3150w Quiz 1
When Shitao Yuanji created Album of Eight Leaves, he demonstrated the ability of Chinese calligraphy to evoke natural objects.
(False)
1. Illuminated manuscripts in the Middle Ages were costly and time consuming to produce. In addition to expensive minerals for ink, the skins of up to five animals were often required to make parchment for one text.
False
1. more complex. (False) Capitalis quadrata were capitals of the Roman Latin alphabet created for architectural inscriptions celebrating military leaders and their victories.
False
A more abstract form of hieroglyphics, called hieratic script, was developed first by early lawmakers to allow more room for extensive laws.
False
Around 2800 B.C., scribes turned pictographs 45 degrees and gave them vertical emphasis in order to increase the efficiency of writing.
False
Book of the Dead texts ranged in size from large scrolls nearly one hundred feet long to single sheets of papyrus of just a few inches square. By law, every inhabitant of Egypt had to be buried with one.
False
Chinese calligraphy is considered in China to be a higher art form than sculpture, but a lower art form than painting.
False
During the Han Dynasty, seals called chops were made by carving the background away from a calligraphic character. The resulting print was a red character on a white background.
False
Early pieces of type used by Pi Sheng in his movable type process were organized alphabetically by the first letter of the word they represented
False
In manuscripts created in the Renaissance style such as the Vatican Virgil, the text is lettered in crisp, rustic capitals. Illustrations were usually positioned at the top, middle, or bottom of the page adjacent to a single column of text.
False
Islamic texts such as the Qu'ran include exquisite illuminated miniatures of religious figures in narrative accounts.
False
The Book of Kells, a masterpiece of Celtic design, is unique because of its textual accuracy.
False
The Chinese calligraphic system consists of about forty characters.
False
The Hangul writing system—the Korean alphabet—is based on the Chinese writing system but is more complex.
False
The pages of the Pen Ts'ao medical herbal were assembled as a folded, accordion-style book, which replaced the scroll format in the ninth and tenth centuries
False
The serif, or ending line extending from the main stroke of a letter, originated from rustic capitals inscribed in wax tablets.
False
The uncial letter, originally invented by the Greeks, was drafted on four guidelines. It was the basis of our lower case letters.
False
Uncials, letterforms developed by the Romans, were well proportioned, well spaced, and intended to be legible from a distance. These letters were carved on monuments
False
Vellum was the finest form of papyrus, and widely used as pages for the early codex books.
False
1. The Chinese chop, 3rd century CE.
The Chinese chop, 3rd century CE.
1. The invention of the alphabet and the subsequent spread of literacy had a leveling effect on society; it eventually diminished the power of priests/scribes found in earlier societies.
True
Charlemagne's scribes at Aachen developed a legible writing style using minuscule letters that became the forerunner to our own system of upper and lowercase letters.
True
Chinese calligraphy is a purely visual language.
True
Finished papyrus sheets had an upper surface of horizontal fibers called the recto, and a bottom surface of vertical fibers called the verso.
True
Illustrations in late medieval illuminated manuscripts from the fifteenth century are characterized by elongated, vertical figures and increased naturalism.
True
In contrast to Western writing, Chinese calligraphic strokes express spiritual states and deep feelings.
True
In hieroglyphics, determinatives were signs that determined how the preceding glyph should be interpreted.
True
In the hieroglyphic system, directionality was not standardized. The reader began from the direction in which living animals were facing, but sometimes the direction in the text changed.
True
Influenced by the half-uncials, Caroline miniscules are the forerunners of our contemporary lowercase or small-letter alphabet.
True
Interlace and lacertine patterns in intricate Celtic designs were often created by scribes with the use of drafting instruments.
True
Pi Sheng developed a method of printing with movable type in the eleventh century A.D.
True
Relief printing is the process of removing the negative spaces surrounding an image and inking the raised surface, which is then rubbed onto paper.
True
Rustic capitals, compressed letterforms similar to square capitals, were more economical than square capitals for use on substrates such as parchment and papyrus.
True
Some time before 1000 B.C., the Phoenicians had knowledge of Mesopotamian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and probably Minoan symbols.
True
The "bone and shell" style of writing that was used from 1800 to 1200 B.C. was closely related to the art of communicating with dead ancestors.
