Lernzettel: Ancient Art and Architecture Foundations

📋 Course Outline

1. Prehistoric Art & Techniques
2. Egyptian Architecture & Symbolism
3. Mesopotamian Ziggurats & Law Codes
4. Greek Temples & Architectural Orders
5. Etruscan Tombs & Sculpture
6. Roman Architectural Innovations & Urban Planning
7. Paleolithic Cave Painting & Motifs
8. Egyptian Sculpture & Color Use
9. Mesopotamian Reliefs & Material Use
10. Greek Sculpture & Movement Representation
11. Roman Frescoes & Perspective Techniques

📖 1. Prehistoric Art & Techniques

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Prehistoric Art: Artistic creations made by early humans before written records, primarily involving painting, sculpture, and carvings.
• Cave Paintings: Wall murals created inside caves, often depicting animals and hunting scenes, using natural pigments and primitive tools.
• Venus Figurines: Small statuettes representing female figures, symbolizing fertility or related rituals, made from materials like clay, limestone, or ivory.
• Techniques:
  • Dícání mrsty: Applying pigment mixed with fat or water using fingers, brushes, or primitive tools.
  • Fresco: Painting onto wet plaster, mainly used in later periods.
• Materials:
  • Ochre, charcoal, animal fats, plant dyes: Natural pigments used for coloring.
  • Clay, limestone, ivory: Common materials for sculptures and figurines.

📝 Essential Points

• Time Periods:
  • Mladší Paleolit (40,000–9,000 BC): Dominance of cave paintings and small sculptures.
  • Mezolit, Neolit, Eneolit, Bronze Age: Development of ceramics, metallurgy, and more sophisticated art forms.
• Cave Art:
  • Found in regions like Altamira (Spain), Lascaux (France), Ukraine, Siberia, Africa.
  • Motivations linked to hunting, fertility, and spiritual beliefs.
  • Stylization involves simplifying and abstracting forms to capture essence.
• Sculpture:
  • Venus figurines (e.g., Věstonice, Willendorf) emphasize fertility features.
  • Made from clay, limestone, or bone, often figuratively exaggerated.
• Cultural Significance:
  • Art served ritualistic, spiritual, and social functions.
  • Early humans believed art could influence hunting success or spiritual forces.

💡 Key Takeaway

Prehistoric art reflects early humans' efforts to understand and influence their environment through symbolic and ritualistic creations, utilizing natural materials and simple techniques to produce enduring images and figures.

📖 2. Egyptian Architecture & Symbolism

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Pyramid: A monumental structure with a square or triangular base and sloping sides that converge to a point, serving as a tomb for pharaohs. Example: Pyramid of Djoser at Sakkara.
• Mastaba: An ancient Egyptian rectangular tomb with flat roofs and sloping sides, typically underground, precursor to pyramids.
• Temple Complex: A large, organized site with multiple structures dedicated to gods and pharaohs, including pylons, hypostyle halls, and sanctuaries.
• Obelisk: A tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument with a pyramidion at the top, symbolizing the sun god Ra.
• Hypostyle Hall: A large room characterized by a roof supported by columns, often found in Egyptian temples.
• Incrustation: Decorative technique involving embedding precious stones or materials into surfaces, used in Egyptian sculpture and furniture.

📝 Essential Points

• Architectural Evolution: From mastabas to step pyramids (e.g., Djoser) and then to smooth-sided pyramids (e.g., Giza pyramids). These structures symbolize the sun's rays and the pharaoh's divine power.
• Material Use: Primarily limestone, sandstone, and granite. Obelisks and statues often featured inlaid stones and polychrome decoration.
• Function & Symbolism: Structures served religious purposes, ensuring the pharaoh's immortality and divine status. Temples were designed with axial symmetry, emphasizing order and harmony.
• Key Structures:
  • Pyramids of Giza (Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure): Largest and most iconic, representing divine power.
  • Temple of Karnak: Massive complex with hypostyle halls, pylons, and obelisks.
  • Abu Simbel: Rock-cut temples with colossal statues of Ramses II.
• Sculpture & Decoration:
  • Life-sized and larger-than-life statues of pharaohs, gods, and officials.
  • Use of color (polychromy) and inlay (incrustation) to enhance visual impact.
  • Hieroglyphic inscriptions and symbolic motifs (e.g., lotus, papyrus, scarabs).

