdak-ē ‫ریدک‬ ( ‫ )خسرو ق^^بادا^نو‬written from the
period of the Sassanian king Khosrow). After the coming of Islam in 642 AD, Persians adapted
the Arabic alphabet to develop the contemporary Persian alphabet. The Arabic alphabet has 28
characters, but Iranians added another four letters in it to arrive at the current 32 Persian letters.
Modern Persian appeared during the 9th century after this adoption of the alphabet and the
borrowing of many Arabic words.
Old Persian: Bistun
Inscription, Authored by
Darius the Great (6 century
BC)
Middle Persian : Husrō ī kavādān ud rēdak-ē ‫ریدک‬
( ‫( )خسرو ق^^بادا^نو‬579-531
A.D.)
Modern Persian: A poem from Shahnameh written by Ferdowsi
(940-1020 A.D.)
PERSIAN CLOTHING 
Traditional Persian clothing can be seen in Persian miniature paintings, employ
both vivid and muted colors for clothing, although the colors of paint pigment often
do not match the colors of dyes.
The clothing of ancient Iran took an advanced form, and the fabric and color of
clothing became very important at that time. Depending on the social status,
eminence, climate of the region and the season, Persian clothing during
the Achaemenian period took various forms. The philosophy used in Persian
clothing, in addition to being functional, also had an aesthetic role.
Traditional Persian clothing, although not worn in urban areas, has been well
preserved in texts and paintings throughout history.
THE ROMAN CIVILIZATION
 Beginning in the eighth century B.C., Ancient Rome grew from a small
town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its peak encompassed most of
continental Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean
islands. Among the many legacies of Roman dominance are the widespread use of the
Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian) derived from
Latin, the modern Western alphabet and calendar and the emergence of Christianity as a
major world religion. After 450 years as a republic, Rome became an empire in the wake
of Julius Caesar’s rise and fall in the first century B.C. The long and triumphant reign of
its first emperor, Augustus, began a golden age of peace and prosperity; by contrast, the
Roman Empire’s decline and fall by the fifth century A.D. was one of the most dramatic
implosions in the history of human civilization.
IMPERIAL ROME
A period of unrest and civil wars in the 1st century BC marked the transition of Rome
from a republic to an empire. This period encompassed the career of Julius Caesar, who
eventually took full power over Rome as its dictator. After his assassination in 44 BCE,
the triumvirate of Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian, Caesar’s nephew, ruled. It was
not long before Octavian went to war against Antony in northern Africa, and after his
victory at Actium (31 BCE) he was crowned Rome’s first emperor, Augustus. His reign,
from 27 BCE to 14 CE, was distinguished by stability and peace.

