ARKY 327 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Silt, Grave Goods, Puabi
19 Jun 2018
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02-27-2018
Luxor tomb- art with scenes of daily life, along with extensive hieroglyphic texts.
Ancient Mesopotamia- the land between the two rivers- the fertile river valley. What is now iraq
and Turkey. Earliest evidence of complex societies. Wherever irrigation agriculture is possible,
there is lush vegetation, outside of this irrigation area there is very harsh infertile land. This
becomes an important factor in understanding how this area developed into the complex
societies that lived there (organization of labour).
Catalhoyuk- 7000 BC Turkey- agriculture was new, horticulture and pastoralism, especially
herds of cattle. Also important from a religious point of view, there are shrines with cow horns
suggesting that this was part of a religious ritual. Evidence for mortuary practices- little evidence
of wealth differentiation. Wealth, prestige and authority=status(measured with grave goods)
Burials were exposed to the elements for de-fleshing and then placed in holes beneath house
floors- very few grave offerings.
Vulture Shrine- six individuals buried with relatively greater ‘wealth’
Uruk- one of the first communities to grow a population to the extent where it could be called a
state level society, continued to grow until it had 50000 in 3000BC. Associated with this
development is the construction of defensive walls- implications of organization of labour,
architecture and engineering- there must have been food surplus so that the builders did not
have to be part of the food quest. Implies form of grain storage and administration control over
distribution of the surplus. Close connection between political and religious organization.
Evidence of social diversity- areas that has workplaces, areas that were closer or father to
marketplace/entryways, varying degrees of investment in the architecture. Mass production of
bevel rimmed bowls- very little skill involved, very ugly and simple pottery- these were formed as
a unit of measure, used to distribute the food surplus to laborers, this payment would have been
supplied in the form of beer(high grain content, low alcohol content)
Early states lean towards monumentality- intense amount of labour probably coming from tribute
to the religious system and a way of projecting power, something that people all around the
region can see.
Architectural investment and grave goods are the best indicators of status and wealth.
Cuneiform writing- created using a sharpened stick and pressing it into wet clay, the clay is fired
to create a permanent record. Development became more stylized and more complex. Worte
about exchange agreements, technologies, political information, earliest forms of the old
testament. Earliest form of a legal document- code of ethics found.
Cylinder Seals- more often have scenes from mythology or history. ROlling pin with indented
pictures rolled onto wet clay to make a picture.
Ziggurat of Uruk- solid brick construction, temple complexes around the base. Monument for
giving the impression of power. People giving tribute would be working on the temple, worked to
redistribute the surplus( a way of harnessing labour)
Royal Cemetary of Ur- Sir Leonard Wooley another major ziggurat, cemetery was discovered.
Thick flood deposit found in association with the ziggurat- used to argue about Noah’s Ark story.
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Document Summary
Luxor tomb- art with scenes of daily life, along with extensive hieroglyphic texts. Ancient mesopotamia- the land between the two rivers- the fertile river valley. Wherever irrigation agriculture is possible, there is lush vegetation, outside of this irrigation area there is very harsh infertile land. This becomes an important factor in understanding how this area developed into the complex societies that lived there (organization of labour). Catalhoyuk- 7000 bc turkey- agriculture was new, horticulture and pastoralism, especially herds of cattle. Also important from a religious point of view, there are shrines with cow horns suggesting that this was part of a religious ritual. Evidence for mortuary practices- little evidence of wealth differentiation. Burials were exposed to the elements for de-fleshing and then placed in holes beneath house floors- very few grave offerings. Vulture shrine- six individuals buried with relatively greater wealth".
