The images on the ceramics were thought to be
mythical narratives,
imagery the
priestly class used to
underscore its coercive power. Without proper archaeological evidence, the representations were too horrific to take literally. They depicted
gruesome scenes of
torture: captives skinned alive, drained of blood (which was drunk by priests in front of them), throats slit, bodies decapitated and left to the vultures, bones meticulously defleshed and hung from ropes.
Unfortunately for the victims, these
bloody rites actually happened. They took place in an otherwise vibrant and highly advanced culture, a culture renowned for its
artists and builders. These were a people who developed advanced agricultural knowledge, extremely
sophisticated metallurgy, and built
the largest pre-Columbian adobe structure in the Americas. Because they had no written language, though, it is by
their ceramics that we know them best.
The Moche.
posted by crumbly
on Jan 25, 2006 -
27 comments
Iraq is full of fabled
ancient ruins, many in
bad shape, but which still fire the imagination. Some highlights:
Ur,
birthplace of Abraham, still contained
many beautiful artifacts when it was last excavated in the 1920s. Then there is vanished
Cunaxa, near Baghdad's airport, where the Ten Thousand, a group of Greek mercenaries, fought their way back to Greece in a 1,000 mile, two-year-long retreat described by
Xenophon in the
Anabasis (and which served as the inspiration for
cult films/games and
bad science fiction alike). The ruins of the city of
Nineveh were discovered in the 19th century just across the river from Mosul,
containing art confirming elements of the Biblical account of the conquests of King Sennacherib. Most famously, the ruins of Babylon (
not much to look at, the
best bit being in Berlin) have seen much abuse, from
Saddam's awful rebuilding of the palace of Nebuchadnezzar to reports of
recent damage by coalition troops.
posted by blahblahblah
on Jan 11, 2006 -
15 comments
'...Today, such famous sites as the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, the ziggurat at Ur, the temple precinct at Babylon, and a ninth-century spiral minaret at Samarra have been scarred by violence, while equally important ancient sites, particularly in the southern provinces, are being ravaged by looters who work day and night to fuel an international art market hungry for antiquities. Historic districts in urban areas have also suffered from vandalism, looting, and artillery fire. In response to such widespread damage and continuing threats to our collective cultural heritage and the significance of the sites at risk,
World Monument Fund has taken the unprecedented step of including
the entire country of Iraq on its
2006 list of 100 Most Endangered Sites.'
The 2003- Iraq War & Archaeology
The Smash of Civilizations
posted by y2karl
on Jul 8, 2005 -
11 comments
