"Noah's Ark Found in Turkey"
"Soldiers Find Evidence of Garden of Eden in Iraq"
"Did Humanoids from Outer Space Colonize Earth?"
Headlines such as these shout to us from grocery store magazine racks, and from television schedules, and attract the hopeful. Any so-called "evidence" related to any Biblical event prior to Israel's entrance into Canaan should be treated with extreme skepticism.
The likelihood of Noah's wooden Ark still existing after thousands of years is almost an impossibility. Additionally, the locations of events related to the early years of the Bible are not identifiable with any certainty.
At best, we can investigate the cultures that surrounded the Patriarchs, drawing conclusions as to what their surroundings might have been. In the 19th and early 20th Centuries, many westerners searched the area of the Bible lands with the intent of proving the Bible to be true. Much of what was found was of a confusing nature, and many of their conclusions have since proved to be false.
However, recent scientific archaeological evidence does shed light on Biblical events, and gives us a clearer idea of Bible history. Cultures and events of the Old Testament are coming into sharper focus because of these studies. The words of the Bible, and the evidence found by scientists - which changes as new objects are found - are not incompatible, and show new perspectives on the history of the time.
Early and primitive cultures were nomadic. Nomadic cultures, including those found still existing in the world today, carried with them only small, light handmade tools and implements, and tents or other quickly assembled shelters. Such objects and materials would have deteriorated and disappeared over time. Woven baskets, cloth, skins, and lightweight wooden implements, which were easily portable, are what nomads would have used. Only their few stone tools are likely to be found intact.
It is unlikely that archaeologists will find anything that can be proven to belong to specific Old Testament peoples. Therefore, if you are reading this paper, hoping to see art attributable to people from the early chapters of Genesis, you will meet with disappointment. However, evidence of cultures and tribes mentioned in the Old Testament, or which would have influenced the Old Testament peoples, during the period of the Patriarchs, is in evidence.
I have taught art history for many years, and have been struck by the parallels between Bible events and the art and architecture found by archaeologists. While evidence of early man is found in many places, and documented as being of a very great age, advanced civilizations, with stone or baked clay buildings of large size, writing, art, metal and pottery, and evidences of stable governmental and religious systems, do not appear until early in the fourth millennium BC.
On the heels of many earlier, simpler cultures, three separate civilizations appeared within a relatively short time in three places: Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Greek Isles. Each had its own characteristics, but it is remarkable that these three relatively independent cultures sprang up in rapid succession, apparently unrelated in any major way.
The development of agriculture was a major event making possible civilizations that built permanent structures. Until men had a stable source of food, rather than living as a hunter/gatherer, large populations were impossible, as food supplies were meager.
Once man could plant and harvest food, and domesticate animals, and thus produce enough or more than enough for his needs, permanent storage buildings, homes and other buildings were not needed. Then a division of labor could include, and religious and political figures became artisans, officials possible.
Nomadic tribes need every member to gather food when it is available. Everyone does the same thing, with variations only for age and sex. A fixed location is not possible as they must follow game, and ripening wild crops.
Suddenly Mesopotamia (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers) blossomed as a major civilization between 4000 and 3000 BC, and the Sumerian society developed rapidly, followed by the other societies in the fertile crescent. Three linguistic groups seem to have populated the area: Mesopotamians, Semites, and a diffuse group scattered between the other two. Areas that now include Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Israel developed their own civilizations, as did Egypt which was also part of the fertile crescent.
One conquering group succeeded another, particularly in Mesopotamia. Each had its own art. Art of one of these Mesopotamian groups include religious statues called Big-Eye Gods.
Writing increased in use, and massive buildings can still be found, particularly in Iraq and Iran. These large early buildings were made of sun-baked clay bricks, as stone was not commonly available in Iraq. Thus, many have disintegrated into massive piles of mud and dirt. Fortunately, the area is very dry, and that factor alone has preserved the ruins still in existence.
One group of people would conquer its neighbors, and warfare and contention seems to have been common, as one group gained power over another. Cities were heavily defended and buttressed because of the instability and danger of the area. The area of the levant (today Israel) was particularly buffeted, as Egypt to the south, and other cultures to the north vied for the land and trade routes through Canaan.
Because Egypt had the advantage of isolation, Egyptian society and government were relatively stable when compared to Mesopotamia. The dangerous rapids and cataracts on the Nile in southern Egypt coming from Africa, and the vast deserts on both sides of the Nile, gave Egypt protection from major outside invasions for 3000 years, and Egypt developed a culture in isolation from other influences. Egypt had plenty of stone, and the pyramids and other structures have endured. The pyramids would have been about 500 years old when Abraham came to Egypt.
