Humanities Midterm
A limestone statue (Neolithic) depicting a female form considered either a fertility symbol or an example of feminine beauty of the time.
Venus of willendorf
What does the term Homo sapiens mean?
Wise man or one who knows.
Structure found in Mesopotamia that is a pyramidal temple with outside staircases and a shrine at the top
Ziggurat
Which of the following is described as the "King of the gods"?
Zues
Which of the following best defines myth?
a story that a culture assumes is true
What best defines the epic element an epithet?
a word or phrase that characterizes a person
Which of the following is the Greek term for "top of the city"?
acropolis
Which of the following terms translates as the sin of pride?
acropolis
Which of the following is the Greek term for an open meeting place?
agora
Which of the following terms refers to the portion of an ancient Greek city-state that served as public meeting place, marketplace, and civic center?
agora
Culture that came after the Sumerians, adopted their cuneiform style of writing. Their great king was named Sargon.
akkadians
What is shamanism?
all of these
Cave located in Spain that was the first cave discovered with prehistoric art. The earliest art was created approximately 36,000 BCE.
altamira
A belief that the forces of nature are inhabited by living spirits
animism
The practice of personifying nature: investing plants, animals, and natural phenomenon with human form
anthropomorphism
Study of human prehistory and history by the excavation of sites and analysis of artifacts and other remains. The word originated with the Greek arkhaiologia meaning the study of ancient things.
archaeology
The term was coined by Carl Jung and describes a primal pattern emanating from the collective unconscious that is universally important to people in all times and places. Crossing of water is one example from one world to another.
archetype
Which of the following Greek terms can be translated as "virtue," and can be interpreted as "reaching one's highest potential"?
arete
The term philosophy literally means
art of wondering
What is likely to be the purpose of Stonehenge?
astronomical chart
Which of the following creatures did the inhabitants of Crete associate with male virility and strength
bulls
Paintings found in a cave in France, the oldest known, but are the most advanced in their realism.
chauvet
Having a social, economic, and political structure with the ability to express itself through images and written language
civilization
The major achievement of Greek civilization was what?
creation of the very fabric of Western Civilization
Probably the best know type of megalithic structure constructed as a circle. Stonehenge is an example.
cromlech
Which of the following terms refers to the category of megalithic structure that includes Stonehenge?
cromlech
This concept means the values and behaviors shared by a group of people, developed over time, and passed down from one generation to the next.
culture
At the time of the decisive battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, who ruled the Persians?
darius
Which of the following translates the Greek "rule of the people"?
democracy
In which of the following regions did an agricultural society LAST develop?
england
Words or phrases that characterize a person. For example, "Enkidu, the protector of herdsmen," or "Enkidu the son of the mountains."
epithets
The time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length (about September 22 and March 20).
equinoxes
Where was evidence of the earliest hominids found
ethiopia
Which of the following is the Greek term for "the good or flourishing life"?
eudaimonia
Ancient Greece was a single country consisting of an organized democratic government created by Pericles
false
BCE is a dating system that means "Before Christ Existed."
false
Eridu and Uruk were the first urban civilizations with Eridu laying claim to being the first true city.
false
Hominids are contained in the classification of species grouping of foragers that walk on four legs.
false
Polytheism is the belief in one, all powerful God who changes over time and manifests in different forms
false
The Goddess of Victory was known as Pallas Athena
false
The Greeks invented three types of theater: the Drama, Comedy, and the Saturn play.
false
The Parthenon was named for Aphrodite.
false
The Parthenon was not built during the Golden Age of Pericles between 447-432 BCE
false
The Romans invented the governing concept of democracy
false
The Seven Sages of Greece were a group of post-Socratic philosophers
false
The purpose of Egyptian art was primarily aesthetic.
false
A female figure such as the one found in Catalhoyuk, Turkey, that is believed to symbolize reproduction.
fertility or mother goddess
Any object used in fertility rites to symbolize regeneration. The Venus of Willendorf is an example.
fertility symbol
What was one of the primary sources used in manufacturing stone implements during the Stone Age?
flaked flint
Babylonian king who established one of the first legal codes in the ancient world.
hammurabi
Who is considered responsible for having introduced the principle of talion to Mesopotamian culture?
