ANCIENT CHINESE CIVILIZATION

INTRODUCTION
 China is one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations that began
around 1500 BC.
 There are three main rivers :
1. Yellow river in the north
2. Yangtze river in south
3. Pearl River
 These rivers rise in the mountains of Tibet and flow eastward across
China.
 The basins of those rivers are separated in the west by mountains,
which gave way to hills and finally disappear altogether in the flat
country near the coast.
 China has lot of mountains, forests and tracts of jungle that make it to be
isolated from others. However, it is not completely tp be sealed off.
 For many centuries, esp. 7th-14 AD China was the world’s most
advanced civilization.
YELLOW
RIVER
YANGTZE
RIVER
• Ancient Era

- Xia Dynasty (2100-1600 B.C.)

- Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.)

- Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 B.C.)

Spring & Antumn Period

Waring States Period

 Ancient Times
Shang Dynasty
• China in the Xia & Zhou dynasties
consisted of nine Zhou.

• Shang dynasty featured 31 kings, the

longest dynasty in chines history.

• During the Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty

nation was rulled overall by the
“THE SON OF HEVEN”.

• The country was divided into

competing states Each with a
hereditary head, variously styled
“prince”, “duke” or “king”.
• Imperial Era (221 B.C. – 1911 B.C.)
- Qin Dynasty
- Han Dynasty
- Southern & Northern Dynasties
- Sui Dynasty
- Tang Dynasty
- Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms
- Song Dynasty
- Yuan Dynasty
- Ming Dynasty
- Qing Dynasty
DYNASTIES
 SHANG DYNASTY
 ZHOU/ CHOU DYNASTY
 QIN DYNASTY
 HAN DYNASTY
 SUI DYNASTY
 TANG DYNASTY
 SONG/SONG DYNASTY
 YUAN DYNASTY
 MING DYNASTY
 QING/CHING DYNASTY
 THE SHANG DYNASTY
1523-1027 B.C

The Shang Were the first civilized

Chinese society

It lasted almost six hundred years

with thirty-one kings over
seventeen generations.

The chief of the Shang tribe, Tang

established the Shang Dynasty and
made Bo (present Caoxian County in
Shandong Province) his capital city.

This dynasty generally located at

the northern part of China and
around the eastern parts of the
Yellow River.
 The Shang worshipped a figure
called "Shang Ti," or "Lord on
High.“
 This supreme god ruled over
lesser gods of the sun, the moon,
the wind, the rain, and other
natural forces. Shang-Ti also
regulated human affairs as well
as ruling over the material
universe.
 The Shang were natives, very closely
linked to indigenous Neolithic people.
Therefore, most of them sustained
themselves with agriculture and animal
domestication.
 The capital was headed by a king, who RULING CLASS
was also a head priest, military King & bureaucrats
commander, etc.
NOBLES
 Social structure :
Warrior
as demonstrated in the diagram.
 After the death of King Wuding(the last
king of Shang), the prime day of the PEASANTS
Shang Dynasty did not go on a long time. Semi free slave
Toward the end, internal conflicts
intensified and ducal states rebelled. The
last Shang ruler, who was a despot was SERFS & SLAVES
dethroned by the army of slaves in the
11th century

BC.
THE ZHOU DYNASTY
1027-221 B.C

 When the Chou overthrew the Shang,

they led China into the historical period.
The invented a new system of authority to
 legitimize their power called (mandate of
Heaven). This system became later an
integral aspect of Chinese theories of
authority
 Mandate of Heaven means
 They extended Chinese rule beyond the
boundaries of the Shang.
They adopt much of Shang culture.
 In fact, most of the Zhou were farmers
 like the Shang. But, they were also
culturally masters of bronze and horse-
drawn chariots.
Roads and canals were built to import

 The Zhou could not rule the whole of their new
territory directly so they sent out relatives or
trusted friends to represent them.
 These Zhou representatives became powerful in
their own right; some of them became just as
powerful as the Zhou emperors.
 The king of the Zhou gave huge tracts of land to
the members of the royal family and to others
who had demonstrated their talent and loyalty.

 The king at that time was:

 A Landlord
 A supreme religious leader
 A political leader

 New careers were developed like ministers,

officials, civil workers, tax collectors and many
more.
 The Zhou also brought their religion with them.
They banned human sacrifice. They practiced the
cult of Heaven. The worship of sun and stars was
the most important thing. Some of the popular
Shang gods became incorporated into this system..
 In 771 B.C, The Zhou’s king had been defeated
and killed by the rebel lords.
QIN DYNASTY
221 B.C – 206 B.C
The Qin came to power in 221 B.C. They were
one of the western states that existed during
the Warring States Period. They conquered
the other Warring States, unifying China for
the first time.

The Qin are sometimes called the Ch'in, which

is probably where the name China originated.

The Qin made many changes that were meant

to unify China and aid in administrative tasks.

