design grade 11

© Future Managers 2012

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ISBN

First published 2012

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FutureManagers

Published by Future Managers (Pty) LtdPO Box 13194, Mowbray, 7705Tel (021) 462 3572Fax (021) 462 3681E-mail: [email protected]: www.futuremanagers.net

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Design and style timeline of the 20th century 2 - 3

MODULE 1 Time line 8 - 9

1. Theory: 1

a. Introducing the history of type 11 b. Ancient societies and the birth of the alphabet i. Mesopotamian civilisation 14 ii. Egyptian civilisation 18 iii. Ancient Chinese civilisation 24 iv. Greek and Roman alphabet 28 v. The Middle Ages 32 c. Industries and new technology 35 d. 1960s–firstdigitaltypeface 39 e. 1980s – 1990s: type becomes an integrated design element 39 f. The Bauhaus 43 g. Universal Design 45 h. Wars, revolutions and propaganda 50 i. WWI and WWII propaganda 53 ii. Russia and China 56 iii. Cuban Revolution 59 iv. South Africa 62 i. The basics of Typography as we know it today 64 j. Helvetica 70

2. Design in a business context: 1 74 - 83

3. Practical Projects: 1 84 - 115

a. Section one: 2D i. Project 2 – Type is everywhere 88 ii. Project 3 89 iii. Using type as image 94 iv. Project 4 97 v. Project 5 101 b. Section two: 3D i. Project 6 – The found or readymade alphabet 103 ii. Project 7 – Let’s get personal 107 iii. A cardboard building technique 109 iv. Project 8 – 3D type-furniture that “SPEAKS OUT”. 113

4. Drawing programme: 1 116 - 126

CONTENTS Page

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MODULE 2 Page Time line 130 - 131

1. Theory: 2

a. Industrial Revolution 134 i. Part one: 1730 - 1840 136 ii. Part two: 1860 – 1914 139 b. The Arts and Crafts movement 1860 - 1900 139 i. Overview 140 – 144

c. Art Nouveau 1890 – 1905 145 i. Influences 146 ii. Characteristics 148 iii. Discussion of examples 155 - 161 iv. Wiener Werkstätte 1897 – 1932 161

d. The Bauhaus 1919 – 1933 165 i. Influences 168 ii. Characteristics 169 iii. Discussion of examples 170 – 177 iv. What importance does the Bauhaus have today? 178

e. Art Deco 1925 – 1939 179 i. Influences 180 ii. Characteristics 185 iii. Discussion of examples 189 - 192

f. Glossary 196 - 197 g. Explanation of 20th Century Art styles 198 h. Web links 199

2. Design in a business context: 2 200 - 217

3. Practical projects: 2 218 - 257

a. Section one: 2D i. Arts & Crafts movement 219 ii. Project 12 221 iii. Art Nouveau 222 iv. Project 13 223 v. Bauhaus 228 vi. Project 14 230 vii. Art Deco 233 viii. Project 15 235 b. Section two: 3D – building diorama/miniature period room 238 i. Project 16 239 ii. Project 17 249


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MODULE 3 PageTime line 270 - 271

1. Theory: 3

a. De Stijl 1917-1931 (Holland) 273 i. Influences 276 ii. Characteristics 278 iii. Discussionof examples 280-282 b. Modernism 1932 – 1955 283 i. Influences 288 ii. Characteristics 290 iii. Discussionof examples 299-301 c. Scandinavian Design 1950 - the present 304 i. Influences 305 ii. Characteristics 307 iii. Discussionof examples 313-315 d. Glossary 317 e. Web links 319

2. Design in a business context: 3 320-325

3. Practical projects: 3 326-355

a. Section one: 2D i. Modernism 327 ii. ScandinavianDesignanditsimpacttoday 331 iii. Project6 333 iv. DeStijlanditslegacy 339 v. LateModernism,movingtowardsPort-modernism 341 vi. Project7 341 b. Section two: 3D – cardboard houses 342 i. Project8 343-351 ii. ClassDiscussion 352-355

4. Drawing programme: 3 356-376

MODULE 4

Time line 380-381

1. Theory: 4 Introduction 383 a. What is Popular Culture and how does it relate to Generation Y? 384 b. International Popular Culture 391 c. Subcultures vs Popular Culture 393 d. Revival and Retro trends 394 e. Popular Culture from History i. Glamour,Jazz,HollywoodandtheBauhaus 395 ii. Roaringtwenties 396 iii. PopArt–1950s 400