hammurabi
If the deceased person's heart did not balance with the ostrich feather in the ancient Egyptian "last judgment," the dead person was condemned to nonexistence and to be eaten by Ammit. Which of the following animals is NOT part of this vile "Eater of the Dead"?
hawk
The people forced out of their homeland in the Mesopotamian basin about 2000 BCE. They composed the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
hebrews
Giant stone at Stonehenge lying about 250 feet to the northeast from the center of the stone circle. The stone marks sunrise at the summer solstice.
heel stone
A form of writing invented by the ancient Egyptians and the term means "writing of the gods.
heiroglyphic
Who is the author of an extensive Histories and is recognized as the first writer in the Western tradition who devoted himself to historical w
herodotus
Any member of erect bipedal primate mammals that includes humans, extinct ancestral forms, and in some recent classifications the great apes.
hominids
Stone artifacts that indicate the earliest evidence of a culture coming into being about 100,000-120,000 years ago. The term means "one who knows."
homosapiens
Painting in the Chauvet cave in France that contains the world's oldest representational art, and the art is the most realistic. Discovered in 199
horses panel
Term for early Neolithic humans who depended for survival on animals they could kill and plant foods they could find.
hunter gatherers
How does culture manifest itself?
in the laws, customs, ritual behavior, and artistic productions of a group
In ancient Greek architecture, which of the following orders featured scrolled capitals?
ionic
Which of the following is not among the Greek pantheon?
isis
Which of the following Greek terms can be translated as "circle"
kyklos
Which of the following Greek terms can be translated as "double ax"? Question options:
labrys
Cave in France discovered in 1940 that contains cave art dated to 15,000 BCE.
lascaux
An early legal system composed by a Babylonian king
law code of hammurabi
A type of stone architecture appearing late in the Neolithic period, especially in Britain and France. The name means "big stones"
megalith
Which of the following terms refers to one of the "big stones" used in the construction of a site such as Stonehenge?
megalith
Upright posts made of stones stuck into the ground, a characteristic of constructing megaliths
menhirs
Middle part of the Stone Age that occurred between the Paleolithic and Neolithic
mesolithic
The region in the world that is today called the Middle East. The Sumerian culture, containing the world's oldest cities, began in this area.
mesopotamia
Small stone tool normally made of flint or chert used by humans from about 35,000 to 3,000 years ago. Primarily used in spear and hollow points and as cutting tools.
microlithic
Who is the legendary ruler of Crete's ancient capital, Knosso
minos
Neolithic cave painting technique that used shading to produce volume and three dimensions on a two dimensional surface
modeling
Belief in one all-powerful god. The Hebrew people were the first to hold this belief.
monotheism
Who among the following is recognized as the original human author of the Hebrew Torah?
moses
A story, though not literal, containing an underlying "truth" that is important to people in all times and places. Normally, the story attempts to explain something such as a phenomenon of nature, creation, and so forth.
myth
A class or category of story with a universal theme.
narrative genre
Cave paintings found at Chauvet that are examples of the artist's conscious quest to represent the actual appearance of the animals.
naturalism
Period from the last ice age called the New Stone Age that began about 10,000 BCE and ending sometime between 4500 and 2000 BCE.
neolithic
Beginning about 10,000 BCE in the Fertile Crescent and marked the beginning of the transition from hunter-gatherers to agricultural settlements and early civilization.
neolithic revolution
What does Neolithic mean?
new stone age
A form of human communication where art, ideas, cultural material and knowledge are preserved and transmitted orally from one generation to the next.
oral cultures
Much of the understanding of prehistoric cultures comes from stories that have survived in cultures around the world that developed without writing.
oral cultures
Which of the following ancient structures was known as the "House of the Double Axes"?
palace of minos at knossos
"Old Stone Age" going back to about 2.6 million years BCE and ending when the last ice age was over at about 10,000 BCE.
paleolithic
Cave art in Chauvet Cave illustrating a pride of sixteen lions hunting bison.
panel of the lions
A doctrine that identifies God with the universe or the universe (nature) as a manifestation of God.
pantheism
On the Athenian Acropolis, which of the following was considered the centerpiece?
parthenon
The central building of the Greek Acropolis in ancient Athens was known as
parthenon
Who is the wife of Odysseus?
