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Assignment 2: ART & ARCHITECTURE I: Ancient Civilization

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
96 views9 pages

Assignment 2: ART & ARCHITECTURE I: Ancient Civilization

Uploaded by

Yeasfi Araf
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ART & ARCHITECTURE I: Ancient Civilization

ARC 121

ASSIGNMENT 2

Submitted by
Yeasfi Ahmmed
2018345037

Submitted to
Dr. Md. Mustafizur Rahman
Associate Professor
Department of Architecture, SUST
What are the 3 earliest civilizations?
What are the key / important things civilizations must have,
write your own words?

A civilization is a complex human society, usually made up of different


cities, with certain characteristics of cultural and technological
development. In many parts of the world, early civilizations formed
when people began coming together in urban settlements.

At the time when humans first decided to give up their nomadic,


hunter-gatherer lifestyle in favor of settling down at one place, three
most distinct cradles of civilization can be clearly identified. Early
civilization formed beside rivers.

Sumerian Civilization (Tigris & Euprates rivers, present-day


Iraq and Iran)
Egyptian Civilization (Nile river, present day Egypt)
Harappan Civilization (Indus river, present-day Pakistan and
Afghanistan)

Fig: Four River Valley Civilization


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Key / Important Things Civilizations Must Have

Characteristics of Civilization

All civilizations have certain characteristics, keys or important things.


These include:

1. Urban areas
2. Architecture and unique art styles
3. Religion
4. Shared communication
5. Systems for administering territories
6. Job specialization
7. Social and economic classes
8. Technology

Urban areas

An urban area, or built-up area, is a human settlement with a


high population density and infrastructure of built environment.
Settlements formed around a center or certain area in every
civilization. Rural areas were also the part of civilization. Rural
residents of civilizations may include farmers, fishers, and traders,
who regularly sell their goods and services to urban residents.

Fig: Ancient Egypt Fig: The city of Ur

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Fig: Mohenjo Daro

Architecture and Unique Art Styles

All civilizations work to preserve their legacy by building


large monuments and structures. Architecture exists to create the
physical environment in which people live, but architecture is more
than just the built environment, it's also a part of a culture. It stands
as a representation of how they saw themselves, as well as how they
saw the world. There are diversity in different civilizations in terms of
art and architecture. Many unique styles were generated in different
civilizations.
The arts reflect the society that creates them.

Fig: Sumerian, Egyptian, Harappan infrastructures and arts


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Religion

In ancient civilizations, the role of religion was to form the social


structures, developed individual's spiritual quality, and leading
government corruption. Religions have been a basic factor of
human history in all places and times, and remain so in our own world
today. They have been some of the most important forces shaping
knowledge, the arts, and technology.

Mesopotamian kings were representatives of gods so they were not


considered as god themselves. They were polytheistic. Ziggurat was
the center of city life. Rituals and sacrifices were conducted by
Priests.
In ancient Egypt, Pharaohs were considered gods on earth who ruled
over government, religion, military and all aspects of life. This is called
theocracy.
The Indus Valley religion is polytheistic and is made up of Hinduism,
Buddhism and Jainism. There are many seals to support the evidence
of the Indus Valley Gods. Some seals show animals which resemble
the two gods, Shiva and Rudra. Other seals depict a tree which
the Indus Valley believed to be the tree of life.

Shared Communication

Shared communication allows the infrastructure necessary


for technology, trade, cultural exchange, and government to be
developed and shared throughout the civilization. Shared
communication include spoken language, alphabets, numeric systems,
signs, ideas, symbols, illustration and representations.
Written language in particular allows civilizations to record their own
history and everyday events

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Fig: Hieroglyphics Fig: Cuneiform

Fig: Indus Script

Systems for administering territories

In early river valley civilization, administering territories were relied


on religion mainly. Religion played a vital role in every aspects of life.
There were rules and a cycle of life in every ancient city systems. All
civilizations rely on government administration—bureaucracy.

Roman civilization is a great example in terms of administration.


Roman territory stretched from the Mediterranean basin all the way
to parts of Great Britain in the north and the Black Sea to the east.

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Romans used a variety of methods to administer their republic and,
later, empire. Engineering, for instance, was a key part of Roman
administration. Romans built a network of roads so that communication
between far-away territories was as efficient as possible.
Language also played a part in Roman infrastructure. The so-called
"Romance languages" (Spanish, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan,
and Italian) are called that because they all developed from the Roman
language: Latin.
One of Rome’s most lasting contributions to Western Civilization was
the establishment of legal culture itself.
Romans used local leaders, as well as Romans, to administer the law in
their territories. Residents were more familiar with their own leaders,
and more likely to follow their announcements.

Job specialization

Civilizations are marked by complex divisions of labor. This means that


different people perform specialized tasks. It allowed for people to
hone their time and energy onto one particular job and not have to
know how to do all the different talents needed in a civilization. Job
specialization also produced a hierarchy in the society, as
certain jobs were much more important and crucial than others.

In a purely agricultural society, members of the community are largely


self-sufficient, and can provide food, shelter, and clothing for
themselves. In a complex civilization, farmers may cultivate one type
of crop and depend on other people for other foods, clothing, shelter,
and information. Civilizations that depend on trade are specially
marked by divisions of labor.

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Social and economic classes

The populations of these cities were divided into social classes which,
like societies in every civilization throughout history, were hierarchical.
These classes were: the king and nobility, The priests and priestesses,
the upper class, the lower class, and the slaves. The element that is
key to the development of civilizations is the division of people
into classes. This is a complex idea that can be broken down into two
parts: income and type of work performed. Changing classes has
traditionally been difficult and happens over generations.
Classes can mean groups of people divided by their income. Class can
also refer to the type of work people perform. There are many
divisions of social class. Social class is often associated with economic
class, but not strictly defined by it.

Ancient Egypt had three main


social classes--upper, middle,
and lower. The
upper class consisted of the
royal family, rich landowners,
government officials,
important priests and army
officers, and doctors.
Ancient Egypt's class system
was not rigid. People in the
lower or middle class could
move to a higher position. Fig: Classes in Ancient Egypt

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Technology

During the growth of the ancient civilizations, ancient technology was


the result from advances in engineering in ancient times. These
advances in the history of technology stimulated societies to adopt
new ways of living and governance.

Sumerians invented or improved a wide range of technology,


including the wheel, cuneiform script, arithmetic, geometry,
irrigation, saws and other tools, sandals, chariots, harpoons, and
beer.
The ancient Egyptians would come to invent mathematics, geometry,
surveying, metallurgy, astronomy, accounting, writing, paper,
medicine, the ramp, the lever, the plow, and mills for grinding grain.
The Indus River Valley Civilization, also known as Harappan
civilization, developed the first accurate system of standardized
weights and measures, some as accurate as to 1.6 mm. Harappans
created sculpture, seals, pottery, and jewelry from materials, such as
terracotta, metal, and stone.

Fig: Ancient Technologies

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