Syria: Land of Civilization
By Diane Barsa

Treasures from ancient civilizations of Syria the last summer captivated visitors to the First Riverfront Arts center in Wilmington, Delaware. This world class exhibit of almost 400 artifacts was arranged by the Musee de la Civilization de Quebec, the Ministry of Culture Directorate general of Antiquities of the Syrian Arab republic, and Museums of the Syrian Arab republic.

Prior to the premier in the United States, the exhibit had been in Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, Basel, Switzerland: Musee de la Civilisation, Quebec, Canada, and the Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is scheduled to open February 15 at the Fembank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia where it will run through May 20, 2002.  

                                                                                                                                                          Marble relief ca. 727 AD, Qasr al-Hair al-Gharbi.

The exhibit begins with the origin of civilizations. The oldest artifact is a flint hand ax from approximately 1 million years ago that attests to the presence of a human ancestor, Homo Erectus, in present day Syrian territory. Neolithic artifacts dating from before 100,000 BC show the improvement in workmanship which was required in order to make the tools necessary for early survival.                                                                                     

As relationship developed and groups created internal organizations, societies formed. The environment dictated what types of organizations were necessary and it is believed that the distribution of water through a system of canals was the environment, which lead to well-structured social organizations within early Syria. The need to create and control food led to specializations which in turn created social stratification.                                    

By 9000 BC, agriculture and animal husbandry had advanced as people began to create new tools and learn new ways by which they could use animals. Items  such as loom weights on exhibit proof  are of weaving.                                                                                                               

Grinding stones and sickle blades show that men were processing plant foods more efficiently. Once cultivation of plants and raising animals were firmly established, and the organization which allowed the distribution of food was functioning, it was possible for some members of the society to have free time to dedicate to other tasks.

The first products that were a result of times being available were items related to food consumption such as bowls and utensils. Next, luxury items became possible. Local raw materials such as flint, clay and gypsum allowed experimentation by some, which lead to items, which decorated dwellings as well as individuals. Items such as ceramic vases, decorated with the popular bull’s head motif or a painted fish, were used within the dwellings.

Lion headed eagle ca. 2500 BC, Mari, tell Hariri. 

Some vessels were carved out of alabaster and shaped like animals such as a hare, ram, pig, or bird. Figurines of animals and people were popular and carved from bone or stone. Bas-reliefs decorated dwellings and they told stories of life’s events. Jewelry was first made by using a variety of local materials such as stone and bone. 

 As technology advanced and trade brought in new items and techniques, gold, semi precious stones and glass paste jewelry adorned the people.

Just as trade with other civilization lead to new products and ideas, it also expanded the economy. Visitors to the exhibit viewed tools, instruments, utensils, containers, and weapons. The earliest objects are of native stone. They are followed by clay, fired to make all types of vessels. Metal works show the  thread used to create filigree jewelry. progress made in technology from early solid gold objects to fine braided gold Glass, from early faience beads to molded objects and then the first blown glass show approximately 5,000 years of pyrotechnical development.                                                                                                                                   
Objects and technology were not the only exchanges between early cultures. As Syria’s early inhabitants became aware of the larger world, their knowledge of belief systems widened. It was natural for them to seek to understand the world and events around them. The artifacts they left for us to ponder must have given them a sense of from where had they come. Figurines and bas-reliefs might have reminded them of the myths and legends used to give them an identity. Religion and its places of worship were created.                                                                                                       Free-blown glass wares from the 4th and 5th centuries.

In the beginning of such beliefs, human forms represented gods. Clay female forms from 9000 BC are the earliest such figures found. The exhibit traces the various gods through time and by materials. Terra cotta figurines of both males and females date from 5000 to 2000 BC. A basalt Stella to the goddess Ishtar if from 1800 BC. A limestone statue of the god El dates to 1300 BC as does a bronze and gold figurine of Baal. A marble and limestone mosaic of Hercules date to AD 300.                                                                  

Eventually Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all claiming the ancestor, Abraham, and sharing a single God, ridded Syria of previous gods.

Early religious practice had to deal with death. How was a body to be prepared for the hereafter? Burial practices changed over the thousands of years and only a few are reflected in the exhibit. The areas earliest burials date from 40,000 BC when the skull was removed from the skeleton

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