Marcus' History of Art

       Great Zimbabwe is generally described as, “one of the most dramatic architectural landscapes in sub-Saharan Africa.” (Smarthistory.org) The word Zimbabwe translates from the Bantu language of the Shona to two different possible meanings. It either translates to either,” judicial center” or “ruler’s court or house.” Aside from being the monumental architecture of ancient Egypt, it also is the largest stone complex in Africa built before the modern era. The capital of Zimbabwe is only a four-hour drive from the ruins that remain, constructed between the 11th and 15 th century. From what we know, clay structures and excavations have displayed interior furnishings such as pot-stands, elevated sleeping surfaces and seating surfaces. Other findings indicate upwards of royal houses built in clay, estimating an inhabitant population of about 20,000 people.                 https://smarthistor...

  One of the main stereotypes you’re probably familiar with when discussing ancient Africa, is that they always lived in small villages of grass or mud huts. There is substantial evidence to show that Africans attained a high level of cultural complexity and civilization. For example, the great city of Zimbabwe has very large walls of carefully shaped granite blocks placed together without the use of any mortar. For them it was not a wall for defense, but rather for signifying the power of the kings who lived there. In other parts of Africa, yes architecture is often made of mud, which disintegrates if not periodically repaired. Objects of carved stone, fired clay, and cast metals do not disintegrate so easily, and when carefully recovered from archaeological sites, provide some of our best evidence for the sophistication of ancient African kingdoms. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.khanacademy.org%2Fhumanities%2Fart-africa%2Fwest-africa%2Fnigeria%2Fa%2Fben...

       Ethopia adopted Christianity all the way back in the fourth century during the reign of their emperor Ezana. It is believed that Ezana was thought the religion of Christianity through merchants, and was most likely influeneced to adopt it in efforts to solidify a trading relationship with the Roman Empire. Emperor Enza was the first world leader to put the cross on coins, which is an example of Christian material culture from Ethiopia.                 Another example of Ethiopian Christian material culture is the Processional crosses. They are commonly made of bronze, or less commonly, iron or silver. In the Ethiopian Orthodox liturgy, processional crosses play many key roles, “during worship, priests use the crosses, mounted on poles, to bless the congregation, the baptismal water, the sacraments, and the four corners of the church. When taken out of the church and carried in religio...

  https://cdn.kastatic.org/ka-perseus-images/2c4d8eb2cb887feb626874cfa6306d928bd26dd4.jpg Pictured above is an image of the Terracotta warriors from the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor of China Qin Shihuang. (221-206 B.C.E) In order to achieve immortality, Qin Shihuang built himself a tomb guarded by life sized terracotta warriors, infantrymen, horses, chariots and their respective armor and weaponry. Qin Shihuang conquered most of his life, but his final drive to conquer death, and thought this was the way to beat death and achieve immortality.   Qin was known for his stunning innovations. During his reign, he was responsible establishing the means of currency, writing, measurements, connected cities and states with advanced road and canal systems and on top of all that is credited with continuing the Great Wall of Chinas construction. He is still recognized as a historical symbol of China to this day. Most of his success can be credited to his military methods, massacre a...

  https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Resized-Mohenjo-daro-scaled.jpg Mohenjo-Daro is an archaeological site located in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Mohenjo-Daro translates into English meaning,” Mound of the Dead Men.”   Built around 2500 B.C.E., it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, and one of the world’s earliest major cities. “The well-planned city was mostly built with baked bricks and having public baths; a college of priests; an elaborate drainage system; wells, soak pits for disposal of sewage, and a large granary, bears testimony that it was a metropolis of great importance, enjoying a well-organized civic, economic, social and cultural system.” (Archaeological Ruins at Mohenjo-Daro ).   Several settlements thrived around the river Indus, which extends from the Tibetan plateau and flows into the Arabian Sea. These settlements of Indus cities have been excavated in Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan. The...

  Picture: https://smarthistory.org/introduction-to-buddhism/           For this week’s blog post, I decided to write about Mount Meru, which is the center of the universe in the religious context associated with Hinduism. (Similarities common with Buddhism). Unlike the early Christian religion, where they believed earth was the center of the universe. Located 43 miles west of Mount Kilimanjaro in the country of Tanzania, the Hindus believed that a golden mountain, Mount Meru, was the center of their universe. In Hindus mythology, Mount Meru is the most sacred object in the universe because it supports not only the heavens, but the gods that protect the heavens as well. “Mount Meru is the cosmic axis, that is, the link between heaven and earth. The Mountain is the center of the world in this cosmological conception, both physically and in terms of importance. On top of Mount Sumeru are the palaces of the Gods. Mount Sumeru is surrounded by seven chai...