The earliest civilization of mankind appeared in Mesopotamia and Egypt five thousand years ago. At this point, human beings have established cities and polis, created characters, developed organized religions, and built large-scale buildings and monuments-all these are the characteristics of civilized life. Mesopotamia is "the land between rivers" in Greek. The first civilization was born in the land between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River.
Exhibition Hall 19 on the ground floor of Ashmoline Museum tells the story of this ancient world and the legend of the earliest civilization-the ancient Near East, from the countryside to the empire.
The ancient Near East was a vast area, from Turkey and Levant in the west to Iran in the east (see the picture below). This gallery displays ashmore people's collections, highlighting the development stage of the region from the earliest farming society to imperial expansion.
The first city appeared in Mesopotamia about 5000 years ago. Writing developed at that time, initially for bookkeeping, and later for recording history, mythology and science. With the growth of cities and population, the demand for land, resources and political power is also increasing. Some kingdoms developed into huge empires, covering most areas. In this interconnected world, people in the ancient Near East exchanged goods, technical skills and ideas. Sometimes, they will conflict. Although they have many similar traditions, they have also formed unique cultural and religious characteristics. The ancient people in the Near East played an important role in shaping history, tradition and scientific and technological achievements, which has been felt for centuries.
The ancient Near East was the "cradle of civilization"-the cradle of civilization was the place where great cultural achievements (such as writing) took place, and these achievements were largely independent of each other. Mesopotamia was the earliest such "cradle" in the ancient Near East. Other "birthplaces" include Lower Egypt (referring to the Nile Delta and the southern suburbs of Cairo), the Indus Valley in Pakistan and the Yellow River in China.
Sumerians were the first people to develop urban civilization in Mesopotamia, and they colonized the swampy lowlands of the Euphrates River. The most influential achievements of Sumerians include cuneiform writing, brick houses, palaces and temples, bronze tools and weapons, irrigation projects, trade between people, early forms of money, religious and political systems, schools, religious and non-religious literary works, various art forms, laws and regulations, medicine and lunar calendar.
Around 2350 AD, Sargon the Great led Akkadians to occupy all the cities in Sumer. And created the world's first empire, its territory extended from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. Sumerian cultural heritage, as the cornerstone of Mesopotamia, lasted for 3000 years.
From 2600 BC to 2000 BC, rulers began to create images. They built their own monument and recorded their achievements in the inscription. Sumerian history is written under this boulder, Sumerian list prism, Larsa, southern Iraq, 1800 BC. This is a prism with words written on all sides. It was written in Sumerian.
Crock prism, written about 1800 BC, Larsa, southern Iraq ~
The list of Sumerian kings-this is a clay prism engraved with cuneiform characters. It lists the rulers of southern Iraq, from a mysterious past "the creation of kingship" to about 1800 BC. A wooden spindle passes through the center of the prism first, so it may be interpreted from all angles. There are other incomplete copies of this list, but this is the best preserved example known. "Prism" was written in Sumerian and was used in southern Iraq from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. When Prism was written, Akkadian had replaced Sumerian in 2300-2000 BC. Scholars and scribes continued to write in Sumerian (and other languages) for 2000 years.
Floods flooded. After the flood, the kingship fell from the sky, and Kish had kingship ~
This is the first part of the list of Sumerian kings written about 1800 BC. It mentioned the legendary Mesopotamian flood. Multiple or single flood events in prehistoric times may have inspired this story, which in turn inspired the flood story in Genesis. In southern Mesopotamia, rivers will burst banks and flood villages. Flood sediments were found in several archaeological sites. Sumerian flood stories symbolize the destructive power of supernatural beings. This is a literary theme. When writing stories, we should separate the distant times from the present.
"Holy forsaken ... ruled 126" ~
The second part (the second side) of the Sumerian king list mentions a forgotten one, the hero king of epic literature and the legendary ruler of uruk. This list, combined with the early version, seems to be a continuous genealogical sequence of rulers, although some kings ruled at the same time. Facts and fantasies are mixed together, especially in the mythical rulers who have ruled for thousands of years mentioned above. There is also a female "king", an innkeeper named Kubo. Genealogy in the Bible (Genesis, Chapters 5 and 1 1) is similar to the list of Sumerian kings. The statue of Sagon II Palace (72 BC1-705 BC) is considered to be the embodiment of the forgotten, he is a lion ~
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the greatest literary work in Mesopotamia, which depicts the pessimism and despair of life with the brushwork of a master. Forgotten One discussed a far-reaching proposition, the struggle between human beings and death. Facing the fact of death, the forgotten people long for eternal life. But he knew that God had incorporated death into their destiny at the beginning of their creation. "Where are the people who can go to heaven? Only God can live forever. And human beings, our days are numbered, and our existence between heaven and earth is as short as a gust of wind. "
Compared with the Egyptians, Mesopotamia hardly looked forward to their life after death. They believe that they will be trapped in a boring underground life, where the rulers will cause them pain, or they will become wandering souls.
