Civilization's First Images

Around 3500 BCE, the Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) built the world's first cities. Their art did more than decorate.

Their signature invention was the cylinder seal: a small carved stone, rolled across wet clay to stamp a continuous picture of gods, kings, and rituals. It was the first art made to be copied endlessly.

From the start, Mesopotamian art served power.

The Standard of Ur (about 2600 BCE) is a small inlaid box with two faces. One side shows an army crushing its enemies; the other shows the victors feasting in peace.

War, then reward. It is one of the earliest examples of art used as political propaganda — a formula rulers would reuse for thousands of years.