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iv. Op Art – 1960s 401 v. Spacerace–firstmoonwalk 402 vi. Hippies of the 60s 403 vii. 1970s – Alternative ideas and Street Culture 404 viii. Start of global awareness of environmental issues 404 ix. Youth culture, disco and punk 405 x. 1980s, fashion, music and Hip Hop 406 xi. AIDS awareness became a global focus 406 xii. From Popular Culture to environmental concerns 409 xiii. Victor Papanek: The founder of responsible design 410 xiv. Julie Bargmann: How can DIRT change the planet? 413 xv. Blue Marmalade & Animal Farm: How to make cool products responsibly 417 xvi. Adriana Bertini: Fighting AIDS through fashion 422 xvii Illustration and hand quality in South African Popular Culture 426 - 428

2. Design in a business context: 4 – revision 430 - 431

3. Practical projects: 4 432 - 473

a. Section one: 2D i. Design leaders: 434 1. David Berman 434 2. Victor Papanek 435 ii. Project 2 440 iii. Project 3 441 b. Section two: 3D i. Project 4 448 ii. Project 5: Option one 454 iii. Project 5: Option two 467


GENERAL GLOSSARY 484 - 497

Look OUT! This ICON is used to identify the inclusion of South African or African references OR the practical application within a local context.

FOrEwOrdYour choice subject Design in Grade 10 taught you all about the basic ingredients and building blocks of the exciting world that the design industries consist of and how design is integrated in everything we do. We have acknowledged that design is usually “perceived as luxury items, for example, extravagant jewellery, clothes and expensive cars”, but together we have also discovered that design has a much bigger and more valuable role to play in the improvement of our standard of living, the economy and the planet. “The human species has always, ever since the Stone Age until the present day, expressed certain basic needs in order to survive, communicate, travel and feed, not to mention basic medical care and protection against the elements”.

So, now that you have a better understanding of how design is integrated into society, it will be a lot easier for you to investigate, recognise, communicate and understand the historical contextthatinfluencedtrendsandeventhedesign products, environments, systems and processes we use and see today. Once you can grasp a more holistic understanding of all the influences,characteristicsoreventrendindicatorsof aspecifictime/era,andlearnmoreabouthowcreative thinking can be used today to design a more sustainable world, you will realise that the world of design is one of the most fascinating and rewarding industries.

So we are still sticking to our guns – “No culture or country can just exist without even the very basics that the Creative Industries provide. Design is therefore not a luxury but rather a necessity that reacts on basic human needs.” – Design Grade 10

In your Grade 11 year we are certainly going to

push the issue even further and not only teach you about the history of Design, but we have also incorporated a more holistic approach by teaching each movement within a more worldly context. This approach is more inclusive and clearly highlights unsustainable decisions that wereinfluencedbythattime’shypeof newtechnology, and the rise of different social and political movements. This of course also reveals the rise of consumerism.

Using the history of Design as a valuable vehicle to learn from the past and to inform the present, we see that the importance and added value of integrating design thinking across industries have never been this evident. Today the role of the designer has changed dramatically and it is not good enough to design yet another luxury item for an exclusive few. Yes, the new age creative thinker/innovator/entrepreneurhastodevelopinto a much more responsible and informed citizen that embraces change and takes on a more responsible role. It is for us to learn how to mobilise our creative skills in a variety of sectors so that we can develop more sustainable cities, communities, environments and economies for a more prosperous tomorrow. We call this looking after the triple bottom line. (People, planet, economy)

We trust that you are ready to take on another exciting journey with us. South Africa will always be a land of great possibilities. Let us give you the tools through creativity to build a better South Africa for all.

May your Grade 11 year be everything you design it to be.

The Authors

Space Design

1969

1960

Pop Art

1972

1958

Design and Style Timeline of the 20th Century

1880 1999

1910 1970

1919Bauhaus

19331914 1918 19451890 1900

De Stijl

1931

1917

Art Deco

1939

1925

Industrial Revolution

Arts and Crafts Movement

1932

Scandinavian Modern1950

Postmodernism1978

Optical Art

1973

1965

Streamlining1930

1950

Aesthetic Movement

Art Nouveau

1905

Modernism

1955

Constructivism1921

Aesthetic Movement Arts and Crafts Art Nouveau De Stijl Bauhaus Art Deco Modernism Pop Art Optical Art1917 - 1931

Holland

Style influences: Machine aesthetic; Cubism; Constructivism; work of Piet Mondrian; Schoenmaekers; Modern architecture.