💡 Key Takeaway

Egyptian architecture is a profound expression of religious belief and divine kingship, characterized by monumental structures that symbolize eternity, order, and the divine connection between the pharaoh and the gods.

📖 3. Mesopotamian Ziggurats & Law Codes

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Ziggurat: A massive terraced structure built as a temple complex in ancient Mesopotamia, serving as a religious center and a link between heaven and earth.
• Sumerians: The creators of Mesopotamian civilization, credited with developing early urban centers, writing, and law codes.
• Cuneiform: One of the earliest systems of writing, inscribed on clay tablets using wedge-shaped symbols.
• Code of Hammurabi: An ancient Mesopotamian law code inscribed on a stele, establishing laws and justice principles, famously featuring the "eye for an eye" concept.
• City-States: Independent urban centers like Ur, Uruk, and Babylon, each with its own government and religious institutions.
• Ziggurat Construction Materials: Mainly mud bricks (cylinder or sun-dried), often glazed or fired for durability.

📝 Essential Points

• Ziggurats served as religious temples dedicated to gods, symbolizing the connection between humans and divine powers. They were built in tiers with a shrine at the top.
• Mesopotamian society was organized into city-states, each with its own ruler, temples, and ziggurat.
• Writing development (cuneiform) facilitated record-keeping, administration, and the creation of law codes.
• Hammurabi's Law Code (circa 1754 BCE) is one of the earliest legal documents, emphasizing justice, social order, and the principle of retribution.
• Architectural features include the use of mud bricks, stepped terraces, and large staircases leading to the temple complex.
• Significance of law codes: They reflect the societal values, hierarchy, and the importance of divine authority in governance.
• Notable artifacts: Stele of Hammurabi, the Standard of Ur, and the Ishtar Gate.

💡 Key Takeaway

Ziggurats and law codes exemplify Mesopotamian society’s focus on religious devotion, social order, and the codification of justice, laying foundational principles for future civilizations.

📖 4. Greek Temples & Architectural Orders

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Doric Order: The simplest Greek architectural order characterized by sturdy, fluted columns with plain capitals and a frieze divided into triglyphs and metopes.
• Ionic Order: Recognized by its slender, elegant columns with scroll-like volutes on the capitals and a continuous frieze.
• Corinthian Order: The most ornate Greek order featuring slender columns with elaborate acanthus leaf capitals.
• Peripteral Temple: A Greek temple with a single row of columns surrounding the naos (inner chamber).
• Cella (Naos): The inner chamber of a Greek temple where the cult statue was housed.
• Stylobate: The platform on which columns stand, forming the foundation of the temple.

📝 Essential Points

• Greek temples served religious purposes, primarily dedicated to gods and goddesses.
• The Doric order originated in mainland Greece, emphasizing strength and simplicity; exemplified by the Parthenon.
• The Ionic order, more decorative, originated in Ionia; notable example: Erechtion.
• The Corinthian order, developed later, is distinguished by its ornate capitals decorated with acanthus leaves.
• Architectural orders are distinguished by their column proportions, capitals, and entablature design.
• Temples typically feature a peripteral layout with a stylobate, columns, and a cella.
• The Parthenon exemplifies Doric order with perfect proportions and harmony.
• The development of architectural orders reflects evolving aesthetic ideals and technical advancements.

💡 Key Takeaway

Greek temples exemplify the mastery of architectural orders, combining aesthetic harmony with religious function, and their principles influenced Western architecture for centuries.

📖 5. Etruscan Tombs & Sculpture

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Etruscan Tombs: Burial structures built to honor the dead, often elaborate and designed as underground chambers or above-ground tombs with decorative frescoes.
• Tomb Architecture: Characterized by artificial hillocks, rock-cut chambers, and stone vaults, reflecting a focus on funerary practices.
• Frescoes: Wall paintings created on wet plaster, depicting scenes of daily life, banquets, and mythological motifs, serving both decorative and ritual purposes.
• Sculpture: Etruscan sculptures often include funerary statues, reliefs, and small bronzes, emphasizing realism and expressive features.
• Venus Figurines: Small prehistoric female figurines symbolizing fertility, such as the Věstonice and Willendorf Venuses, made from clay or limestone.
• Material Use: Common materials include terracotta, limestone, and bronze, used for statues, reliefs, and tomb furnishings.

