Emily's blog

  Yoruba (Ife), Head (possibly a king), 12-14th c.        This sculpture represents the culture of the Yoruba people who resided in the southwest region of Nigeria. Most of the art from this culture represents anything that may be considered royalty. These sculptures of heads were produced during the twelfth through to the fifteenth century. "Sculpted heads were buried in the ground at the foot of giant trees and resurrected when they were used ritually as offerings or sacrifices, sometimes an annual basis" (Kimbell Art Museum). When considering the head above, it isn't really known who it may represent, but it is speculated to be the head of the king Oni.  Olmec, Colossal Head, La Venta Monument 1,  900-400 BCE This stone head comes from the Olmec civilization whom lived from approximately 1200 to 1400 B.C. on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. They were known for their creation of these massive sculpted heads carved out of giant basalt boulders. The front sid...

  Nasca,  Mantle  (“ The Paracas Textile “), 100-300 C.E., cotton, camelid fiber, 58-1/4 x 24-1/2 inches / 148 x 62.2 cm, found south coast, Paracas, Peru (Brooklyn Museum)      Pictured above is an old textile woven together that was actually used in Peru to wrap up the dead bodies and keep them in a mummified state. They were also buried with fine jewelry, food, costumes, and also these cloth textiles. The environment in which this cloth was preserved was so dry that the quality and vibrancy in color within the cloth have remained intact for the most part. Considering the fact that this cloth is approximately 2,000 years old it definitely remains in good shape. "The combination of materials suggests extensive trading relationships: for a while cotton was grown in coastal valleys, wool came from camelids (such as the llama, alpaca, and vicuna) that live at high altitudes in the Andes Mountains." (Lois Martin, 2015). The lining of this textile has several f...

  Stupa 3, 1st c., Sanchi, India (photo:  Nagarjun Kandukuru , CC: BY 2.0)     The Stupa represents a monument that is intended to be a place or relic for burial in Buddhism. This stupa that is pictured above is a structure that was formed as a dirt mound and then covered in stone for a better representation. This is a form of memorial to remember the person buried inside whether it be through ashes or certain religious objects. Buddhists come to these stupas in order to achieve enlightenment by fully understanding the Four Noble Truths (Life is suffering, the cause of suffering is desire, the cause of desire must be overcome, when desire is overcome there is no more suffering.) It is also believed that paying ones respects can insure karmic benefits.  The Monument of Stelae of Aksum (3rd-4th Century)     These tall structures are known as Stelae's which stand as monuments for the deceased and usually ...

Aerial view of Great Zimbabwe’s Great Enclosure and adjacent ruins, looking southeast (photo:  Janice Bell , CC BY-SA 4.0)      Great Zimbabwe is known as a stretch of stone ruins that was constructed between the 11th and 15th centuries by the Shona people (N. Demerdash, 2016). Great Zimbabwe thrived off of its trading system and their agriculture as well as maintenance of livestock. They also were believed to have a mining system put in place considering the different tools found in this area and amount of gold and copper. This structure can be cut into three different sections as they all had several purposes. The first area is known as the Hill Complex. This area was known to be the center for religious activity or anything spiritual would take place here. This section also includes a cave that was meant for the ruler of this time to stay in with his family and it was to remain a sacred place. The second area is known as the Great Enclosure is an almost circular s...

      The two sculptures above are known as part of the Djenne sculptures that were found in the Inland Delta around the Niger River and were produced around the thirteenth to fifteenth century. The sculpture on the left is an archer and the one on the left is a warrior on a horse, although both sculptures have some damage from the years they still are in well condition for their age. These two sculptures are just a few examples of the many that were recovered in this region and there isn't a whole lot of information linked to them.     "Because the majority of these works emerged via market forces during the 1970s and '80s, as opposed to via archaeological excavation, little is known about their original context, their functions, or the populations who produced them. Scholars have little sense of the scope of the corpus or its regional distribution and are at a loss to understand chronological relationships between sculptures." (Dyke, V. Kr...

  Seated Figure, Mali, Inland Niger Delta region, Djenné peoples, 13th century, terracotta, 25/4 x 29.9 cm ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art ) There are several of these terracotta figures that were found in the region of Mali which is known as the ancient city of Jenne-jeno. This region was known for its trade system and art through the first millennium up to 1600. These figures come in various forms as far as gender, their clothes, and several different poses and some even on horseback. The figure pictured above is most likely a male who is in a hunched over pose grasping onto its legs with their arms. The facial expression leads scholars to believe this sculpture is experiencing some sort of pain due to the open mouth, swelling of the stomach and legs, also the prominent eyes. Another part of this figure that is slightly interesting would be the circles that are protruding on the back and also the indentions in the middle of the protrusions. This also adds to the idea that this f...