Style key words: Abstract; geometric; smooth; no individualism; honour machine; straight lines; primary colours; logical; ordered.

Designers:Gerrit Rietveld (architect, designer)

Bart van der Leck (artist, designer, ceramicist)

Vilmos Huszár (graphic designer)

Style influences: Cubism; Bauhaus; New materials; Surrealism (1924-1930’s); Abstract Expressionism (1940-1960’s).

Style key words: Formal; ‘Less is more’; grid like buildings; geometric; mass production; skeletal building method; tear drop forms; unadorned.

Designers:Marion Mahler(textile designer)

Ray & Charles Eames (furniture designers, textile designers, artists and film makers)

Roberto Grippa (textile designer)

Lucienne Day(textile designer)

Eero Saarinen (furniture design and architect)

Mies van der Rohe (architect)

Le Corbusier(Architect & furniture designer)

1932 - 1955International

Scandinavian

Style influences: Modernism; Bauhaus; machine; new technology and new materials; climate.

Style key words: Simple; elegant; graceful; affordable; functional; neutral or bright colours; abstract/stylised; clean lines; organic; minimalistic; unpretentious.

Designers:Alvar Aalto(furniture designer and architect)

Verner Panton(furniture designer)

Arne Jacobsen(furniture designer)

Stig Lindberg(ceramic designer)

Maija Isola(textile designer)

Anders Beckman(visual communication)

Companies:Volvo, Ikea, Saab, Electrolux, Bang & Olufsen, Marimekko, Lego

1950 - Finland, Sweden, Denmark

Style influences: Social and environmen-tal decline in Britain due to industrialisation; reacted against bad quality of most Victorian design and the Gothic guild system.

Style key words: Organic; hand crafted; minimum adornment; truth to materials; nature inspired.

Designers:William Morris(textiles, artist, furniture design, book design, typography, visual communication, surface design)

Phillip Webb (architect)

John Henry Dearle (surface design)

Charles Voysey (architect & textile designer)

Gustav Stickley (furniture designer & publisher)

1860 - 1900United Kingdom

Style influences: Japanese prints; Arts & Craft; Aestheticism; nature; Symbolism.

Style key words: Decorative; organic; romantic; whiplash lines; flat shapes; feminine quality; stylisation.

Designers:Antoni Gaudi (architect)

Victor Horta (architect & interior designer)

Gustav Klimt (artist & illustrator)

Louis Tiffiny (product design)

Aubrey Beardsley (illustrator)

Alphonse Mucha (artist & communication design)

Charles Rennie Mackintosh(architect; textile & product designer)

Mariano Fortuny (Fashion)

1890 - 1905Europe

Style influences: Cubism (1907-1924); Constructivism (1915-1940’s); De Stijl (1917-1931); WW1; Industrial materials and processes.

Style key words: Simplified; geometric; ‘Form follows function’; truth to materials; unadorned.

Designers:Walter Gropius (architect)

Marcel Breuer(furniture designer)

Gunta Stölzl(textile designer)

Marianne Brandt (product designer)

Rudolf Baschant (graphic design)

Wilhelm Wagenfeldt (product design)

1919 - 1933Germany

Style influences: Fauvism (1904–1908); Cubism (1907-1924); Futurism (1909–1916); Constructivism (1915-1940’s); Ancient cultures; Ballet Russe; travel.

Style key words: Stylised; geometric; decorative; eclectic; glamorous; exotic.

Designers:Cassandre (visual communication)

Madeleine Vionnet (fashion designer)

Donald Deskey (furniture designer and textile)

Violetta James (surface designer)

Clarice Cliff (ceramics)

William van Alen (architect)

Raoul Dufy (artist and textile designer)

Gabrielle Chanel (fashion designer)

1925 - 1939France, EUR, America

1958 - 1972United Kingdom, America

Style influences: Reaction to abstract painting and high art; everyday life; mass production; the factory setting; use of new materials (plastics).

Style key words: Bold; stylised; low art; metalanguage; everyday object reference; bright colours; repetition.