The Qin implemented a Legalist form of

government, which was how the former
Qin territory had been governed. The area
was divided up in 36 commanderies which
were then subdivided into counties.
 These commanderies had a civil governor, a
military commander, and an imperial
inspector.

 The Legalist form of government involved rewards and

punishments to keep order. Also, the state had
absolute control over the people, and the former
nobility lost all of their power.

 The Qin rule came to an end shortly after the First

Emperor's death. Shi huangdi had only ruled for 37
years, when he died suddenly in 210 B.C. His son took
the throne as the Second Emperor, but was quickly
overthrown and the Han dynasty began in 206 B.C.
SHI HUANG DI
Qin Shi Huangdi, named Ying Zheng,
was King Zheng of Qin during the
Warring States Period prior to
becoming an emperor.
He unified China and proclaimed
himself the First (shi) Emperor
(huangdi) of the Qin Dynasty, as he was
the first Chinese sovereign able to rule
the whole country. He reigned from 246
BC to 210 BC.

Huang" and "Di" were titles once reserved

for the eight legendary kings (three Huang
and five Di), so by employing the term
"Huangdi", Ying Zheng indicated that he
was even greater than the eight legendary
kings combined.

He believed that his family would rule

China forever and so he wanted his
successors to be titled "Emperor of
China II", "Emperor of China III", etc.
 The First Emperor was almost always portrayed as a brutal tyrant, superstitious, and
 sometimes even as a mediocre ruler.

 He gave China a common currency and a standardized systems of weights and measures,
writing characters and local prefecture administration.

 Endless labor in the later years of his reign (including the link-up of the Great Wall of China and
construction of the first canal (Lingqu) in today's Guangxi Province, an inconclusive campaign
against the Huns, and the widening and paving of countless roads all over China) started to
provoke widespread discontent.

 The emperor was still barely able to maintain stability by his tight grip on every aspect of lives
of the Chinese. He also travelled frequently to large cities in Northern China to inspect the
efficiency of the bureaucracy and to symbolize the presence of Qin's prestige.

 Nevertheless his trips provided chances for assassins, the most famous of whom was Zhang
Liang.
THE HAN
DYNASTY
206 B.C – 220 A.D

 The history of the Han Chinese ethnic group is closely tied to that of China. Han Chinese trace
their ancestry back to the Huaxia, people who lived along the Yellow River in northern China.

 The reign of the Han Dynasty, lasting 400 years, is commonly considered within China to be
one of the greatest periods in the entire history of China.

 The Han empire began in 206 B.C. when Liu Pang, prince of Han, defeated the Qin army in the
valley of Wei. The defeat was part of a larger rebellion that began after the First Emporer's
death. The people were dissatisfied with the tyranny of the Qin leaders and their Legalist
form of government.

 There was a period of great military expansion. It expanded beyond the borders of Vietnam and
Korea. The expansion also led to trade with the people of inner Asia. Thereafter, the Silk Road
was developed.

To make sure travel was safe, the army took control of parts of North Vietnam and North
Korea.
• Sui Dynasty

– The Sui brought China together again

and set up many institutions that were to
be adopted by their successors, the
Tang.

• Tang Dynasty

– The Tang introduced a new system into

the Chinese government, called the "Equal
Field System.

– Chang'an (modern Xi'an) the national

capital, is thought to have been the
world's largest city at the time. The Tang
and the Han are often referred to as the
most prosperous periods of Chinese
history.
 Song Dynasty

• In 960, the
Song Dynasty (960-1279)
gained power over most of
China and established its
capital in Kaifeng, starting a
period of economic
prosperity,

• China's first permanent standing navy was

assembled and provided an admiral's office at
Dinghai in 1132 AD, under the reign of Emperor
Renzong of Song.
 Yuan Dynasty

• Kublai Khan, grandson of

Genghis Khan, wanting to
adopt the customs of China,
established the
Yuan Dynasty.

• This was the first dynasty to

rule the whole of China from
Beijing as the capital.
 Ming Dynasty
• Emperor Yong-le strenuously tried to extend China's
influence beyond its borders by demanding other rulers
send ambassadors to China to present tribute.

• A large navy was built, including four-massed ships

displacing 1,500 tons. A standing army of 1 million troops was
created. The Chinese armies conquered Vietnam for around
20 years.

• The Grand Canal was expanded, and proved to be a

stimulus to domestic trade.

• During the Ming dynasty the last construction on the Great

Wall was undertaken to protect China from foreign invasions.
 Qing Dynasty

• Emperor Kangxi ordered the creation of

the most complete dictionary of Chinese characters ever put
together at the time.

• The Manchus set up the "Eight Banners" system in an

attempt to avoid being assimilated into Chinese society.

• Banner membership was to be based on traditional

Manchu skills such as archery, horsemanship, and
frugality.
WRITING
SYSTEM The singular aspect of Shang civilization is
 their invention of writing. Almost all the
written records of the Shang have
disappeared, for the court records were
kept on strips of bamboo.