Augustus established a form of government known as a principate, which combined

some elements from the republic with the traditional powers of a monarchy.
The Senate still functioned, though Augustus, as princeps, or first citizen, remained in
control of the government. Under Augustus, Rome began to prosper once again, and the
emperor came to be looked upon as a god. Thereafter, all good emperors were
worshiped as gods after death. Among the beloved rulers of Rome were Trajan (reigned
98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), and Marcus Aurelius (161–
180). Decadent, cruel men also rose to power: Caligula (37–41) and Nero (54–68) were
so loathed that their reigns were struck from the official Roman records. statue of the Roman emperor
AugustusStatue of the Roman emperor
Augustus, 1st century CE.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN ANCIENT
ROME
One of Ancient Rome's most common type of art are
sculptures, they have stayed more intact than paintings. Roman
sculptures are made out of bronze, concrete and marble. Romans
most commonly made their sculptures about emperors, mythical
creatures, battles that have happened, and daily life. Etruscan
sculptures and art was another type of roman art.  An example of
an Etruscan is the bronze statue of the bronze statue of
Capitoline Wolf Nursing two small infant. This represents
Remus and Romulus, the people who established Rome. Remus
an Romulus were orphaned and raised by a she-wolf, that's
where the wolf comes in. Another type of statues was republican
Statuary, which were statues based on military leaders, these
types of statues were typically found in temples of Pagen Gods. Capitoline Wolf Statue
An example of this was a statue of Hercules, found in a the
Hercules Sanctuary in Tivoli.  Another type of statue was
Imperial, which was very similar to Republican Statues. An
example of imperial statues was of General Augustus, made in c.
20 BC. Rome has created many famous sculptures, which show
their different cultures, which ultimately adds to their successes.
The architectural legacy of Rome is especially widespread. Beyond the traditional nature of the Roman
temple, characterized by its high podium with prominent entrance at one end only, Roman architecture is
characterized by its ready adoption of Hellenistic planning and a daring use of new materials, such as brick
and especially concrete leading to the stupendous structures such as the great Thermae of Rome and indeed in
the provinces, the Pantheon in Rome, and ultimately Justinian’s church of Sancta Sophia in Constantinople.
Much of the most distinctive sculpture of the Roman period is found on the peripheries of the Empire where
native sculptors worked local limestones and sandstones in what approximated to Metropolitan Roman style.
The sculpture produced in the Trier region and elsewhere in Northern Gaul and in the Cotswold region
of Britain is lively and uninhibited, characterized by a pleasing fluidity of style which is paralleled by work of
a not dissimilar quality produced by sculptors who employed the same soft and malleable stones in the
Middle Ages. Similarly rich in texture but more hieratic in form are the funerary and religious sculptures
from Palmyra in Syria. Especially distinctive are portraits of women and men clearly wearing native, non-
Roman dress.

Architectural Column Orders

 Right: Didrachm of Rome, silver, 7.41 gm, 7:00, 18.5 mm, Roman, c. 300–280 BC
(New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, Ruth Elizabeth White Fund, accession ID
2011.80.1); image © Yale University Art Gallery. Left: Sarcophagus depicting the
triumph of Dionysos and the seasons, Phrygian marble, overall: 34 x 85 x 36 1/4
in. (86.4 x 215.9 x 92.1 cm), ca. AD 260–270 (New York, Metropolitan Museum of
Art, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1955, Accession ID:55.11.5); photo © The
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Marble portrait of the emperor Caracalla,

marble, h. 362 mm, Roman, c. 212–217 AD
(New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Samuel D. Lee Fund, 1940, Accession ID:
40.11.1a); image © The Metropolitan Museum
of Art
 The Colosseum

The definition of a coliseum is any large sports stadium.  The Colosseum was the name of the oval coliseum or
amphitheatre in the center of the city of ancient Rome.  The Colosseum is also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. It
was built in about 1 AD by Emperor Vespasian. It is still the largest amphitheatre, or theatre in the round, in the
world.
Right: Wall painting from Room F of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, fresco, 73 1/2 x 73 1/2in. (186.7 x 186.7cm) ,
Roman, Late Republican, c. 50–40 B.C. (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1903, Accession ID: 03.14.5);
image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Left: Wall painting from Room F of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale,
fresco, h. 76 in. (193.04 cm.) width 44-3/4 in. (113.7 cm.), Roman, Late Republican, c. 50–40 B.C. (New York, Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1903, Accession ID: 03.14.12); image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
 
Mosaic Fragment with a Dionysiac
Procession, mosaic: limestone and
glass tesserae, late 2nd–early 3rd
century AD, 67.3 x 67.9 cm (New
Haven: Yale University Art Gallery,
Ruth Elizabeth White Fund, accession
ID 2004.2.2); image © Yale University
Art Gallery
The so-called minor arts were of great importance in the highly acquisitive Roman society. The rich
vied with each other in displays of gold jewellery and services of silver plate, which became ever
more impressive in the late Roman period. Engraved gems were acquired from the known world,
including sapphires and emeralds from India, rock crystal from the Alps, and amber from the Baltic.
Hard stones were carved as intaglios to serve as seals or as cameos. Some of these were signed by
famous artists such as Dioskourides, who is known to have carved the emperor Augustus’ signet
ring. Softer stones such as amber and fluorspar were fashioned into the form of small vessels.