📝 Essential Points

• Etruscan tombs are notable for their elaborate frescoes that provide insight into social life, rituals, and beliefs about the afterlife.
• Tomb architecture often mimics domestic structures, with some tombs designed as miniature houses or temples.
• The frescoes are characterized by vivid colors, dynamic scenes, and a focus on banquets, music, and mythological themes, illustrating the importance of the afterlife.
• Sculptures include funerary statues of the deceased, often seated or in dynamic poses, emphasizing individuality and realism.
• The famous Louvre Tomb and Tomb of the Reliefs exemplify Etruscan craftsmanship in stone and fresco decoration.
• Etruscan art shows influence from Greek art but retains distinctive features such as expressive faces and lively compositions.
• The Venus figurines reflect prehistoric fertility symbolism predating Etruscan civilization, indicating long-standing artistic traditions.

💡 Key Takeaway

Etruscan tombs and sculptures reveal a sophisticated funerary culture that emphasized realism, ritual, and social identity, with their elaborate frescoes and statues offering valuable insights into ancient Etruscan life and beliefs.

📖 6. Roman Architectural Innovations & Urban Planning

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Aqueduct: A bridge-like structure designed to transport water from distant sources into cities, crucial for urban water supply.
• Cloaca Maxima: One of the world's earliest sewage systems, an underground drainage channel in Rome.
• Forum: The central public square in Roman cities, serving as a marketplace and political hub.
• Basilica: A large public building used for legal and other civic proceedings, characterized by a rectangular plan with a central nave.
• Domus: A private Roman house, often with an atrium and peristyle, reflecting Roman domestic architecture.
• Triumphal Arch: Monumental structures celebrating military victories, often decorated with reliefs and inscriptions.

📝 Essential Points

• Innovations in Construction:

  • Use of concrete (opus caementicium) allowed for durable, versatile structures like domes and vaults.
  • Development of the arch, vault, and dome revolutionized architecture, enabling large open interior spaces.
  • Roman aqueducts utilized precise engineering, including gravity flow and multiple tiers of arches, to supply cities with water.
  • Bridges and roads (viae) facilitated military movement, trade, and communication across the empire.

• Urban Planning:

  • Roman cities were grid-planned with a central forum, basilicas, baths, and temples.
  • Public baths (thermae) became social and cultural centers, showcasing advanced heating systems (hypocaust).
  • Theaters and amphitheaters (e.g., Colosseum) provided entertainment and civic engagement.
  • Sewage and drainage systems like the Cloaca Maxima improved sanitation and urban health.

• Architectural Elements:

  • Use of columns and porticoes borrowed from Greek styles but adapted for larger, more functional structures.
  • Pantheon’s massive dome with oculus exemplifies engineering mastery.
  • Urban infrastructure prioritized accessibility, water management, and civic identity.

• Legacy:

  • Roman innovations influenced later architecture, especially in the Renaissance and Neoclassical periods.
  • Many structures (Pantheon, aqueducts, roads) remain symbols of engineering prowess.

💡 Key Takeaway

Roman architectural innovations—particularly the development of concrete, arches, aqueducts, and urban planning—transformed the cityscape, enabling the creation of durable, functional, and monumental structures that have profoundly influenced Western architecture and urban design.

📖 7. Paleolithic Cave Painting & Motifs

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Paleolithic Cave Paintings: Prehistoric artworks created by early humans during the Paleolithic era, primarily found in caves, dating from approximately 40,000 to 9,000 years ago.
• Motifs: Recurrent visual themes or symbols in cave art, such as animals (e.g., bison, deer), handprints, and abstract signs, often linked to hunting and spiritual beliefs.
• Techniques: Methods used to create cave paintings, including finger painting, blowing pigment through tubes, and applying pigments like charcoal, ochre, and animal fats mixed with water or other binders.
• Stylization: Artistic simplification or abstraction of natural forms, focusing on essential features rather than detailed realism, often to convey symbolic or ritual significance.
• Venus Figurines: Small prehistoric sculptures representing female figures, emphasizing fertility features, such as exaggerated breasts and hips, like the Venus of Willendorf and Věstonice Venus.
• Iconography & Function: The study of symbols and motifs in cave art, believed to serve ritualistic, spiritual, or hunting magic purposes, aiming to influence animal behavior or ensure successful hunts.

