Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Fine Arts Chapter 1
The Beginnings of Civilization
41
Other
Not Applicable
09/11/2005

Additional Other Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
What development made possible the formation of cities?
Definition
Agriculture- the people didn't have to move for hunting and gathering
Term
what are the six characterisics of a civilization
Definition
* cities * System of Government * social classes separated by wealth and occupation * rise of manufacturing and trade, brought on by production of goods * written communication * shared system of religious belief
Term
what is the meaning of the discovery that the Neanderthal people buried their dead careful with funerary offerings?
Definition
it's the earliest indication of religious belief
Term
what was the major beakthrough in history that is seen in Lascaux and Altamira, and the Venus of Willendorf
Definition
the need for self-expression resulted in the invention of visual art. Lascaux- the hall of the bulls in France... Venus of Willendorf was fertility symbol
Term
why is this early art considered sophisticated?
Definition
because of the high level of naturalistic observation and abstraction
Term
what does the choice of subjects tell us about the Paleolithic worldview?
Definition
they painted animals and hunting- a vital role in life. all known statuettes are of women, with the sexual features enlarged- they worshiped female creative power
Term
once agruculture was invented in the Neolithic age... what else became popular as a result of {mainly} the stores of grain
Definition
war
Term
Other achievements followed, like the invention of pottery, and metal started to replace stone for the making of weapons. What name is given to this age
Definition
the Bronze Age
Term
what structures started to appear at the beginning of the Bronze Age?
Definition
large scale architecture- enabling these gatherings of people to truly be called a civilization
Term
what two civilizations developed over the same general time span?
Definition
Egypt and Mesopotamia
Term
why is it harder to generalize about the Mesopotamians vs. the Egyptians
Definition
the Egyptians had one unified culture, whereas in Mesopotamia there was a succession of peeoples with their own culture- producing a wide variety of achievements
Term
what are the two divisions of Mesopotamian history?
Definition
Sumerian, and Semitic (which included Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, and Jews)
Term
what caused the unity of the earliest Sumerian communities?
Definition
the realization that they had to undergo large construction projects to transport the water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to their towns.
Term
the sumerians developed the first system of writing, what was it? where was it developed?
Definition
cuneiform- a series of simplified picture signs. Developed at Uruk (now Warka), one of the first Mesopotamian settlements.
Term
what was the central focus of sumerian cities?
Definition
the temple, the dwelling place of the particular God that watched over the town
Term
what was the governing power in sumerian cities
Definition
the priests- the most famous was Gilgamesh, who ruled Uruk
Term
what was the first great work of Mesopotamia?
Definition
The Epic of Gilgamesh- who seekse the meaning of life/immortality
Term
what period comes after the sumerian period?
Definition
the semitic period (akkadian and babylonian to be exact)
Term
what did the temples (continued construction from the Sumerian period) became known as?
Definition
ziggurats
Term
what period/people came next?
Definition
the babylonians
Term
who was the most famous Babylonian king, and what did he do?
Definition
Hammurabi- who made a law code, known as 'The Law Code of Hammurabi'
Term
what people came next?
Definition
the assyrians, the last grerat culture of anient Mesopotamia. they were the culmination of all the culture of Mesopotamia.
Term
what was different about assyrian art?
Definition
often religious, but some subjects showed hunting... art developed vigor and freedom
Term
who conquered the assyrians?
Definition
the persians under Cyrus the Great... and finally alexander the great conquered the persians
Term
at the same time as the Mesopotamians... what other culture was developing?
Definition
the egyptians
Term
what were three reasons that the Nile River was important to the growth of egyptian civilization?
Definition
it helped grow food, was fresh water, and allowed transportation from one end of the civilization to the other
Term
historians develop egyptian history into 31 dynasties, put into four groups... what were they?
Definition
the Predynastic before all, then the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, the New Kingdom, and the Late Period.
Term
what is the most striking feature of egyptian culture?
Definition
its unity and consistency
Term
what was one of the ways in which egyptian gods were worshipped?
Definition
to give them visible form in works of art, and to provide temples and shrines to them
Term
what is the earliest evidence of egyptian architecture with stone?
Definition
Imhotep, the architect who constructed the earliest pyramid as a tomb for his master, Zoser
Term
who were the three great pyramids built for?
Definition
the three pharaohs, Cheops, Chefren (who built a sphinx to guard his tomb), and Mycerinus. they were built largely with slave labor
Term
who tried to change the religious views of Egypt?
Definition
the pharaoh Amenhotep, who tried to replace many dieties with just one god, atom. He even changed the art of the period... but he failed b/c after his death everything went back to normal
Term
when did Howard Carter open King Tut's tomb?
Definition
1923
Term
what are the most collosal of Egyptian constructions?
Definition
the temples at Luxor, Karnak, and Abu Simbel- during the reign of Ramses 2
Term
what other culture developed at the same time as both the egyptians and the mesopotamians?
Definition
the agean culture
Term
what were the two cultures of the ageans, who lived in the area around the Aegean Sea
Definition
the Minoans of Crete and the Myceneans of mainland Greece
Term
in the early stages of Agean culture, there was a culture on a group of islands in the Agean Sea... what were they?
Definition
the Cycladic people.
Term
what is the most famous art form of the Cycladic people
Definition
the marble statues, or idols, that were mass produced and buried with the dead. most are female.
Term
the idols were also produced on the island of crete. but crete is more famous for something else.... what is it?
Definition
the home of the legendary king Minos, who ruled ar Knossos. According to myth, there was a Labyrinth that housed the Minotaur.
Term
who discovered the ancient city of Knossos?
Definition
Arthur Evams- who called the civilization 'Minoan' after the great king
Term
what is the most famous Minoan god?
Definition
the Snake Goddess, the guardian of the home
Supporting users have an ad free experience!