Ancient History of Ethiopian

Art & Architecture

Pre- Axumite Architecture

 INTRODUCTION
Human ancestors evolved in Africa from 2.3
million years ago - Homo Habilis, Homo
Erectus, Homo Sapiens, ----
Then spread into Southern Europe, Asia, North
America, Southeast Asia , Australia
Before 9000 BC, nomadic life of hunting &
food gathering
Shelter under caves, Animal skins, wooden
frames, animal bones
 INTRODUCTION
 By 9000 BC, farming and agriculture was
Neolithic Age and the
practiced
Agricultural Revolution
 Fertile soil and plentiful food 10,000 CE - 3,500 BCE
Animal domestication for work, milk, wool cultivation of cereals,
 People wanted to settle down, live in such as wheat, and
communities domestication of
animals
 First villages in the Middle East, South
America, Central America, India and China  first civilizations
emerge during this
period:
 INTRODUCTION
Ancient Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Sumerians & Akkadians
Egypt
Neo-Sumerians
Indus VAlley
Babylonians & Hittities
Yellow River in China
Assyrians
Valley of Mexico
Neo-Babylonians
Coasts and highlands of Peru
 Persians
 INTRODUCTION
 The Fertile Crescent, which includes
present day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel,
Kuwait, Jordan, and Turkey

Catal Huyuk, Southern Turkey, 7,500 BCE population

between 5,000 - 8,000 (discovered in 1961)
 INTRODUCTION
Mesopotamia:
 Between Tigris & Euphrates rivers now Iraq
& Iran
 It was developed independent city states of
Ur, Babylon, Agade, Ashur and Damascus in
4000 BCE to 331 BCE
 Each city-state surrounded by a wall and
dominated by a large temple
Assyrian
 Based in Ashur, biggest empire under King
Ashurbanipal conquered Mesopotamia, Syria,
Palestine and Egypt
 INTRODUCTION
Mesopotamia:
Persian
 Begun from 559 to 529 BC Covered
Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Eastern
Mediterranean, Bactria, Indus Valley and
North Africa until Darius III defeated by
Alexander the Great of Macedonia
 They Built Religious buildings next to
temples On top was a small temple
Ziggurat at Ur 2000 BC
 INTRODUCTION
Mesopotamia:
Egyptian
 Nile River was a trade route Gold
from Nubia in the south Two
kingdoms, Lower and Upper Egypt,
combined by King Menes in 3100 BC
 Afterlife - life and house on earth is
temporary, the tomb is permanent
 For sustenance and eternal enjoyment Pyramids at Gizeh
of the deceased
 Religion is the dominant element in
Egyptian architecture
 INTRODUCTION

ROCK-CUT or ROCK-HEWN
Great Temple of Abu-Simbel TOMBS
• Example of rock-cut temple • Built along hillside
• Constructed by Rameses II • For nobility, not royalty
 Egyptians

Great Pyramid of Khufu, Egypt, (2600

Temple at Luxor (1408 to
to 2480BC)
1300BC) Egypt
The Greeks

Parthenon Greece, 477

to 438 BC
The Romans

The Roman Forum

(100 to 300BC)
SABIAN Architecture
( 500 BC to 100 AD )
 Pre- Axumite Architecture
Farming in the Nile delta started
around 4000 B.C.
a powerful Egyptian state developed
about 2600 B.C. ,at the time the state
was able to command the labor for
such huge constructions as the Great
pyramid.

•Archaeological sites
in northern Ethiopia
and the middle east
Introduction
 Pre- Axumite Architecture
EarliestArt (example of cave painting
in Ethiopia)
a cave at Porcepic near Dire Dawa,
dated at 400,000 years and notable for
its exquisitely accurate rendering of
animal forms – Antelope, Jackal and
hyena are clearly identifiable
 Pre- Axumite Architecture
Some influences to early Ethiopian culture
South Arabians brought with them the Sabean syllabury, a modified
version of which is the script in which both Ge’ez and

•The techniques of carving

probably originated the early
civilization in South Arabians.
 Pre- Axumite Architecture
Symbols of Sabian religion “ the Disk & the
Crescent”
the decoration of this stone altar is clearly
Architectural and depicts “Axumite type of
window carpentry similar to the patterns of the
largest stales at Axum.
 INTRODUCTION
In the beginning of the 1st millenia BC a unique culture developed in
northern ethiopia know as the Damat culture
The sabaen or Shaab culture of yemen rules 5th to 6th century bc
Just 20 miles north east of the town of axum the town of yeha has the pre
christian temple know as the yeha temple
It is belived to be the oldest buillding in ethiopia constructed by 500 BC
It suggests that older than parthean of greek and a century older than
colsium in rome
 Pre- Axumite Architecture
Yeha Temple
 Pre- Axumite Architecture
Temple of Yeha -Oldest well-preserved
building in Ethiopia (built more than 2500
years ago, in Sabian times) The country’s
earliest high civilization
Constructed with Masonry of dressed stone.
Consists of a single oblong Chamber
Area:18.5m by 15m
height: 12m
Regular rectangular blocks of up to 3 m
length were used to construct the wall,
without the use of any mortar.
 Pre- Axumite Architecture
Basic characteristics
The walls are smooth, with
long well-cut blocks,
excellent straightness and
tightness of joints
Outer faces, edges and
corners are unemotionally
dressed with great
precision
The wall thikness is about
60 cm.
Pre Axumite Domestic architecture
 Pre- Axumite Architecture
The wall, whose total thickness is about 60 cm, is not just a single
structure but there are two walls interconnected to each other by smaller
blocks of stone which serve as anchor.
 Pre- Axumite Architecture
The floor is also superbly built with 5
layers of variously sized blocks some
measuring 1m by 50 cm, others 1m by
1m or 50 cm by 50 cm
Pre- Axumite Architecture
 Pre- Axumite Architecture
The Sabean walls.
 smooth,
 long well-cut blocks,
 straight
 Tight joints
 Perfect corners
Thank You