EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE
Prehistoric, Ancient Near Eastern, and Ancient Egyptian Art
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The first exam contains 45 multiple choice questions and 1 short answer question. You will be
tested on your knowledge of key artworks, art historical terminology, and historical concepts from
chapters 1, 2, and 3. You will be given 55 minutes to complete the multiple choice portion of the
exam, and 20 minutes to respond to the short answer question. Each part of the exam must be
taken in a single session (you can’t save your work and come back to it later).
You should be comfortable with important historical events and have a general knowledge of the
cultures we have been studying (for example, what sets Paleolithic culture apart from Neolithic
culture? What sort of cultural beliefs existed in ancient Egypt, and how did they shape much of their
art and monuments?).
For each image listed below, you should know the title, style/culture, medium, artist/architect
(when known) and the date. For cave paintings/sculptures, know which cave each is in. Make sure
you understand the significance of each work—what were some of the most important concepts we
talk about with each one? Are there various interpretations of its subject matter? What technique
was used to make it? And so on.
TIP: Be sure to read the questions carefully (for example, several questions will ask what is NOT true
about a given work of art, which can trip students up—be sure you understand what the question is
asking before you select your answer). Start by eliminating the obviously incorrect answers to
narrow your options. Think back to the big ideas we talked about in class—I really try to test on
significant aspects of a work. What is it about? What is it made of (especially if the material was
something I emphasized in class)? What style is it, and what are key characteristics of that style?
The short answer question may ask you to identify, analyze, compare, and/or contextualize a work
(or works) of art, which may or may not be a piece we studied in class. You could also be asked to
identify and analyze a work of your choosing that demonstrates a key concept of the unit. Be sure
to address all parts of the short answer question for full credit.
SELECTED IMAGES
CHAPTER 1: Prehistoric Art
1-7 | Woman of Willendorf
1-9 | Woman from Brassempouy
Memory Image
Generic person and not specified for a single person
1-10 | Wall Painting with Horses, Rhinoceroses, and Aurochs, Chauvet Cave
Don’t see Narrative scenes or humans typically
1-11 | Hall of Bulls, Lascaux Cave
Twisted perspective
Some parts of picture are from different vantage points
1-12 | Bird-Headed Man with Bison, Lascaux Cave
First human pic
1-13 | Bison, Altamira Cave
Represented in profile
Some bison lying down and some standing
1-14 | Bison, Le Tuc d’Audoubert
Details ensized
Relief sculptures
Sculpture is an additive piece
1-17 | Çatalhöyük
Starting out of glacial period to inter glacial period
1-22 | Stonehenge
8 phases of construction
Blue stones and sarsen stone used
Big boys are sarsen 50tons
Many believed ideas
Solar Calender
Ceremonial cite for death
1-24 | Durrington Walls
CHAPTER 2: Ancient Near Eastern Art
2-2A | Ruins and Plan of the Anu Ziggurat and White Temple
Cradle of civilization
Writing systems developed
Sumerians develop cuneiform
Ziggurat- tall stepped monument where worship was held
Representative to a mountain as gods reside on top of mountains
2-3 | Face of a Woman, Known as the Warka Head
Presumed to be a goddess
Made of marble which signifies importance as rare material
Flat back which means it would probably have been displayed.
2-5 | Votive Figures
Representative of everyday people
2-6A and 2-6B | The Great Lyre with Bull’s Head and the Front Panel from the Sound Box
Musical instrument
2-10 | Head of a Man (Known as Akkadian Ruler)
Very powerful figure
Copper
Loss wax technique
2-1 | Stele of Naram-Sin
Composite form or twisted figure
2-13 | Stele of Hammurabi
Babylonian
First written law code in history
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2-14 | Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions
2-17 | Guardian Figures (Lamassu)
Palace complex of sargon the second
Horned cap of divinity
Have five legs
2-20 | Ishtar Gate and Throne Room Wall
Neo-babelonian
Glazed brick
Available regional material
Figure
CHAPTER 3: Ancient Egyptian Art
3-2 | Palette of Narmer
3-4 | Imhotep, Step Pyramid and Sham Buildings, Funerary Complex of Djoser
3-5 | Great Pyramids, Giza
3-6 | Model of the Giza Plateau
3-7 | Great Sphinx, Funerary Complex of Khafre
Represents khufu
3-9 | Khafre
Was not a representation of khafre but rather a ruler
3-11 | Seated Scribe
Individual portrait
High up in society
3-20 | Reconstruction Drawing of the Hypostyle Hall, Great Temple of Amun at Karnak
3-23 | Funerary Temple of Hatshepsut
Reliefs that legitimize her rulership
3-28 | Akhenaten and His Family
3-1 | Funerary Mask of Tutankhamun
3-32 | Inner Coffin of Tutankhamun’s Sarcophagus
3-37 | Judgment of Hunefer before Osiris
KEY TERMS
additive sculpture
clerestory
composite pose
crenellation
cuneiform
henge
hieratic scale
idealized
mastaba
megalithic architecture
memory image
naturalistic
relief sculpture
stele
step pyramid
subtractive sculpture
true pyramid
ziggurat
Example Free Response
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Woman Of Wissensorf
Paleolithic Art Piece, 24000 BCE
One of the most prominent theories of this work is the perspective from which this was made.
It is impossible to tell if this was the intention but it is believed that this statue was made by a
woman whom was looking down at herself. When a person looks at oneself without a mirror,
the visualization becomes distorted. The women’s legs are shorter than most features which is
very un-proportional while her body is seemingly large. Along with the legs, there is no
depiction of facial; features as the woman had probably never seen her face to depict it as we
do when we look in a mirror
Pallette of Narmer 2950 BCE Early Dynastic
FormContext- make up palette for ceremonial use
Three pieces of kingship
Crown of upper and lower Egypt
Twisted perspective combined with exaggerated height
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