 The writing system was originally

pictographic, that is, words were
represented by pictures that fairly
closely resembled the meaning of
the word. The picture for "sun," for
instance, looked much like the sun.

 This pictographic writing

eventually developed into the
more complex ideographic writing
that we are more familiar with.
 The basic principles behind Chinese
writing have remained unchanged for
thousands of years.

 Each character consists of a number of

strokes or lines set inside an imaginary
square.

 Chinese is an extremely ancient system of

writing. What is even more amazing that it
only went through relatively small amount of
change through its 3500 years of evolution,
which can be divided into several major
stages: Jiaguwen,or Oracle Bone Script,
Xiaozhuan or Lesser Seal
 ORACLE BONE
 Oracle bones provide us with one of the
earliest examples of writing in Ancient
China. They also have given historians
useful information about the Shang
dynasty.

 Oracle bones were usually made from

the shoulder blades of oxen, or
sometimes the shell of a tortoise was
used. They were used to divine the
future like leadership, harvest, weather
etc.

 Thousands of bones from the Shang

dynasty have been unearthed with writing
on them.

 Many of the characters on these bones

still exist (in a slightly altered state)
today.
 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
 Pottery

• The earliest form of art we know from

China was pottery - clay pitchers and
bowls.

• Most of the best early pottery comes

from a place called Ban’po and it is
named after that place. This Ban'po
pottery was handmade.

Jar from Ban'po, 4800 BC

CHINESE CONTRIBUTIONS
 DYNASTY SHANG
 DYNASTY ZHOU
 DYNASTY QIN
 DYNASTY HAN
 THE SHANG DYNASTY
1523-1027 B.C

 Writing system.
 Ceramic production.
 Bronze objects.
 High-quality silk fabric.
 The Shang people also made significant progress in medicine,
mathematic, transportation and astronomy. During this period,
important events were recorded on tortoise shell and animal
bone using Oracle Script, which is the oldest known Chinese
form of written communication.
 THE ZHOU DYNASTY
1027-221 B.C

 Memorable poetry and prose.

 Full records of daily activity.
 The development of iron, and tools made of iron.
 Chinese astrology.
 Horse-drawn Chariot.
Grass tree know spring soon return Every
way red purple contend beauty Poplar
flower elm seeds without beauty Only
know overflow sky make snow fly
The plants all know that spring will soon return,
All kinds of red and purple contend in beauty.
The poplar blossom and elm seeds are not
beautiful,
They can only fill the sky with flight like snow.
Horse-Drawn Chariot
 DYNASTY QIN
221 B.C – 206 B.C

 Standardization of the language and

writing of all over China.
 Currency became standardized.
 Great Wall of China.
 Shi HuangDi mausoleum and Terra-cotta
Army.
 THE HAN DYNASTY
206 B.C – 220 A.D

 Paper invented.
 Silk Road.
 Compass.
 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 Wei,Jin, South & North
Dynasties(220-589)

Chinese Clothing during Qin and Han

Dynasties(221 B.C.--220 A.D.)
Chinese Clothing during Tang Dynasty(618-907)
Chinese Clothing during Song, Yuan, Ming Dynasties
Chinese Clothing from 1930s till Modern Era
ANCIENT GREEK CIVILIZATION
Greek Bronze Age :
- Helladic civilization.
- Cycladic civilization.
- Minoan civilization.
- Myceanean
civilization.

Ancient Greek:
- Greek Dark Ages.
- Archaic Greece.
- Classical Greece.
- Hellenistic Greece.
- Roman Greece.
• Ancient Greece was a period of Greek history from the Greek Dark Ages of
the 12th–9th centuries BC to AD 600.

• Greek urban poleis began to form in the 8th century BC, ushering in the
Archaic period and colonization of the Mediterranean Basin.

• This was followed by the period of Classical Greece, an era that began with
the Greco-Persian Wars, lasting from the 5th to 4th centuries BC.
•
• Due to the conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic
civilization flourished from Central Asia to the western end of the
Mediterranean Sea.
• The Hellenistic period came to an end with the conquests and annexations
of the eastern Mediterranean world by the Roman Republic, which
established the Roman province of Macedonia in Roman Greece, and later
the province of Achaea during the Roman Empire.
• The first civilizations to develop in Europe were extensions of the
early civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
• Europe's earliest major culture was the Minoan civilization of Crete,
†
the largest of the Greek islands. Minoan culture was strongly
influenced by Egypt.
• Greece is a mountainous and rocky peninsula with little farmland, but
†
its long irregular coastline provided fine harbours. Many Greeks
turned to the sea to make a living by fishing and trading.
• Greeks established colonies and dominated trade in the eastern
†
Mediterranean and Black Seas.
• Greek communities isolated by mountains developed into
independent self-governing city-states that often fought one another.
 Minoan Civilization:
• The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilisation on the
island of Crete and other Aegean Islands which flourished from c.
2700 to c. 1450 BC, before a late period of decline, finally ending
around 1100 BC.
• The name "Minoan" derives from the mythical King Minos and was
coined by Evans, who identified the site at Knossos with the
labyrinth and the Minotaur.
• Minoan culture, is a half understood mystery. The language of the
Minoans, known as 'Linear A', has never been deciphered. The lack
of a decipherable language has made attempts at a definite
description of Minoan life and culture nearly impossible.
• However, what archaeologists have learned about Minoan life comes
from the exceptional art, architecture, and tool artefacts of the
Minoans.
• The Minoan civilization is particularly notable for its large and
elaborate palaces, some of which were up to four stories high,
featured elaborate plumbing systems and were decorated with
frescoes.

