V.

Neo-Sumerian Period

After ruling for about a century and a half, the Akkadian Empire fell to the nomadic Guti, who did not centralize their power. This enabled the Sumerian cities of Uruk, Ur, and Lagash to reestablish themselves, leading to a Neo-Sumerian age, also known as the 3rd Dynasty of Ur (about 2112-2004 bc). Imposing religious monuments made of baked and unbaked brick and incorporating ziggurats were built at Ur, Eridu, Nippur, and Uruk. Gudea (2144?-2124? bc), a ruler of Lagash, partly contemporary with Ur-Nammu, the founder of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur, is known from more than 20 statutes of himself in hard black stone, dolomite and diorite. His hands are clasped in the old Sumerian style, but the rounded face and slight musculature in the arms and shoulders show the sculptor's will to depict form in this difficult medium with more naturalism than had his predecessors. Other sculptures and reliefs are quite static, except those that depict hybrid figures combining human and animal features. The most lively are small terra-cotta plaques and figurines—worshipers holding animal sacrifices, legendary heroes, musicians, and even a woman nursing a baby.