Mesopotamia

Question 1

Bitumen

Answer 1

is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch.

Question 2

Bronze

Answer 2

A yellowish to olive brown metal made up of various alloys of copper and tin, and various other metals such as zinc or lead, in various proportions used to make artworks, musical instruments, tools, weapons, and coins.

Question 3

Chasing

Answer 3

a metalwork technique used to define or refine the forms of a surface design and to bring them to the height of relief required. The metal is worked from the front by hammering with various tools that raise, depress, or push aside the metal without removing any from the surface

Question 4

City-states

Answer 4

a political system consisting of an independent city having sovereignty over contiguous territory and serving as a center and leader of political, economic, and cultural life

Question 5

Civilization

Answer 5

a complex society that is characterized by urban development, social stratification, a form of government, and symbolic systems of communication

Question 6

Code of Hammurabi

Answer 6

A code of law that echoed and improved upon earlier written laws of Sumer, Akkad, and Assyria.

Question 7

Cuneiform

Answer 7

One of the earliest known systems of writing, distinguished by its wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets, and made by means of a blunt reed for a stylus.

Question 8

Empire

Answer 8

a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority. An extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority, formerly especially an emperor or empress.

Question 9

Engraving

Answer 9

the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin.

Question 10

Fertile Crescent

Answer 10

A crescent-shaped region containing the comparatively moist and fertile land of otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia, and the Nile Valley and Nile Delta of northeast Africa. Often called the cradle of civilization.

Question 11

Hammurabi

Answer 11

The sixth king of Babylon, who, under his rule, saw Babylonian advancements, both militarily and bureaucratically.

Question 12

Idiograms

Answer 12

Written characters symbolizing an idea or entity without indicating the sounds used to say it. A graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases.

Question 13

Irrigation

Answer 13

Watering crops through man-made efforts such as ditches and canals. A technique to divert flood waters to nearby crop fields, thereby utilizing excess flood water for crops that would otherwise be difficult to grow due to lack of resources.

Question 14

Lamassu

Answer 14

a celestial being from ancient Mesopotamian religion bearing a human head, bull’s body, sometimes with the horns and the ears of a bull, and wings. They were household protective spirits of the common Assyrian people, becoming associated later as royal protectors, and were placed as sentinels at entrances

Question 15

Lapis Lazuli

Answer 15

a bright blue metamorphic rock consisting largely of lazurite, used for decoration and in jewelry. Mesopotamian peoples believed that the spirit of their gods lived within the stone. The ancient Egyptians saw it as a symbol of the night sky. Since the earliest of times, lapis lazuli has been associated with strength and courage, royalty and wisdom, intellect and truth.

Question 16

Lost-Wax Casting

Answer 16

a method of casting using a clay core and a wax coating placed in a mold. The wax is melted in the mold and drained out, and melted metal poured into the space left, producing a hollow object when the core is discarded

Question 17

Mesopotamia

Answer 17

a historic region of West Asia within the Tigris-Euphrates river system. Mesopotamia means “between rivers” in Greek. Home to the ancient civilizations of Sumer, Assyria, and Babylonia

Question 18

Monotheism

Answer 18

the belief that there is only one god, or that only one omnipotent, omnipresent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient being created the world.

Question 19

Mudbrick

Answer 19

A brick mixture of loam, mud, sand, and water mixed with a binding material, such as rice husks or straw.

Question 20

Pantheon

Answer 20

The collective gods of a people or religion.

Question 21

Pilaster

Answer 21

An architectural element in classical architecture used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function.

Question 22

Polytheism

Answer 22

the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals.

Question 23

Repoussé

Answer 23

method of decorating metals in which parts of the design are raised in relief from the back or the inside by means of hammers and punches. Definition and detail can then be added from the front by chasing or engraving. The name is derived from the French “to push forward.”

Question 24

Repoussé

Answer 24

method of decorating metals in which parts of the design are raised in relief from the back or the inside by means of hammers and punches. Definition and detail can then be added from the front by chasing or engraving. The name is derived from the French “to push forward.”

Question 25

Scribe

Answer 25

a very important individual that was trained to write cuneiform and record many of the languages spoken in Mesopotamia. They were trained to write on different shaped objects, with many different media, depending on the type of information that need to be recorded.

Question 26

Stele

Answer 26

derived from Latin, is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected in the ancient world as a monument. The surface of the stele often has text, ornamentation, or both. These may be inscribed, carved in relief, or painted

Question 27

Ziggurat

Answer 27

a type of massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia. It has the form of a terraced compound of successively receding stories or levels. Ancient peoples believed that the Gods lived in the temple at the top. Society offered them many things such as music, harvest, and creating devotional statues to leave in the temple.