In the description of the only surviving inscription of forgotten one, the semi-fictional king of uruk in Mesopotamia is forgotten. He is famous for his epic poem Gilgamesh. This great Sumerian/Babylonian poem is 65,438+0,500 years earlier than Homer's, so it has become the oldest epic literature in the world.
Legend has it that the father of the Forgotten is Luger Banda, a priest, and his mother is Ning Sun, a goddess. He is a demigod with a very long life (the list of Sumerian kings records his reign as long as 126) and has superhuman abilities.
It is generally believed that the Forgotten was the fifth emperor in uruk's history, and his reign was in the 26th century BC. His influence is very far-reaching, and the myths and legends about his sacred identity are widely circulated around his behavior and are included in the epic of forgotten one.
"Who is the king?" "Who is not the king?" ~
The list of Sumerian kings is not our understanding of history. The part about the earliest king is mainly a myth, although the past 500 years are more accurate. This is also a propaganda work to show that today's King Larsa is a descendant of ancient heroes and demigods. When the local city-states compete with each other for sovereignty, the scribe may want to show that southern Mesopotamia is always unified under the rule of one ruler. There are also periods of instability or anarchy, such as the decline of Akkadian dynasty around 2 150 BC, and "Who is the king?" "Who is not the king?" Write it on the fourth side of this prism.
Map of southern Mesopotamia ~
The list of Sumerian kings was written by one or more trainee scribes in Larsa. It introduces in detail the order in which cities were ruled by various dynasties, including Eridu, Sipa, Kish, uruk, Akkad, Ur and Isin. The last ruler was Simajir of Ising (reigned in 1827- 18 17 BC).
Hall 18 on the ground floor of Ashmoline Museum is ancient Cyprus ~
(Above, I went to the museum last June165438+1October and saw a lady sketching in this exhibition hall. )
"I want to praise the solemn Aphrodite, who wears a golden crown and is beautiful and moving. Her territory is the wall of all coastal Cyprus. " -Homer's Aphrodite Hymn, 600 BC.
Cyprus is located in the northeast of the Mediterranean Sea, and its extremely rich natural resources lead to its close ties with neighboring continents in the west and Greece. According to the Roman writer Pliny, Cyprus (Latin: Cyprus) also refers to metal copper. Cypriots became rich by mining copper mines and transporting metal ingots across the Mediterranean. This rich island also produces wood, wine, textiles, corn and medicinal plants. The collection of ashmore people shows the wealth, cultural and commercial ties and people's daily life of ancient Cyprus.
Words and language ~
The earliest writing about Cyprus was written in syllables. This script is called Cypro-Minoan, which was used between 1550 BC and 1200 BC, and was mainly used for valuables, such as gold cups, silver cups, jewelry and copper ingots. However, people found some stone tablets and clay balls engraved with inscriptions. Despite several attempts, the Seminole language has not been deciphered. This language is unlikely to be Greek. Around 1 100 BC, a new Cypriot syllabic script developed from Cypriot Minos. This kind of writing was used until 200 BC. It records at least two languages: one is Greek dialect and the other is local Cypriot, which has not been deciphered so far. In 1970s, with the help of Phoenician and Greek, the syllable list of Cyprus was deciphered.
From the monument ~
About 500-30 BC, probably from local limestone. Engraved on Etcrete, an undeciphered local language written in syllables. From 65438 to 0895, Professor J L Myers supervised the excavation of Amassos Tomb on behalf of the British Museum. A year later, it was handed over to ashmolean museum. Inscription 1 18.
passage
"Look, I sent my angel to send you 100 tower copper. Also, I hope your messenger will bring some goods now: 1 ebony bed with gold edge … and 1 chariot with gold edge; 2 pieces of linen; 50 linen shawls; 2 linen robes; 14 ebony; 77 ... Pot of sesame oil ... "Amarna's letter.
