Honors Humanities Study Sheet for Unit Test #1 (Fall 2015)
REMINDER: You are responsible for reading and reviewing the contents of the relevant chapters in your
Creative Impulse book. Also, we recommend making flash cards to study key facts and ideas.
Prehistory
Mesopotamia
Places
Lascaux, France
Chauvet, France
Altamira, Spain
caves
Willendorf, Austria (location of Venus of Willendorf)
Gobekli Tepe (from "The Day Pictures Were Born" film)
Places
Mediterranean Sea
Tigris & Euphrates
Also note these locations: Red Sea, Caspian Sea, Black Sea
Mesopotamian fertile crescent
Israel
Jerusalem
Sumer
Ur
NOTE: You should be able to locate all these Prehistoric
and Mesopotamian (see right) places on a map. Your
Creative Impulse book has excellent reference maps.
Art/Architecture
Venus of Willendorf
fertility (Venus) figures in general
cave paintings (specific examples from Lascaux, Altamira,
and Chauvet)
Literature/Film/Readings
“Domestication of Motherhood”
cave paintings (specific examples)
"The Day Pictures Were Born" film
Lord of the Flies
Creative Impulse chapter on Prehistory
People/Characters
David Lewis Williams (from "The Day Pictures Were Born"
film)
Nigel Spivey (from "The Day Pictures Were Born" film)
Piggy
Simon
Ralph
Jack
Roger
Terms
patriarchal (Rich)
matriarchal (Rich)
duality (us/them), “otherness,” projection, and scapegoats
(Rich and Lord of the Flies)
ceremonial object
vision quest
shaman
San (bush men)
scavengers
hunters & gatherers
hunting
farming
conch shell (Lord of the Flies)
the beast (Lord of the Flies)
specs (Lord of the Flies)
fire (Lord of the Flies)
hunting (Lord of the Flies)
Art/Architecture
ziggurat
votive figures
Stele of Hammurabi
Literature/Readings
Epic of Gilgamesh
“Story of Enkidu”
Code of Hammurabi
Genesis
Hebrew Scriptures
Creative Impulse chapter on Ancient Egypt
People/Characters
Adam & Eve
Anu
Enkidu
Shamhat
Aruru
Gilgamesh
Abraham
Creative Impulse chapter on Ancient Egypt
Ms. Barr (Judaism)
Terms
pictograph
cuneiform and cunus
epic form/romantic model
kosher
Torah (What is the difference between this and the Tanakh?)
Tanakh (What is the difference between this and the Torah?)
a messiah (from a Jewish perspective) – NOT COVERED
THIS YEAR, BUT HELPFUL TO KNOW
prophets
covenant
anti-Semitism
sacrifice
orthodox
conservative
reform
monotheism (Judaism)
polytheism (other Mesopotamian religions)
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Egypt
Old Kingdom
Middle Kingdom
Chefren
Sesostris
mastaba
step pyramid (includes Djoser's)
New Kingdom
Queen Hatshepsut (first known
female pharaoh; wore attire of
Hyksos (invaders; brought horses; male pharaoh)
less stable time in Egypt) – NOT
ON TEST THIS YEAR
Dayr el-Bahri
Great Pyramids of Giza (includes
Cheops's pyramid, the largest)
irrigation
tomb paintings
dams
Thutmose the Third (“The
Great”)
Palette of Narmer
Amenhotep (old name) /
Akhenaten (new name – why?)
“Story of Ra”
Aten (sun god)
Nu
Valley of the Kings
Ra
Isis
NOTE: You should be able to
locate the Nile River and Upper
and Lower Egypt on a map.
monotheism vs. polytheism
Sekhmet
Nile River
Book of the Dead
hieroglyphics (pictographic)
polytheism
ka
embalming
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Past Essay Prompts
These are essay prompts that will not be on the exam. They might be useful for practicing essay writing
or deepening your thinking. For each prompt, consider the art, architecture, literature and religion.
 How do the art, literature, architecture, and artifacts of a civilization reflect their religion?
