Mesopotamia

Question 1

Answer 1

White Temple Ziggurat, Uruk, 3200-3000 BC (Sumerian) with Reconstruction Images

Question 2

Answer 2

Statuettes of Worshippers from Square Temple at Eshnunna, 2700 BC (Sumerian)

Question 3

Answer 3

Female Head (Inanna?), Uruk, 3200-3000 BC (Sumerian)

Question 4

Answer 4

Standard of Ur (war side), from Royal Cemetery, 2600 BC (Sumerian)

Question 5

Answer 5

Standard of Ur (peace side), Royal Cemetery, 2600 BC (Sumerian)

Question 6

Answer 6

Queen’s Lyre, from Royal Cemetery in Ur, 2600 BC (Sumerian)

Question 7

Answer 7

Head of Akkadian Ruler, Nineveh, 2200 BC

Question 8

Answer 8

Victory Stele of Naram Sin, from Susa, 2250 BC

Question 9

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Answer 9

Cylinder Seal of Hunting Scene (with modern impression), Akkadian, 2200 BC

Question 10

Answer 10

The Adda Seal, Sippar, 2300 BC

Question 11

Answer 11

Ziggurat at Ur, Neo-Sumerian, 2100 BC

Question 12

Answer 12

Seated Statue of Gudea, Neo-Sumerian, 2100 BC

Question 13

Answer 13

Stele of Hammurabi, Babylon, 1780 BC

Question 14

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Answer 14

Citadel of Sargon II (reconstruction), Assyrian, 720 BC

Question 15

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Answer 15

Ashurnasirpal II Hunting Lions relief panel, Assyrian, 870 BC

Question 16

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Answer 16

Assyrian Archers Pursuing Enemies, Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, 870 BC

Question 17

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Answer 17

Relief with Benevolent Spirit, Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, 870 BC

Question 18

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Answer 18

Lamassu from Citadel of Sargon II, Dur-Sharrukin, 720 BC

Question 19

Prehistory vs History

Answer 19

History began when we started to have a written record

Question 20

Importance of written language

Answer 20

Written language allows us to know what old peoples thought and believed, and it allowed them to propagate their ideas better

Question 21

Visual narrative

Answer 21

Using art to tell a story, like the conquering of an enemy

Question 22

Characteristics of “civilization”

Answer 22

Written language
Stratified society
Agriculture
Permanent monumental architecture
Settlement in cities

Question 23

Hierarchy of Scale

Answer 23

Using disproportionate size to emphasize the most important figure(s) in a work of art

Question 24

Epic of Gilgamesh

Answer 24

Long poem about Gilgamesh, a great king who sought immortality but failed; moral of the story: great deeds and great monuments are the best hope man has of immortality

Question 25

Cuneiform

Answer 25

Wedge-based writing system used for several ancient near eastern languages

Question 26

Ziggurat

Answer 26

Large platform (almost an artificial mountain) on which a temple was built

Question 27

Circumambulation

Answer 27

The forced walking around of a large structure or temple as part of the worship experience, incorporated into the design of some temples (like Ziggurat at Ur)

Question 28

No consistent language or political identity

Answer 28

The peoples of ancient Mesopotamia had separate languages and identities, and did not associate themselves as part of a greater whole with one another

Question 29

Sumerian dates

Answer 29

3500-2332 BC
(Loosely associated individual cities)

Question 30

Akaddian dates

Answer 30

2332-2150 BC

Question 31

Neo-Sumerian & Babylonian dates

Answer 31

2150-1600 BC

Question 32

Assyrian & Neo-Babylonian

Answer 32

900-539 BC