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Added: 14 years ago.
Video Description
In our daily lives, we are bombarded constantly by images. But there is one image whose power over us is strangely mesmerizing. It terrifies and yet reassures us — it is the image of death. We build grave yards, and we even carry pictures of the dead. But why? What makes us surround ourselves with constant reminders of death? Experts think this preoccupation is rooted in the human mind; unlike animals, humans understand the inevitability of their own death and in fact can imagine a world in which we are no longer alive. Unlike animals, humans understand the inevitability of their own death. It was in the famous Holy Land city of Jericho, 9,000 years ago, that archeologist believed people first surrounded themselves with images of death. The so-called "Jericho Skulls" were human skulls decorated as portraits of the deceased, and prominently kept in people's houses. It was reasoned if an ancestor's memory lived on through these skulls, so, one day, would theirs. And for the living, this provided comfort. But there are other images of death that are the opposite of reassurance.
The Moche civilization of Northern Peru excelled at performing horrific acts of sacrifice and then creating images of them in their temples. Theirs was not art as fantasy, it was art as documentary. But the Moche were not alone. The Aztecs of Mexico City also performed human sacrifice - but on a colossal scale, literally slaughtering captives by the mile. They even went so far as to create walls of human skulls, that were designed to frighten and drive people into supporting their values. On the other hand, the Etruscans, in 400 BC Italy, were the first to bring together images of death that both reassured and terrified. The underworld Blue Demon, and happy afterlife pictures painted on Etruscan tombs, offered Etruscan warriors fighting the Romans a stark choice—'would you be damned or saved?' For the first time in history these conflicting images had been combined, and by doing so the Etruscans had invented a new and powerful image — the image of redemption.
Documentary Description
Each one-hour episode begins with a modern-day mystery that Spivey seeks to untangle through examinations of some of the most exquisite artifacts ever discovered. Combining aspects of history, archeology, forensics, sociology and aesthetics, Spivey leads an extraordinary video expedition that spans 100,000 years and five continents: from the vast galleries of prehistoric art in the caves of Altamira and Lascaux, to astonishing Native-American and African rock paintings, to the treasures of Ancient Egypt and Classical Greece, right up to the pop culture and advertising imagery that bombards us in the digital age. Far more than a survey of art history, HOW ART MADE THE WORLD explores the essential functions art served in early civilizations and, in some cases, still serves in modern society. Beyond that, the series seeks answers to such vexing questions as: What made our ancient ancestors create art in the first place? What are the forces that subconsciously guide the artist's hand? Why, from the very beginning, have we preferred images of the human body with distorted or exaggerated features?
HOW ART MADE THE WORLD takes advantage of the latest computer-generated imaging (CGI) technology to bring to life the dazzling sights of the ancient world that time and humanity have destroyed. Whether it's the splendor of Persepolis or Luxor, the glory of ancient Rome or the Biblical city of Jericho, CGI allows the modern viewer to exult in sights that haven't been seen for thousands of years.
Source: PBS