• The most notable Minoan palace is that of Knossos, followed by

that of Phaistos.

• The Minoan period saw extensive trade between Crete, Aegean

and Mediterranean settlements, particularly the Near East.
Through their traders and artists, the Minoans' cultural influence
reached beyond Crete to the Cyclades, the Old Kingdom of Egypt,
copper-bearing Cyprus, Canaan and the Levantine coast and
Anatolia.

• Some of the best Minoan art is preserved in the city of Akrotiri on

the island of Santorini, which was destroyed by the Minoan
eruption.
Palace of
Knossos:
 ‘Making merry’ fresco from Knossos.

The ‘Prince of Lilies’ Fresco

from Knossos.
 Pottery:
• Early Minoan ceramics were characterized by patterns of spirals, triangles,
curved lines, crosses, fish bones, and beak-spouts.
• During the Middle Minoan period, naturalistic designs (such as fish, squid, birds
and lilies) were common.
• In the Late Minoan period, flowers and animals were still characteristic but
more variety existed.

Marine style Minoan

Storage Jars at pottery jug
Knossos.
Minoan fresco, showing a fleet and
settlement
 • The Minoan trade in
saffron has left few
material remains.
• According to Evans, the
saffron (a sizable Minoan
industry) was used for
dye.
• The saffron may have had
a religious significance.

The "saffron-gatherer" fresco,

from the Minoan site of Akrotiri on
Santorini
 • The palace contains many statuettes.
• The Minoans seem to have prominently
worshiped a Great Goddess, which led to the
belief that their society was matriarchal.
However it is now known that this was not the
case; the Minoan pantheon featured many
deities, among which a young, spear-wielding
male god is also prominent.
• Goddesses seem to include a mother goddess
of fertility, a goddess of animals and female
protectors of cities, the household, the harvest
and the underworld.
• They are often represented by serpents, birds,
poppies or an animal on the head.
Snake Goddess.
 Myceanean Civilization:

• Mycenaean Greece, the period from approximately

1600–1100 BC.
• It represents the first advanced civilization in mainland
Greece, with its palatial states, urban organization, works
of art, and writing system.
• The most prominent site was Mycenae, in the Argolid,
after which the culture of this era is named. Mycenaean
and Mycenaean-influenced settlements also appeared in
Epirus, Macedonia, on islands in the Aegean Sea, on the
coast of Asia Minor, the Levant, Cyprus and Italy.
• The Mycenaean Greeks introduced several
innovations in the fields of engineering, architecture
and military infrastructure, while trade over vast
areas of the Mediterranean was essential for the
Mycenaean economy.

• The Mycenaean period became the historical setting

of much ancient Greek literature and mythology,
including the Trojan Epic Cycle.
The Lion Gate, the main entrance Two Mycenaean chariot
of the citadel of Mycenae. warriors on a fresco from
Pylos.
 Burial Rituals:

• New types of burials and more imposing ones have

been unearthed, which display a great variety of
luxurious objects.

• Among the various burial types, the shaft grave

became the most common form of elite burial, a
feature that gave the name to the early period of
Mycenaean Greece.

• Among the Mycenaean elite, deceased men were

usually laid to rest in gold masks and funerary
Death mask, known as the
armour, and women in gold crowns and clothes Mask of Agamemnon, Grave
gleaming with gold ornaments. Circle A, Mycenae, 16th
century BC, probably the
most famous artefact of
Mycenaean Greece.
 Frescoes:

• The painting of the Mycenaean age was much influenced by

that of the Minoan age.
• Fragments of wall paintings have been found in or around the
palaces (Pylos, Mycenae, Tiryns).
• The largest complete wall painting depicting three female
figures, probably goddesses, was found in the so-called ‘cult
center’at Mycenae.
• Various themes are represented: hunting, bull leaping, battle
scenes, processions, etc. Some scenes may be part of
mythological narratives, but if so their meaning eludes us.
Other frescoes include geometric or stylised motifs.
Fresco depicting a female figure in the Fresco showing three female figures.
acropolis of Mycenae.
 Pottery:

• The Mycenaean Greeks produced in large quantities a variety of

diversely-styled vessels such as stirrup jars, large bowls,
alabastron, krater and stemmed cups (or kylikes) resembling
champagne glasses.