📝 Essential Points

• Age & Distribution: Paleolithic cave paintings date from around 40,000 to 9,000 years ago, found across Europe, Ukraine, Siberia, Africa, and Iberia.
• Materials & Techniques: Artists used natural pigments (charcoal, ochre, animal fats) applied with fingers, primitive brushes, or by blowing pigment. Techniques include scraping, engraving, and finger painting.
• Motivations & Beliefs: Art was likely connected to hunting rituals, spiritual beliefs, or shamanistic practices. Drawings often depict animals in dynamic poses, possibly to ensure successful hunts or spiritual connection.
• Stylization & Composition: Forms are simplified, emphasizing movement and essential features. Composition often involves multiple perspectives, with figures shown in both profile and frontal views.
• Significance of Animals: Animals like bison, deer, and horses dominate motifs, symbolizing their importance in survival and spiritual life.
• Venus Figurines: Emphasize fertility and health, possibly used in fertility rituals or as talismans. They are characterized by exaggerated reproductive features and made from various materials like clay, limestone, or ivory.
• Cave Locations & Preservation: Notable sites include Lascaux (France), Altamira (Spain), and sites in Ukraine, Siberia, and Africa. Preservation varies, but many cave paintings remain well-preserved due to the stable environment.

💡 Key Takeaway

Paleolithic cave paintings are among the earliest forms of human artistic expression, serving ritualistic and symbolic purposes that reflect early humans' spiritual beliefs, connection to nature, and understanding of their environment. Their motifs and techniques reveal a sophisticated, symbolic worldview rooted in survival and spirituality.

📖 8. Egyptian Sculpture & Color Use

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Polychromy: The practice of decorating sculptures and architecture with multiple colors, used to enhance realism and symbolism in Egyptian art.
• Inkrustation: The technique of embedding precious or semi-precious materials such as stones, glass, or shell into sculptures or coffins to add decorative detail.
• Sarkofág: A coffin or burial chest, often in the shape of the deceased's body, used in Egyptian burial practices.
• Relief: A sculptural technique where figures are carved into a flat surface, creating a sense of depth; used extensively in Egyptian temple decoration.
• Stinga: A hybrid sculpture combining a human head with an animal body, symbolizing deities or protective spirits.
• Color Symbolism: Use of specific colors (e.g., green for fertility, black for death, red for power) to convey meaning and status in Egyptian art.

📝 Essential Points

• Materials & Techniques: Egyptian sculptures were often made from stone (granite, limestone, basalt) and painted with mineral-based pigments; inlay and inkrustation added luxury.
• Color Use: Bright, durable pigments were applied to emphasize divine and royal attributes, with color serving symbolic purposes—green (rebirth), black (death), red (power), white (purity).
• Proportions & Style: Idealized and proportionate, adhering to strict conventions to convey order and harmony; figures often shown in profile with frontal eyes.
• Polychromy & Inkrustation: Used to animate statues and tombs, making them more lifelike and spiritually significant.
• Function & Context: Sculpture served religious, funerary, and political purposes—protecting the deceased, honoring gods, and demonstrating power.
• Notable Examples: The Great Pyramid of Giza, statues of Pharaohs like Khafre, and painted tomb walls.

💡 Key Takeaway

Egyptian sculpture and color use were deeply intertwined with religious beliefs and symbolism, employing precise techniques and vibrant pigments to create eternal, idealized representations of deities, pharaohs, and the afterlife.

📖 9. Mesopotamian Reliefs & Material Use

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Relief Sculpture: A sculptural technique where figures are carved or modeled so they project from a flat background, creating a sense of depth and space.
• Ziggurat: A massive terraced structure built by the Sumerians as a temple complex, often featuring relief decorations.
• Cuneiform: An early system of writing developed by the Sumerians, often inscribed on clay tablets with relief or incised characters.
• Material Use in Reliefs: Common materials include clay, stone (limestone, alabaster), and sometimes metal, used for carving or modeling relief scenes.
• Iconography: The visual symbolism used in reliefs to depict divine, royal, or mythological themes, often emphasizing power and authority.
• Polychromy: The practice of decorating reliefs with multiple colors, enhancing visual impact and storytelling.

