AHIS 120gp Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Basalt, Systematic Code, Shamash
Document Summary
Mud-brick with kiln-dried brick set with bitumen. Rectangular base with three sets of stairs converging at an entrance. Platform walls slope outward from top to base. Prevent rainwater from forming puddles and eroding the mud-brick pavement below. Votive figures - images dedicated to the gods. Limestone statues from the square temple in eshnuma. Relates to an ancient near eastern devotional practice in which individual worshipers could set up images of themselves in a shrine before a larger, more elaborate image of a god. Each sculpture served as a stand-in for the donor, locked in eye-contact with the god, caught in the act of worship. Figures have stylized faces and bodies, dressed in clothing that emphasize pure cylindrical shapes. Stand solemnly, hands clasped in respect for devotional purposes. Bold eyes - worshipers should approach gods with an attentive gaze. Arched eyebrows were inlaid with dark shell, stone, or bitumen that emphasized the huge eyes.