Right: Belt with coins from Constas to Theodosius I,

gold, enamel, sapphire, emerald, garnet, and glass,
Roman Empire, c. 385-400 AD, length. 79.1 cm (The J.
Paul Getty Museum, object number 83.AM.224)
Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content
Program. Left: Spouted Jar with Satyr Heads, gilded
silver, Roman Empire, c. 4th - 5th century AD, H: 37.9 x
Diam.: 27.5 cm (The J. Paul Getty Museum, object
number 92.AM.12) Digital image courtesy of the
Getty's Open
ROMAN CLOTHING
Roman clothing was almost identical to that of
the Greeks. Men wore a tunic tied at the waste. On
formal occasions they would also drape a large piece of
cloth, called a toga, around themselves.
Only Roman citizens were allowed to wear this. For
most citizens, the toga was a plain white cloth. The
only exception was for senators, whose togas were
bordered with a purple stripe, and for emperors, whose
toga was colored purple (thus when a man became
emperor he was said to “take the purple”.) A depiction of a Roman wearing a toga
Most men wore their hair short. Throughout the republic and early empire, they
were clean shaven. From the second century onward, older men adopted the
Greek fashion for growing a beard. In the later Empire men of all ages wore
beards.

Women wore a stola, a long tunic tied at the bust and falling to the ankles.
They too could drape large pieces of cloth, looking like a toga but called
a palla, over themselves.

Women’s hairstyles varied over the long period of Rome’s history. In earlier
times, women grew their hair long, then gathered it into a bun. Under the early
empire, upper class women’s hairstyles became more elaborate, with the hair
often braided before being gathered back into a bun. Later, hair styles were
more elaborate still, with many curls piled high on the head.

Wealthy Roman women also wore a lot of make-up, at least during the empire;
face creams and perfumes, red ocher for the lips and cheek and soot for
eyeliners were all applied with the aid of a polished metal mirror (plus slave).

Children’s clothing consisted of short tunics, usually but not always tied at the
waste.

Leather sandals were worn on the feet.

Ancient Roman clothing
AZTEC CIVILIZATION
AZTEC EMPIRE 
The Aztec Empire flourished between c. 1345 and 1521 CE and, at its greatest extent, covered
most of northern Mesoamerica. Aztec warriors were able to dominate their neighbouring states and
permit rulers such as Motecuhzoma II to impose Aztec ideals and religion across Mexico. Highly
accomplished in agriculture and trade, the last of the great Mesoamerican civilizations was also
noted for its art and architecture which ranks amongst the finest ever produced on the continent.
The Aztec state is actually the most well-documented Mesoamerican civilization with sources
including archaeology, native books (codices) and lengthy and detailed accounts from their
Spanish conquerors - both by military men and Christian clergy. These latter sources may not
always be reliable but the picture we have of the Aztecs, their institutions, religious
practices, Aztec warfare and daily life is a rich one and it continues to be constantly expanded with
details being added through the endeavours of 21st-century CE archaeologists and scholars.
HISTORY
Sometime around 1100 CE the city-states or altepetl which were spread over central
Mexico began to compete with each other for local resources and regional dominance.
Each state had its own ruler or tlatoani who led a council of nobles but these small urban
centres surrounded by farmland soon sought to expand their wealth and influence so that
by c. 1400 CE several small empires had formed in the Valley of Mexico. Dominant
amongst these were Texcoco, capital of the Acholhua region, and Azcapotzalco, capital of
the Tepenec. These two empires came face to face in 1428 CE with the Tepanec War. The
Azcapotzalco forces were defeated by an alliance of Texcoco, Tenochtitlan (the capital of
the Mexica) and several other smaller cities. Following victory, a Triple Alliance was
formed between Texcoco, Tenochtitlan and a rebel Tepanec city, Tlacopan. A campaign of
territorial expansion began where the spoils of war - usually in the form of tributes from
the conquered - were shared between these three great cities. Over time Tenochtitlan came
to dominate the Alliance, its ruler became the supreme ruler - the huey tlatoque ('high
king') - and the city established itself as the capital of the Aztec empire.
THE ARTS AND
ARCHITECTURE
he Importance of Art

