Ancient civilizations from all over the globe seem to have a fascination with the relation between man and beast. We’ve all heard about the mighty Sphinx, the creepy Minotaur, or the elusive Sasquatch. Whether you believe in them or not, there is a definitely something otherworldly about a creature halfway between human, and monster. However, many times the animal side of a hybrid will represent our instincts or the id. Conversely, the fact that the bearded bull defies these conventions, is what initially intrigued me with the piece. Instead of having the human part be most dominant, it seems the animal side is more dominant. When you see the piece your initial thoughts are “Hey! What’s that bull doing wearing a beard?” The Bearded-Bull Harp Ornament, at University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, is an ancient artifact from Ur, Iraq. possibly dating back as early as 2550 BCE. It’s original use was to be put on top of a lyre, which was a popular instrument, similar to a harp, in ancient Mesopotamia. The piece in …show more content…
The reason the bull is wearing a fake beard, is because the bull represents the underlying, intense emotion behind the music. While the beard represents all of the theory behind the music like the arrangements of the notes, or the tempo. The Mesopotamians are comparing the idea of music and harmonies, to taming a bull. Think of all the endless fiddling, stringing, and tuning these ancient people would have to do just to get the strings in tune with one another, let alone in tune with another lyre. Music in those days wasn’t as simple as going out and buying a guitar, and machine to tune it. These people had to make their instruments from scratch, and if they didn’t, somebody else made it from scratch for them. It seemed as though music was something humans stumbled upon that connected their more instinctual behaviors to creating
The Ghent Altarpiece painted in completeness by Jan and Hubert van Eyck in 1432. This altarpiece is filled with symbolism. One of the most important pieces of the altar is the Deity Enthroned, which represents the Lord in Christianity. The painting covered with symbols and words. The artists portrays many signs with different meanings from the deity’s clothes to the background.
The first representation of the beast that the author portrays is fear. In document A, “... Begin to people the darkness of night and forest with spirits and demons which had previously appeared only in their dreams or fairy tales”. To clarify, the children’s imagination runs rampant without their parents to banish their fears, so their imagination creates something of a beastie-thing. In document
The Ghent Altarpiece (began by Jan’s older brother Hubert Van Eyck; although the majority of artwork was done by Jan himself) functioned as a polyptych with 24 separate panels. The subject of the Ghent Altarpiece is the commemoration of the fall to the redemption; or rather, the rise of Christianity, the fall of Christianity (sin), and then redemption (Christ's sacrifice that saves mankind).
The Lamassu is a mythological winged human-headed bull that guards the Assyrian palace of Sargon II in Khorsabad, Iraq around 721 to 705 BCE. There are theories that they were sculpted at the palace gates to ward off evil and fend off invasions. Archaeologists theorized that the Lamassu had influenced other winged animal and human hybrids throughout the ages from Ancient Mesopotamia to Ancient Greece and to the Romanesque and Asia Minor. One, for example, is the Chimera of Arezzo, Italy from the Etruscans Late Classical period of the 4th century BCE. There were some debates about the origins of the Lamassu - where and what period the statuette was made and how much influence did it impacted other mythological winged hybrids.
In chapter two, while innocently adventuring, Grendel traps his foot in a crack between two old trees and, suddenly, a bull defending a calf begins to attack Grendel. After one successful stab at his knee, Grendel finds an easy way to avoid nearly all of the bull’s lunges. Before long, the repetitive, mechanical bull hardly even phases Grendel. The bull, unlike Hrothgar and his men, incompetently flings itself at Grendel’s tree the same way it would fight anything Like the ram, the bull’s stupidity contrasts Grendel from the common beast that doesn’t “even know that the calves they defend are theirs.” (20) The bull’s “brute enmity” (22) is compared to mankind’s competence when Hrothgar and his men attack Grendel. Although the men are smaller and less physically capable than the bull, Grendel calls them “the most dangerous things [he]’d ever met” (26) simply because of the...
