Arte sumerio ante arte moderno

"Primitive" (African) "art", discovered and exhibited in Colonial and Universal Exhibitions, and Ethnographic Museums, during the European colonial period, at the beginning of the 20th century, had a strong impact on modern artists. Mesopotamian finds (statues, tablets) in the south of Iraq, between the two World Wars, by archaeological missions in what was then colonial territories, well promoted thanks to the media (publications, lectures, pictures, radio programs, and temporary exhibitions), fascinated surrealistic artists, such as Moore, Michaux or Giacometti, too. At the same time, the lecture of translations of mythical texts written in Sumerian, such as the Gilgamesh Poem, where a hero tried to understand and to accept the human condition, was a source of inspiration of artists such as Willi Baumeister during the devastated years of the Second World War

Vestigios en castellano de antiguos giros sumerios y acadios a través de los textos bíblicos latinos y sus modelos griegos y hebreos

In this paper the author proposes that in Spanish we can find a large number of expressions characterized as prepositional periphrases such as "ante lafaz de", "ante los ojos de", "a oidos de", "a espaldas de". Such expressions were introduced into Spanish through several translations of biblical Latin. Nevertheless their origin and deep meaning must be sougt in the social context of the biblical texts themselves; that is, within a society whose world view was very homogeneous and was made up of a great number of people of the Ancient Near East, many of them spoke different languages. Besides Classical Hebrew, Sumerian and Akkadian were outstanding and had a decisive influence on the

The Mari's Xakkanakkû names registered in the epigraphic documentation and in two dynastic list

El título de Xakkanakkû aparece generalmente atribuido al rey acadio Narâm-Sîn después de conquistar la ciudad de Mari. Sin embargo, después de la aparición de las dos listas cronológicas hay que retrasarlo en el tiempo y otorgárselo a ManiXtusu cuyo reinado coincide con el de IdidiX, primer gobernador militar que ostenta tal título. A pesar de ello, los Xakkanakkû de Mari siguieron empleando el término sumerio Xagin en sus inscripciones y no el de XakkanakkûThe title of Xakkanakkû is generally attributed to the Akkadian king Narâm-Sîn after conquering the city of Mari. However, after the appearance of the two chronological lists it is necessary to delay it in time and grant it to ManiXtusu whose reign coincides with that of IdidiX, the first military governor to hold such title. In spite of this, the Xakkanakkû of Mari continued to use the Sumerian term Xagin in their inscriptions and not that of Xakkanakk

Babylon, there and back: from the Architect King to the King Architect

Los (pocos) reyes-arquitecto mesopotámicos que –para acercarse a los dioses– recurrieron al signo DINGIR “estrella” coinciden en un vértice con los (muchos)arquitectos-rey del (post)modernismo: su vocación estelar. El star system de unos y de otros, reyes-arquitecto o arquitectos-rey, tiende sus puentes a través de tres mil y pico de años de historia.The (few) Mesopotamian architect-kings who -approaching to gods- used the sign DINGIR “star” happen to meet with the (many) king-architects of the (post)modernism in one point: his stellar vocation. The star system of ones and others, architect-kings or king-architects, tend bridges across more than three thousand years of history.Peer Reviewe

Evolución de la presencia guti en Mesopotamia y su papel en el colapso del Imperio acadio

La presencia de población guti en Mesopotamia se ha interpretado tradicionalmente como producto de la irrupción brusca de este pueblo de los Zagros en la Mesopotamia de finales del Imperio acadio. Los testimonios de que disponemos son escasos y oscuros, indirectos en su mayoría. Nos permiten vislumbrar sin embargo que Gutium está presente en la zona desde mucho antes, y su relación con la cultura mesopotámica adopta diferentes roles en distintos momentos: como frontera oriental en las vías de comercio a larga distancia en época sumeria, como tributarios del Imperio sargónida y finalmente como el grupo de población que aprovecha una coyuntura de vacío de poder al final del período acadio para hacerse con el control efímero de una pequeña parte del territorio que antes había conformado el gran Imperio acadioThe presence of Gutian population in Mesopotamia has been traditionally interpreted as a consequence of the irruption of this people from the Zagros into the Mesopotamia of the late Akkadian empire. The statements we have are scant and dubious, mainly indirect. They let us nevertheless discern that Gutium is present on the zone from much before, and its relationships with Mesopotamian culture adopt different rolls in different moments: as an eastern border in the long distance merchandising routes at Sumerian time, as tributary land of the Sargonid empire, and finally as a group of population that takes advantage of the power vacuum at the end of the Akkadian period to obtain an ephemeral control of a small part of the territory that had once constituted the great Akkadian empir