Designers:Roy Lichtenstein(visual communication)

Andy Warhol (artist; film and textile design)

Jasper Jones (artist)

Verner Panton(product designer and architect)

Robert Rauschenberg(artist)

Richard Hamilton(artist)

Style influences: Movement; abstract expressionism; optics; colour theory; 1960’s advertising and interior design.

Style key words: Geometric; graphic; limited colour pallets; black and white renderings; optical illusions.

Designers:Bridget Riley(artist, set design - her work was translated into graphic and interior designs)

Victor Vasarely(artist)

Larry Poons (artist)

1965 - 1973Europe, America

Victorian Design

1901

1870 - 1900United Kingdom

Style influences: Industrial materials;technology; industrialisation; international and exotic travel; production and process developments; reaction to decline in quality of Victorian produced goods; Oscar Wilde.

Style key words: New materials; simplified shapes: mass production, pre-fabrication, Japonism.

Designers:Edward William Godwin (furniture designer and architect)

Christopher Dresser (product designer, textile designer and theorist)

Charles Lock Eastgate (artist, gallery director)

Bruce J Talbert (furniture designer and architect)

Aesthetic IconChristopher Dresser, 1880,

Teapot

Arts & Craft IconWilliam Morris, 1870’s

Sideboard

Art Nouveau IconAntoni Gaudi, 1905,

Casa Batllo,

De Stijl IconGerrit Rietveld, 1918,

Red & Blue Chair

Bauhaus IconJoost Schmidt, 1923,

Exhibition Poster

Art Deco IconRene Lalique, 1930’s,

L’Oiseau de Feu

Modernist IconMies van der Rohe, 1929,

Barcelona Chair

Pop Art IconRoy Lichtenstein, 1965,

M...Maybe

Optical Art IconBridget Riley, 1963,

Blaze 1

Scandinavian IconArne Jacobsen, 1955,

The Butterfly Chair

WW1 Start WW1 End WWII Start WWII End

Will

iam Morris

Anto

ni Gaudi

Ger

rit

Rietveld

Rene Lalique

Mies van der Rohe

Roy Lichtenstein

Bridget Riley

Deconstructivism1988

ThEOry

buSiNESS CONTExT

PraCTiCal

drawiNg

DESIGNGRADE11

CONtENtThEOry: 1Time line 8 - 9

iNTrOduCiNg ThE hiSTOry OF TyPE 11

aNCiENT SOCiETiES aNd ThE birTh OF ThE alPhabET

• Mesopotamiancivilisation 14 • Egyptiancivilisation 18 • AncientChinesecivilisation 24 • GreekandRomanalphabet 28 • TheMiddleAges 32

iNduSTriES aNd NEw TEChNOlOgy 35

1960s – FirST digiTal TyPEFaCE 39

1980s – 1990s: TyPE bECOmES aN iNTEgraTEd dESigN ElEmENT 39

ThE bauhauS 43

uNivErSal dESigN 45

warS, rEvOluTiONS aNd PrOPagaNda 50

• WWIandWWIIpropaganda 53• RussiaandChina 56• CubanRevolution 59• SouthAfrica 62

ThE baSiCS OF TyPOgraPhy aS wE kNOw iT TOday 64

hElvETiCa 70

Revolution: Images & Propaganda

Industrialization & Victorian Era1901

Ancient Chinese Civilization221 BCE

Ancient Greek Civilization27 BCE

c. 800 BCE

Dynastic Mesopotamian Civilization331 BCE

Visual Communication, Typography & PropagandaTechnology &New Materials

World Events

Social Impact

3150 BCE

today

1901British QueenVictoria Dies

AncientCommunicationc. 1780 BCECode of Hammurabi Basalt Stele

Ancient EgyptWeighing of the HeartManuscript

Ancient GreeceEarly Greek Writing

Ancient ChinaDevelopment of ChineseCharacters

c. 3000 BCE c. 2100 BCE c. 600

Islamic Calligraphy & Manuscripts

1440Johannes Guttenburg invents Printing Press

c. 1750’s 1919

Bauhaus1933

Digital Typography

1968

WWI

1914

1918

WWII

1939

1945

1798

Timeline Module 1

Ancient Egyptian Civilization332 BCE

27 BCE

Roman Republic & Empire476

0

221 BCEStart of ChineseImperial Period

743 BCEMythologicalfounding of Rome

c. 1500 BCEOldest example ofEuropean wool textile

1798French Revolution

1917Russian Revolution

c. 507 BCEGreeks establishDemocracy

1959End of Cuban Revolution

1822Rosetta Stonetranslated

476 Fall of Romeand Empire

1981IBM produces first personal computer

44 BCEGaius JuliusCaesar dies

80The Colosseum iscompleted in Rome

Ancient Rome118 - 125The PantheonRome Victorian Mass

Communication Poster, Huyler’s Cocoa

IslamicCalligraphyMosaic Tile Design

Revolutionary Images1985, History Archive CollectionTroops out of TownshipsSouth Africa