penelope
Type of art technique used by the Neolithic cave artists to create a sense of three dimensional space on a two dimensional surface.
perspectivable drawing
The use of a pictorial symbol for a word or phrase. This technique is the earliest known form of writing dating to Mesopotamia and Egypt prior to 3000 BCE.
pictographs
Which of the following is the Greek term for city-state?
polis
Which of the following terms refers to a religion that includes many gods and goddesses often associated with natural forces and realms?
polytheism
In architecture a building system where strong horizontal elements are supported by strong vertical elements with a large space between them. Stonehenge is an example.
post and lintel
Neolithic construction, like at Stonehenge, of posts grouped in pairs with each pair topped by a capstone.
post and lintel
In the ancient Greek theater, what term identifies the elevated platform on which the actors performed?
procenium
On the Athenian Acropolis, which of the following served as a monumental entryway to the complex
propyliai
What color was the Willendorf Venus originally painted?
red ochre
A rite or ceremony habitually practiced by a group, often in religious contexts.
ritual
Which of the following leaders guided the Akkadians to conquer virtually all other cities in Mesopotamia and named himself "King of the Four Quarters of the World"?
sargon
An individual who can enter a trance state or in dreams travel to the spirit world and influence events.
shaman
Which of the following is the son of King David and is also the person who built the magnificent temple in Jerusalem?
solomon
Either of the two times in the year when the sun reaches its furthest point north and later its furthest point south of the equator, usually June 21 and December 22.
solstices
Which of the following was NOT among the accusations that Socrates faced when he was placed on trial?
stealing
Stone piece upon which are carved some of the earliest examples of a law code.
stele of hammurabi
Prehistoric period of human beings composed of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic eras.
stone age
A prehistoric megalithic monument in England composed of a ring of standing stones that was built about 5000 years ago. One of the major interpretations of the site was that it was a giant astronomical observatory built to mark the summer solstice.
stonehenge
Method by which prehistoric humans first survived as hunter-gatherers, then later by agricultural cultivation of food crops.
subsistence
Two of the oldest cities in the world are found in this Mesopotamian region, Ur and Uruk. What culture is this?
sumerian
The point in the northern hemisphere when the sun reaches its highest point north. Summer begins then about June 21.
summer solstice
Primitive or magical ritual where objects or actions are used that symbolically represents the desired result in the world. Prayer is an example.
sympathetic magic
According to Aristotle's Poetics, who undergoes the catharsis (the cleansing, purification, or purgation of the soul)?
the audience
Which of the following armies captured Jerusalem, destroyed its temple, and deported many of the Hebrews?
the babylonians
Which of the following rivers is associated with ancient India?
the indus
Which feature on the Willendorf Venus was NOT carved, but instead a natural indentation in the stone?
the naval
What was a great technological invention in Mesopotamia about 3000 BCE?
the potters wheel
Which of the following rivers is associated with ancient Mesopotamia?
the tigris
Which of the following rivers is associated with ancient China?
the yellow
What are the paintings in Chauvet known especially for?
their naturalism
Which of the following terms refers to a state ruled by a god or by the god's representative?
theocracy
Which of the following literary pieces was first to detail the Greek pantheon?
theogony
Before the objective Greek philosophers events such as natural phenomenon were explained as having supernatural causes created by the gods
true
In the Republic Plato explored the concept of the ideal state led by a Philosopher King.
true
Parmenides argued that the true nature of reality was Monism, that is everything being created from one primal substance
true
Plato wrote the only detailed account of Atlantis from the ancient world
true
Sumerian cosmology was geocentric.
true
The Sophists were paid teachers of philosophy
true
The dating term C.E. refers to the Common Era.
true
The major contributions of Pythagoras of Samos were mathematics, especially the Pythagorean Theorem
true
The term Cyclades is taken from the the ancient Greek word Kyklos and means circle
true
Any Upper Paleolithic statuettes portraying a woman. Generally believed to represent fertility symbols.
venus figurines
The point in the northern hemisphere when the sun reaches its lowest point south. Winter begins then about December 21.
winter solstice
What is the Seated Woman of Catal Hoyuk thought to symbolize?