During certain periods communication and trade existed between Egypt and Mesopotamia, and Canaan. As Egypt gained strength, warfare developed between Egypt and Canaan and Mesopotamia, with Egypt sending military expeditions north. Egypt ruled much of the land that is now Israel during some early periods, only to be forced out of the area by warriors coming from farther north. This area has an extremely complex history.
The Old Testament tells us that Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldeas, which was in present-day Iraq. Impressive royal tombs have been excavated in Ur, by Leonard Wooley in the 1920's. Jewelry is shown here from these tombs. These would have predated Abraham by a century or so.
In recent years, archaeologists have questioned whether this was the Ur of Abraham. The area from Iraq to Turkey contained 15 Urs. One in Turkey was nearer to the ruins of Haran. All the evidence is not in, and we may never know where Abraham's birthplace actually was.
To an art historian, one of the most interesting structures is the ziggurat. These huge structures, rivaling the pyramids in size, are found in the ruins of the larger ancient cities throughout the Mesopotamian area. They were the religious center of the city, with homes and other buildings clustered around them.
Before the recent war in Iraq, Saddam Hussein directed his Iraqi archaeologists to hastily rebuild the one at Ur, a cause of concern for qualified experts worldwide. It was apparently his desire to to use this ziggurat as a propaganda symbol showing him in a line of succession from earlier great Mesopotamian rulers.
As the Iraq war concluded, surrender documents were signed by Iraqi generals almost in the shadow of the ziggurat at Ur. During the war, and the earlier Gulf war, great care was taken by the American and British forces to keep these structures safe. Unfortunately, equal care was not taken of the art in Iraq Museum, as Iraqis looted many priceless pieces of art that represent not just Iraqi history, but the history of civilization.
Most art historians consider the ziggurat as the model for the Genesis story of the Tower of Babel. The parallels between the purpose of the ziggurat and toe tower are thought-provoking. The ziggurat was an immense mud-brick structure, with a large square, oval or rectangular base of great height. There would then be a temple on the top. The terraced bases, with up to seven layers, were at least 40 feet tall, and included dramatic staircases, and complex designs.
The temple would have towered over the landscape. They were meant to represent a sacred mountain, reaching to heaven. These ziggurats and temple were considered to be a home or waiting room where one could meet the god of the area, or a place where god would reside. They were not places of public worship. Only priests were allowed inside the temple, and it was their responsibility to care for the needs of the god or gods.
The Sumerian name for ziggurat meant "The Foundation of Heaven and Earth." The size of these structures would necessitate a massive communal cooperative effort to construct, equaled only by the pyramids of Egypt. Only ruins of the temple foundations still exist, necessitating speculation as to the design of the temple itself.
The later ziggurats, such as those built on the same foundation by the Neo-Babylonians (600 BC) were surfaced with fired brick, which is durable. The interior of the man-made ziggurat mounds reveal many succeeding structures built on the same spot, and the rebuilt. These early structures are from a very early date, some almost 4000 BC. The ziggurat at Babel (Babylon) is one of the most famous. Overall, 32 ziggurats are currently known to exist. Four were in Iran, with most in Iraq.
The ziggurat corners were aligned to the compass points, and the layers represented seven heavens, and may have been considered a bridge between earth and heaven. While none of these structures were the Biblical Tower of Babel, it is possible that they could have been modeled after the original tower. Representations of the Tower of Babel in church art painted in the Middle ages and Renaissance look like the architecture of that day, often looking like the tower of Pisa. I envision the Tower of Babel as a ziggurat structure and temple.
One additional note will be helpful to westerners viewing the art of other cultures. In the European tradition of art, we are accustomed to realism. Art in the years before the Greeks (400 BC) did not have this tradition. In fact, even Greek and Roman art would appear strange to us if we could see it as it was originally. The beautiful white marble statues we love were painted in garish colors to enhance realism for the Greeks. Art from the Dark Ages also abandoned realism. Egyptian art, Sumerian and Canaanite art will appear peculiar to our eyes. In future papers on the art of the Old Testament I will try to explain the effect the ancient artist was trying to achieve. Just remember that realism was not an important consideration; dramatic devotional impact can take different form. Mickey Mouse looks normal to us.