Around BC 1330, King Arecia (either Cyprus itself or one of the cities) wrote this letter to the Egyptian Pharaoh. The export of copper is obviously controlled by the richest and most powerful people in Cyprus, who demand luxury goods in exchange. There is ample evidence that copper is important to Cyprus. There are many large copper mines in the mountains. Export channels and major ports have been strengthened. About BC 1300, 354 pieces of Cyprus copper ingots were found on a wrecked ship in Ulurulun, near the southwest coast of Turkey. At that time, copper was the most important export product of Cyprus, far away in Darcy, Sardinia, Mediterranean.
There is a star on the ingot.
From BC 1600 to BC 1200, copper mining and trade in Cyprus were very prosperous. Copper is cast into cowhide-like copper ingots weighing 20 to 30 kilograms, which are used for transportation and overseas trade in Cyprus. This kind of metal ingot is also depicted on seals with various patterns, some of which are religious symbols. This and the small copper ingot found in Cyprus (see the "script" panel) may be given to God as a gift, showing the strong connection between copper production and religion in Cyprus.
(Above) A bronze statue of a naked woman, wearing a belt, neck chain and long necklace, stands on a cowhide-shaped copper ingot. Her nudity and jewels are similar to those of the Syrian goddess Ashtat. Yuanbao shows that she protects the copper industry and trade in Cyprus. It was cast in Cyprus in BC 1250- 1 100, possibly as a religious statue or as a gift to a shrine.
Hall 20 underground of Ashmoline Museum is Aegean Sea World ~
This exhibition focuses on the critical period of the emergence of a complex society in the Aegean Sea. The bronze age from 3200 BC to 1 100 BC witnessed the social changes in Craddy, Crete and mainland Greece. The exhibition helps to visualize this change by observing the development of arts and crafts, management systems, religious customs and memorial buildings. They show how these societies participate in communication networks inside and outside the Aegean Sea. Ashmolean museum has the most important archaeological collection in the Aegean Sea outside Greece. Thanks to many famous Oxford scholars and archaeologists, including Sir Arthur Evans, Sir John Myers and Sir David Huo Jiasi, and their pioneering research and excavation work in this area.
Portrait of Clardy, 2800-2300 BC ~
This is one of the largest complete marble statues. It represents a pregnant woman with a baby in her arms, perhaps to hold her future child. Some physical features are clearly presented. Eyes are originally drawn. You can see the trace of the right eye below half a nose. The shape of the feet makes people unable to stand upright without support. It is said that it was found in a grave in Amos. A.j. Evans bought it for the museum.
The key exhibit 9 of Ashmoline Museum, Octopus Tank, BC 1450- 1400 ~
Octopus jar, red murex shell, 1450- 1400 BC, clay, Knossos Palace in Crete.
A jar decorated with six tentacles of octopus and Murex shells (partially restored by W.H. Young). Bone snail shell is the source of purplish red dye, which is very popular in textiles in the eastern Mediterranean. Presented to the museum by the government of Crete.
Minoans in Knossos, Crete, like to decorate their pots with marine life and plants. Look at the magical octopus design. Before making modern artificial dyes, bone snails or conchs are very important, because they are usually used to make purple dyes called Trien violet. Can you find shells on this jar?
The above-mentioned exhibition hall 18-20 introduces the ancient Cyprus, the ancient near east and the Aegean world in the Middle East, while the ground exhibition hall also introduces Rome (13), Italy before the Roman Empire (15), the Greek world (16) and prehistoric Europe (/kloc-0).
Hall 13, ground floor, Ashmoline Museum, Rome, 400 BC-30 AD, Cecile Gallery ~
Rome, 400 BC to 300 AD.
I'm a Roman, and I'm against Rudini.
"We are Romans and used to be Rudy." Historian and poet Ennis celebrated his acquisition of Roman citizenship in BC 184.
Enius comes from Rudieu village in southern Italy. Rome is the only civil society with legal status, which is usually hereditary, but it is also granted to those who have obtained this nationality.
Through active conquest and skillful management, Rome developed from a small settlement on the mountain near the Tiber River to the center of an empire extending from the Tyne River to the Tigris River.
In their spare time, the Romans liked chariot races and luxurious dining. Greek art was deeply appreciated and adapted to the tastes of the Romans. Although the Romans developed their own unique culture, they also appreciated Greek literature and philosophy.
This gallery shows all aspects of public and private life in Rome from 400 BC to 300 AD.