The Aztecs thought of craftsmanship and extraordinary work as something that was
extremely valuable.  The Aztecs viewed the creations of art as outlets that helped
express their opinions - their doubts and their joys - about the human condition.  Art,
whether it is in the form of poetry, murals, music or paintings, was a fundamental
element of life in the era of the Aztecs as well as the in the world today.  Religion did
not have a clear explanation on the meaning of life, thus art allowed for an
exploration of these thoughts on life.  Gods and sacrificial victims were often
represented by stone statues.  Paintings on both paper and on walls (murals)
represented gods and religious ceremonies.
THE FORMS OF ART
 
•Literature
-- learned in the House of song and in the calmecac (the schools for noble children)
-- in writing and oral forms
-- made recordings of the Aztec people and history (were important because it preserved history and it was to be
passed down to future generations)

•Sculptures
-- miniature representational figures of dogs, turtles, jaguars, monkeys, rabbits, eagles, grasshoppers, and even
plants were only 2 or cm high
-- larger sculptures included skulls, human figures and deities

•Painting
-- used for hieroglyphs (symbols)
-- different colours symbolized information about the object (i.e. north represented by red or black; south
represented by white or blue; east represented by yellow or red; west represented by blue-green)

•Writings
-- books, manuscripts, ritual records, calendars, maps, astrological accounts, were found in Aztec libraries
-- paper was made from the bark off fig trees (first soaked in water then scraped apart and then pounded together by
a special stone that made the bark smooth
THE IMPORTANCE OF
ARCHITECTURE
Architecture of the Aztecs included temples,
houses, causeways (roads), and political
buildings.  Aztec architecture was monumental
and expressed an empire's values and its
civilization. Exhibiting power while keeping
strong religious beliefs was the purpose of the
architecture, which is noted by the designs of the
many palaces, shrines, temples and houses. Aztec
architecture presented a sense of order and
symmetry, and it's design elements were portrayals
of the power of its kingdom.

An example of Aztec architecture

These statues were found leaning against
the Aztec temple, Templo Mayor. Templo Mayor: Scale model of the Templo Mayor
of Tenochtitlan, showing the various stages as it was
enlarged over time.
Ruins of Templo Mayor: While the location of the ruins
of Templo Mayor was rediscovered in the early 20th
century, major excavations did not take place until 1978
to 1982.
An Aztec Sculpture of the
Mythological Serpent, Xiuhcoatl:
Xiuhcoatl, a mythological serpent in
Aztec religion, was a common subject of
Aztec Statue of Coatlicue, the Earth
Goddess: This sculpture is currently held in Calendar Stone: The monolith of the Stone of the Sun, also
the Museo Nacional de Antropología in known as the Aztec calendar stone (National Museum of
Mexico City. Anthropology and History, Mexico City).
AZTEC CLOTHING
All Aztecs dressed rather simply on a daily basis, according to their station in life. Men of both the noble and
common class wore a loincloth and a cape called a tilma. Variations in fabric, trim and how the tilma was worn
revealed the status of the wearer. Women of all classes wore a blouse and a long skirt with a sash at the waist. Very
young children wore nothing until the age of three or four, when boys started wearing the tilma and girls the blouse
and skirt. The girls’ skirts started out short, but grew to ankle length as a girl grew older.

A major difference between the classes is that the nobles could wear cotton garments and the commoners had to
make do with ayate cloth, made from the maguey cactus. Cotton was the finer cloth; in fact, cotton cloth was used as
currency. However, the cloth made from the maguey plant was comfortable and sturdy, suitable for people who
worked physically as most commoners did.

While sandals were worn by nobles, especially the males, most Aztecs went barefoot. Entering a temple or going
before the emperor required all to be barefoot.

All Aztecs of any class loved colorful clothing. With their far-flung trading networks, many plant dyes were
available, though only the wealthiest could afford the finest dyes. Blues, yellows, reds adorned the capes, blouses
and skirts of the Aztec people.
Aztec clothing
AZTEC WRITING
I​ n terms of writing, the Aztec did not have a developed alphabet with a fully
written language.  Instead, Nahuatl writing was based on other forms of writing
in Mesoamerica, such as: Olmec writing and Zapotec writing.  These forms of
writing were centered on the use of glyphs and pictographs, meaning the Aztec
wrote using images that represented the different words or themes of which they
wished to express.  For instance, the Aztec codices are important records of these
Aztec glyphs and pictograms.