📝 Essential Points

• Mesopotamian reliefs primarily served religious, political, and commemorative purposes, often depicting gods, kings, and mythological scenes.
• Reliefs were carved into stone or clay, with high and low relief techniques used to emphasize figures and narrative.
• Ziggurats and palace walls featured extensive relief decorations that conveyed power, divine authority, and historical events.
• Materials like alabaster and limestone were favored for their workability and durability.
• Iconography often included symbols like the winged bull, lamassu, and royal inscriptions to assert dominance and divine favor.
• Relief scenes frequently combined narrative storytelling with hieratic scale, where size indicates importance.
• Use of color (polychromy) was common but has largely faded; original colors were applied to enhance realism and symbolism.

💡 Key Takeaway

Mesopotamian reliefs are vital visual records that combine storytelling, symbolism, and material mastery to communicate divine authority and royal power, utilizing carved stone and clay with intricate iconography and vibrant colors.

📖 10. Greek Sculpture & Movement Representation

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Contrapposto: A stance in sculpture where the weight is shifted onto one leg, creating a naturalistic distribution of body weight and a sense of movement.
• Kouros/Kore**: Free-standing ancient Greek sculptures of young men (kouros) and women (kore), characterized by stylized features and frontal pose.
• Dynamic Movement: The depiction of figures in action, capturing motion and energy, often through twisting bodies and expressive gestures.
• Idealism: The Greek approach to sculpture emphasizing perfect proportions, harmony, and idealized human forms rather than individual realism.
• Chiaroscuro: The use of light and shadow in sculpture to enhance three-dimensionality and suggest movement.
• Polykleitos’ Canon: A set of proportions for the ideal human figure, developed by the sculptor Polykleitos, emphasizing balance and harmony.

📝 Essential Points

• Greek sculpture evolved from rigid, frontal figures to dynamic, naturalistic representations emphasizing movement and anatomy.
• The introduction of contrapposto marked a significant shift towards realism, allowing sculptures to appear more lifelike and suggest motion.
• Sculptors like Myron and Polykleitos mastered capturing movement; Myron’s Diskobolos (Discus Thrower) exemplifies dynamic action, while Polykleitos’ Doryphoros demonstrates ideal proportions.
• Greek sculptures often depict gods, athletes, and mythological figures, emphasizing perfection, harmony, and idealized beauty.
• The representation of movement involves twisting torsos, bent limbs, and expressive gestures, creating a sense of narrative and vitality.
• The Kouros and Kore statues serve as early examples of Greek sculpture, with evolving complexity towards more naturalistic forms.
• The use of materials such as bronze, marble, and ivory contributed to the detailed and durable representation of movement.

💡 Key Takeaway

Greek sculpture revolutionized the depiction of movement by emphasizing naturalistic anatomy and dynamic poses, laying the foundation for realistic and expressive art that celebrates human vitality and ideal beauty.

📖 11. Roman Frescoes & Perspective Techniques

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Fresco: A wall painting technique where pigments are applied onto wet lime plaster, allowing the paint to become an integral part of the wall surface. Used extensively in Roman and earlier civilizations for interior decoration.
• Perspective: Artistic method used to represent three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. Key types include:
  • Pictorial (or linear) perspective: Creates the illusion of depth using converging lines.
  • Pano perspective: Emphasizes the spatial arrangement of figures and objects to suggest depth.
  • Biometric perspective: Hierarchical scaling where the size of figures indicates their social or narrative importance.
• Foreshortening: Technique to depict an object or figure in a picture in depth, making parts appear shorter or compressed to create a sense of projection.
• Chiaroscuro: The use of strong contrasts between light and dark to give the illusion of volume in modeling three-dimensional objects and figures.
• Illusionism: Artistic approach to create the illusion of three-dimensional space and depth on a flat surface, often through perspective and shading.

