Archaeology
the scientific study of ancient people and cultures principally revealed through excavation
Cromlech
a circle of megaliths
Henge
a Neolitithic monument, characterized by a circular ground plan. Used for rituals and marking astronomical events (like Stonehenge)
Megalith
a stone of great size used in the construction of a prehistoric structure
Menhir
a large uncut stone erected as a monument in the prehistoric era
Mortise-and-tenon
a groove cut into stone or wood, called a mortise, that is shaped to receive a tenon, or projection, of the same dimensions
Post-and-lintel
a method of construction in which two posts support a horizontal beam, called a lintel
Apadana
an audience hall in a Persian palace
Capital
the top element of a column
Cuneiform
a system of writing in which the strokes are formed in a wedge or arrow-head shape; Ancient Near Eastern Art; one of the earliest forms of writing
Cylinder seal
a round piece of carved stone that when rolled onto clay produces an image
Facade
the front of a building
Hierarchy of scale
a system of representation that expresses a person's importance by the size of his or her representation in a work of art
Lamassu
a colossal winged human-headed bull in Assyrian art
Negative space
empty space around an object or a person, such as the cut-out area between a figure's legs or arms of a sculpture
Stele
a stone like slab used to mark a grave or a site
Ziggurat
pyramid-like buildign made of several stories that indent as the building gets taller; thus, ziggurats have terraces at teach level
Amarna style
art created during the reign of Akhenaton, which features a more releaxed figure style than in Old and Middle Kingdom art
Engaged column
a column that is not freestanding but attched to a wall
Hieroglyphics
Egyptian writing using symbols or pictures as characters
Hypostyle
a hall in an Egyptian temple that has a roof supported by a dense thicket of columns
In situ
a Latin expression that means that something is in its original location
Ka
the soul, or spiritual essence, of a human being that either ascends to heaven or can live in an Egyptian statue of itself
Mastaba
Arabic for "bench", a low flat-roofed Egyptian tomb with sides sloping down to the ground
Necropolis
literally a "city of the dead"; a large burial area
Papyrus
a tall aquatic plant whose fiber is used as a writing surface in ancient Egypt
Pharaoh
a king of ancient Egypt
Pylon
a monumental gateway to an Egyptian temple marked by two flat, sloping walls between which is a smaller entrance
Reserve column
a column that is cut away from rock but has no support function, because it is for decorative purposes only
Sarcophagus
a stone coffin
fresco secco/dry fresco
paint applied to dry wall
buon fresco/true fresco
freshly applied layer of plaster easily adheres to a coat of paint; quick brushwork required
Corbel arch
a vault formed by layers of stone that gradually grow closer together as they rise until they eventually meet
Cyclopean masonry
a type of construction that uses rough, massive blocks of stone piled one atop the other without mortar. Named for the mythical Cyclops
Fresco
a painting technique that involves applying water-based paint onto a freshly plastered wall; the paint forms a bond with the plaster that is durable and long lasting
Megaron
rectangular audience hall in Aegean art that has a two-column porch and four columns around a central air well; Minoan
Repousse
French, "to push back"; a type of metal relief sculpture in which the back side of a plate is hammered to form a raised relief on the front
Tholos tomb
an ancient Mycenaean circular tomb in a beehive shape
Acropolis
literally a "high city" a Greek temple complex built on a hill over a city
Amphora
two handled Greek storage jar
Architrave
a plain, unornamented lintel on the entablature
Canon
a body of rules or laws; in Greek art, the ideal mathematical proportion of a figure
Caryatid
(male=atlantid); a building column that is shaped like a female figure;
Cella
the main room of a Greek temple where the god is housed
Contrapposto
a graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders and hips and bent knees
Cornice
a projecting ledge over a wall
Entablature
the upper story of a Greek temple
Frieze
a horizontal band of sculpture
Kiln
an oven used for making pottery
Kouros
(female=kore); an archaice Greek sculpture of a standing youth
Krater
a large Greek bowl used for mixing wine and water
Kylix
a Greek drinking cup
Metope
small relief sculpture on the facade of a Greek temple
Mosaic
a decoration using pieces of stone, marble, or colored glass, called tesserae, that are cemented to a wall or a floor
Pediment
the triangular top of a temple that contains sculpture
Peristyle
a colonade surrounding a Greek temple
Propylaeum
a gateway leading to a Greek temple
Relief sculpture
scultpure that projects from a flat background. A very shallow relief sculpture is called a bas-relief
Shaft
the body of a column
Tholos
an ancient Greek circular shrine
Trigylph
projecting grooved element alternating with a metope on a Greek temple
Necropolis
city of deat; large burial area
Stucco
fine plaster used for wall decorations or moldings
Terra-cotta
hard ceramic clay used for building or for making pottery
Tumulus
artificial mound of earth and stones placed over a grave
Aqueduct
an overground water system
Ashlar masonry
carefully cut and grooved stones that support a building without the use of concrete or other kinds of masonry
Atrium
courtyard in a Roman house or before a Christian church
Basilica
large axially planned building with a nave, side aisles, and apses
Bust
sculpture depicting a head, neck, and upper chest of a figure
Coffer
sunken panel in ceiling to relieve pressure
Cubiculum
Roman bedroom flanking an atrium; or a mortuary chapel in a catacomb
Cupola
small dome rising over the roof of a building; rotating an arch on its axis
Encaustic
painting - colored waxes burned into a wooden surface
Foreshortening
object is shortened and turned deeper into the picture plane to give the effect of receding in space
Forum
public square in Roman city
Impluvium
rectangular basin in a Roman house that is placed in the open-air atrium in order to collect rainwater
Keystone
the center stone of an arch that holds the others in place
Peristyle
atrium surrounded by columns in a Roman house
Perspective
depth and recession in a painting or a relief sculpture. Objects shown in linear perspective achieve a three-dimensional in the two-dimensional world of the picture plane.
Orthogonals
lines, draw the viewer back in space to a common point, called the vanishing point
Pier
a vertical support that holds up an arch or a vault
Spandrel
triangular space enclosed by the curves of arches
Vault
roof constructed with arches - extended makes it a barrel vault, and when two barrel vaults intersect at right angles, they are called a groin vault
Veristic
sculptures from the Roman Republic era characterized by extreme realism of facial features
Ambulatory
passageway around the apse or altar of a church
Apse
the endpoint of a church where the altar is located
Axial plan
a church with a long nave whose focus is the apse, so-called because it is designed along an axis
Basilica
(christian) axially planned church with a long nave, side aisles, and an apse for the altar
central plan
church is a circle, altar in center
clerestory
window story of church, lets in light
cubicula
mortuary chapels in catacommbs
loculi
holes in wall for the poor dead christians
Narthex
closes part of the atrium to the basilica, it serves as vestibule, or lobby of a church
spolia
reusing art pieces in new art
transept
aisle in a church perpendicular to the nave, where the clergy stood