• Mycenaean drinking vessels such as the stemmed cups contained

single decorative motifs such as a shell, an octopus or a flower
painted on the side facing away from the drinker.

• The Mycenaean Greeks also painted entire scenes (called

"Pictorial Style") on their vessels depicting warriors, chariots,
horses and deities.
Mycenaean palace amphora, Mycenaean stirrup vase found in the
found in the Argolid. acropolis of Ugarit, Eastern
Mediterranean.
 Religion:

• Temples and shrines are strangely rare

in the Mycenaean archaeological sites.
Small shrines have been identified in
Asine, Berbati, Malthi and Pylos, while
a number of sacred enclosures have
been located near Mycenae, Delphi and
Amyklae.

• Records mention a number of

sanctuaries dedicated to a variety of
deities, at least in Pylos and Knossos.
They also indicate that there were The Lady of Phylakopi;
various religious festivities including wheel-made pottery
figurine of a goddess or
offerings. priestess from the West
Shrine in Phylakopi.
 Metalwork:

Seal.
Silver repoussé rhyton with Gold earring.
gold horns, from Grave
Circle A at Mycenae.
 Greek Dark Ages:
• The Greek Dark Ages, is the period of Greek history from the end of the
Mycenaean palatial civilization around 1100 BC to the first signs of the Greek
poleis, city states, in the 9th century BC.

• During this time the culture of Greece dwindled.

• Many elements left from Mycenaean culture were destroyed, and writing, which
had been so important during the Mycenaean, was not practiced.

• Trading was destroyed. Trade with Asia Minor, the Middle East, and Egypt
stopped entirely.

• With the collapse of the palatial centres, no more monumental stone buildings
were built and the practice of wall painting may have ceased.
 Pottery:

• The decoration on Greek pottery after about 1100 BC lacks the figurative
decoration of Mycenaean ware and is restricted to simpler, generally geometric
styles.
 Burial Rituals:

• Most of the information about the period comes from burial sites and the grave
goods contained within them.
• In Lefkandi on the island of Euboea is a burial ground, the largest 10th-century
building yet known from Greece. Sometimes called ‘the heroon’, this long
narrow building, contained two burial shafts.
• In one were placed four horses and the other contained a cremated male
buried with his iron weapons and a woman, heavily adorned with gold
jewellery. The man's bones were placed in a bronze jar from Cyprus, with
hunting scenes on the cast rim. The woman was clad with gold coils in her hair,
rings, gold breast plates, an heirloom necklace and an ivory-handled dagger at
her head.
• Rich members of the community were cremated and buried close to the
eastern end of the building.
Finds from an early geometric Burial of a Ancient Greek pair of
wealthy woman. terracotta boots. Early
geometric period cremation
burial of a woman.
 Archaic Greece:

• Archaic Greece was the period in Greek history from the eighth
century BC to 480 BC.

• The Archaic period saw developments in Greek politics, economics,

international relations, warfare, and culture.

• It laid the groundwork for the Classical period, both politically and
culturally.

• It was in the Archaic period that the Greek alphabet developed, that
the earliest surviving Greek literature was composed, that
monumental sculpture and red-figure pottery began in Greece.

• Athens and Sparta were the important cities.

The Sphinx of Naxos, on its Stele of Aristion, Relief with Heroes and
12.5 meters Ionic column. heavy-infantryman. Worshipers.
Ruins of the Temple of Heracles,
The Temple of Hera at Olympia.
Agrigento, Sicily.
 Coinage:

• At the beginning of the Archaic period, coinage had not yet been
invented.

• Coinage was invented in Lydia around 650 BC. It was quickly

adopted by Greek communities.

• The images on coins initially changed rapidly, but increasingly

each community settled on a single image or set of images.
Some of these were the symbol or image of an important deity in
the city or visual puns on the city's name, but in many cases
their meaning is obscure.
 Silver stater of
Aegina.

The earliest coinage of A late Archaic coin of Athens.

Athens.
 Sculpture:

• Life-size human sculpture in hard stone

began in Greece in the Archaic period.

• The best-known are the kouros and kore,

near life-size frontal statues of a young man
or woman.

• Around 650 BC, Daedalic style made an

appearance in Greek sculpture. This style
consisted most noticeably of a geometric
pattern of female subjects' hair framing
their face. On male sculptures they were
often posed with one foot in front, as if in
motion.

The kore known as the Dedication of

Nikandre is probably the oldest to
survive.
 Pottery:

• The period saw a shift in the

decoration of Greek pottery from
abstract to figurative styles.

• The development of the orientalizing

style, which seems to have come
from goods imported to Greece from
the Near East.

