Back to the "source" of your river:
The Four River Valley Civilizations Exhibit
Are you interested in the Mesopotamian river valley? If so, check out our museum's following exhibits:
The Mesopotamia section of the exhibition includes exhibits on the prominent Mesopotamian city-states of Babylon, Sumer, Ur, and Larsa. City-states, ruled by kings, included a city and its surrounding countryside.
Sumer
home of the Sumerians
Babylon
home of the Babylonians
Nineveh
capital for the Assyrians
Want to know more about the kings of Mesopotamia? Be sure to check out the exhibits on kings, most notably the exhibit on Sargon the Great.
Early Mesopotamian civilizations were ruled by kings. Sargon of Akkad was the creator of the first empire, a Sumer-Akkadian empire, in Mesopotamia.
Early Mesopotamian civilizations were ruled by kings. Sargon of Akkad was the creator of the first empire, a Sumer-Akkadian empire, in Mesopotamia.
The Babylonian king Hammurabi wrote one of the earliest legal codes, the Code of Hammurabi, which outlined the rules of Babylon. Some of the punishments, such as being killed for building a "shoddy house", were very severe.
Visit the kings exhibit to learn more about the outrageous punishments the Code of Hammurabi contained!
Visit the kings exhibit to learn more about the outrageous punishments the Code of Hammurabi contained!
The code stated that were three social classes, the awilum (land-holding person), mushkenum (free citizen who does not own land), and wardum (slave). Additionally, kings and priests existed at the top of the social ladder. People could move from social class to social class through marriage or acquisition of land.
You won't want to miss the models of Mesopotamian temples! Here are a few of the temples that the exhibition features:
Ziggurat in present-day Iran
The temples of Mesopotamia, called ziggurats, were usually located in the center of Mesopotamian cities, and served as observatories for both Babylonian and Sumerian star gazers.
Temple in Nippur
This is a picture of the remains of what used to be a temple school and library.
Ziggurat in Ur
This temple was built some time around 2100 BCE by King Ur-Nammu, dedicated to the god Nanna.
Cuneiform tablet from Ebla (2400 BCE)
Translation of this tablet shows Ebla's importance in teaching scribes how to write cuneiform, the oldest-known written language.
Tablet with pictograms
This tablet conveys information through pictograms. Cuneiform allowed for abstract writing such as these pictograms.
Sumerian Cuneiform Tablet (2039 BCE)
This tablet tracks the salaries of supervisors of workers in the city.
Have you ever wondered how to write in ancient languages? Come to our museum, admire some cuneiform tablets, and learn how to write basic cuneiform messages!
This tablet depicts the god of the atmosphere/earth, Enlil. Mesopotamian kings would give offerings to Enlil and pray for good weather. Enlil was one of the four creators in the Mesopotamian religion.
Here is some of the Mesopotamian art that the exhibit contains:
Statues found in Abu Temple
Sumerian art was typically based on cones and cylinders, as were these statues.
Sculpture found in Ur
This sculpture is made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, copper shell, red limestone, and bitumen.
Eyes
Sumerian art also had very large eyes. Additionally, beards symbolized power.
Does ancient Egypt intrigue you? If so, swing by the Egypt section of the exhibition!
Cities were located on the floodplain, usually close to the Nile, in order to receive goods by boat and for access to a water source.
Some of the pharoahs from the Old, Middle, and New kingdoms that you'll learn about in the exhibits include:
Huni
Huni was a pharoah of the Old Kingdom. Pharoahs were the monarchs of Ancient Egypt.
Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef
Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef was a pharoah of the Middle Kingdom. As all pharoahs, he was thought to be a son of Ra, the sun god.
Tutankhamun
Perhaps the most famous pharoah, Tutankhamun was a pharoah of the New Kingdom.
Pyramids are a marvel of Egyptian architecture. At the exhibit, our curators will be sure to show you how to build pyramids of your own!
The social structure is very similar to the Egyptian pyramids, with one pharaoh on the top and hundreds of slaves and servants on the bottom.
Ancient Egyptian religion was a system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals. It was centered around the peoples’ interactions with the deities who were believed to be in control of the forces and elements of nature.
Below you'll see some of the gods you can learn more about at the museum:
Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used cursive hieroglyphs for religious literature on papyrus and wood.
The exhibit at the museum will teach you some basic hieroglyphs and let you try your hand at deciphering some ancient text.