 What are the specific ways the geography, climate, and natural resources of a place shape its
culture?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of a dynamic, constantly changing civilization? Of a
stable, unchanging civilization?
 How may the divine/supernatural have been understood by prehistoric people? Ancient
Mesopotamians? Ancient Hebrews? Ancient Egyptians? Modern Jews?
 What common themes can be seen among the myths of various cultures? What differences?
Apply to prehistory, Mesopotamia (including ancient and modern Jews), and Egypt.
General Essay Writing Tips
CD (Concrete Detail)
• For literature and art/architecture CDs, include the context (who, what, when, where).
• For art and architecture CDs, give specific description using the FIVE SENSES so the relevant details
can be visualized clearly.
• For literature CDs, include WHAT THE NARRATOR OR CHARACTER SAYS and WHAT THE
CHARACTER DOES.
• Give as much detail as possible, not a general summary. For instance, describe a specific dialogue or
action, or describe a specific body part on a sculpture.
• Here’s an example of good art CD: "The statue's eyelids are half closed, and his brow is furrowed.
There are two deep lines between his eyes and his head is bowed toward the ground."
CM (Commentary)
• Explain what the facts mean and why they are important examples that support your thesis and topic
sentence.
• Use "This shows that…" and "…because…" to deepen discussion.
• Example: "This shows that he is defeated, in pain, and fighting valiantly to maintain his dignity because
he is a worthy adversary for the Greeks."
• Extend CM by explaining the facts in a larger context with a phrase like “This is important
because…”
• Example: “This is important because the Greeks elevate their own honor and fighting prowess if they
can show they have defeated an honorable and strong enemy.”
Conclusion (one or two sentences for this essay)
• Share a universal truth/lesson/moral about human nature or how the world works.
• Example of a good conclusion: "As shown by these examples, the ancient Greeks had great pride in
their homelands and fighting skills, but they did not dehumanize their enemies in their stories or art. I
wonder what would happen if more Americans saw news reports about ordinary Iraqi people and the
innocent victims of the war, whom we call 'collateral damage' today."
IF YOU RUN OUT OF TIME: (1) bullet point in the time that is left and (2) focus on CDs.
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This Year’s Essay Exam Instructions (Including Prompt)
NOTE: (1) A general thesis is provided below in order to guide students to the right
topic/goal in this first essay. We are in no way saying this is an excellent thesis.
(2) If you are ambitious and wish to write a superior thesis, we encourage you to do so
and have it approved before the exam begins. You MUST still write about the Venus and a
character from Lord of the Flies.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS: In response to the prompt below, name and describe specific
examples from art, architecture, literature, and/or religion we studied this semester.
Explain in detail how your examples support your thesis. Please start each new
paragraph on a separate page of your essay exam.
PROMPT: How would ancient civilizations answer the question “What is good?” Apply
to Early Man/Prehistory and modern times. Use evidence from art, architecture, literature,
and/or religion. Feel free to reference other works introduced in class (literature, video,
etc.)
HERE ARE THE THESIS, TOPIC SENTENCES, AND CONCLUSION YOU WILL
USE ON THIS TEST. Please COPY the thesis, topic sentences and conclusion onto your
essay paper as they are presented here. Do not waste time expanding or elaborating
further on the thesis or conclusion, since you are not getting points for them!
THESIS (copy word-for-word): “What is good?” Humans have revealed their struggle
with this question through their art and literature since the dawn of time as demonstrated
by the Venus of Willendorf and by the character, ___________(choose ONE), from the
Lord of the Flies.
TOPIC SENTENCE for body paragraph #1: The “Venus of Willendorf” from
prehistory reveals early humans’ attitudes about what is good because
______________________________________________________________ .
[Give multiple concrete details and extensive commentary.]
TOPIC SENTENCE for body paragraph #2: The character, ____________ (same ONE
listed in thesis), from the Lord of the Flies, reveals modern humans’ attitudes about what is
good because ___________________________________________________ .
[Give multiple concrete details and extensive commentary.]
CONCLUSION (copy word-for-word): By examining their art, architecture, literature,
and religion, we expand our understanding of what people believed to be good in
prehistory and modern times.
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