A figure apparently giving birth that like the Venus of Willendorf the figure is thought to symbolize the Great Goddess as an object of worship.
What is the Invocation to the Muse?
A major characteristic of Epic poetry where the author calls on the muse for inspiration in narrating the tale
What is Platonic Objectivism?
A metaphysical concept where ideas exist independently from the individual and are based on mathematics
The term Stone Age was coined in the 19th century and means what?
A period in time where three different eras overlap in different parts of the world: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic.
What is myth as defined in the study of mythology?
A story that offers some explanation of phenomena important to human beings such as storms or the origin of humanity.
What is meant by a Great Mother or Great Goddess?
A theory which advocates that for much of human history the feminine divine was as important or even more important than male divinity
What does the branch of philosophy known as metaphysics deal with?
Abstract knowledge such as the first principle of things such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time and space
During the action of the Iliad, who is considered the greatest warrior among the Greeks battling against the Trojans?
Achilles
Which of the following is the central character in the Iliad, which focuses on his "rage"?
Achilles
During the Neolithic, or New Stone Age, what major innovations were shaped and created that still exist today?
Agriculture, civilization, domestication of animals, and the creation of cities.
In regard to Stone Age drawings, what does naturalism mean?
An aesthetic where objects from the environment are drawn as realistically as possible.
What are the common dates for the Paleolithic Er
Approximately from the beginning of the Pleistocene Epoch (2.4 million BCE) to the start of the Neolithic Era.
Who specialized in writing comedies and is the playwright for Lysistrata?
Aristophanes
During most of the Stone Age how did humans make their living?
As a hunter-gatherer or subsistence culture.
In which of the following nations was the Willendorf Venus discovered?
Austria
A permanent village in central Turkey that took shape sometime around 7400 BCE. Many Mother Goddess figures were found here
Chatal hoyuk
In what cave can be found some of the finest examples of prehistoric drawings and paintings that are thousands of years old?
Chauvet in france
Who is the chief craftsperson that assists the Minoan queen in her plan to attract the Minotaur?
Daedalus
What are the three major divisions of Greek history?
Dark Ages, Archaic Period, Classical Period
Which ancient Greek city-state was the home to the Sanctuary of Apollo?
Delphi
Which of the following is described as "the God of wine and inspiration"?
Dionysus
What are megalithic structures?
Enormous stone structures built primarily in the Neolithic, often in circle like arrangement
Catal Hoyuk in south central Turkey is important for what cultural innovations?
Evolution from a hunter-gatherer society to the domestication of animals and the development of agriculture, innovations needed to create a civilization.
Site where excavation of giant T-shaped monoliths began in 1994. The discovery challenged the traditional Neolithic Revolution narrative as the earliest parts of the site have been dated to 10,000 BCE. Previously, the Neolithic Revolution narrative stated that megalithic sites were impossible to build until much later in history.
Gobekli tepe
In Aristotle's view choosing the middle ground between two extremes is known as what?
Golden mean
Why is Aristotle important for being an influence on the modern scientific method?
He believed that truth could be found in an objective examination of the natural world
Who is the Trojan prince and warrior that killed Patroclus and enraged Achilles during the action of the Iliad?
Hector
Who is considered the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey
Homer
How is Mesolithic art characterized?
In hunting scenes the hunters are often just stick-like figures, highly stylized, that look more like pictographs, a technique similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs
What are the Cyclades, and what was their importance in ancient Greek culture?
Islands in the Aegean composed of many different Greek city states
Which among the following is not a book of the Torah?
Judges
Who instituted the first Athenian democracy in 508 BCE?
Kleisthenes
Which of the following cave paintings depicts a human figure wearing a birds-head mask?
Lascaux, France
Among the pre-Socratics in the fifth century BCE, who conceived of an atomic theory in which everything is made up of small, indivisible particles and empty space?
Leucippus
What is the Socratic Method?
Method of teaching invented by Socrates where continual questioning is used in order to let an individual discover "truth"
John Anthony West made an argument that challenges the traditional date of when the Sphinx was built. What is this argument?
NOT Horizontal water erosion on the Sphinx and the bedrock from which it was carved provides strong evidence that the Sphinx is thousands of years older than previously thought.
What is the Egyptian trinity?
