Study Guide: Chapter 3
Pharaohs and the Afterlife: The Art of Ancient Egypt
Text pages 54-83
Introduction
1. Briefly describe the role played by the Nile in the development of Egyptian civilization:
2. What is hieroglyphic writing and what was the significance of the Rosetta Stone? Who
deciphered it?
Predynastic and Early Dynastic
Define or identify the following terms or names:
Book of the Dead:
canopic jars:
Djoser:
dynasties:
engaged column:
Horus:
Imhotep:
ka:
Mastaba:
mummification:
Osiris:
step pyramid:
Study Guide: Chapter 3
1. The Palette of Narmer (fig 3-2), is extremely important in Egyptian history and art for several
reasons. Politically, it documents:
Culturally, It records two important facts:
a. about religion:
b. about writing:
Artistically, it embodies conventions that will dominate Egyptian official art to the
end of the new Kingdom, namely:
a.
b.
c.
2. Stone columns appeared for the first time in the mortuary precinct of Djoser at Saqqara.
How do the shape of these columns relate to the papyrus plants that were common in
Egypt?
3. What were the religious beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians?
The Old Kingdom
1. In what way do the pyramids of Gizeh differ from Djoser's pyramid at Saqqara?
2. What is ashlar masonry and how was it used in building the pyramids at Gizeh?
3. What is thought to have been the function of the Great Sphinx of Gizeh?
4. What is the primary purpose of the statue of Khafre (fig 3-12)?
a. What is one stylistic characteristic of this statue?
b. What does the Hawk symbolize?
Study Guide: Chapter 3
5. What is meant by the "canon of human proportions", and how did the Egyptians apply it to
their figures?
6. Why is the statue of Ka-Aper (fig 3-15) more relaxed, more real and less perfect than the
statue of the Pharaoh?
7. What subjects were commonly depicted on the walls of Egyptian tombs and what was their
purpose?
The Middle Kingdom
1. The pyramid tombs so popular in the Old Kingdom were replaced by __________________
tombs in the Middle Kingdom.
2. In what way does the portrait of Senusret III (fig 3-18) reflect the changed political
conditions of the Middle Kingdom?
The New Kingdom and the Late Period
Define or identify the following individuals and terms:
Aton:
Amen-Re:
Clerestory Window:
Hatshepsut:
Hypostyle Hall:
Ramses III:
sunken relief:
Tutankhamen:
Study Guide: Chapter 3
1. Briefly describe a Pylon Temple and explain its purpose. Name any one.
2. What was the major effect of the new Amarna style on figural representation?
3. Name any two stylistic conventions that the Egyptians borrowed from other Ancient Near
East civilizations:
4. Egyptian art and culture remained relatively unchanged for 3,000 years. How does the word
timeless relate to Egyptian art and culture, specifically?