Revolutionary ImagesMinistry of Interior BuildingSurface image of CheCuba

Revolutionary ImagesRussian PosterVladimir Lenin and Supporters

Digital Age & BeyondBrody, Bouncefor Nike, USA

Digital Age & Beyond1980’SApril GreimanSnow White...Poster

MO

DU

LE1

MODULE1theory

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“bEAtRIcEwArD (amEriCaN TyPOgraPhEr) said: “Good typography is like a crystal wine glass, thin as a bubble and just as transparent, its purpose to reveal rather than hide the beautiful thing it is meant to contain. Good graphic design and typography should help people

communicate with all the clarity an idea deserves”.

INtRODUCtION introducing the history of typeHow do visual elements and typography relate to communicationand communication design?Ourworldisfilledwithvisualelements–allaroundusthereareposters,advertisements,blogs,e-mails,magazines, billboards and many more. There is so much information around us that we often don’t really take note of the information, but rather just scan over it. This is because it has become impossible to process all the information we see on a daily basis. For a good designer it is important to open your eyes and really look at the world around you because every design decision, every image and every piece of texthasbeenconstructedtocommunicateaspecificmessage.Thepurposeof themessagemaybetoinform you; get your attention to buy a product or use a service, or to support a campaign. Designers, who are using appropriate visual elements such as images and text, successfully manipulate various design elements and design principles to create successful “messages”.

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? DIDyOUkNOwDesign is to formulate a plan for; to plan out in systematic, usually graphic form; to create or contrive for a particular purpose or effect; to create or execute in an artistic or highly skilled manner; to visually communicate; to produce products, systems, services or environments that impact on our daily lives.

let’s have a closer look at thehistory of typographyfrom its earliest beginningsTypography, as a discipline and an art form, is one of the oldest design activities and can be traced back to the Sumerian people of Mesopotamia in 3200BC!

Today we adapt the way in which messages are communicated through the choice of appropriate typeface, alignment and typographic alterations such as kerning and leading. Our modern-day understanding of typefaces and the role they play in the construction of a design is staggering but where did it all begin? How did we develop from pictures on rocks and in clay, to the vast number of alphabets and typefaces available today?

The history of human communication can be traced back before the development of an alphabet and writing, as we know it. Some of the earliest human markings are over 200 000 year old but most of the markings we study today are found in Africa and Europe and date back to the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods (35 000BC – 4000BC). The Palaeolithic period refers to the people and culture which developed during the Old Stone Age. The Old Stone Age is characterised by the production of early examples of formed stone tools such as arrowheads. The Mesolithic period followed the PalaeolithicperiodandfinallytheNeolithicperiod.ItisduringtheNeolithicperiod,startingabout10000 years ago, that we began farming and settling. Other key events during the Neolithic period were the domestication of animals and the development of various artistic practices like weaving, pottery and painting.

One example of these early markings can be found in the Franco-Cantabrian triangle, which spans a large area of Spain and France. In the famous caves of Lascaux (found in the French part of the Franco-Cantabiantriangle)therearealmost2000figurespaintedonthewallsincludinghumans,bulls,bison,horsesandotheranimals.Besidesthehumanandanimalfigurestherearealsointricategeometricpatterns.Theseimageswerepaintedonthewallusingfingers,reedsandhairasbrushes,andusingvariousnaturalpigmentssuchascharcoalextractedfromfiresandoxidesfromiron,whilesome images were carved into the walls. In the earlier paintings the surfaces of the caves were just a blank background but in later works the physical bumps and curves of the wall surface were considered and integrated into the paintings.

““Germs of writing obviously have to be searched for in drawings, a basic medium to record and spread ideas by visual means before the invention of writing.”