📝 Essential Points

• Roman frescoes often employed perspective techniques to enhance realism and spatial depth, especially in private homes and public buildings.
• Linear perspective was used to guide the viewer’s eye into the scene, with converging lines creating the illusion of depth.
• Biometric perspective was common in Roman art, where the size of figures indicated their social or narrative importance rather than strict spatial accuracy.
• Foreshortening was skillfully used in frescoes to depict figures projecting into space, adding dynamism and realism.
• Illusionistic techniques such as trompe-l'œil (deceive the eye) were employed to make painted architectural elements, windows, or objects appear three-dimensional.
• Roman frescoes often depicted interior scenes with complex spatial arrangements, such as gardens, architecture, and mythological narratives, demonstrating advanced understanding of perspective.
• Key examples include the frescoes of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which showcase sophisticated use of perspective and shading techniques to create immersive environments.
• The use of color and light/shadow contrasts (chiaroscuro) enhanced the three-dimensionality of figures and objects.
• Roman artists adapted Greek techniques, integrating them with their own innovations to produce highly realistic and spatially convincing artworks.

💡 Key Takeaway

Roman frescoes exemplify advanced perspective techniques that create convincing illusions of space and depth, reflecting a sophisticated understanding of visual perception and artistic innovation that significantly influenced Western art.

📊 Synthesis Tables

Aspect	Prehistoric Art & Techniques	Egyptian Architecture & Symbolism	Mesopotamian Ziggurats & Law Codes	Greek Temples & Architectural Orders	Roman Architectural Innovations & Urban Planning
Main Function	Rituals, fertility, spiritual beliefs	Religious, funerary, divine kingship	Religious worship, law, societal order	Religious worship, honoring gods	Public, civic, entertainment, infrastructure
Materials	Ochre, charcoal, animal fats, clay, limestone	Limestone, sandstone, granite, inlay	Mud bricks, fired bricks, glazed ceramics	Marble, limestone, terracotta	Concrete, brick, marble, volcanic stone
Techniques	Dícání, fresco, carving	Incrustation, carving, painting	Carving, relief, inlay, glazed bricks	Post-and-lintel, columns, entablature	Arch, vault, dome, aqueducts, roads
Artistic Focus	Animals, fertility figures, abstract motifs	Statues, reliefs, hieroglyphs, color symbolism	Reliefs, inscriptions, symbolic motifs	Proportions, order, harmony, sculpture	Perspective, realism, monumental scale
Key Symbols	Animals, fertility, abstract signs	Sun, scarabs, lotus, papyrus, gods’ iconography	Gods, divine authority, law symbols	Columns, pediments, friezes, gods’ images	Arches, domes, aqueducts, forums

⚠️ Common Pitfalls & Confusions

1. Confusing Venus figurines with other small prehistoric sculptures; focus on fertility symbolism.
2. Assuming all Egyptian structures are pyramids; remember mastabas and temples are distinct.
3. Overlooking the significance of ziggurats as religious centers, not just architectural feats.
4. Mixing Greek orders; distinguish Doric (plain), Ionic (scrolls), Corinthian (leafy).
5. Believing Roman architecture is only about grandeur; note innovations like the arch, vault, and concrete.
6. Confusing reliefs (flat, narrative) with sculpture (free-standing, three-dimensional).
7. Misunderstanding the purpose of cave paintings—primarily ritualistic, not decorative.

✅ Exam Checklist

• Identify the main materials and techniques used in prehistoric cave paintings and figurines.
• Explain the symbolic significance of Egyptian pyramids and temples.
• Describe the purpose and construction of Mesopotamian ziggurats and the importance of the Law Code of Hammurabi.
• Differentiate between Greek architectural orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
• Recognize key features of Greek temples, such as the peripteral layout and the use of columns.
• Describe the evolution of Egyptian sculpture and the use of color and symbolism.
• Understand the architectural innovations introduced by the Romans, including the arch, vault, and concrete.
• Recognize the motifs and themes depicted in Paleolithic cave paintings.
• Explain the significance of reliefs and material choices in Mesopotamian art.
• Identify the characteristics of Greek sculpture that emphasize movement and naturalism.
• Describe Roman fresco techniques and the use of perspective in interior decoration.
• Compare and contrast the functions and stylistic features of prehistoric, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek, and Roman art and architecture.