Key Terms for Global Perspectives (500 BCE-1350 CE)
Key Terms for early Buddhism:
- axis mundi
- Buddhism (for information regarding religions and their iconography, please see The Basics of Religion)
- capital
- chattra (for more information see chatra)
- Emperor Ashoka
- harmika (for more information see harmika)
- mantra
- mudra (for more information see mudra)
- nirvana (for more information see nirvana)
- pradakshina
- relic
- samsara
- stupa (for more information see stupa)
- torana (for more information see torana)
- urna (for more information see urna)
- ushnisha (for more information see ushnisha)
- vedika
- yakshi (for more information see yakshi)
- yasti (for more information see yasti)
Key Terms for Qin Dynasty:
Key Terms for Lady of Dai’s Tomb:
Key Terms for Teotihuacan:
Key Terms for Kofun Period of Japan
- anthropomorphic
- earthenware (for more information see earthenware)
- haniwa 埴輪
- kofun
- Kofun Period 古墳
- stoneware (for more information see stoneware)
Key Terms for Tiwanaku
- Akapana
- anthropomorphic
- Gateway of the Sun
- Kalasasaya
- Putuni Complex
- relief
- Tiwanaku culture
- zoomorphic
Key Terms for Ethiopian Christian Art:
- Christianity (for information regarding religions and their iconography, please see The Basics of Religion)
- icons
- manuscript
- rock-cut
- parchment (for more information see parchment)
- psalter (for more information see psalter)
- tempera (for more information see tempera)
Key Terms for Palenque
- ajaw/ahau
- Maya glyphs (hieroglyphs)
- King Pakal
- Maya culture
- Palenque
- Temple of the Inscriptions
- Xibalba
Key Terms for Mesa Verde:
- Ancestral Puebloan culture
- kivas (also see kivas)
- rock-cut
- sipapu
Key Terms for Early Islamic Art:
- Islam (for information regarding religions and their iconography, please see The Basics of Religion)
- hijazi
- kufic
- minaret (for more information see minaret)
- mihrab مِحْرَاب (for more information see mihrab)
- mosaic
- mosque (for more information see mosque)
- qibla قِبْلَة (for more information see qibla)
- Qur'an القرآن (for more information see Qur’an)
Key Terms for The Great Mosque of Córdoba:
- horseshoe arch (for more information see horseshoe arch)
- hypostyle
- mihrab مِحْرَاب (for more information see mihrab)
- mosque (for more information see mosque)
- Strait of Gibraltar
- Umayyad dynasty
- voussoir (for more information see voussoir)
Key Terms for Chaco Canyon:
Key Terms for Chola Period:
- Hinduism (for information regarding religions and their iconography, please see The Basics of Religion)
- cloister
- garbhagriha
- gopura
- linga
- mahamandapa
- mudra (for more information see mudra)
- mukhamandapa
- stupi
- vahana
Key Terms for Fan Kuan:
- Daoism (Taoism)
- li
- shanshui hua
- Song period
- qi
Key Terms for Angkor Wat:
Key Terms for “The Night Attack”:
- handscroll (emaki) (for more information see handscroll)
- onna-e
- otoko-e
a line through the earth’s center around which the universe is thought to revolve.
The topmost part of a column.
In Buddhism and Hinduism the chatra (Sanskit: “parasol”) is an auspicious symbol, representing royalty and protection. Chatras in the form of stone disks typically decorate the yasti at the apex of a Buddhist stupa. Also spelled chattra, chhatra.
The third emperor of the Mauryan dynasty (the first Indian empire), Emperor Ashoka (pronounced Ashoke), who ruled from c. 279–232 B.C.E., was the first leader to accept Buddhism and thus the first major patron of Buddhist art.
In Buddhist architecture, a square fence-like enclosure symbolizing heaven on top of the dome of a stupa. The harmika encloses the yasti with its chatras.
A phrase repeated to assist concentration during meditation.
In Hindu and Buddhist art, a hand gesture used to express the meaning of an image of a divinity. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. Mudras denote specific behaviors, actions or states of mind.
the extinguishment of suffering by escaping the continuous cycle of rebirth called samsara.
the practice of circumambulating around a sacred object or space.
A body part or object associated with a religious figure, such as Christ, the Christian saints, or the Buddha.
a Sanskrit word, literally means a “round” or a “cycle.” In the ancient Indian worldview this means the endless cycle of rebirth and death—there is no beginning and no end. This endless cycle is governed by karma (causality).
In Buddhist architecture, a monument made of earth and/or stone and containing sacred relics.
In Buddhist and Hindu architecture, an ornamented gateway leading to a temple or stupa.