ZDEnOkOLESAr

The following section will look at the history and development of typography and how design canbeusedtocommunicatespecificideasandhowthemessageof adesigncanevenbealtered through a different choice of imagery and typography.

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In the famed Hall of Bulls the four most imposing bulls are painted with a black outline. Around the main bulls are a vast number of slightly smaller bulls and horses painted in such a way that they appear to be running along the side of the wall. The purpose of early cave painting is still under debate as scientist and *archaeologiststrytofigureoutwhattheseimagesmeanttopeopleatthetime.Manybelieve that the paintings were part of a “magical” rite to gain power over certain animals to ensure a good hunt but others believe that these paintings were a teaching aid to help younger members of the community to prepare for the hunt. Although we still can’t say for sure what prehistoric man’s intentionwaswiththesepaintings,itrepresentsthefirststepstowarddevelopingastandardalphabet.

Lascaux c: dramatic large spaces decorated with hundreds of figures and animals, such as the "hall of bulls" in lascaux, gives modern society a glimpse back into time when cave drawings

were the only method of visual communication.

Lascaux a + b: various wild animals are depicted on the walls of the lascaux caves in rich reds, browns and black.

* An archaeologist is a person who studies the history of human life and culture by looking at the ancient artefacts, like pottery, tools and painting, and other material evidence.

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In South AfricaIn South Africa we also have a great number of examples of cave paintings. One region which has fascinated archaeologists and historians alike, is the San rock paintings in the Drakensberg region of South Africa. In this region erosion and hundreds of years of weathering has led to the formation of caves throughout the area. Until the end of the 19th century the San people lived and hunted in this area and found shelter in the caves of the Drakensberg. The San people left behind one of the largest collections of rock art in Africa, more than 35 000 individual works of art, some dating almost as far back as 2 500 years. The main subject matters of the San rock paintings are animals, humans and various other objects. Eland is one of the most prominent animals featured. The animals and humans are represented in shades of red, orange and brown along with black and white. Most of the animalandhumanfiguresarepaintedinonlyonecolourbuttheelandisoftenpaintedusingtwoormore colours – this, together with the number of eland painted, indicates that the eland was a very special animal to the San people. The San medicine man, or “shaman”, was also very important in San culture and many believe that their rock art depicted, among other things, the travels of medicine men between this world and the spiritual world.

what is left today?Unfortunately the San rock art of the Drakensberg and the paintings found in the Lascaux caves face common problems. Our fascination with these works of art has meant that thousands of people visit these sites. In Lascaux the lighting, air-conditioning and large numbers of visitors have caused mould and fungi to spread over the walls and in the Drakensberg many pieces have been destroyed by uninformed visitors. Whether in South Africa, India, Russia or Europe, rock art is an important link between many other generations from the past and us. Early man felt the same need to communicate and to visually express ideas, rituals and history in the same way we e-mail and text-message one another and write history books. Our communication today often contains words that represent our ideas and thoughts but our forefathers used images taken from their environment and belief systems.

Ancient societies and the birth of the alphabetSo when did pictures become letters and when was what we know today as the alphabet, created? The developmentof thealphabetasweknowittodayhasbeenaslowprocessinfluencedbydifferentcultures and people along the way. The beginning of this journey starts in Mesopotamia, where one of thefirsthumancivilisationscouldbefound.Attentionshouldalsobepaidtotheearlywritingsystemsin Egypt and China. If you look closely at these three early civilisations you will see how man’s desire to communicate and document information and events led to the creation of basic writing systems.

Mesopotamian civilisationAncientMesopotamiaiswhereIraqistoday,betweentheTigrisandEuphratesrivers,whichflowintothe Persian Gulf. Although the Near East is mostly semi-desert, the area between the two rivers was fertile and nomadic people began to settle in the *alluvial strip of land. The climate in Mesopotamia wasextremewithveryhotsummers,oftenwithdroughts.Peoplelivinginthisregionhadtofightforsurvival and they realised that nature was incredibly powerful and that they had to work together to survive. As a result numerous cities developed where people farmed, worked and lived as a community and thus a social order developed as a very natural next step.

* Alluvial: a layer of clay, silt and possibly sand left by the flooding of a river valley leaving behind very fertile soil.