NOT Osiris the mother, Isis the father, and Horus the son
What ritual did the Egyptian Hall of Truth and Feather of Truth mean to a departed soul?
NOT Osiris weighed the heart of the departed on a set of scales against the Feather of Truth. If the heart was heavier than the feather the soul could pass on to immortality.
What does the word cuneiform describe?
NOT The term was invented in the 19th century and refers to a form of wedge-shaped symbols made in clay tablets.
Why were virtues important to the ancient Greeks?
NOT These were qualities emanating from the realm of perfect forms that would lead people to discover the good life
Which of the following is the name for a Greek vase with two handles?
NOT amphora
What was the main factor that enabled the ancient Egyptians to create a great civilization?
NOT invention of potter's wheel
Who is the playwright for the Oresteia trilogy that includes events after Agamemnon's return from the Trojan War?
NOT Euripides
In ancient Egypt what was the reason for building obelisks?
NOT all of these
Which of the following is NOT included among those illustrated in the metopes on the four sides of the Parthenon?
NOT amazons
Which of the following terms refers to the row of columns that stands on the raised platform of an ancient Greek temple?
NOT caryatids
What was the primary cause of villages transforming into cities, civilization, and finally the invention of writing?
NOT cultivation of grain
What does Paleolithic mean?
Old Stone Age
Following the decisive battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, who ran the 26 miles between Marathon and Athens to deliver word of the Greek victory to the anxious citizens of Athens?
Phiddipedes
Which of the following is NOT the location of a cave in which ancient paintings have been discovered?
Pitlochry, Scotland
Who is best remembered as the King of Troy during the action of the Iliad?
Priam
Who is responsible for one of the most famous of all Greek dictums: "Man is the measure of all things"?
Protagorus
What is rational discourse?
Reasoned counter argument to arrive at the truth of a phenomenon
What is the significance of the Summer and Winter solstices?
Seasonal markers that indicate the sun's highest ascent in the northern hemisphere and lowest ascent in the southern hemisphere.
A person, in native cultures, thought to have special ability to communicate with the spirit world, often through entering the dream realm.
Shaman
Which of the following was the resident god at Ur?
Sin, the god of the moon
What are some possible interpretations for the function of Stonehenge?
Stonehenge was used as a burial site, a spiritual or religious site, an observatory, a giant astronomical calendar, and more recently as a healing place.
What are the two great epics of Greek literature and what story does each narrate?
The Iliad which narrates the wrath of Achilles and the Trojan War, and the Odyssey which comes after the end of the war and narrates the voyage of Odysseus in his attempt to sail home
What is pantheism?
The belief that nature and god are one and that everything in nature contains living spirit.
From a mythical perspective what are some possible interpretations of the caves found in Europe?
The caves could symbolize entry into the underworld or as a fertility womb symbol.
What are Plato's Forms?
The concept that the perfect form of anything exists not in the world but in ideas of the abstract
When and where did the Mesolithic Age occur?
The era occurred in Europe approximately from about 10,000 BCE to about 5000 BCE.
What are some possible interpretations of the Venus of Willendorf? Choose the best answer
The figurine could represent a fertility symbol or symbolize the Great Mother or Great Goddess that represented the Feminine Divine in the prehistoric world.
Among the following residents of Mesopotamia, which was the only monotheistic group?
The hebrews
In sculpture what is the significance of the Kritios Boy?
The piece represents the transition in Greek sculpture from the late archaic style to the Greek classical period
What is significant about the discovery of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey?
The site is an enormous megalithic complex that is over 12,000 years old. Traditional archaeological narratives state that a hunter-gather society could not have managed such a feat, and is a severe challenge to the traditional Neolithic Revolution narrative.
What is a possible interpretation of the meaning of the Venus of Willendorf?
The statuette could be a fertility symbol as the breasts, large abdomen and sexual organs are prominently displayed.
What is the common narrative for over a hundred years of the Neolithic Revolution?
The transition from a hunter-gatherer society to one of creating permanent settlements due to the discovery of agriculture.
Democritus is known for his concept of atomism. What is this concept
The ultimate nature of matter is composed of an indivisible substance known as the atom
What is the origin of the word archaeology?
The word comes from the Latin archaeologia which means the study of the ancient past.