AP Art History Ultimate Guide

Paleolithic Era

the Old Stone Age is also called as ___.

Neolithic Era

the New Stone Age is also called as ___.

Stele

an upright stone slab used to mark a grave or a site

Anthropomorphic

having characteristics of the human form, although the form itself is not human.

Cong

a tubular object with a circular hole cut into a square-like cross-section

Jade

appear in burials of people of high rank.placed in burials around bodies;Chinese linked this stone with the virtues of durability, subtlety, and beauty.

Shamanism

a religion based on the idea that the forces of nature can be contacted by intermediaries, called shamans, who go into a trance-like state to reach another state of consciousness.

Mortise and tenon

a groove cut into stone or wood that is shaped to receive a tenon, or projection, of the same dimensions

John Aubrey

Aubrey Holes were named after him.

First Phase

a phase for circular ditch 36 feet deep and 360 feet in diameter containing 56 pits called Aubrey Holes

Second Phase

a phase for wooden structure, perhaps roofed.

Third Phase

a phase for stone construction.

Menhirs

Large individual stones, erected singularly or in long rows stretching into the distance.

Megaliths

a stone of great size used in the construction of a prehistoric structure

Henge

a Neolithic monument, characterized by a circular ground plan. Used for rituals and marking astronomical events

Lintel

a horizontal beam over an opening

Post and Lintel Architecture

The most fundamental type of architecture in history.

Stylized

a schematic, nonrealistic manner of representing the visible world and its contents, abstracted from the way that they appear in nature

Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine

an important Mesoamerican artifact that is shaped like a dog but represents the sacrum bone of a camelid. It was used in religious rituals and is believed to have had symbolic significance in the region's mythology.

Anthropomorphic stele

A type of ancient stone monument that features a human-like figure or figures. They were often used in funerary contexts and are found in various cultures around the world.

Jade cong

Neolithic jade artifact. Hollow cylinder with circular perforations. Found in ancient Chinese tombs. Symbolic significance in Chinese culture. Believed to represent the universe and the cycle of life

The Ambum Stone

Artifact discovered in Papua New Guinea, believed to be from 1500 BCE. Made of greywacke stone and depicts a human-like figure with a bird's head. Significance is unknown.

Tlatilco female figurine

Small clay figurine from the Tlatilco culture in Central Mexico, dating back to 1200-900 BCE. Depicts a female with exaggerated hips and breasts, often holding a child. Considered an important artifact for understanding gender roles and social organization in ancient Mesoamerica.

Terra cotta fragment

A small piece of fired clay that has broken off from a larger object. Often used in archaeological excavations to reconstruct ancient pottery and sculptures.

Apollo 11 stones

A Paleolithic cave in Lascaux, France, known for its prehistoric wall paintings of bulls, horses, and other animals.

Great Hall of the Bulls

This prehistoric artwork is located in the Lascaux Caves of France. It features a collection of animal paintings, including bulls, horses, and deer.

Running horned woman

A prehistoric rock painting found in Mexico depicting a woman with horns, running. It is believed to date back to around 6000 BCE and is one of the earliest known examples of art in the Americas. The significance of the horns is unknown, but it is speculated that they may represent a spiritual or supernatural aspect of the woman.

Beaker with ibex motifs

It is a beaker that has ibex motifs on it. The ibex is a type of wild goat that was often depicted in ancient art. This beaker was likely used for drinking or storing liquids. It was made by skilled artisans in ancient times and is now a valuable artifact for archaeologists to study.

Stonehenge

Megalithic monument in England, built around 2500 BCE. Consists of large standing stones arranged in circular and horseshoe shapes. Purpose and methods of construction remain a mystery.

Ziggurats

The first great buildings of the ancient world; were made of baked mud, and they were tall, solid structures that dominated the flat landscape.

Lascaux

A network of caves near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne in southwestern France.

Lamassus

A Mesopotamian celestial being with a human head, bull's body, and wings.

Cuneiform

a system of writing in which the strokes are formed in a wedge or arrowhead shape

Apotropaic

having the power to ward off evil or bad luck

Sumerian art

It has realistic-look-ing figures acting out identifiable narratives.

Negative space

empty space around an object or a person, such as the cut-out areas between a figure’s legs or arms of a sculpture

Nudity

A sign of debasement; only slaves and prisoners are nude.

Hierarchy of scale

a system of representation that expresses a person’s importance by the size of his or her representation in a work of art

Local god

An advocate for a given city in the assembly of gods.

gods

In the Sumerian world, the _____ symbolized powers that were manifest in nature.

Temple

Became the center point of both civic and religious pride.

Bent-axis plan

ascending the stairs requires angular changes of direction to reach the temple

Cella

the main room of a temple where the god is housed

Whitewash

was used to disguise the mud appearance; hence the modern name of White Temple.

Uruk

May be the first true city in history; the first with monumental architecture.

Anu

The god of the sky, the most important Sumerian deity.

Votive

Offered in fulfillment of a vow or a pledge

Ground line

a baseline upon which figures stand

Ground plan

the map of a floor of a building

Register

a horizontal band, often on top of another, that tells a narrative story

Lapis lazuli

a deep-blue stone prized for its color

Shallow relief sculpture

an Assyrian specialty, although the lamassus are virtually three-dimensional as they project noticeably from the walls they are attached to.

