Midterm 1 Review Flashcards
What does “Neolithic mean”
development of agriculture and the transition from a nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a settled, agricultural one
Small-scale female sculptures from the Upper Paleolithic period were once called what
figures?
venus figurines or venus statues –> exaggerated and stylized representation of the female form (empahsized breasts, butt)
At the Pech-Merle Cave, humans left more than images of horses and fish, they left
what?
human hands, other animals, anthropomorphic figures
Which Neolithic site is an example of a passage grave?
newgrange
What is the transitional prehistoric period sometimes called?
mesolithic
Stonehenge is connected to a nearby site built of wood called what?
woodhenge
Why did scholars dismiss the sympathetic magic interpretation of cave paintings?
it is not the only, nor the primary, interpretation used to explain the purpose and meaning of Paleolithic cave paintings
Upper Paleolithic inhabitants of Russia and Ukraine built houses using what?
mammoth bones, animal skins, fire pits
Archaeologists link the emergence of image making to the arrival of which group
homo sapiens
What did Prehistoric people often coat their floors with
earth and clay
The Woman from Brassempouy captures the essence of a head. What type of image is
this called
portrait
How were the beams of Stonehenge secured?
mortise and tenon joints
Bronze is an alloy of copper and what?
tin
Where did the potter’s wheel develop in approximately 4000 BCE?
Mesopotamia
What was the first system of writing called?
cuneiform
Ziggurats functioned symbolically as what?
temples
Mesopotamian sculptors told stories clearly and economically by organizing visual
narratives in horizontal bands. What are these bands called
registers or friezes
What original element of the Head of a Woman (Fig. 2-3) symbolizes the purity of the
figure?
depiction of the womans head and face as smooth, featureless, and elongated
Stepped structures known as ziggurats may have developed from the practice of what
constructing raised platforms
What did the low relief scenes on the walls at Kalhu portray?
various aspects of Assyrian royal life,, relgious reituals and other significant events
What was at the top of the Anu ziggurat White Temple?
temple dedicated to the Sumerian god Anu
The Stele of Hammurabi is significant as both a work of ancient Mesopotamian art and as
what?
and as one of the earliest legal codes in human history
The ceremonial entrance to the city of Babylon was called what?
Ishtar Gate
Who excavated Ur during the 1920s.
british arhaeologist –> leonard woolley
The main figure depicted on the Disk of Enheduanna was the daughter of the which
Akkadian king?
King Sargon
The building, which Darius built at Persepolis, was large enough to hold several thousand
people. What was it called?
Apadana
Which ruler conquered the Persian Empire in 334 BCE
Alexander the Great –> king of Macedon
In the Stele of Naram-Sin, what artistic device is used to signal Naram-Sin’s importance
and reinforce his divine right to rule?
hiearchical scale
The first large-scale “archeological” expedition in history came with the landing of
which French general in 1798?
Napolean Bonaparte
What is the Egyptian life spirit or life force is called
ka
King Tutankhamun’s mummified body was enclosed in three nested coffins; the
innermost was made of what
solid gold
How were rulers typically portrayed in the Old Kingdom?
highly idealized and formalized manner in art and sculpture
Who was the first ruler to call himself pharaoh
Pharoah Sneferu
What adorns the capitals of the columns that support the roof of the Great Hall at
Karnak?
popyrus and loutus flower motifs
What was one of the tests that Egyptians had to undergo to enter successfully into
the afterlife?
weighing of the heart or judgment of oriris
What is a necropolis?
large burial ground or cemetary associated with ancient civilizations where the decreased are interred –> city of the dead
Who is the first architect known in history by name
Imhotep
The Great Sphinx is thought to be a portrait of whom?
the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Khafre
Which female pharaoh was one of the few women to have ruled Egypt.
Hatshepsut
King Tutankhamun’s tomb was found where
found in the Valley of the Kings –> west bank of the Nile
An Egyptian convention used for representing the human figure was to show eyes
and torsos how?
composite perspective
Who was the archeologist who discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun in
1922?
Howard Carter
After the unification, What was Egyptian history is divided into?
predyanstic period, early dynastic period, old kingdom, middle kingdom, new kingdom, ptolemaoc period
