Deck 19: Africa Before 1800

Question 1

Recently,many Nok style works have left Nigeria through which of the following?

A) A government export program
B) A Benin export market
C) An illegal market
D) A United Nations sanctioned market

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is the system the Benin use to record their history?

A) Complex oral recitations
B) Bronze relief tablets
C) Mounted wall plaques on the palace facade
D) Written documents

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The presence of Portuguese heads on the Benin waist pendent of the queen mother indicates which of the following?

A) A victory of the Benin over the Portuguese
B) A marriage between the queen mother and a Portuguese lord
C) An export item
D) A diplomatic trade relationship

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The earliest African sculpture in the round is from which of the following groups?

A) Nok
B) Ife
C) Benin
D) Sapi

Question 5

Where do the Yoruba legends place their origins?

A) Ife
B) Benin City
C) Igbo-Ukwu
D) Tassili

Question 6

Who are considered the ancestors of the Shona-speaking people?

A) The people of Benin
B) The people of Ife
C) The people of Great Zimbabwe
D) The people of Lydenburg

Question 7

The stone monolith found at Great Zimbabwe has two sculpted animals that are associated with the ancestry of the rulers: the bird with the first wife's ancestors and the crocodile with the wife's elder male ancestors.Based on this description,where would the most likely location be for the placement of this monolith?

A) Ruler's compound
B) Outside the walls of Great Zimbabwe
C) First wife's compound
D) In the great courtyard

Question 8

Which of the following items is a prestigious object that was excavated from a tomb in the Igbo-Ukwu area?

A) Crocodile tooth
B) Monkey bone
C) Elephant tusk
D) Lion tail

Question 9

African art serves to elevate and bring distinction to the leader.Which of the following art forms would perform that function?

A) Stool
B) Staff
C) Spear
D) Sword

Question 10

In which group are women the principal creators of ceramics and clay sculpture?

A) Sapi
B) Benin
C) Nok
D) Igbo-Ukwu

Question 11

In African art,scarification symbolizes which of the following?

A) Beauty and status
B) Previous abuse
C) Religious affiliation
D) Enslavement

Question 12

Considerable literature exists today that describes,analyzes,and interprets the meaning of rock art.Although precise meaning is still problematic,which of the following could be used to describe the role of the running woman from Tassili?

A) Her position may indicate dancing.
B) Her painted skirt indicates her married status.
C) Her horned helmet indicates she is a member of the royal Benin dynasty.
D) Nothing can be gleaned from this image.

Question 13

Tassili is in which of the following countries?

A) Nigeria
B) Sierra Leone
C) Algeria
D) South Africa

Question 14

Which of the following is a characteristic of the Nok style in ceramic sculpture?

A) Inverted pot shape
B) Scarification
C) Double chevron motif
D) Large alert eyes

Question 15

The Ife figures from the Yoruba kingdom in the Lower Niger River region served mainly in rituals focused on which of the following?

A) Funereal rites
B) Sacred kingship
C) Initiation ceremonies
D) Birth rituals

Question 16

The tower form found at Great Zimbabwe suggests a granary.Based on the African symbols found on the tower,which of the following would explain the meaning for this tower form?

A) Suggests the ruler because he is the dispenser of grain
B) Suggests the queen because she is the hope of the future
C) Suggests the people because they harvest the fields
D) Suggests the Great Crocodile because he allows the grain to be harvested

Question 17

A "horned headdress" on the running female from Tassili can signify which of the following?

A) Male power
B) A mask
C) Ceremonial regalia
D) Combined male and animal powers

Question 18

Which of the following possessions would suggest the user holds a position of leadership?

A) Umbrella
B) Canoe
C) Feathered cloak
D) Silver spoon

Question 19

Which of the following would most likely be used by the leader as a badge of office in order to magnify his gestures?

A) Shrine
B) Stool
C) Fly whisk
D) Saltcellar

Question 20

Facial striping is used as an indicator in African societies for which of the following?

A) A thief
B) A scorned woman
C) Only the chief
D) Titled status

Question 21

Which of the following European peoples established contact with the kingdom of Benin in the 1470s?

A) Portuguese
B) Spanish
C) British
D) French

Question 22

How does this image represent their contact with peoples outside Africa?

Question 23

Who or what does the mudfish symbolize in Benin iconography?

A) Olokun and the dual human/divine aspect of a ruler
B) Portuguese traders
C) Sea
D) The Benin people

Question 24

Which of the following was a walled town circa 800 CE that had a diverse population and many specialist workshops?

A) Lagos
B) Jenne-Jeno
C) Djenne
D) Great Zimbabwe

Question 25

Great Zimbabwe is unusual because it is made of which of the following materials?

A) Clay
B) Bronze
C) Stone
D) Wood

Question 26

Large groups of ceramic sculpture dating between 1000 and 1600 CE have been excavated from which inland delta area?

A) Congo
B) Niger
C) Tigris
D) Nile

Question 27

The rock art of Tassili can be said to depict which of the following?

A) People
B) People and supernatural beings
C) Kings
D) The god Olokun

Question 28

Which of the following is a unique hybrid of African and European cultures?

A) Benin whisks
B) Sapi ivories
C) Djenne figures
D) Ife jewelry

Question 29

How does this present a striking contrast to figures from Ife and Tada?

Question 30

One of the major problems impeding a precise African chronology is widespread illegal "treasure hunting." Which of the following is a consequence of this activity?

A) Nothing too harmful-the artifacts are going into major collections
B) Artifacts not removed are destroyed
C) Removing artifacts disturbs or ruins context
D) "Treasure hunters" attribute artifacts to only certain cultures or groups

Question 31

Which of the following facial features would the Sapi associate with African adornment and use as a component in their saltcellars?

A) Small,round noses
B) Scarification
C) Small,almond-shaped eyes
D) Larg,pointed ears

Question 32

What objects did Sapi artists create for export during the 16th century?

A) Gold statues
B) Brass altars
C) Ivory objects
D) Wooden masks

Question 33

The inland floodplain of the Niger River has been likened to which of the following?

A) Rome
B) Greece
C) Mesopotamia
D) Aegean

Question 34

The artist,Master of the Symbolic Execution,has been identified as a master workshop artist from which of the following?

A) Sapi
B) Jenne
C) Benin
D) Igbo-Ukwu

Question 35

The fly-whisk hilt from Igbu-Ukwu is cast by which of the following means?

A) Modeled wax
B) Clay
C) Lost wax
D) Molded clay

Question 36

The figural art of which culture is finely modeled with focused attention on naturalistic detail? Signs of age or blemishes are also absent,and the sculpture is lifelike but at the same time idealized.

A) Ife
B) Igbo-Ukwu
C) Sapi
D) Benin

Question 37

The Sapi saltcellar,an export product,is attributed to which of the following artists?

A) Master of the Ax
B) Master of the Heads
C) Master of the Seated Figures
D) Master of the Symbolic Execution

Question 38

What interpretation has been made for the buildings of Great Zimbabwe?