True
The Aramaic alphabet developed into different alphabets, including Hebrew and Arabic, in different geographic regions
True
The Blau Monument (3750 B.C.) may be the oldest extant artifact that combines words and images
True
The Egyptians were the first people to produce illustrated manuscripts in which words and pictures combined to communicate information.
True
The Haggadot are Judaic texts containing Jewish historical accounts and proverbs.
True
The development of writing had its earliest origins in simple pictures, for a close connection exists between the drawing of pictures and the markings of writing.
True
The illustrations and decorations in illuminated manuscripts were intended to educate the reader as well as beautify the book.
True
The invention of writing promoted stabilization in society, as with, for example, the guarantees that came with the standardization of measurements and weights.
True
The modern book format, which replaced the scroll in Rome and Greece beginning at the time of Christ, was made by gathering parchment into signatures and binding them to form codices.
True
The scarab beetle in ancient Egyptian society was associated with the sun god Kheper and the idea of resurrection. The scarab seal came to be used as a means of marking ownership and as a magical charm.
True
Writing in ancient Sumeria took on magical and ceremonial qualities; the general public regarded scribes with awe because of their mysterious knowledge.
True
________ was a pictographic writing system inscribed on cast-bronze objects and was also used for important treaties, penal codes, and legal contracts. a. Chin-wen b. Hsaio chuan c. K'ai-shu d. Chia-ku-wen
a. Chin-wen
The _______ as a text form came to be used increasingly from A.D. 1 to A.D. 400, partly because Christians wished to distinguish their writings from pagan formats of writing. a. codex b. rotulus c. scroll d. disk
a. Codex
_____ are carved or scratched signs or simple figures on rocks. a. Petroglyphs b. Pictographs c. Ideographs d. Phonograms
a. Petroglyphs
________ , a Chinese government official, is credited with the invention of paper in A.D.105, although the Chinese might have invented it before then. a. T'sai Lun b. Li Tsu c. Chu Yun-ming d. Yuan Chao Meng-Fu
a. T'sai Lun
The Stele of Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.) is an artifact of Babylonian culture written in cuneiform. The text contains _____. a. a code of laws and consequences for violating them b. a narrative about Hammurabi's military conquests c. annual records of crop production from the late eighteenth century B.C. d. a calendar of important Babylonian holy days
a. a code of laws and consequences for violating them
The Hangul alphabet consists of fourteen consonants represented by __________. a. abstract depictions of the mouth and tongue b. acrophonic symbols c. dots placed next to horizontal or vertical lines d. letters similar to that of the early Phoenicians
a. abstract depictions of the mouth and tongue
In the fourth century B.C., Alexander the Great expanded Greek culture throughout the known world. Writing became more important than ever because_______. a. an oral culture could no longer manage knowledge and information b. military leaders required a means for transferring information across geographic areas c. Alexander the Great wished to build vast libraries in distant countries d. demand rose for Greek philosophical and dramatic works
a. an oral culture could no longer manage knowledge and information
Paleolithic cave drawings were probably created for three of the reasons below. Which does NOT belong? a. artistic expression b. ritual c. survival d. utility
a. artistic expression
The Vatican Virgil, an example of the ________ manuscript style, includes Virgil's Aeneid and the Georgics. a. classical b. Celtic c. Mozarabic d. Gothic
a. classical
The ancient Egyptians inherited the use of _____ from the Sumerians. a. identification seals b. papyrus c. books of the dead d. writing palettes
a. identification seals
The textura lettering style seen in Gothic manuscripts—composed of vertical strokes capped with pointed serifs—was called ________ in its time. a. littera moderna b. lettre de forme c. black letter d. old English
a. littera moderna
Phoenicia of the second millennium B.C. developed a ______ society that contributed to the alphabetic system. a. merchant b. farming c. militaristic d. scholarly
a. merchant
The ancient Chinese invented three of the four innovations listed below. Which does NOT belong? a. oil paint b. gunpowder c. paper d. the compass
a. oil paint
During the Romanesque period (c. A.D. 1000-1150), manuscript design elements of different regions began to blend. One reason is that styles were cross-fertilized when ________. a. travel increased during crusades and pilgrimages b. isolated villages had minor skirmishes c. barbaric tribes revived and became nomadic d. feudal lords increased their territories
a. travel increased during crusades and pilgrimages
In the later Gothic period and in the 1400s, the________ , a private devotional text, became the most popular manuscript book produced. a. Commentary of Beatus b. Book of Hours c. Apocalypse d. Four Gospels
b. Book of Hours
Around the first century B.C., the Roman alphabet—the forerunner of the one we use today—contained twenty-three letters. The letters J, V, and W were added ________. a. after the advent of the printing press b. during the Middle Ages c. by seventeenth-century Greek scholars d. when they were rediscovered in the first century A.D.
