Chapter 1 Quiz

Careful examination of the Woman of Willendorf figure reveals a range of naturalistic details common to these types of figures. Which one of the following features is NOT visible on the Woman of Willendorf?

carefully-carved facial features

Low-relief carving is best described by which of the following?

the depth of carving is low

A nude female figure, not unlike Paleolithic figures like the Woman of Willendorf, was excavated at the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük. What feature distinguishes the Neolithic one from the Paleolithic examples?

Her facial features are distinctly carved.

The cave paintings found at which site have advanced our understanding of the cognitive abilities of Neanderthals?

La Pasiega Cave in Spain.

What is meant by the practice of "re-fleshing" ancestor skulls in ancient Jericho?

Lime plaster, shells, and other adornments were applied to skulls that were reburied as a means to honor the dead ancestor.

Which of the following is the oldest known sculpture in human history, dated to around 40,000-35,000 BCE?

Lion-human statuette from cave in southwest Germany.

Paleolithic cave sites must have been important and perhaps were even sacred spaces. Which of the following gives support to this hypothesis?

The fact that these paintings were rendered in prominent, easy-to-see spaces.

The Ain Ghazal statues found near Amman, Jordan were found buried together in a group of 30. What do scholars believe this suggests?

The figures may have had a funerary function.

Paleolithic-era figurines of nude women were once thought to be mother goddess-type depictions. However, recent art-historical scholarship favors which of the following interpretations?

The figurines represent Paleolithic-era ideals of beauty.

Çatalhöyük is an early Neolithic settlement that may have housed as many as 8,000 people. Excavations have revealed many things about their dwellings, except for which of the following?

Houses were built of megaliths.

Which of the following is true about the site of Çatalhöyük?

The settlement was inhabited continuously for more than 1,000 years.

The megalithic site of Mnajdra is built of cyclopean masonry in clover-leaf plan with apsidal rooms. What do these things suggest to scholars about the site's function?

The site had a multifunctional, ceremonial purpose.

The site of Stonehenge is architecturally complex for several reasons, except for which of the following?

The site served multiple functions including burials and large ritual gatherings.

Stonehenge was probably built in four main stages, though its basic form has consistently been a circular one. At which stage do scholars think bluestones were brought in from Wales, at least 240 miles away?

second

Rising global temperatures around 9600 BCE generated a transition from a hunting-gathering lifestyle in small groups to a settled life in larger, year-round communities. Based on archaeological evidence, where did this transition occur first?

the Fertile Crescent in West Asia

The post-and-lintel system is best described as which of the following?

A system in which two upright posts support a horizontal one.

Full depictions of the human form in Paleolithic paintings are most commonly found in which region?

Australia

Which of the following is an accurate description of figurative artwork?

Art that portrays human or animal forms.

One recent excavation site has changed the way scholars understand the early Neolithic era, because it evidences hunter-gatherers working together to build a megalithic mountain sanctuary. Which site is it?

Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey.

In which part of the world was it common practice for Paleolithic people to adorn the interiors of deep caves?

Europe

Radiocarbon technology is a useful tool in examining Paleolithic caves. Using this technology at the 1300-foot-long Chauvet Cave, scholars realized which of the following facts?

Overlapping images could be up to 5,000 years apart.

Why do most scholars now think Paleolithic people went through the trouble of painting wild animals deep in caves, such as at the 1300-foot-long Chauvet Cave?

Painting animals may have been a way of aiding their hunt for food.

Which of the following paintings best demonstrates the settled life of a Neolithic community?

The steppe bison painting of the Altamira Cave, Spain.

Which of the following was not associated with megalithic structures?

The building of megalithic structures seems to align with a transition to settled life.

The sites of Göbekli Tepe and Mnajdra have several similarities, except for which of the following?

The structures were built for calendrical purposes.

In spite of their reliance on natural materials, Paleolithic artists were quite skilled at adapting materials, except for which of the following?

The use of mudbrick to build their settlements.

Unlike Neolithic-era people who lived in settlements, hunter-gatherers of the Paleolithic era lived in a few different places, except for which of the following?

open-air sites

The female form is most common in Paleolithic sculpture, but other forms have been found, too, including hybrid figures, such as the Lion-Human figurine found in Germany. What do scholars think might explain these early human-animal combinations?

Artists may have exaggerated certain characteristics to express ideas beyond what they saw.

Which is the most accurate definition of a megalithic structure?

a structure that is built with massive stones

Although its purpose continues to be debated, Stonehenge has had multiple functions. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

dwelling