The Uruk Bull (Week 2 Discussion)

 

Fragment of a bowl with a frieze of bulls in relief (3300–2900 B.C.E) Artist Unknown, the Uruk Culture

For years, Mesopotamia has been the center of civilization. Hunting, fishing, farming, religious practices, are believed to have started in this region. Uruk, commonly known as The First City, played a key role in the starting urbanization of Mesopotamia. Not only did Uruk become the center of urbanization, but it also became one of the most important religious centers during this time. The city was constantly inhabited from as early as 5,000 B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E. Because of how long the culture of the Uruk has influenced lives, it is important to analyze the remains of their civilization to understand why cities began to urbanize and socialize the way they did. 

To understand the artwork above, we need to fully comprehend the pantheon surrounding the Mesopotamian region. One of the most prestigious gods of this pantheon was Marduk, a deity known for compassion, healing, fairness, magic, and sometimes even worshipped for agriculture and storms. The beginning of his name is linked to bull figures, Marru meaning 'bull-calf'. Linking this, the bull was considered sacred in Mesopotamian cultures, being a figurine of divinity to the people of the time. This artwork here is a piece of a bowl depicting a procession of bulls though, only one full-body image of a bull has survived over the years. The artwork is fully three-dimensional, developed at the end of the fourth millennium B.C.E. This is important to note because art being this fully rendered and holding an anatomically well-depicting nature is uncommon for this early time period. Artwork during this time period usually depicts exaggerated features such as an oversized head, shortened limbs, or widened legs, none of this is what we see here on the bowl. The bowl was made of steatite, commonly known as soapstone, and chlorite, a sheet mineral usually green in color with an oily feel to it. Fragments similar to this piece have been found in palaces and religious places, giving the thought that these bowls were used in rituals of some kind. Given the historical background with the Mesopotamian pantheon, one can hypothesize that these bowls were of religious rituals, possibly used in crowning ceremonies of kings and used in day to day blessings of important individuals. 

  Citations: 

“Fragment of a Bowl with a Frieze of Bulls in Relief.” Metmuseum.org, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/324111.

“The History of Uruk.” Uruk Project, Western Sydney University, staff.cdms.westernsydney.edu.au/~anton/Research/Uruk_Project/History.html.

Mark, Joshua J. “Marduk.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, www.ancient.eu/Marduk/.