b. During the Middle Ages
The letter _______________ was designed by Spurius Carvilius around 250 B.C. to replace the Greek letter zeta, which at the time was of little value to the Romans. a. W b. G c. J d. Y
b. G
Each script below is found on the Rosetta Stone but one. Which does NOT belong? a. Greek b. Latin c. hieroglyphic d. demotic
b. Latin
A ________ was a seal made by carving calligraphic characters into a flat surface of jade, gold, or ivory. a. cinnabar b. chop c. dharani d. votive
b. chop
In Mesopotamia, the ownership of property and the specialization of trades and crafts made visual identification necessary. Images on _______________ became trademarks for the owner. a. temple walls b. cylinder seals c. clay pots d. stone
b. cylinder seals
The Chinese calligraphic writing system consists of logograms, or graphic characters that represent _______. a. ideas b. entire words c. objects d. syllabic units
b. entire words
Between the scroll and the stitched book, the Chinese had a transitional format that resembled__________. a. loose-leaf binders (with loose pages pierced and bound by silk ribbons) b. folded scrolls (with accordion-style folds) c. folios in an envelope d. folded road maps
b. folded scrolls (with accordion-style folds)
When the Greeks adopted Phoenician writing, the system employed a directionality called boustrophedon. Eventually, however, the Greeks adopted a ______ direction for their writing that has continued to this day. a. right-to-left b. left-to-right c. alternating left-to-right and right-to-left d. bottom-to-top
b. left-to-right
Production of illuminated manuscripts in the monasteries included the work of the________ , who were well-educated scholars functioning as editors and art directors with overall responsibility for manuscripts' design and production. a. colophons b. scrittori c. copisti d. illuminators
b. scrittori
An alphabet is a series of simple visual symbols that represent ______. a. clusters of meaning b. speech sounds c. pictographic images d. individual concepts
b. speech sounds
Around 1500 B.C., Semitic workers in the Sinai desert developed an acrophonic adaptation of Egyptian hieroglyphics. In an acrophonic text, pictographs are used to represent ________. a. the most important words in a sentence b. the initial sound of the object depicted c. the most important vowel sound in a word d. an abstract idea
b. the initial sound of the object depicted
So named because they were written between two guidelines that were one inch apart, __________ were rounded, freely drawn letters more suited to rapid writing. a. miniscules b. uncials c. descenders d. majuscules
b. uncials
The painting of bamboo from _________by Li Fangying shows how the strokes of the brush join calligraphy and painting, poetry and illustration, into a unified communication. a. bamboo scrolls b. mountain and river landscapes c. Album of Eight Leaves d. the Diamond Sutra
c. Album of Eight Leaves
Manuscripts in the _________ style were often lettered in rustic capitals in one wide column on each page, with illustrations the same width as the text column framed in bright bands of color. a. Celtic b. medieval c. classical d. Renaissance
c. classical
From the Latin for "wedge-shaped," this method of early writing used a triangular-tipped stylus, which was pushed into clay to form a series of wedge-shaped strokes. a. hieratic script b. demotic script c. cuneiform d. hieroglyphics
c. cuneiform
In the hieroglyphic writing system, a cartouche encloses glyphs of _____. a. animals facing left b. numbers c. important names d. mythological deitiesIn the hieroglyphic writing system,
c. important names
Charlemagne attempted to restore the lost glory of the Roman Empire by reviving scholarship and standardizing writing. In this Caroline graphic revival, Charlemagne ________. a. required subjects to learn Greek and Latin b. transcribed a number of classical texts himself c. imported the scholar Alcuin of York from England d. built a library that rivaled the great Library of Alexandria in Egypt
c. imported the scholar Alcuin of York from England
In the early fifteenth century, the Limbourg brothers created their masterpiece, ____________ , which included an illustrated calendar depicting seasonal activities of each month crowned with graphic astronomical charts. a. the Vatican Virgil b. the Book of Kells c. les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry d. the Ormesby Psalter
c. les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
China became the first society in which ordinary people were in daily contact with printed images because of the use of printed ________ around the year A.D. 1000. a. textiles b. playing cards c. money
c. money
