Late Uruk Period, circa 3300 - circa 2900 B.C.E. Because buildings in Mesopotamia were made from mud brick covered with plaster, they were regularly repaired, rebuilt, or left to decay. As a result, few examples of wall paintings have been found, but surviving evidence suggests that it was a widely used form of decoration. Wall paintings discovered in a temple of the Late Uruk period at Tell Uqair depict leopards and other animals and a procession of humans, all with their feet on the same ground line. The main altar was painted to represent a temple facade with vertical panels of imitation-cone mosaic. These paintings were done on a white background in a great variety of colors.

The Second Millennium B.C.E. The best-preserved wall paintings of the second millennium B.C.E. come from the palaces at Mari and Nuzi. At Mari on...