The language of the Aztec is called Nahuatl, which was the dominant language of
Central Mexico from as early as the 7th century CE.  While historians and
linguists have identified several different varieties of Nahuatl, it is best known as
the language of the Aztecs from their rise to prominence in the 14th century until
they were conquered by Spanish conquistadors in 1521.  As well, there is some
disagreement among historians about where Nahuatl originated as a language but
it is generally accepted that the language first began in Central Mexico or a little
more to the north in Northern Mexico or the Southwestern United States.

Aztec system of writing

THE INCAS CIVILIZATION
ABOUT
The Inca civilization flourished in ancient Peru between c. 1400 and 1533 CE, and
their empire eventually extended across western South America from Quito in the
north to Santiago in the south, making it the largest empire ever seen in the Americas
and the largest in the world at that time. Undaunted by the often harsh Andean
environment, the Incas conquered people and exploited landscapes in such diverse
settings as plains, mountains, deserts, and tropical jungle. Famed for their unique art
and architecture, they constructed finely-built and imposing buildings wherever they
conquered, and their spectacular adaptation of natural landscapes with terracing,
highways, and mountaintop settlements continues to impress modern visitors at such
world famous sites as Machu Picchu.
INCA ARCHITECTURE & ROADS
Master stone masons, the Incas constructed large buildings, walls and fortifications using finely-worked blocks -
either regular or polygonal - which fitted together so precisely no mortar was needed. With an emphasis on clean
lines, trapezoid shapes, and incorporating natural features into these buildings, they have easily withstood the
powerful earthquakes which frequently hit the region. The distinctive sloping trapezoid form and fine masonry of
Inca buildings were, besides their obvious aesthetic value, also used as a recognisable symbol of Inca domination
throughout the empire.
One of the most common Inca buildings was the ubiquitous one-room storage warehouse the qollqa. Built in stone
and well-ventilated, they were either round and stored maize or square for potatoes and tubers. The kallanka was a
very large hall used for community gatherings. More modest buildings include the kancha - a group of small single-
room and rectangular buildings (wasi and masma) with thatched roofs built around a courtyard enclosed by a
high wall. The kancha was a typical architectural feature of Inca towns, and the idea was exported to conquered
regions. Terracing to maximise land area for agriculture (especially for maize) was another Inca practice, which they
exported wherever they went. These terraces often included canals, as the Incas were expert at diverting water,
carrying it across great distances, channelling it underground, and creating spectacular outlets and fountains.
Goods were transported across the empire along purpose-built roads using llamas and porters (there were no wheeled
vehicles). The Inca road network covered over 40,000 km and as well as allowing for the easy movement of armies,
administrators, and trade goods, it was also a very powerful visual symbol of Inca authority over their empire. The
roads had rest stations along their way, and there was also a relay system of runners (chasquis) who carried messages
up to 240 km in a single day from one settlement to another.
Inca architecture includes some of the most finely
worked stone structures from any
ancient civilization. Inca buildings were almost
always practical and pleasing to the eye. They are
also remarkably uniform in design with even grand
imperial structures taking on a similar look to more
humble buildings, the only significant differences
being their much larger scale and quality of finish.
Fond of duality in many other areas, another
feature of Inca architecture is that it typically
incorporated the natural landscape yet at the same
time managed to dominate it to create an often
spectacular blend of geometrical and natural forms.

