Deck 1: Prehistory and the First Civilizations

Question 1

The Ziggurat at Ur is ____.

A) a Sumerian burial ground
B) a fortified city-state
C) the palace for Naram-Sin
D) a Sumerian temple base

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Stele of Hammurabi presents the ruler's famous ____.

A) law code
B) victory over the Lullubi
C) entrance into Babylon
D) Lamassu

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Neolithic painting introduced ____.

A) animals
B) narrative scenes
C) groundlines
D) twisted perspective

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The most significant transformation of the human condition in the Neolithic period was a result of the ____.

A) discovery of fire
B) agricultural revolution
C) discovery of the potter's wheel
D) domestication of the dog

Question 5

____ is an artistic device for suggesting depth.

A) Composite view
B) Hierarchy of scale
C) Foreshortening
D) Bilateral symmetry

Question 6

The winged,man-headed bull of Assyrian art is the ____.

A) lamassu
B) sphinx
C) ben-ben
D) atlantid

Question 7

Which of the following describes the Venus of Willendorf?

A) It is a large Neolithic tomb figure of a woman
B) It is a small Paleolithic engraving of a woman
C) It is a large Paleolithic rock-cut relief of a woman
D) It is a small Paleolithic figure of a woman

Question 8

Paleolithic artists produced many ____ figurines.

A) narrative
B) female
C) deity
D) megalithic

Question 9

Neolithic art and architecture responded to the needs of ____.

A) villagers
B) wandering hunters
C) nomads
D) growing empires

Question 10

The stylistic conventions of rigidly frontal symmetry,abnormally large eyes,and tightly clasped hands are most characteristic of the early art of ____.

A) Jericho
B) Çatal Höyük
C) Sumer
D) Babylon

Question 11

Ishtar Gate,with its relief decorations of a dragon,lion and bull,comes from the city of:

A) Lagash
B) Persepolis
C) Ur
D) Babylon

Question 12

Paleolithic paintings are generally found ____.

A) on the walls of shrines
B) in unified compositions
C) on rocky hillsides
D) deep in caves

Question 13

The Human figure from Ain Ghazal is located in ____.

A) France
B) Çatal Höyük
C) Sumer
D) Jordan

Question 14

Twisted perspective refers to ____.

A) the incorrect representation of space
B) objects represented from two viewpoints
C) uneven groundlines
D) images created on the irregular wall surface

Question 15

The building system seen at Stonehenge is called ____.

A) mud-brick construction
B) masonry
C) arcuated
D) post-and-lintel

Question 16

Which object is said to balance naturalism and abstract patterning?

A) Standard of Ur
B) Victory stele of Naram-Sin
C) Stele of Hammurabi
D) Head of an Akkadian

Question 17

Paleolithic animal paintings could not be described as ____.

A) lively
B) simple
C) naturalistic
D) abstract

Question 18

The artist of The Standard of Ur from Ancient Sumer distinguishes the importance of figures in the composition through the use of:

A) foreshadowing
B) composite views
C) groundlines
D) hierarchy of scale

Question 19

Paleolithic artists usually represented animals in ____.

A) frontal views
B) profile views
C) narrative scenes
D) hunting scenes

Question 20

Which object represents the beginning of monumental sculpture in the ancient world?

A) Human figure, from Ain Ghazal
B) Statuettes of two worshippers, from the Square Temple at Eshunna
C) Victory stele of Naram-Sin
D) Head of an Akkadian ruler, from Nineveh

Question 21

Persian relief sculpture is more ____ than Assyrian reliefs.

A) narrative
B) composed
C) symbolic
D) rounded

Question 22

Which object commemorated the unification of Egypt?

A) Saqqara Relief
B) Palette of Djoser
C) Saqqara Stele
D) Palette of Narmer

Question 23

What is the function of the clerestory at the Egyptian Temple of Amen-Re at Karnak?

A) It raises the central roof permitting light to filter into the interior
B) It provided structural support to permit banks of windows on the side walls
C) It permitted skylights to be inserted at each corner of the roof line
D) It widened the central aisle to permit more interior light

Question 24

How does the portrait of Khafre seated on his throne represent the godlike nature of pharaoh?

Question 25

What does this image represent?

Question 26

Why is the Egyptian invention of a clerestory significant?

Question 27

How is the Akkadians concept of royal power illustrated in their art?

Question 28

The Palette of King Narmer illustrates ____.

A) a specific historical narrative
B) the king's supremacy over all ordinary men
C) the defeat of the Sassanian kings
D) a symbolic link between heaven and earth

Question 29

Explain the significance of the Neolithic period and its art and architecture.

Question 30

How does the Palette of Narmer describe the unification of ancient Egypt?

Question 31

Most surviving Egyptian art and architecture is ____.

A) ephemeral
B) commemorative
C) funerary
D) domestic

Question 32

Discuss the development of ancient Egyptian tomb architecture.Use examples to support your essay.

Question 33

Why is this image significant?

Question 34

What is one of the suggested functions of this figure?

Question 35

What was the canon that was so profoundly important to ancient Egyptian art?

Question 36

Explain the importance of humans and animal representation during the Paleolithic period.

Question 37

Egyptian art has been said to express ____.

A) unchanging order that was divinely established
B) the values of each pharaoh and his rule
C) themes and purposes shared with Mesopotamian art
D) new interest in the human form

Question 38

Evaluate the difference between the art and architecture of the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.

Question 39

How is this figure unique?

Question 40

Discuss the importance of the Paleolithic female figures.

Question 41

Contrast the approach to human figural representation between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.Include in your argument the differences and similarities.Be specific in your discussion and use examples to support your essay.

Question 42

Animals appear regularly in ancient Mesopotamian and Persian art.Use at least three examples from different cultures to explain the roles animals played in this art.

Question 43

Assess the relationship between Egyptian conceptions of the after-life and Egyptian art.Use examples to support your essay.

Question 44

Discuss the significance of the art produced for Akhenaton and explain its formal and iconographic characteristics.Use examples to support your essay.

Question 45

Discuss the meaning and purpose of Assyrian historical narrative relief.How did it compare to narratives in ancient Mesopotamian and/or Persian art? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 46

Evaluate the relationship between the Paleolithic hunter-artist and his environment.How did this hunter-artist use the geography and the fauna in order to change and manipulate his/her environment? Cite specific examples to support your essay.

Question 47

Attribute the images on the screen to a culture and give an approximate date.Explain your attributions,using complete sentences and referring to specific works discussed in class.

Question 48

How does this image represent the divine status of the king?

Question 49

How are the structures of these two buildings similar,and what architectural features distinguish them? How were the structural differences related to the function of the buildings?

Question 50

Describe and evaluate the forms and functions of Egyptian architecture.Use examples to support your essay.

Question 51

What does this structure say about Ramses II?

Question 52

Assess the ramifications of the Egyptian pursuit of permanence and conservatism in their art.Use examples to support your essay.

Question 53

Evaluate the social and economic changes that took place in human development from the Paleolithic through the Neolithic periods and the ways in which art was affected by those changes.Use examples to support your essay.

Question 54

Discuss the historical importance of this work and explain the scenes represented.

Question 55

Explain the significance of scale and height in the art and architecture of at least three civilizations from ancient Mesopotamia and/or Persia.

Question 56

What does this stele represent?

Question 57

How do these two figures reflect the political and religious climates of their times?