An advanced state of human society marked by a relatively high level of cultural, technical, and political development

An enduring and cooperating large-scale community of people having common traditions, institutions, and identity, whose members have developed collective interests and beliefs through interaction with one another

The integrated pattern of human knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to the next

A particular or distinctive form of artistic expression characteristic of a person, people, or period

The manner in which meaning, spirit, or character is symbolized or communicated in the execution of an artistic work

The architecture developed by the Sumerians, who dominated southern Mesopotamis from the 4th to the end of the 3rd millennium BCE, characterized by monumental temples of sun-dried brick faced with burnt or glazed brick, often built upon the ruins of their predecessors

The indigenous architecture of a vast country in eastern Asia whose civilization has continually evolved and survived longer than any other nation in the world

A unique system of wood frame construction took shape over several millennia of innovation and synthesis and exerted a profound influence over the architecture of Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia

The architecture of the ancient civilization that flourished along the Nile River in northwest Africa before 3000 BCE to its annexation by Rome in 30 BCE

Characterized esp. by the axial planning of massive masonry tombs and temples, the use of trabeated construction with precise stonework, and the decoration of battered walls with pictographic carvings in relief

A preoccupation with eternity and the afterlife dominated the building of these funerary monuments and temples, which reproduced the features of domestic architecture but on a massive scale using tone for permanence

The architecture of the Hittite Empire, which dominated Asia Minor and northern Syria from about 2000 to 1200 BCE, characterized by fortifications of cyclopean stone masonry and gateways with portal sculptures

The Mesopotamian architecture developed under the Assyrian king-emperors of the 9th to 7th centuries BCE.

Within city walls strengthened by towers with crenelated battlements, palaces took precedence over religious buildings.

Which architecture is this?

Vaulting played a greater role than in southern Mesopotamia and polychrome glazed brickwork showed the influence of Egyptian decoration.

Which architecture is this?

The architecture of the civilization that flourished on the Greek peninsula, in Asia Minor, on the north coast of Africa, and in the western Mediterranean until the establishment of Roman dominion in 146 CE

Characterized by a system of construction based on rules of form and proportion

Temples of post-and-lintel construction were continually refined in a quest for perfection and their design influenced a wide range of secular, civic buildings.

Which architecture is this?

The architecture of the Aegean civilization that spread its influence from Mycenae in southern Greece to many parts of the Mediterranean region from about 1600 to 1100 BCE

Characterized by shaft graves, monumental beehive tombs, and palaces fortified with cyclopean walls

The architecture of the Bronze Age civilization that flourished on Crete from about 3000 to 1100 BCE, named after the legendary King Minos of Knossos

Characterized by the elaborate palaces at Knossus and Phaetus

A cave in Lascaux, France, containing wall paintings and engravings thought to date from c. 13,000 - 8500 BCE

A Neolithic settlement in Anatolia, dated 6500 to 5000 BCE

One of the world's earliest cities, it had mud-brick fortifications and houses, frescoed shrines, a fully developed agriculture, and extensive trading in obsidian, the chief material for tool-making

A vast plateau between the Black, Mediterranean, and Aegean Seas, synonymous with the peninsula of Asia Minor; today comprises most of Turkey

A Bronze Age culture that flourished in the Indus Valley c. 2300 to 1500 BCE

An ancient region in western Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, comprising the lands of Sumer and Akkad and occupied successively by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians; now pat of Iraq

An agricultural region arching from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea in the west to Iraq in the east, the location of humankind's earliest cultures

An ancient region in southern Mesopotamia, where a number of independent cities and city-states were established as early as 5000 BCE. A number of its cities, such as Eridu, Uruk, and Ur, are major archeological sites.

An artificial mound accumulated from the remains of one or more ancient settlements; often used in the Middle East as part of a place name.

Of, pertaining to, or existing in the time prior to the recording of human events, knowledge of which is gained mainly through archaeological discoveries, study, and research

The earliest known period of human culture, preceding the Bronze Age and the Iron Age

Characterized by the use of stone implements and weapons

Of or relating to the last phase of the Stone Age

Characterized by the cultivation of grain crops, domestication of animals, settlement of villages, manufacture of pottery and textiles, and use of polished stone implements; thought to have begun c. 9000 to 8000 BCE

A period of human history that began c. 4000 to 3000 BCE, following the Stone Age and preceding the Iron Age

Characterized by the use of bronze implements

A Neolithic culture in China centered around the fertile plains of the Yellow River, characterized by pit dwellings and fine pottery painted in geometric designs

In Chinese philosophy and religion, the interaction of two opposing and complementary principles — one that is feminine, dark, and negative and the other that is masculine, bright, and positive — that influences the destinies of creatures and things

Bright hall: a ritual structure in Chinese architecture that serves as the symbolic center of imperial power

Jade ring moat: a ritual structure in Chinese architecture enclosing a space in the shape of the bi, a flat jade ceremonial disk.

Spirit altar: a raised astronomical observatory in Chinese architecture, usually the central, circular upper story of the mingtang

A standard unit of space in Chinese architecture, marked by adjacent frame supports