The zampona was an instrument used by the Ancient Incans and other civilizations. This instrument is similar to the panpipe today but has a few differences in design. The time period of the zampona could be as long as 10,000 years ago. It was one of the most commonly used instruments by the Inca along with percussion. The zampona is an instrument that was resourcefully made and played an important role in ancient Incan culture and history by being used in many of their ceremonies, rituals, and entertainment activities.
Since the earliest days of human civilization music has been a key tool for communication of stories which carried emotions through them. If we think back to our youngest years of life music has surrounded us whether it was from our parents singing us lullabies or from some sort of toy that played music we can say that musical melodies have helped shape or lives one way or another. Once we start growing up and figuring out who we are our musical preferences change; some people like classical and some like punk. We start to befriend people who like the same music as us and eventually we may attend a musical event. Our lives somewhat revolve around the music that we listen to.
The human-headed winged bull, or lamassu, of Khorsabad, a northern city of Iraq, is a colossal sculpture. The sculpture guarded the entrance to king Sargon II throne room.
“How Musical is Man?” was published in 1974. This book was written by John Blacking, a musician turned social anthropologist. His goal in writing this ethnography, and several other papers during this same time period, was to compare the experience of music-making that takes place within different cultures and societies throughout the world. In this book, he discusses and describes the musicology of the Venda people in South Africa. Though he does go to Africa to research and learn about the Venda people and their music, he specifically states that his book is “not a scholarly study of human musicality” (ix), but rather it is a summary (written from his point of view), which is both expressive and entertaining, of several different issues and ideas that he has seemingly been contemplating for some time.
As studies have shown: “The ancient practice of placing or suspending votive objects in the interior of drums has been suggested as a possible origin for these curious instruments, whose history can be traced to the Shang
But since they were so caught in the moment, they begin to chant like savages. When the boys begin to chant, they act like they are in some sort of tribe, which is the opposite of what civilized group is. As the group of boys attack the beast, imagery is shown to describe the animalistic characteristics they have obtained. Animals such as lions tend to leap on top of their prey and maul them to death, the imagery demonstrated emphasizes the savage like behavior the boys acquired. This type of act
Of all the instruments laid out on display, only one caught my attention. I was thirteen at the time, and naturally, my eye was drawn to the shiniest of the group. I had never heard the sound of a flute before, aside from the cheap imitation of one on my family’s electronic keyboard. Nevertheless, I picked the pretty, gleaming, easy-to-carry flute on that first day of band class. Three years later, I can’t imagine playing anything else. What started off as blind luck and an attraction to shiny objects is now a part of my life. Playing an instrument is always a worthwhile investment; you develop a skill that many people only wish they had, you have opportunities to meet other musicians, and you may even get to travel in a band setting. But in order to reap the benefits, you first have to learn how to play.
It all started with Bill Haley, who is formally known as William John Clifton. His family was extremely musical considering his father played the banjo and the mandolin, and his mother was a classically trained pianist. When he was seven, he made a simulated guitar out of cardboard, then his parents bought him a real one. When he was fifteen he set out with his guitar on the hard road to fame and fortune. (Bill Haley and His Comets)
Music and musical instruments are an extremely important part of human history. The use of rhythm and song has long been used to express meaning, and feeling and accompany rituals. Music has been part of human life for as long as anyone can trace. Early civilizations of humans used music as a way to communicate and express feelings. Out of all of the musical instruments that we see in our society today and use on a regular basis, there is one instrument that stands out in musical history, the drum.
Egypt, a country on the continent of Africa then developed these instruments further as it had the resources and was a wealthier to the rest of Africa. There are few remains of African instruments, only very few stone ones have been found in the tombs in Egypt. Most of the history of the instrument is relied upon paintings and sculptures found in Egypt. From Egypt these developed primitive instruments soon spread throughout the rest of Africa. The advanced state of music among the most ancient Egyptians is shown by the excellent instruments they made and used, as many of harps and lyres were of beautiful workmanship.