Like the Sumerians, who used mud to create clay tablets, the Egyptians made good use of their natural resources. They created a paperlike substrate for manuscripts out of _____. a. mulberry bark b. animal skin c. papyrus d. rags
c. papyrus
King Eumenes II of Pergamum developed the process of making _________ to overcome an embargo placed by Ptolemy V during a fierce rivalry. a. paper b. codices c. parchment d. papyrus
c. parchment
The Phaistos Disk contains ______ . a. 282 laws in Minoan society b. 314 alphabetic characters c. pictographic and alphabetic forms d. an administrative decree written in a spiral
c. pictographic and alphabetic forms
The development of writing and visible language had its earliest origins in: a. letterforms b. abstract color fields c. simple pictures d. hieroglyphs
c. simple pictures
Some of the earliest examples of visual communications known are the Paleolithic cave drawings found in _____. a. the grassy plains of southern Africa b. Lake Turkana in Kenya c. the Lascaux caves in France d. the Persian Gulf region
c. the Lascaux caves in France
According to legend, calligraphy was invented about 1800 B.C. by Ts-ang Chieh, who was inspired by________. a. constellations in the summer sky b. configurations of tree branches and petal formations of flowers c. the claw marks of birds and the footprints of animals d. the movements of fish in a pond
c. the claw marks of birds and the footprints of animals
A Book of the Dead is a narrative of _____. a. an individual's pilgrimage to Thebes b. heroic deeds of a deity c. the passage of the deceased into the afterlife d. historic battles and victories of the pharaoh
c. the passage of the deceased into the afterlife
Writing may have evolved in Sumeria because ancient temple chiefs needed _____. a. ornament for the ziggurat b. to employ scribes c. to keep records systematically d. intellectual stimulation
c. to keep records systematically
As early as the second century A.D., the Greeks developed a more rounded writing style called _________ , which could be written more quickly. a. capitalis rustica b. capitalis monumentalis c. uncials d. capitalis quadrata
c. uncials
________ was an early pictographic writing system that was inscribed on oracle bones and used to convey communications between the living and the dead. a. Chin-wen b. Hsaio chuan c. K'ai-shu d. Chia-ku-wen
d. Chia-ku-wen
The oldest extant printed manuscript from China (A.D. 868) is the _______ , which is in a scroll about sixteen feet long. a. Album of Eight Leaves b. Pen Ts'ao c. Confucian classics d. Diamond Sutra
d. Diamond Sutra
________ was a bold, inscriptional Arabic lettering with extended, thick characters used widely on coins, manuscripts, and inscriptions on metal and stone. a. Sinaitic b. Naskhi c. Ras Shamra d. Kufic
d. Kufic
In the early scriptoriums, the ________ was responsible for the execution of ornament and image in visual support of the text. a. colophon b. scrittori c. copisti d. illuminator
d. illuminator
The Celtic manuscript was revolutionary in terms of design innovation because writers ________. a. used uncials b. added illustrations to the pages c. included decorated capital letters d. left spaces between words
d. left spaces between words
The Greeks modified Phoenician letter shapes by making them ________. a. resemble animal forms in nature b. calligraphic and gestural c. resemble cuneiform characters d. more geometrically structured
d. more geometrically structured
Celtic design, as seen in the Book of Kells, is best described by all but one of the following terms. Which does NOT belong? a. linear b. complex c. abstract d. naturalistic
d. naturalistic
In the hieroglyphic writing system, words that were difficult to express in visual form were written using _______________ , in which words and syllables are represented by pictures of objects and by symbols whose names are similar to the word or syllable to be communicated. a. Greek b. demotic c. hieroglyphic d. rebus
d. rebus
Islamic illuminated manuscripts are characterized three of the elements below. Which does NOT belong? a. rosettes b. intricate geometric patterns c. plant forms d. religious icons
d. religious icons
Many examples of Moorish-influenced manuscripts from Spain are texts on _______. a. prayers and calendars of saints' days b. classical literature from ancient Rome c. the Qu'ran d. the Book of Revelation
d. the Book of Revelation
Printing with movable type never came into extensive use in the Far East because a. of the deeply ingrained preference for hand-rendered characters b. no efficient method for storing type was ever developed c. wax from the compositor's tray interfered with the printing process d. the sheer number of characters made the process too tedious
d. the sheer number of characters made the process too tedious