A whorl of hair on the forehead between the eyebrows, one of the lakshanas (auspicious marks) of the Buddha.
A knot of hair on the top of the head, one of the lakshanas of the Buddha.
stone fence that surrounds the stupa, separating the sacred and mundane spaces.
In Hindu and Buddhist art, auspicious female nature spirits, symbolic of fertility and abundance. Yakshi are typically depicted as beautiful and voluptuous, with wide hips, narrow waists, and exaggerated, spherical breasts. Male versions of these spirits are called yaksha.
In Buddhist architecture, the spire that rises from the apex of the dome of a stupa. The yasti symbolizes the axis of the universe. It is enclosed by a harmika and adorned with chatras.
An alloy of copper and tin.
In painting, drawing, or mosaic, the technique of creating the illusion of three-dimensionality by the use of gradations of value. In sculpture, it is the process of molding a three-dimensional form out of a malleable material, like clay or wax.
A hollow container in which molten metal or hot liquid material (such as wax) is poured then cooled and hardened. A mold can be used to make duplicate objects.
A style of art that seeks to represent objects or living beings as they appear to the eye.
Fired, unglazed clay, used for sculpture. Also spelled terra cotta.
A sign of good fortune and future success.
Decoration on embroidered silks is stitched into the cloth, while the design on damask silk is woven in.
ethereal soul
Archaeological site in Hunan Province, China where the tombs of Lady of Dai and others were recovered in 1972.
spirit objects, made specifically for burial (for example, the lacquered wood coffins, crude wooden figurines of servants and musicians dressed in painted or real silks, and clay coins made in imitation of real money)
A horizontal band containing decorative or narrative imagery. The term is normally used when a work of art is organized in multiple horizontal bands.
The Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.) reunified China after the civil war following the death of Qin Shihuangdi in 210 B.C.E. It is divided into two periods: the Former (or Western) Han, when Chang’an (present-day Xi’an) was its capital; and the Later (or Eastern) Han, which ruled from Luoyang—230 miles east of Xi’an.
See: https://smarthistory.org/han-dynasty-intro/
The central artery of Teotihuacan, which extends more than 1.5 miles across the city.
See: https://smarthistory.org/teotihuacan-2/
The second largest structure at Teotihuacan.
See: https://smarthistory.org/teotihuacan-2/
The Pyramid of the Sun, which reaches a height of over 200 feet, was the tallest structure in the Americas at the time. Built over a cave, it is unclear who or what the pyramid was built to commemorate, although art historians have suggested that creation mythology may be at issue, since Aztec and Maya sources refer to caves as places of origin and fertility.
A sloping wall, talud, that is surmounted by a vertical wall, tablero.
An ancient city about 25 miles northwest of modern-day Mexico City. By the 6th century it was the first large metropolis of the Americas with about 125,000-200,000 inhabitants.
See: https://smarthistory.org/teotihuacan-2/
Having a human-like form or attributes.
Pottery made from porous clay fired at a relatively low temperature. This type of pottery needs to be glazed to make it waterproof.
Terracotta figurines set on and around funerary tumuli during the Kofun period (ca. 3rd century CE to 538 CE) in Japan. Pronunciation here.
An elite tomb mound in Japan. Usually keyhole-shaped with several tiers, and were surrounded by moats.
A period in Japan named for the burial mounds of the ruling elite (c. 3rd century–538 CE).
Ceramics fired at high temperature to produce a stone-like hardness and density. It results in a non-porous object (ublike terracotta or earthenware).
Tiered pyramid located in Tiwanaku's ceremonial center.
Tiwanaku's monolithic portal carved out of a single block of andesite. It's lintel depicts the site's principal deity.
Tiwanaku's temple complex
a combination of raised platforms and courtyards
(200–1100 C.E.) was centered in the Lake Titicaca region of present-day southern Peru and western Bolivia, although its cultural influence spread into Bolivia and parts of Chile and Argentina. Tiwanaku’s main city center boasted a population of 25,000–40,000 at its peak.
Having an animal-like form; a term describing works of art based on animal shapes.
(Greek for “images”) refers to the religious images of Byzantium, made from a variety of media, which depict holy figures and events.
A book or document written by hand. A manuscript in which the text is supplemented by paintings is called an illuminated manuscript.
a work or art or structure that is carved from solid stone in its original location.
The skin of an animal (sheep, calf or goat) prepared for writing and/or painting. Parchment was used for the production of books in antiquity and the Middle Ages. The finer variety of parchment is called vellum.
A book of psalms.
A painting medium made by blending egg yolks with water and pigments.
