Vocab 1
Prehistoric
Anything that happens before humans invented writing systems and recorded history
Rectaliner
a visual composition constructed using straight lines, sharp angles, and 90-degree right angles
Barrow
an ancient burial mound made of earth or stone raised over one or more graves
Cuneiform
one of the earliest known writing systems in human history, characterized by its distinct wedge-shaped marks
Lamassu
is an architectural sculpture portrayed as a hybrid with a human head, the body of a bull or lion, and bird wings
Polychromy
Multi-colored
Trilithon
a megalithic structure consisting of two large vertical upright stones supporting a third horizontal stone placed across the top
Cairn
a human-made stack of stones constructed as a monument
Kiln
a high-temperature oven or furnace used to process materials like clay and pottery
Bas-relief
a type of sculpture where the figures or designs project only slightly from a flat background
Chiaroscuro
an art technique that uses strong contrasts between light and dark to create the illusion of depth and dramatic tension
Cruciform
shaped or arranged in the form of a cross
logogram
a single written symbol or character that represents an entire word
Stylus
a hard, pointed tool used for shaping soft materials across ancient civilizations
High-relief
a type of sculpture where the carved figures project outward from a flat background by at least half of their natural depth
Microlith
A tiny stone tool
Serpentiform
shaped like a snake or a serpent
Metallurgy
Working with metal in art
Obelisk
a tall, four-sided stone pillar that tapers upward and ends in a pointed, pyramid-like top
Register
a horizontal band in a work that contains narrative imagery, separated from other bands by lines. It functions much like a single row in a modern comic strip
Megalith
a very large stone used to build a prehistoric structure or monument
Curvilinear
a visual style defined by the use of smooth, flowing, curving lines rather than sharp angles
Theocratic
art that is created to serve a religious government
Ziggurat
a massive tiered, pyramid-like temple built in ancient Mesopotamia and western Iran