Ancient Monuments (L25) Flashcards
What was the first tomb to be constructed entirely of stone?
Pharaoh Djoser
an elaboration of the mastaba
What is a step pyramid?
basically severall mastabas stacked atop one another
what did many scholars think hte pyramid shape was important as?
as a religious statement for the Egyptians, the edges of the pyramid symbolizing the slanting rays of the sun
What is the largest of all the Egyptian pyramids?
the Pyramid of Khufu
How did crews carry the limesotne blocks?
they would drag or push limestone blocks up ramps and to reduce friction, the ramps were probably covered with slick mud
What are the 3 pyramids built at Giza?
Khufu
Khafre
Menkaure
The pyramids are completely solid strucutres, T or F?
False. within them are chambers and connecting tunnels
What is the masin stone used to build bulk of the pyramid
Fossiliferous limestone
why is the local fossiliferous limestone interesting?
b/c it consists almost entirely of nummulities
what are nummulities?
chambered shells of extinct forms of marine, amoeba-like organisms called foraminifera that accumuluated in huge quantities long time ago
WHere was most of hte stones in the Giza pyramids quarried?
on the Giza plateau itself
Where did the white, fine-grained limestone casing come from?
Tura
What is one thing that is interesting about the Sphinx?
there is a lot less known about its history than the pyramids
What is the Sphinx?
a strange-looking monument at Giza bearing the body of a lion and the face of a human
What is an important point about the body of the Sphinx?
it was carved in place from readily eroded native limestone bedrock
How were the undulations on the front and sides of the Sphinx created?
due to the slight differences in weathering rates of the limestone layers
What are 2 pieces of evidence for the suggestion that the Sphinx may have existed well before the Khafre?
Giza has been bone-dry since 2500 BCE and yet the Sphinx’s body and walls show a gullied surface that is typical of erosion by running water
also the lower levels of the Sphinx has been converged by sand for significant periods of time
Egypt was much wetter before 2500 BCE
What is another hypothesis for the creation of the Sphinx?
Sphinx was simply a fancy dress up to convert an otherwise ugly blemish in the landscape into an attractive monument
What was Easter Island constructed of?
Basaltic Lava and Pyroclastic debris sourced from mafic mantle material
what are the best known features on Easter Island?
Moai, which are huge statues carved from volcanic ash
How do we know that Moai’s were carved at the site
findings of several unfinished Moai
What is the makeup of the red topknots (Moai hair)?
iron-rich, poroous basaltic rock called Scoria
What were the main tools used to carve the Moai?
axes made of solid, non-porous basalt
what is the current interpretation of the function of the Moai?
these statues were constructed as guardians of the island people
Moai have torsos Y or N
Yes, but not legs as they wanted to prevent the statues from walking around
How were Moai suggested to have been moved?
by rocking them back and forth to the sites
the demise of the Easter Island population is due to ____
poor resource management (trees became scarce, soil erosion resulted, and food became scarce for the islanders)
Why is it that the Easter Island culture will never be solved?
b/c the oral traditions of the culture died with the last of the native islanders
