World Civilization and Pre History (2)

Visit the Metropolitan Museum of art website (link: https://www.metmuseum.org/) and choose an appropriate artifact from their online collections:

Analyze an artifact from the ancient world.

Give its title, civ from which it came, and other necessary information, describe it, and analyze it within the context of one or more of the themes of the course. You’ll want to be sure to choose an artifact that reflects the rise of the civilizations and empires covered in the course:

www.metmuseum.org >> Art >> The Met Collection >> Collection Highlights >> Filter by ‘Department’ (Choose only one from the below and write the paper on it):

• Africa, Oceania, Americas (make sure you choose something from a ‘Taker’ society to complete this task)


• Ancient Near East


• Greek and Roman


• Medieval Art


• Islamic Empires (Choosing from here may be difficult for this assignment  because of Islamic law)


• Asian (as long as it’s old)


• Egyptian


• Aztec/Inca/Maya

Pick something from the above sections. Choose something that shows POWER, but anything related to the ancient world would be acceptable. That shouldn’t be too difficult. Think about it: if a fine piece of art was created in your honor, with great care and skill and with rare and valuable materials, and 2,000 years later it is held in a museum as a priceless work of art, you probably held a great deal of power within your society. Your task is to analyze the symbolism, craftsmanship, etc of the artifact, and what it tells us about power within that particular ancient civilization. You may cite from the museum’s description, but go beyond it with your own words and/or using the ideas/terminology of the course. You may need to find information about that civ from other sources or the textbook too, just make sure you cite.

RUBRIC. Any ideas of anyone else (the museum's description and any other sources you may choose to use but aren't required) should be properly cited (in any format) and clearly separated from your original words. The “A” paper will:

• Be at least 2 pages double space including a half-page sized image of the artifact (so at least 1.5 page writing)


• Include a link to, and a picture of the artifact in your document.


• Include source information about the artifact from museum’s website, clearly cited, as well as your original interpretation of the piece. All information gathered from any other source should also be cited


• demonstrate that you have made an analytical connection between the artifact and the themes covered in class and listed in the document “COURSE THEMES”


• Be well organized and presented clearly