Capital

the top element of a column

Apadana

an audience hall in a Persian palace

Hypostyle hall

An indication of one of the many cultures that inspired the complex.

White Temple and its ziggurat

Buttresses spaced across the surface; tapers downward so that rainwater washes off. Resembles a mountain. Bent-axis plan

Statues of votive figures

different heights; hands are folded - gesture of prayer; huge eyes; arms and feet cut away; placed in a temple to pray before a sculpture of a god.

Standard of Ur

wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red ­limestone; broad frontal shoulders; bodies in profile; twisted perspective. Reflects extensive trading network. Has two sides: War Side and Peace Side

Code of Hammurabi

Written in cuneiform | Akkadian language. One of the earliest law codes; 300 entries

Lamassu

Human-headed winged animal guardian figures. Meant to hold up the walls and arch of a gate. Meant to ward off enemies both visible and invisible. Carved from a single piece of stone.

Apadana of Darius and Xerxes

Built for lavish receptions and festivals. Proudly proclaim this complex as the seat of a great empire. Built by Darius I and Xerxes I. Destroyed by Alexander the Great

Pharaoh

a king of ancient Egypt

Aton

Represented as a sun disk emanating rays.

Rosetta Stone

Modern Egyptology began with the 1799 discovery of the _____, from which hieroglyphics could, for the first time, be translated into modern languages.

King Tutankhamun

The feverish scramble to uncover Egyptian artifacts culminated in 1922 with the discovery of _______’s tomb by Howard Carter.

Necropolis

literally, a “city of the dead,” a large burial area

Mastabas

A simple tomb that has four sloping sides and an entrance for mourners to bring offerings to the deceased.

Engaged column

a column that is not freestanding but attached to a wall

Reserve column

a column that is cut away from rock but has no support function

hypostyle hall

The god was housed in a sacred area just beyond, which was surrounded by a forest of columns, called a ____.

clerestory

Some of the columns were higher than others, allowing limited light and air to enter the complex, an area called a ___.

Papyrus

a tall aquatic plant whose fiber is used as a writing surface in ancient Egypt

Sarcophagi

These are stone coffins.

Hieroglyphics

It describes the deceased and his or her accomplishments in great detail, without which the dead would have incomplete afterlives.

Relief sculpture

sculpture which projects from a flat background.

bas-relief

A very shallow relief sculpture

Ground line

a baseline upon which figures stand

Register

a horizontal band, often on top of another, that tells a narrative story

Ka

the soul, or spiritual essence, of a human being that either ascends to heaven or can live in an Egyptian statue of itself

Axial plan

a building with an elongated ground plan

Pylon

a monumental gateway to an Egyptian temple marked by two flat, sloping walls between which is a smaller entrance

Clerestory

a roof that rises above lower roofs and thus has window space beneath carved into a surface so that the figures seem to project forward

Sunken relief

a carving in which the outlines of figures are deeply

Peristyle

a colonnade surrounding a building or enclosing a courtyard

Ankh

an Egyptian symbol of life

Amarna style

art created during the reign of Akhenaton, which features a more relaxed figure style than in Old and Middle Kingdom art

Ammit

The hippopotamus/lion figure; between the scales, will eat the heart of an evil soul.

Thoth

A god who has the head of a bird; the stenographer writing down these events in the hieroglyphics that he invented.

Osiris

god of the underworld, enthroned on the right; will subject the deceased to a day of judgment.

Hunefer

A scribe who had priestly functions.

Palette of King Narmer

Represents the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under one ruler. Schematic lines delineate in the muscle structure. Hieroglyphics identify him in the cartouche; used to prepare eye makeup | commemorative

Seated Scribe

Not a pharaoh; has high cheekbones, hollow cheeks, and a distinctive jawline. Created for a tomb at Saqqara as a provision for the ka.

Menkaura, Khafre and Khufu

Name of the Three Great Pyramids

Great Pyramids

Giant monuments to dead pharaohs. Preservation of the body and tomb contents for eternity. Served as the king’s palace in the afterlife. Shape must have been influenced by a benben.

Great Sphinx

Carved in situ from a huge rock. Body of a lion, head of a pharaoh/god; protecting the pyramids behind it

King Menkaura and queen

two figures attached to a block of stone; seem to stride forward; simultaneously are anchored to the stone behind; receptacle for the ka of the pharaoh and his queen.

Temple of Amun-Re

Axial Plan. Pylon Temple | Hypostyle halls. Massive lintels, columns. Temple for the worship of a god. Temple represents the beginnings of the world

Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut

A sandstone partly carved into a rock cliff. Three colonnaded terraces and two ramps. Long horizontals and verticals of the terraces and colonnades repeat the patterns of the cliffs behind; patterns of dark and light in the colonnade are reflected in the cliffs.

Kneeling statue of Hatshepsut

Made of red granite. Male pharaonic attributes. Wears the white crown of Upper Egypt. Depicted in male costume of a pharaoh

Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters

Amarna Style; a sunken relief; state religion was changed by Akhenaton to the worship of Aton> Having a private relationship with their new god