Egyptian art is fascinating! Here is some of the art you'll see in the exhibit:
Funeral Stele
Much of the art of Egyptians was found in tombs and monuments, emphasizing their belief of life after death.
Sculpture
Ancient Egyptian art was highly symbolic and stylized.
Hieroglyphs
Almost all Egyptian art depicted gods, human beings, heroic battles, and nature, typically shown in drawings on papyrus or in sculptures and statues.
Perhaps India is more your style. The Indus river valley was well ahead of its time. Here's a preview of the exhibition:
The exhibit features models of the most complex Indus valley cities, showing off the following aspects:
Walls of Harrapin
These walls surrounded the city of Harrapin.
The Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro
Large cities built with brick were indictive of the Indus River Valley's early sophisticated technology.
Municipal Systems
The quality of the roadside drainage systems suggests the knowledge of efficient urban planning, which emphasized hygiene.
The caste system was developed by the Aryans. People were born into an oppressive social ladder, with priests and warriors at the top.
Come see many different sculptures and other art originating in the Indus river valley, such as the following:
Priest
An abundance of monumental activities suggests emphasis on religious activities and, by extension, the admiring of priests.
Vishnu
This statue of the god Vishnu is considered to be a pre-Harrapan artifact.
Priest
Harrapan society had no ruler, but Mohenjo-Daro was most likely a theocracy where priests had the most power.
Religious activities were highly valued, as seen by the numerous monuments throughout the Valley.
Pottery found in Harappa
Pottery was created as a result of specialization of labor and surplus of food and may have been used to trade.
"Mother Goddess" Figurines
These religious figurines were found in abundance throughout the entire Indus Valley, showing the importance of religion.
Indus Valley Writing
The written language of the Indus Valley civilization has yet to be deciphered completely, but some recurring glyphs have been decoded, such as warrior and priest.
At the exhibit, you'll have a chance to write your own letter and stamp it with replicas of Indus valley seals!
Indus Valley Seal
Seals and Tablets
Seals were used in trade and served as the British equivalent of wax seals.
Bull Seal
Lastly, the China River Valley civilization, while not well-known, is equally as interesting as the other three. You'll learn a lot about ancient China, including:
Some cities in the Shang dynasty include the city of Shang, Anyang, Zhengzhou, and Chen-Chou. The exhibit features interactive models of these cities.
Huang Di
Ancient China was a monarchy, ruled by kings.
Shang Hai
The king served as the lawmaker and the judge of offenses.
Punishment
If anyone disobeyed the king, he would be killed immediately.
In the religion exhibit, you'll see beautiful artwork depicting their religion, such as the painting below.
Ancient Chinese people believed in veneration, the idea that spirits of deceased ancestors continued to surround the family and still affected the world of the living.
This is a statue of the leaf god, one of the gods in the Shang dynasty religion. The Shang religion includes animism is the belief that spirits inhabit all of the objects in the natural world.
Chinese art is simply gorgeous! At the museum, you'll see some of the finest pieces, including the ones below:
Zun
This bronze zun, or ritual vessel, was shaped like an elephant and contains many carvings of thunder, cloud, and masks on the sides.
Fu Hao's Tomb
This jade carving was found in the tomb of a military commander during the Shang dynasty.
Shang and Zhou Ritual Vessels
These vessels have special markings that represent universal symbols, mainly about nature.
During the Shang dynasty, Chinese wrote in a language that had over 3,000 characters. Typically, they wrote on bamboo strips or oracle bone. If you spend more time in this section of the exhibit, you'll get to simulate what it feels like to write on oracle bone with such a complex language.
The Mao Gong Ding belongs to the Zhou Dynasty. 479 characters are inscribed in the bronze, the most of any bronze unearthed, describing the instability of the Zhou regime at the time.
Have any questions? Contact PR agents Mayuri Raja, Jessica Melville, Seshu Brahma, or Harshita Dandu for more information on the museum exhibit.
Ever wonder how it would feel to be ruled by a ruthless king? In the interactive video games at the museum, you'll get to make decisions that could lead to your death, depending on your social class.
King
In the Zhou society, the king lead the government and gave the land to the lords.
Lords
The lords paid taxes to the king in return for the land and provided warriors to protect the land.
Peasants
The peasants farmed the land given to the lords.