Expansión territorial de la dinastía sargónida (ca. 2340-2150 a.C.) : "El País" y la periferia, fuentes e interpretaciones

This paper, through a multidisciplinary approach centered on anthropology and history, will try to analyze some of the textual and iconographic sources that are testimonies of the transformations introduced by the Sargonid dynasty in Mesopotamia and its area of influence. An element that stands out is the vigour of its political-territorial expansion: firstly, the attempt to unify Sumer and Akkad, ki-en-gi and ki-uri, and promote from the power spheres the construction of a syncretic ethnopolitical identity; secondly, the extension of the political control and the economic exploitation beyond the borders of the unified country, advancing from its natural region in the alluvial plain towards mountainous areas on the north, east and west, and even increasing its influence over maritime coastal regions. These kings, particularly some of them like Sargon (2340-2284 BC) and Naram Sin (2260-2223 BC), left a deep trace in the reality they transformed and in the mental representations that arose from it. So significant were their actions that they remained as the paradigm of the first imperial constructions, both in their time and in historiography until the presen

Expansión territorial de la dinastía sargónida (ca. 2340-2150 a.C.): "El País" y la periferia, fuentes e interpretaciones

This paper, through a multidisciplinary approach centered on anthropology and history, will try to analyze some of the textual and iconographic sources that are testimonies of the transformations introduced by the Sargonid dynasty in Mesopotamia and its area of influence. An element that stands out is the vigour of its political-territorial expansion: firstly, the attempt to unify Sumer and Akkad, ki-en-gi and ki-uri, and promote from the power spheres the construction of a syncretic ethnopolitical identity; secondly, the extension of the political control and the economic exploitation beyond the borders of the unified country, advancing from its natural region in the alluvial plain towards mountainous areas on the north, east and west, and even increasing its influence over maritime coastal regions. These kings, particularly some of them like Sargon (2340-2284 BC) and Naram Sin (2260-2223 BC), left a deep trace in the reality they transformed and in the mental representations that arose from it. So significant were their actions that they remained as the paradigm of the first imperial constructions, both in their time and in historiography until the present

Placas votivas del asentamiento de Yuja

Votive plaques found in Mesopotamian temples from Third Millennium BC, are a very special creation of Sumerian art. These plaques have been set up not only along Diyala Valley as well as in Mesopotamian cities close to rivers Tigris and Euphrates, but also at Mari. All of them are divided in three fields, where usually a feast is represented. We could see also the representation of a banquet after a victorious conquest; in this case it would be the Victory of Sumerian City King involved in the fighting. Latest archaeological excavations carried out by the Iraqi team at tell Joukh allowed the recuperation of two votives plaques at the site. One of them is unfinished; the other one is an important subject in our paper. We would try to compare this plaque with items coming from temple of God Sin at Khafaja or from temple of Goddess Ištar at MariLas placas votivas halladas en los templos Mesopotámicos del III milenio a. C. son parte esencial del arte sumerio. Estas placas han sido encontradas no solo en el valle del Diyala o en las ciudades mesopotámicas situadas entre los ríos Tigris y Éufrates, sino también en yacimientos como Mari. Todas están divididas en tres registros y su temática gira en torno a una escena de banquete o de victoria ante una conquista, probablemente la del rey de la ciudad estado sumeria en cuestión. Las excavaciones recientes del equipo iraquí que trabaja en tell Yuja han permitido la recuperación de dos placas votivas, una de ellas sin terminar y sin decoración. La segunda placa será objeto de estudio en este artículo así como sus diferencias y similitudes sobre todo con la placa del templo del dios Sin en Jafayah y la del templo de Ištar en Mar