Deck 19: Africa Before 1800

Question 1

Considerable literature exists today which describes, analyses, 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 size might indicate importance
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

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The Ile-Ife figures from the Yoruba kingdom of Owo served mainly in rituals focused on which of the following?

A) funereal rites
B) sacred kingship
C) initiation ceremonies
D) birth rituals

Answer 2

B

Question 3

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

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

Answer 3

A

Question 4

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

Question 5

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 6

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 façade
D) written documents

Question 7

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

A) the people of Benin
B) the people of Ile-Ife
C) the people of Great Zimbabwe
D) the people of Lydenburg

Question 8

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 9

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 10

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

Question 11

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 12

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 13

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 14

Where do the Yoruba legends place their origins?

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

Question 15

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 16

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

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

Question 17

Tassili is in which of the following countries?

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

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

The presence of Portuguese heads on the Benin belt mask 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 relationship

Question 20

The Benin Altar to the Hand and Arm is associated with the power of the ruler and power itself. Which of the following animals would not appear in the iconography of this shrine?

A) hyena
B) ram
C) crocodile
D) elephant

Question 21

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

A) clay
B) bronze
C) stone
D) wood

Question 22

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) large pointed ears

Question 23

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

A) gold statues
B) brass altars
C) ivory objects
D) wooden masks

Question 24

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 25

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 26

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

Question 27

What is the significance of Jenne-Jeno?

Question 28

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 29

How is Beta Medhane Alem, Lalibela significant to Ethiopia?

Question 30

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 31

Who were the Ife kings, and in what style were they represented?

Question 32

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

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

Question 33

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 34

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 35

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 36

The Benin Altar of the Hand is cast by which of the following means?

A) modeled wax
B) clay
C) lost-wax
D) molded clay

Question 37

Who or what does the leopard symbolize in Benin iconography?

A) power
B) Olokun
C) sea
D) the Benin people

Question 38

How is scarification suggested on the Lydenburg Head?

Question 39

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

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

Question 40

Which of the following was the walled town,

A) Lagos
B) Jenne-Jeno
C) Benin City
C) 800 CE, that had a diverse population and many specialist workshops?
D) Great Zimbabwe

Question 41

What is the significance of tame leopards flanking the Benin Oba?

Question 42

What is the speculation regarding the seated bird on top of the crocodile from the soapstone monolith at Great Zimbabwe?

Question 43

Explain the importance of Great Zimbabwe to its location. What was its function and purpose?

Question 44

Briefly describe the Benin Kingdom.

Question 45

What is distinctly African about the Sapi saltcellar?

Question 46

Explain the role of the Portuguese in early Benin society. Use examples to support your essay

Question 47

What has been suggested as the reason for the durability of the art forms of early African history?

Question 48

Describe the Nok culture. How did it shape early African societies and their visual arts? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 49

Explain the function of the ivory waist pendant of the Benin Queen Mother. Consider the political implications as well as the sculptural qualities of the work.

Question 50

Discuss the use of animals as iconographic symbols in early African visual arts. Consider their meanings and purposes. Use examples to support your essay.

Question 51

What explanation has been suggested for the shift from wooden sculpture to terracotta in Nok culture?

Question 52

What are the European components of the Sapi saltcellar?

Question 53

Describe the interplay of realism and abstraction in African art. Use examples to support your essay

Question 54

What is one interpretation for the conical towers at Great Zimbabwe?

Question 55

Compare the Igbo-Ukwu Fly-Whisk and the Ife King statue. How does each work personify status within its society? Examine the purpose and function of each work as well.

Question 56

Compare the statue of the Ife King and the Benin Ivory waist pendant. How does each work exemplify royalty? How does each work indicate status?

Question 57

Briefly describe the Nok.

Question 58

Explain the use of art to indicate social status in Africa. Use examples to support your essay.

Question 59

What interpretation has been made regarding the seated bird on top of the soapstone monolith from Great Zimbabwe?

Question 60

What is the earliest archaeologically documented example of an equestrian figure in African sculpture?

Question 61

Contrast these two works.

Question 62

What is a possible interpretation for this work?

Question 63

Describe the purpose of this work.

Question 64

Why is this image significant?

Question 65

What does the crocodile represent on this monolith and what interpretations can be drawn from this motif?

Question 66

How do the alternating heads and mudfish represent the Oba?

Question 67

Explain the size differential on the top and side of this work.

Question 68

How does this mosque differ from typical Middle Eastern mosques?

Question 69

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

Question 70

Who does this object represent, and what material was used to make it? What does it express?

Question 71

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

Question 72

How does this figure represent Ife kingship?