• As the Archaic period drew to a

close, red-figure pottery was
invented in Athens.
 Classical Greek:

• Classical Greece was a period of

around 200 years (5th and 4th
centuries BC) in Greek culture.

• Classical Greek culture, particularly

that of Athens, is famed for its
beautiful arts, architecture,
philosophy, theatre, Olympic games,
and for creating the first democracy.

• Classical Greece is usually

considered the principal source of
Western Civilization.

The Pantheon in Athens, a

temple for Athena.
Early Athenian coin, depicting the Greek gold and bronze rhyton with
head of Athena on the obverse and head of Dionysus
her owl on the reverse.
A soldier's helmet on Bronze statue, thought to
black-figure pottery. be either Poseidon or
Zeus.
 Hellenistic Greece:

• The Hellenistic period lasted from 323 BC, which marked the end
of the wars of Alexander the Great, to the annexation of Greece
by the Roman Republic in 146 BC.

• The great centres of Hellenistic culture were Alexandria and

Antioch.
Hellenistic Greek tomb door bas A Hellenistic Greek mosaic depicting the god
relief. Dionysos as a winged daimon riding on a tiger,
from the House of Dionysos at Delos in the
South Aegean region of Greece.
Coins depicting face of various rulers.
 Roman Greece:

• The Greek peninsula came under Roman rule during the

146 BC conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth.
The theatre of Epidauros.
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:

• WATER MASSES
Touching upon the Arabian sea, the Aral
sea, the black sea, the Caspian sea, the
Mediterranean sea, the Persian gulf and
the red sea

• RIVERS Euphrates,
Tigris, Indus Surrounded by the
Arabian
desert, Caucasus Mountains

• CLIMATE
Middle Eastern climate is generally hot and dry, with the exception of the
Fertile Crescent river-valley with fairly mild winters lesser in the more
mountainous terrain
• 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 who would come later Ancient Persian civilization
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.
 • ChogHa Z a n b i l (1250 BC)
• Built under the direction of the Elamite ruler Untash- Gal
during the Middle Elamite period.
• Its irregularly shaped outer wall extends
approximately 3,900 by 2,600 feet (1,200 by 800
meters) around the inner sanctum and 13 temple
buildings, of which only four are well conserved.
• The complex was still unfinished, however by about 640
B.C, when Chogha Zanbil was
attacked, looted, and heavily damaged by the forces of
the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.
• Afterward it fell into ruin.
 • Pasargad com plex
• The p o l i t i c a l c a p i t a l o f C y r u s t h e g r e a t ,
m i g h t be c o n s i d e r e d a c o m p l e t e
m a n i fe s t a t i o n o f P e r s i a n a r c h i t e c t u r e .
• P a s a r g a d is n o w l a r g e l y in ruins , b u t one can
see t h a t h o w im p o s in g i t m u s t have been in
m a ny r e s p e c t s .
 • Persepolis
• Persepolis was a sacred national
s h r in e , p o t e n t sensing f o r t h e s p r i n g
f e s t i v a l , Now Ruz.
• The g r e a t h a l l o f P e r s e p o l i s c o n ta i n e d
t h i r t y - s i x c o l u m n s (in s i x r o w s ) , 18.5m high.
• The w a l l s w e r e o f m u d b r i c k a n d
o r n a m e nte d w it h painted and f l o r a l
designs.
• I v o r y, g o l d , a n d p r e c i o u s s t o n e s w e r e a m o n g
m a t e r i a l s u s e d in t h e m o s a i c w o r k s o f t h e
hall.
 • Palace o f ArdAshir
• In m a ny w a y s t h e S a s s a n i d d y n a s t i c p e r i o d
(224-651 CE) w i t n e s s e d t h e h ig h e st
a c h ieve m e nt o f Pe r s i a n c i v i l i za t i o n .
• I t is c e r t a i n l y t h e o l d e s t S a s s a n i d
palace.
• It w a s built by A rd e s h i r I fo u n d e r o f the
S a s s a n i d e m p i re , in Gur.
• The f i r s t S a s s a n i d c a p i t a l .
 • PERSIAN GARDEN
• The Persian Garden refers to a tradition and style of garden design
which originated in Persia and which influenced the design of
gardens throughout the larger region.
• The origin of Persian gardens may date back as far as 4000 BCE.
• The decorated pottery of that time displays the typical
cross plan of the Persian garden.
• The outline of Cyrus the Great’ garden, built around 500 BCE, is still
viewable today.
 • WIND TOWER
• A w i n d t o w e r is a c h i m n e y - l i ke s t r u c t u r e
p o s i t i o n e d a b o v e t h e house t o c a t c h t h e
p r e v a i l i n g w in d .
• The t o w e r c a tc h e s t h e w in d , d r i v i n g a
hot, d r y b r e e z e i n t o t h e house.
• The f l o w o f t h e incoming a i r is then
direc ted a c ro s s the v e r t i c a l shaft f r o m
t h e q a n at .
 PERSIAN LANGUAGE AND WRITING
Ancient Persians had many languages and writing systems;
• ELAMITE was the official language of the Persian Empire from
600 BCE – 400 BCE.
• OLD PERSIAN was created by Darius I between 522 BCE and 486
BCE.
• AKKADIAN 2500 BCE – 1900 BCE
• ARAMAIC 1000 BCE – 600 BCE
Scripts Writings were usually on clay tablets (sometimes they
wrote on cliffs). Used special writing instruments.
Writing was done by scribes, High level people were illiterate.
Writing was beneath them.
• Calligraphy
• It is considered to be one of the
most eye catching and
fascinating manifestations
of Persian culture.
• Nas'taliq is the most beautiful
Persian Calligraphy style and also
technically the most complicated.
• Even the second popular Persian
calligraphy style i.e. "Cursive
Nas'taliq" or "Shekasteh
Nas'taliq“ noticeably follows the
same rules as Nas'taliq, with more
flexibility of course.
 • Pottery
• The taste and talent of the
Persian people can be seen
through the designs of their
earthen wares.
• Ceramic art mean art objects
such as figures, tiles, and
tableware made from clay and
other raw materials by the
process of pottery.
• One major emphasis in ceramic
development in the Muslim
world was the use of tile and
decorative tilework.
 P E R S I A N FA S I O N
• Throughout the ancient world including Persia, both
men and women used make-up, wore jewellery and
colored their body parts.
• Moreover, their garments were both elaborate and
colorful.
• Rather than being marked by gender, clothing styles
were distinguished by class and status.
• The typical dress was a loose long sheath tightened at
the waist and pleated at the knee
 PERSIAN FOOTWEAR
• A Galesh is traditional
footwear of Persia.
• The "Galesh" are always hand
woven and with specific fabrics.
• It is what people in Persia used
to wear before the proliferation
of the
modern shoe.
• Galesh are still made
today, but under the guise of
handicrafts and cultural
produce.
PERSIAN JEWELLERY
• Old Persia were typically covered in
public, wearing the long black cloak
or veil called chador, at family
gatherings or special occasions in
the home, women would show off
their finest jewelry.
• Popular jewelry items included
gold or silver
bracelets, necklaces, and finger
rings, decorated
gems, pearls, amber, lapis lazuli or
turquoise.
 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
• Ancient Rome is Roman civilization from the founding of the city of Rome in
the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th
century AD.

• Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law,

politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare,
religion, language, and society.

• Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of

government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as
the United States and France.

• It achieved impressive technological and architectural feats, such as the

construction of an extensive system of aqueducts and roads, as well as the
construction of large monuments, palaces, and public facilities.
• According to the founding myth of Rome, the city was founded in 753
BC by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who descended from
the Trojan prince Aeneas and were raised by a she-wolf.
 Culture:

• Life in ancient Rome revolved around the city of Rome, located on

seven hills.

• The city had a vast number of monumental structures like the

Colosseum, the Forum of Trajan and the Pantheon.

• It had theatres, gymnasiums, marketplaces, functional sewers, bath

complexes complete with libraries and shops, and fountains with
fresh drinking water supplied by hundreds of miles of aqueducts.

• Throughout the territory under the control of ancient Rome,

residential architecture ranged from modest houses to country villas.
The Temple of Hercules Victor, Rome. The Temple of Portunus, Rome.
 The Pantheon.

The Pantheon, Rome, built during the reign The dome of the Pantheon.
of Hadrian, which still contains the largest
unreinforced concrete dome in the world.
The
Colosseum.
Night view of Trajan's Market, built by Apollodorus of
Damascus
Pont du Gard in France is a Roman aqueduct built in
c. 19 BC.
 Religion:
• Roman religion was made up not of complex interrelations between gods and humans.
• The gods were not personified, but were vaguely defined sacred spirits called numina.
Romans also believed that every person, place or thing had its own genius, or divine soul.
During the Roman Republic, Roman religion was organized under a strict system of priestly
offices, which were held by men of senatorial rank.
• In the Roman Empire, emperors were deified.
• As contact with the Greeks increased, the old Roman gods became increasingly associated
with Greek gods. The Roman Gods also assumed the attributes and mythologies of these
Greek gods.
• Under the Empire, the Romans absorbed the mythologies of their conquered subjects, often
leading to situations in which the temples and priests of traditional Italian deities existed side
by side with those of foreign gods.

• Beginning with Emperor Nero in the 1st century AD, Roman official policy towards Christianity
was negative, and at some points, simply being a Christian could be punishable by death.
• Under Emperor Diocletian, the persecution of Christians reached its peak.
• However, it became an officially supported religion in the Roman state under Constantine I,
with the signing of the Edict of Milan in 313, and quickly became dominant.
• All religions except Christianity were prohibited in 391 AD by an edict of Emperor Theodosius
I.
 Art:

• Roman painting styles show Greek influences, and surviving

examples are primarily frescoes used to adorn the walls and ceilings
of country villas, though Roman literature includes mentions of
paintings on wood, ivory, and other materials.
• Several examples of Roman painting have been found at Pompeii.

