Chapter 4 Study Guide

Prehistoric Aegean

Cycladic*

• Syros Woman, c. 2600-2300 BCE

Minoan*

• Bull-Leaping Fresco, c. 1400-1370 BCE
• Snake Goddess, c. 1600 BCE
• Harvesters Vase, c. 1500-1450 BCE

Mycenaean*

• Lion Gate, Mycenae, c. 1300-1250 BCE
• Treasury of Atreus, c. 1300-1250 BCE
• Dagger Blade with Lion Hunt, c. 1600-1500 BCE
• Warrior Vase, c. 1200 BCE

*(Must identify name of subculture on quizzes and tests, not simply ‘Prehistoric Aegean’)

1. Where did each of the three unique cultures of Prehistoric Greece flourish?

2. Which features of the Palace of Knossos likely gave rise to the legend of King Minos and the Minotaur? (list 2)

3. In Minoan painting, how are men and women most easily distinguished?

4. Unlike the Egyptians, who painted in fresco secco, the Minoans painted their walls using a ‘true fresco’ method. Explain what this means and list one benefit and one drawback of true fresco.

5. Explain Cyclopean Masonry. What does it mean and how did the term come about?

6. How do Minoan palaces most notably differ from Mycenaean palaces?

7. What is the largest sculpture from the Prehistoric Aegean?

Chapter 3 Study Guide

Ancient Egypt

Early Dynastic

• Palette of King Narmer, c. 3000-2920 BCE
• Imhotep, Stepped Pyramid of Djoser, c. 2630-2611 BCE

Old Kingdom

• Great Pyramids of Gizeh, c. 2551-2472 BCE
• Khafre Enthroned, c. 2520-2494 BCE
• Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt, c. 2450-2350 BCE

Middle Kingdom

• Fragmentary Head of Senusret III, c. 1860 BCE

New Kingdom

• Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, c. 1473-1458 BCE
• Hatshepsut with Offering Jars, 1473-1458 BCE
• Nebamun Hunting Fowl, c. 1400-1350 BCE

Amarna

• Akhenaton, c. 1353-1335 BCE
• Thutmose, Nefertiti, c. 1353-1335 BCE
• Family of Akhenaten, c. 1353-1335E

Post-Amarna

• Death Mask of Tutankhamun, c. 1323 BCE

1. What shift in Egyptian history does the Palette of King Narmer represent?

2. What is a mastaba?

3. The earliest recorded name of an artist was an Egyptian architect. What was his name and what great building was he responsible for?

4. What does the Great Sphinx at Gizeh represent?

5. What physical characteristics makes the sculpture of the Seated Scribe from Saqqara different from traditional sculptures of kings and officials? Why is it acceptable for him to be shown this way?

6. How did tomb construction change in the Middle Kingdom?

7. What was unusual about Hatshepsut and the way she had herself depicted?

8. Why are animals shown more naturalistically in Egyptian art than humans are?

9. How did artistic conventions change during the Amarna period?

10. What does the absence of a ground line represent in the painting on the chest from the tomb of Tutankhamen?

Chapter 2 Study Guide

Mesopotamian Art

Sumerian

• Warka Vase, c. 3200-3000 BCE
• Standard of Ur, c. 2600-2400 BCE (war side and peace side)
• Eshnunna Statuettes, c. 2700 BCE

Akkadian

• Head of an Akkadian ruler, c. 2250-2200 BCE
• Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, 2254-2218 BCE

Neo-Sumerian

• Gudea Seated, c. 2100 BCE

Babylonian

• Stele with the Laws of Hammurabi, c. 1780 BCE

Assyrian

• Lamassu (man-headed winged bull), citadel of Sargon II, c. 720-705 BCE
• Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions, c. 645-640 BCE

1. What is a ziggurat? What material was used to build it?

2. Describe the two forms and the functions of Mesopotamian seals.

3. What is hierarchy of scale?

4. How would the female head from Uruk (probably Inanna) have looked in its original state?

5. What do each of the two sides of the Standard of Ur represent?

6. What does the horned helmet in the Stele of Naram-Sin represent?

7. What purpose do the many diorite sculptures of Gudea of Lagash serve?

8. What is Hammurabi best known for?

9. How did Queen Napir-Assu ensure her statue would be enduring and unmovable? (list 2 ways)

10. Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar II was a mud-brick city. What was used to make the Ishtar gate a dazzling blue?

Chapter 1 Study Guide

Prehistoric Art

Paleolithic Art

• Venus of Willendorf, c. 28,000-25,000 BCE
• Altamira Bison, c. 13,000-11,000 BCE
• Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux, c. 16,000-14,000 BCE

Neolithic Art

• Human Figure from Ain Ghazal, c. 6750-6250 BCE
• Deer hunt, wall painting from level III, Catal Hoyuk, Turkey, c. 5750 BCE
• Stonehenge, c. 2550-1600 BCE

1. What is meant by the term ‘Prehistory’?

2. What is the most common subject of cave art?

3. Which elements of the paintings in the Chauvet Cave at Vallon Pont-d’Arc make them stylistically more advanced than the paintings in the cave at Lascaux? (list 2)

4. What is the composite view? Why was it so commonly used in prehistoric art?

5. Why do most researchers believe that cave paintings were not mere decoration?

6. What are the attributes that characterise Neolithic society? (list 3)

7. What preconditions made Mesopotamia and Anatolia ideal for the development of sedentary communities? (list 3)

8. Describe the burial practices of the people of Jericho.

9. What is a megalith? Name an example of a megalithic structure.