3.1: The Prehistoric and Ancient Mediterranean
1. The earliest surviving paintings in the world are found in caves.
2. Animals were never shown on cave paintings.
3. Compare and contrast three different narrative artworks from this chapter. How has each artist
portrayed (or not portrayed) the passage of time in their work? How has each artist emphasized the
most important figures or events? Which artwork most effectively tells the story? Are there parts
of the story that are ambiguous to the modern viewer?
4. Early wall paintings have been found in Çatalhöyük in modern ________.
a. Afghanistan d. Turkey
b. France e. Greece
c. Denmark
5. Many more male Cycladic sculptures have been found than female.
6. Prehistoric female figurines that refer to reproduction are called fertility figures.
7. Compare and contrast the Venus of Laussel (3.1.3) with the Cycladic female figure (3.1.4). What
are the similarities and differences between these two prehistoric figures?
8. Which of the following cultures did not have a written language?
a. Cycladic d. all of the other answers
b. Egyptian e. none of the other answers
c. Minoan
9. What is true about the Minoans?
a. they built very large, maze-like palace complexes
b. they were a wealthy culture
c. they were invaded by the Mycenaeans
d. all of the previous answers
e. none of the previous answers
10. In Greek mythology, powerful ruler King Minos was said to have built a small, modest palace on
Knossos (Crete) because of his humility toward the gods.
11. Bulls were often shown in the art of the Babylonians and Minoans.
12. The Bull-Leapers fresco from Knossos is ________ scene.
a. a savage d. a divine
b. a tragic e. none of the other answers
c. an acrobatic
13. Discuss the conventions that ancient artists used to differentiate between male and female figures
(for example, the way that the female acrobats in the Minoan Bull-Leapers fresco (3.1.7) have
lighter skin than the males) using images from the textbook. Of these conventions, which are
derived from purely physical differences between the sexes, and which might have been influenced
by social or cultural expectations? What can these artworks tell us about the roles of ancient men
and women? How successful were ancient artists at depicting the two sexes?
14. The Sumerian Standard of Ur shows scenes of:
a. life and death d. winter and summer
b. the poor and rich e. none of the other answers
c. peace and war
15. The Sumerians did not believe in lavish burials; they preferred riches to be enjoyed only by the
living.
16. The Sumerian lyre sound box was found buried under a colosseum dedicated to Dionysus.
17. Which of these cultures was not part of Mesopotamia?
a. Akkadians
b. Assyrians
c. Babylonians
d. Sumerians
e. all of these are Mesopotamian cultures
18. The life-sized bronze head of an Akkadian ruler (3.1.1) was discovered in present-day ________.
a. Egypt d. Spain
b. Iraq e. Greece
c. New York
19. Akkadian rulers were believed to be divine.
20. A lamassu is a ________.
a. guardian beast
b. nickname for rulers of Babylon
c. rope used to capture lions
d. type of clothing worn by ancient Assyrians
e. none of the other answers
21. The lamassi sculptures made for Ashurnasirpal II’s palace each have five legs.
22. Choose three mythical creatures represented in artworks in this chapter, or from elsewhere in the
book. Describe the significance of the creature to its culture. Where was the artwork originally
intended to be displayed? Who would have been the viewer of the mythical creature, and what
message might it have sent to them?
23. The Ishtar Gate was built under whose rule?
a. Ashurnasirpal II d. Nebuchadnezzar II
b. Sargon e. none of the other answers
c. Minos
24. Lions were important to both Assyrians and Babylonians.
ANS: T DIF: Level 2
REF: Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Civilization: Babylonians
Match the artwork with the culture that made it:
a. Egyptian
b. Sumerian
c. Babylonian
d. Assyrian
e. Minoan
25. Ishtar Gate
26. statue of Khafre
27. Bull-Leapers fresco
28. Standard of Ur
29. lamassu, palace of Ashurnasirpal II
30. The Egyptians cremated the bodies of dead pharaohs.
31. When an Egyptian pharaoh died, his organs were removed and stored in canopic jars.
32. The ka is the name of a tool used to make relief carvings for Egyptian pharaohs.
33. The Egyptians took a haphazard approach to building the pyramids, suggesting that they did not
have a strong understanding of math and geometry.