• Portrait sculpture during the period utilized youthful and classical

proportions, evolving later into a mixture of realism and idealism.

• During the Antonine and Severan periods, ornate hair and bearding,
with deep cutting and drilling, became popular.
The "bikini girls" mosaic, showing women
playing sports, from the Villa Romana del
Choregos and theater actors, from the
Casale, Roman province of Sicilia (Sicily)
House of the Tragic Poet, Pompeii, Italy.
Woman playing a kithara, from the Roman fresco of a blond
Villa Boscoreale. maiden reading a text,
Pompeii, Italy.
Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus, The Patrician
shows two Roman infantrymen Torlonia bust of Bust of Caracalla.
equipped with long scuta and a Cato, the Elder.
cavalryman with his horse. All are
shown wearing chain mail armour.
The Augustus of Prima
Bust of Caesar.
Porta, the first Roman
emperor.
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 Empire flourished between c.
1345 and
 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.
 Architecture & Art

The Aztecs were themselves appreciative of fine art and they collected pieces from
across their empire to be brought back to Tenochtitlan and often ceremonially
buried. Aztec art was nothing if not eclectic and ranged from miniature engraved
precious objects to massive stone temples. Monumental sculptures were a particular
favourite and could be fearsome monstrosities such as the colossal Coatlicue statue or
be very life-like such as the famous sculpture of a seated Xochipilli.

artisans could specialise in metalwork, wood carving or stone sculpture, with materials
used such as amethyst, rock crystal, gold, silver, and exotic feathers

Aztec art depicted all manner of subjects but especially popular were animals, plants
and gods, particularly those related to fertility and agriculture. Art could also be used
as propaganda to spread the imperial dominance of Tenochtitlan. Examples such as the
Sun Stone, Stone of Tizoc, and Throne of Motecuhzoma II all portray Aztec ideology
and seek to closely correlate political rulers to cosmic events and even the gods
themselves. Even architecture could achieve this aim, for example, the Templo Mayor
pyramid sought to replicate the sacred snake mountain of Aztec mythology, Coatepec,
and temples and statues bearing Aztec symbols were set up across the empire.
Toltec Aztec Double-Headed Serpent (Detail)
by Neil Henderson (CC BY)
These statues were found leaning
against the Aztec temple, Templo Templo Mayor: Scale model of the
Mayor. Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, showing
the various stages as it was enlarged
over time.
Aztec Statue of Coatlicue, the
Earth Goddess: This sculpture Calendar Stone: The monolith of the Stone of
is currently held in the Museo the Sun, also known as the Aztec calendar
Nacional de Antropología in stone (National Museum of Anthropology and
Mexico City. History, Mexico City).
 Aztec clothing

Aztec clothing are the fiber of clothing that

were worn by the Aztecs peoples during their
time that varied based on aspects such as
social standing and gender. The garments
worn by Aztec peoples were also worn by
other pre-Columbian peoples of
central Mexico who shared similar cultural This man is wearing a
cape, a loincloth and an
characteristics. The strict sumptuary ear plug.
laws present in Aztec society had dictated the
type of fiber and ornamentation present in
clothing, as well as how that clothing was worn
based on class.[1] Clothing and cloth were This woman is wearing a
skirt, a blouse and an ear
immensely significant in the culture. plug.
 AZTEC WRITING
The Aztecs didn’t have a writing system as we
know it, instead they used pictograms, little
pictures that convey meaning to the reader.
Pictography combines pictograms and ideograms—
graphic symbols or pictures that represent an idea,
much like cuneiform or hieroglyphic or Japanese or
Chinese characters.
To understand pictography, one must either
understand the cultural conventions or the graphic
symbol must resemble a physical object. For
instance, the idea of death in Aztec pictography
was conveyed by a drawing of a corpse wrapped in
a bundle for burial; night was conveyed by a black
sky and a closed eye, and the idea of walking by a
footprint trail.
THE INCAS CIVILIZATION
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 Inca gold sun mask
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.
One of the most distinctive Inca architecture facts is that they weren’t as much obsessed with solid
bolstered roofs as they were with fortified walls that were basically thick stone pieces legoed together
 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 nation's history, so, too, Andean artwork offered
recognisable motifs which either represented the specific communities making them or the
imposed designs of the ruling Inca class ordering them
 A silver alpaca from the Inca civilization of
An Inca ceramic dish with a handle in the form of a bird. Peru, 1476- Peru, c. 1400 and 1533 CE. (American Museum
1534 CE. (St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri) of Natural history, New York)
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.