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Atfirstsmallcommunitiesdevelopedwithlittleregardforoneanother.Thiswasmainlyduetoeachindividual community’s focus on survival. As time went by and these communities developed into largercity-states,competitionforpowerandlandbecamefierce.Theheightof theMesopotamiancivilisation occurred between 3000 – 331 BC. Because the region was vulnerable to attack, small isolated communities developed. These communities would often attack one another in order to determine who would rule next. Although we often talk about the culture of Mesopotamia, it is importanttonotethatMesopotamiawasnotonecontinuouslyunifiedcountrybutsawmanydifferenteras characterised by different rulers. These eras included the Sumerian, Acadian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods. It is the early period in Mesopotamian history, that of the Sumerians, that shows the earliest examples of an organised writing system.

By the middle of the 4th millennium BC, the Sumerian people were settled in the Mesopotamian region.Theeffectof natureandchangingclimateconditionsinfluencednotonlythephysicallife of Mesopotamians but also their spiritual life. Various nature gods formed part of the early-Mesopotamian culture; these were headed up by Anu, the supreme god. Religion dominated Sumerian life and at the centre of religious life in a city-state was the temple, or ziggurat, dedicated to the city-state’s patron god or goddess. At the temple priests would have to calculate and document who supplied what foodstuff, how much food was in storage, amounts traded with other city-states, etc. This administrative task became more and more of a burden as the city-states grew and there developed a need to be able to document activities and label food supplies.

IntheSumeriancityof Uruk,templepriestshadtofindaphysicalwaytorepresenttheirlanguage.Thefirst*pictographic tablet from Uruk dates back to c.3100 BC. On this basic tablet information isrepresentedinamoresimplifiedmannerandisorganisedintoquadrantsonthetablet.Earlypictographic communication systems were based on simplifying pictures into signs by dragging a writing tool, often a reed or stick (stylus) through the base of the wet clay tablet.

Mesopotamian map: The early mesopotamian civilisation developed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The city of ur was one of the largest city-states in the Sumerian region.

* Pictograph: an element in a writing system that uses representational pictures which are often simplified.

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As the community in Uruk developed, so did their method of representing ideas and objects through *pictographs, which led to the development of the Mesopotamian writing system known as cuneiform. As you can see on the cuneiform tablet below, the individual symbols have become more abstractandsimplified.Thismeantthatsymbolscould be “written” more quickly. Just think to yourself, how long would it take you to write a

sentence if you have to draw a picture for each word? Although cuneiform was much easier than drawing pictures for each word, it was by no means an easy system to master. During the Sumerian periodtherewereliterallyhundredsof cuneiformletters.EvenwhentheAcadianssimplifiedthesystem to only 560 individual characters, only a few people were able to master the art of writing. Becausewritingwassodifficult,andbecauseveryfewpeoplecoulddoit,theactof writingwasconsidered magical by the Mesopotamians.

As the civilisation developed through the ages and new kings and rulers appeared, the cuneiform system continued to develop. Notice the change in form from the early cuneiform examples, such as those from Sumeria, and the later examples. (See page 17.)

Creating a cuneiformTo create a cuneiform letter they took a split reed, which formed a V-shape, and pressed it into wet clay to create the characters. In later eras cuneiform was also carved out of stone – a much more durable material than clay. Once such example is the Code of Hammurabi. Hammurabi was a king who ruled from 1795BC to 1750BC. He conquered most of Mesopotamia and was the greatest king of the Babylonian era. Hammurabi left us many wonderful artefacts but it is the laws he created and had inscribed on a *basalt stele that he is mostly remembered for, even today. The Code of Hammurabi contains 282 laws that all the people in Mesopotamia had to adhere to. At the very top there is a picture in the stone, which depicts Hammurabi and the sun god Shamash who told Hammurabi to write down the laws. After the death of King Hammurabi, Mesopotamia broke into smaller city-states again and the glory of the Babylonian era disappeared. Even thoughthisearlycivilisationfinallyfellintothehandsof invaders, it left us many wonderful objects and the earliest examples of writing.

Not too far away from this region between the two rivers, another early civilisation was developing with its own writing system – the Egyptian civilisation.

This pictographic tablet from uruk contains some of the oldest written symbols.

Cuneiform Tablet: Cuneiform is the name given to the early writing style which developed in mesopotamia. This tablet clearly shows how the wedge-like shapes of cuneiform symbols pressed

into the clay form horizontal bands.

* Basalt Stele is a fine-grained dark rock that has been exposed to high temperatures – most common volcanic rock usually formed from solidified magma.

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