Sacsahuaman stone wall made by the

Incas.
The zig-zag fortress of Sacsayhuaman.
Kallanka, Machu Picchu
 INCA ART
Although influenced by the art and techniques of the Chimu
civilization, the Incas did create their own distinctive style which
was an instantly recognisable symbol of imperial dominance across
the empire. Inca art is best seen in highly polished metalwork (in
gold - considered the sweat of the sun, silver - considered the tears
of the moon, and copper), ceramics, and textiles, with the last being
considered the most prestigious by the Incas themselves. Designs
often use geometrical shapes, are technically accomplished, and
standardized. The checkerboard stands out as a very popular
design. One of the reasons for repeated designs was
that pottery and textiles were often produced for the state as a tax,
and so artworks were representative of specific communities and
their cultural heritage. Just as today coins and stamps reflect a Moche sculptural portrait
nation's history, so, too, Andean artwork offered recognisable stirrup spout bottle
motifs which either represented the specific communities making
them or the imposed designs of the ruling Inca class ordering them.

Andean bronze bottle, ca. 1300–1532:
While this bottle was most likely made
by Chimú artisans, Inca metalworkers
adopted similar characteristics.
Golden plaque from Chimú culture: The Incans adopted
much of their metalworking characteristics from the metalwork
of Chimú. Because of their expertise, many metalworkers were
taken back to the capital city of Cuzco to continue their
metalworking for the emperor.
INCA JEWELLERY
Most of the Inca gold jewelry and artifacts was looted by the Spanish conquerors,
melted and taken away to Spain. The largest part of the pieces shown in museums have
been found by archaeologist in burial grounds. They show us to a great extent the
meaning and use of jewelry in the Inca civilization.
Gold jewelry was a measure of social status and to the proximity to god. The Sapa
Inca, members of the royal family, priests and government authorities would wear
jewelry on a daily basis. Commoners would wear it only in special occasions such as in
religious ceremonies and special celebrations.
There were specialized Inca jewelry artists who used different types of material to
create special pieces of jewelry. Among the most used materials are gold, silver,
copper, wood, seeds, feathers, seashells, gemstones, fine textile and other material
suitable for making jewelry.
 Inca gold necklace. Museo Oro del
Inca ornate gold nose ring. Museo Peru.
Oro del Peru.
TEXTILES IN THE INCA
EMPIRE
Textiles were widely prized within the Inca empire—in part because
they were somewhat easily transported—and were widely
manufactured for tax collection and trade purposes. Cloth and textiles
were divided among the classes in the Inca empire. Awaska was used
for common clothing and traditional household use and was usually
made from llama wool. Qunpi, a finer cloth, was divided into two
classes: it would either be made of alpaca wool and collected as tribute
for use by royalty, or it would be woven from vicuña wool and used for
royal and religious purposes. The finest textiles were reserved for the
rulers as markers of their status. For example, Inca officials wore
stylized tunics decorated with certain motifs, and soldiers of the Inca
army had specific uniforms.
Tupa Inca tunic from around 1550: An example
of Inca textiles. Inca officials wore stylized tunics
decorated with certain motifs, while soldiers of the
Inca army had specific uniforms.
Inca Geometric Textile Motif
SOCIAL STATUS AND CLOTHING
In America, if you see a man or woman dressed in expensive clothing
and jewelry, you might assume they are wealthy. Even if they aren't,
we tend to associate classy clothing and jewels with the upper class of
society. The Incas were no different. The way a person dressed in the
Inca society was directly related to their social class, which is a way
of dividing people up according to their social status and wealth.
There was a hierarchy, or a ranking of people from high to low, based
on their position in the Inca society. Inca nobles were the highest
class, followed by government leaders and commoners. Where a
person ranked within the hierarchy determined how they got to dress.
Let's find out more about Incan clothes and jewelry!
The wool from alpacas and llamas was woven by Incas to create
textiles. A textile is a type of cloth or woven fabric. Textiles were The Sapa Inca, at the top of
the hierarchy, wore fancy
never cut, but instead worn as a whole piece fastened with pins and a
clothing and grand gold
belt, similar to a poncho. In the later years of the Inca Empire, cotton
jewelry
was also used to make clothing.
Thank You..
ASSIGNMENT 1
o Students have to take one area of their interest from the
civilizations done in the class do research and present. The
mode of presentation could be in the form of essay or visual
board. Emphasis should be given on how the technologies
were helping in art activities.