Few examples have reached us of Babylonian and Assyrian sculpture in the round. As in Egypt, the figures seem rigid and out of proportion. The Assyrian bas-reliefs show a higher development of the artistic sense, especially in the rendering of animals. The sculptures that deal with the exploits of the kings in war and hunting often tell their story in so graphic a way as to make up for the absence of written records. ORIENTAL PAINTING Painting in the ancient East did not reach the dignity of an independent art. It was employed solely for decorative purposes. Bas-reliefs and wall surfaces were often brightly colored, The artist had no knowledge of perspective and drew all his figures in profile, without any distinction of light and shade. Indeed, Oriental painting, as well as Oriental sculpture, made small pretense to the beautiful. Beauty was born into the world with the art of the Greeks. [Illustration: AN ASSYRIAN WINGED HUMAN HEADED BULL] [Illustration: AN ASSYRIAN HUNTING SCENE (British Museum, London) A bas relief from a slab found at Nineveh.] 19. SCIENCE AND EDUCATION ARITHMETIC AND GEOMETRY Conspicuous advance took place in the exact sciences. The leading operations of arithmetic were known. A Babylonian tablet gives a table of squares and cubes correctly calculated from 1 to 60. The number 12 was the basis of all reckonings. The division of the circle into degrees, minutes, and seconds (360°, 60', 60") was an invention of the Babylonians which illustrates this duodecimal system A start was made in geometry. One of the oldest of Egyptian books contains a dozen geometrical problems. This knowledge was afterwards developed into a true science by the Greeks. ASTRONOMY In both Egypt and Babylonia the cloudless skies and still, warm nights early led to astronomical research. At a remote period, perhaps before 4000 B.C., the Egyptians framed a solar calendar, [19] consisting of twelve months, each thirty days in length, with five extra days at the end of the year. This calendar was taken over by the Romans, [20] who added the system of leap years. The Babylonians made noteworthy progress in some branches of astronomy. They were able to trace the course of the sun through the twelve constellations of the zodiac and to distinguish five of the planets from the fixed stars. The successful prediction of eclipses formed another Babylonian achievement. Such astronomical discoveries must have required much patient and accurate observation. GEOGRAPHY Geographical ideas for a long time were very crude. An ancient map, scratched on clay, indicates that about eight centuries before Christ the Babylonians had gained some knowledge, not only of their own land, but even of regions beyond the Mediterranean. The chief increase in man's knowledge of the world in ancient times was due to the Phoenicians. [21] PRACTICAL SCIENCES