Maya divine lord title
Maya script is the native writing system of the Maya civilization. The ancient Maya are credited with creating the most advanced Mesoamerican writing system, which was logo-syllabic, meaning that it consists of pictorial symbols or glyphs that represent either entire words or syllables. It is the only pre-Hispanic writing system of Mesoamerica that has been largely deciphered.
Dr. Maya Jiménez, “The Maya, an introduction,” in Smarthistory, August 19, 2016, https://smarthistory.org/maya-intro/.
Also known as K’inich Janaab’ Pakal, who ruled Palenque from 615 to 683 C.E
A Mesoamerican civilization in modern-day Mexico and Central America. With a population ranging in the millions and scattered throughout a vast region, the Maya were organized into small independent kingdoms or, more accurately, into city states. These city-states dominated the region from c. 1000 BCE till about 900 CE, with a Post-Classic period from 900-1521 CE. The Maya people still occupy this region today.
a Maya city in modern-day southern Mexico established c. 432 CE.
Maya funerary pyramid of King Pakal in Palenque.
Maya underworld
A culture who occupied the Four Corners region of the USA between the 9th-12th centuries. Formerly known as the Anasazi.
A large room, often wholly or partly underground, used for ceremonies and councils in Ancestral Puebloan and modern Native American Pueblo cultures.
A small hole in the kiva floor that is used for ceremonial purposes.
An Arabic calligraphy script characterized with tall, sloping lines, right-inclining letters, and vertical extensions. It was the most common script used in early Qur'ans, dating back to around 650–700 CE. It is more informal than kufic.
Any one of a range of early Arabic calligraphy scripts characterized by angular, rectilinear letter forms and horizontal orientation. Kufic tends to have thicker lines and horizontally elongated calligraphy. It became the standard script for Qur'ans between the mid-eighth and early tenth centuries. Kufic is also known for its use in architectural decoration, and can be rendered in many materials, including wood, metal, and stucco.
A tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque, with a balcony from which from which Muslims are called to prayer.
(Arabic: مِحْرَاب). In a mosque, the niche that indicates the wall oriented toward Mecca.
A medium in which small, roughly cubic pieces of colored material (usually stone or glass) are embedded in mortar to create patterns or images. The small pieces are called tesserae.
A building used by Muslims for communal worship.
(Arabic: قِبْلَة , “direction”). The direction to the Kaaba in Mecca, towards which Muslims are required to pray. Most mosques contain a niche, the mihrab, that indicates the qibla.
(Arabic: القرآن , “recitation”). The sacred book of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. The Qur’an is divided into 114 chapters (suwar) of various lengths. (Also spelled Koran).
An arch that forms more than a semicircle, typical of Western Islamic architecture. (Also known as: Moorish arch, keyhole arch).
a large room in which the roof is supported by rows of columns.
a narrow waterway that runs between Spain and Portugal to the north and Morocco to the south, separates Europe from Africa.
known as the first dynasty of the Islamic world.
See: https://smarthistory.org/umayyads/
A wedge-shaped stone block used to build an arch.
Large structures built of stone and wood by the Ancient Puebloan culture.
A multistoried Great House shaped like a D in Chaco Canyon containing between 600-800 rooms and kivas.
covered walkway
The space in a Hindu vimana that houses the primary image of the temple.
entryway
an aniconic (non-representational) emblem of Shiva.
Great hall of Hindu temple
front hall of Hindu temple
The apex or top[ of a HIndu temple. It sits above the vimana.
vehicle
a Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao-tzu ( fl. 6th century BC), advocating humility and religious piety.
principles
Chinese landscape painting
A period of Chinese history ruled by the Song rulers, 960-1279 CE.
The Song dynasty was divided into two periods: the Northern Song (960–1126), the physically larger empire, and the Southern Song (1127–1279).
See: https://smarthistory.org/song-dynasty-intro/
the vital force and substance of which man and the universe are made
The largest religious monument in the world located in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II.
See relief sculpture.
In Buddhist art, a symbolic diagram of the cosmos in a circular shape. The creation of a mandala is used as a tool for re-consecrating the earth and its inhabitants.
In East Asian art, a long, narrow, horizontally oriented painting on paper or silk. Handscrolls are stored wrapped around wooden dowels and are unrolled for viewing.
A feminine painting style characterized by rich colors and delicate lines. Images depict courtly life, flowers, private households, and other scenes that were conventionally associated with feminine life during the Kamakura period.
Japanese "men's paintings." A masculine painting style that uses strong calligraphic brushstrokes and heavily detailed male faces to portray the traditional masculine side of Japanese society. Images often scenes of war, conflict, gods, and other conventional masculine scenes of public life.