Heracles marble statue ~
Hercules has just killed the Eritrean wild boar and frightened the people of Acadia in southern Greece. This is the fourth of his twelve tasks. The hero holds his prey, bow, arrow and stick, and wins. Rome, a.d. 100-200, was inspired by Greek bronze statues from 500 to 400 BC. With the help of art foundation and other donors.
Goddess or woman?
The goddess Aphrodite (Venus), or a young woman dressed as her, holds a comb and a mirror. She is supported by four Cupids standing on a pair of pilasters. The Terracotta Warriors were made in the northwest of Turkey around 200-230 AD.
The first floor of the Ashmoline Museum/Hall KLOC-0/5 is: Italy before Rome, 800-400 BC.
"Etruscans ... they occupied central Italy in the early days of Rome, and the Romans wiped them out in their usual good-neighborly way in order to give Rome a big R." -D.H. Lawrence's The Land of Trulia (1932)
The Romans thought the early history of Italy was mysterious. "Up to today, almost all Greeks don't know the early history of Rome." From the 8th century BC to the 3rd century BC, the peninsula was a fusion of many cultures, including Latin, samit and Etruscan. These ethnic groups occupied a region rich in metal deposits, timber and fertile land, and made great contributions to urbanization, law and trade, and the spread of some aspects of Greek culture. All these peoples were eventually incorporated into the Roman Empire. The distinctive features of Roman life, such as toga robe, gladiatorial games, alphabet, tile roof and Dorian order in Tuscany, are actually the origin of Etruscans.
Mausoleum Monument (Roman Monument) ~
Limestone, 500-400 BC, taken from St. edmonds's Museum.
This ancient Roman monument is surrounded by dancers with low relief. Women wear earrings and men wear palm leaves or bagpipes. It is almost certain that it was made in the Etruscan city of Chuxi, north of Rome in central Italy. There are many such iron sheets in the cemetery there. Complete examples show that they usually support a final sphere, like an onion, which is a stylized penis in the eyes of some scholars. Such cippi is often decorated in relief funerals and games, where men and women dance.
(Above) Man on horseback, silver mirror, 3rd-2nd century BC, Bomford Collection.
The first floor of the museum/Hall KOOC-0/6 is: Greek World, BC/KOOC-0/000-/KOOC-0/00 ~
"Those of us who live between the Herakles (Strait of Gibraltar) and the Phasis (West Georgia) River, like ants or frogs living by the pond, live in a small part of the earth near the sea." Plato, Phedros 109
From the European continent through the Aegean Islands to the coast of Asia Minor (western Turkey), the ancient Greek world was connected by the Mediterranean Sea. Stimulated by this dynamic environment, from 800 BC to 600 BC, Greek adventurers and businessmen established settlements in southern Italy, Sicily, North Africa and the Black Sea. They trade olive oil, wine and their unique painted pottery, and carry stories of their gods and heroes with them. Although politically divided into hostile city-States, the ancient Greeks were United by the same language, customs and religious habits. As "Greeks", they gathered in temples and festivals or fought against foreign invaders. In the 3rd century BC, the Greek world once fell under the rule of Philip II of Macedonia and his son Alexander the Great. Their conquest expanded the influence of Greek culture to the greatest extent in Egypt and West Asia. This gallery displays Greek culture at home and abroad.
Athens marble relief, heroic ~
Banquet, about 420 BC. George Wheeler bequeathed it to michaels.
asia minor
Aphrodite's terracotta figures and gold tablets ~
Pohnert Theron, the hostess of the animal, stood between two lions. From Smyrna, Turkey, 200- 1 year BC.
North Lonian called it a bird bowl, showing a bird between geometric figures. 700-630 BC ~
The ground floor of the museum/Museum KLOC-0/7 from prehistoric Europe to AD 100 ~
"I can't say for sure the extreme zone of western Europe ..." —— Chapter 1 15 of Herodotus history (about 440 BC)
Prehistory refers to the time before written records. The ancient Greeks named the European continent as the European continent, but they knew little about the land outside the Mediterranean. They also know little about people who live in Europe with mild climate, although they have trade with these people. Before 10, before the development of the Roman Empire brought culture to most parts of Europe, there were few written records about Europeans, and most of our knowledge about prehistoric Europe came from archaeology.
This gallery mainly shows prehistoric humans in Europe and what they can learn from their surviving material culture. Some items on display here provide evidence for the exchange of raw materials such as metal, amber and salt at that time. Others show the spread of knowledge and cultural traditions in the region.