34. The Great Sphinx is associated with which pharaoh’s pyramid?
a. Menkaure d. all of these answers
b. Khafre e. none of these answers
c. Khufu
35. Egyptian statues show a lot of movement.
36. The written language used by the ________ is hieroglyphics.
a. Babylonians d. Minoans
b. Egyptians e. Romans
c. Greeks
37. It was possible to decipher hieroglyphs because of ________.
a. the writings of Herodotus
b. the Stele of Hammurabi
c. the Rosetta Stone
d. their similarity to the English language
e. we cannot understand hieroglyphs
38. Gold was the only precious material used for the mask of King Tutankhamun.
39. The protective goddesses of Upper and Lower Egypt are represented on the headdress of the mask
of King Tutankhamun by:
a.the Nile and the Tigris d. a vulture and a cobra
b.male and female figures e. none of the other answers
c. a lion and a bull
40. The Egyptian fresco from Nebamun’s tomb utilizes:
a. composite view d. all of the previous answers
b. hierarchical scale e. none of the previous answers
c. hieroglyphs
41. The cyclical flooding of the Nile can be compared to the Egyptian belief in rebirth after death.
42. The Greeks often used ideal proportions in their sculpture and architecture.
43. The Parthenon that still stands today in Athens was built after the city was invaded in 480/479 BCE
by the:
a. Egyptians d. Spartans
b. Persians e. Babylonians
c. Romans
44. The Parthenon in Athens used to house a huge gold-and-ivory statue of:
a. Athena d. Zeus
b. Hera e. Apollo
c. Poseidon
45. The Parthenon in Athens looks exactly the same today as it did when the Greeks originally built it.
46. The following are architectural orders developed by the Greeks:
a. Corinthian d. all of the previous answers
b. Doric e. none of the previous answers
c. Ionic
47. Metopes are an element of which architectural order?
a. Corinthian d. all of the previous answers
b. Doric e. none of the previous answers
c. Ionic
48. Carvings of acanthus leaves are found on the top of which kind of columns?
a. Corinthian d. all of the other answers
b. Doric e. none of the other answers
c. Ionic
49. The metope sculpture of the Parthenon was carved in low relief.
50. The metopes on the south side of the Parthenon depict a battle between Lapiths and ________.
a. sphinxes d. centaurs
b. lions e. Trojans
c. Persians
51. An amphora is the name for any female Greek goddess.
52. An Archaic Greek sculpture portraying a nude male is called ________.
a. a doryphoros d. a kouros
b. an amphora e. none of the other answers
c. a contrapposto
53. Archaic statues of males and females were always nude.
54. Who developed a canon of harmonious proportions to be used for the portrayal of the ideal human
body in sculpture?
a. Andokides d. Doryphoros
b. Nebamun e. none of the other answers
c. Polykleitos
55. Polykleitos’s statue Doryphoros, or Spear Bearer, demonstrates a new naturalistic stance called
contrapposto.
56. The Hellenistic sculpture Laocoön and his Sons depicts an ideal young athlete.
57. As ancient Greek sculpture developed, artists introduced more drama and movement into their
figures.
58. In black-figure painting on Greek pots, the background is ________.
a. black d. red
b. blue e. white
c. green
59. From the paintings in the Tomb of the Leopards, we learn that the Etruscans:
a. buried leopards with rulers
b.held women in high regard
c. did not believe in an afterlife
d. did not bury family members in the same tomb
e. none of the other answers
60. The statue of a Roman with busts of his ancestors (3.1.32) shows that:
a. Roman artists were able to make individualistic portraits
b. family members treasured portraits of their ancestors
c. important ancestors would reinforce a person’s social status
d. all of the previous answers
e. none of the previous answers
61. The volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE destroyed all of the art in Pompeii.
62. We have found that many Roman houses in Pompeii had ________ covering the walls.
a. marble panels d. silver leaf
b. high reliefs e. none of the other answers
c. fresco paintings
63. Dionysus was the ancient Greek god of ________.
a. wine d. ecstasy
b. theatre e. all of the other answers
c. agriculture
64. Compare and contrast the depiction of drapery in the statue of a Roman with busts of his ancestors
(3.1.32), and the Dionysiac frieze from Pompeii (3.1.33). How has each artist created the illusion
of the weight and texture of draped material? In which medium, marble or fresco painting, do you
think it is more difficult to create realistic drapery?
65. The Pantheon uses which architectural order for its columns?
a. Corinthian d. all of the other answers
b. Doric e. none of the other answers
c. Ionic
66. What is not true about the interior of the Pantheon?
a. it has a coffered dome
b. it has an oculus
c. it has a poor drainage system
d. all of these answers are true
e. none of these answers are true
67. The Emperor Constantine I recycled sculpture from other monuments to use on his triumphal arch.
68. The Emperor Constantine I’s triumphal arch ________.
a. celebrated his forefathers
b. proclaimed his place in history
c. was a purely functional gateway to the city
d. contained only Christian imagery
e. none of the other answers
Match the structure with the culture that made it:
a. Egyptian d. Babylonian
b. Minoan e. Greek
c. Roman
69. Pantheon
70. Parthenon
71. Great Pyramid
72. Palace of Knossos
73. Ishtar Gate