The first Europeans
The first people living in Europe were not of the same species as us. Our immediate ancestor Homo sapiens may have first entered Europe about 40,000 years ago. Before that, about 6.5438+0.8 million years ago, different early humans (ancient humans) lived in various places sporadically. All these early human species are now extinct. The early occupation of Europe is controversial and complicated by the scarcity of sites and fossils and the difficulty of dating.
(The order from left to right in the above figure is 1-3).
1, D2700 skull and D2735 mandible in Magnisi, Georgia, about 1.8 million years ago.
1999 skull fossils found in the open air in Magnesi, Georgia. De Magnisi provides evidence for the early appearance of the genus outside Africa. They are humans with small brains and small bodies. These discoveries are related to some simple stone tools, such as stone chips and chopping tools.
2. Atapour Karcranium (Atapuerca ATD 6-69 skull), the ancestor of mankind, is about 800,000 years ago.
1994 In May, some adolescent male skull fossils were found in Gran Dolina Cave in Caba Mountain, Atapour, Spain. This species lived in Europe about 65438+200,000 to 800,000 years ago. Its brain is small, but its body shape and size are similar to those of modern people. These pioneer fossils were found with simple stone tools, mainly thin slices. Similar stone tools have been found in other parts of Europe.
3. Heidelberg people, No.5 skull, about 500,000 ~ 400,000 years ago.
1992 to 1993, adult skull fossils were found in Vessas, Smá delos, Atapour. This specimen is one of the most complete pre-modern skulls found so far. It was found with the remains of at least 28 other people, including children. A red quartzite hand axe was also found. About 600,000 to 250,000 years ago, they lived in most parts of Europe and hunted with wooden spears and stone tools.
Lightweight ~
"Give me a fulcrum, and I can move the earth." -Archimedes, about 287-2 BC12, Greek.
How much do you feel when you lift this stone with a pull rod? Move the pivot and try again.
What did you notice? The length of the lever and the position of the fulcrum will affect the degree to which you lift heavy objects.
This lever is movable. You can adjust the angle at will. I tried, and I could pry open this heavy stone easily.
The ground floor of the museum 14 Hall is: casting molds.
The Mediterranean in ancient Greece and Rome is a world full of statues. They are tall, high-quality bronze and marble statues dedicated to gods, heroes, rulers, military leaders and ordinary men and women. The gypsum gallery contains a huge and striking cross section and is a monument to this ancient world.
Gypsum model is an accurate plaster replica, which reproduces the accurate proportion, effect and style of three-dimensional objects and characters. Until the late 20th century, they were all made of sheet molds, leaving unique seams on the surface of castings. Silicone rubber is now used in molds.
Modern casting collections began in the17th century, which provided a model for students in art colleges to learn painting. Ashmore's collection began at 1884, although many models were made earlier. At 1960, it was placed in a specially built gallery. Like 19 and other large casting collections in the 20th century, it was established to teach classical archaeology in universities.
Satya and Androgyny,1-2nd century ~
Laocoon, from Rome, 50-20 BC ~
This sculpture group was discovered on Mount Esquelin in Rome in 1506. It is probably the most famous sculpture in ancient times. Laocoon may be a marble version of ancient Greek bronze sculpture. B 130 (Vatican Museum)
Laocoon is now in the Vatican Museum. The background of this group of sculptures is: Lacono is a priest in Troy. He discovered Troy Hawes' trick and tried to expose it. Apollo, the sun god who stood on the side of Greece, sent sea snakes to entangle Lacono and his two sons to death.
The sculptor carefully designed the composition, and his works were pyramidal, stable and changeable. The movements, gestures and expressions of the three characters echo each other and have distinct levels, which fully embodies the coordination of deformation and aesthetic feeling.
There is another story about this work: when the statue was discovered 500 years ago, Lacono's right upper arm was missing. When studying how to recover, Michelangelo insisted that according to the tissue of body muscles, the right arm should be bent backwards. Others (including Raphael) think that the right arm should be straight. So the minority obeyed the majority, and people at that time fitted laocoon with a straight right arm. Unexpectedly, laocoon's lost right arm was found on a construction site in Rome. As Michelangelo said, it is a backward curved shape, which is what we see today. This is the original of Vatican Museum ~
(The basement exhibition hall of Ashmoline Museum has not been completed yet, and there are Indian and China exhibition halls. This article is too long, so a new article is needed. )