Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Greek Alphabet | 800 BC

How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians?
adapted the letterforms, travel and trade

How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor?
the arrangeent, several consonants adapted as vowels, added more letters

Why is the Greek alphabet considered to be the world's first true alphabet?
given rise to many other alphabets

Name several similarities and differences between the Greek and modern English alphabets?


Post an example of the Greek alphabet in visual form.

The Phoenician Alphabet | 1050 BC

The Phoenician alphabet is based on what principle?
One sign represents one spoken sound

Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them?
Stylus, angular and straight, right to left

What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful?
Trading culture of Phonecian merchants into North Africa and Europe,

What long term effects on the social structures of civilizations did the Phoenicians have with the creation of their alphabet?
First widespread script, could be used in multiple language, allowed common people to learn how to read and write, disintegrated class divisions between royalty and common people

Post an example of the Phoenician alphabet in visual form.

Hieroglyphics and the Egyptians | 3,000 BC

In the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt? 
Persians, Greeks, Romans
Post an example of the inside wall(s) of an Ancient Egyptian temple.
What was discovered on the inside of the temples?
carved and painted images on every wall and surface

Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language?
Sumerian cunieform, influenced by the concept of words and writing

What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?

logographic elements are visual symbols and alphabetic writing is document writing.

The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words?

heiro- sacred, and glyphic- writing or engraving

What is a scribe?

document copier

Who else was trained to read and write? Why?

students and military leaders to communicate while in battle
Post an example of hieroglyphics on papyrus.
What is papyrus and how was it made?

wet reeds laid on top of each other criss cross, flattened, dried, and rolled over with stones. Papyrus is substrates made from reeds native to Egypt

What is a substrate?

substance or layer that underlies something or which some process occurs in particular

What were the Books of the Dead?

scrolls for pharohs with instructions and spells to help find their way to the afterlife

How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?

the amount of people who could read them disappeared because Greeks and Romans took over Egypt
Post an example of the Rosetta Stone.
What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?

Had inscriptions in three different languages, founded in Rosetta

What three languages are included on the stone?

heiroglyphics, demotic, and greek

Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered?

part of the stone was missing and none of the texts were complete

Who finally deciphered the text? What was his breakthrough?

Jean Francois Campollion, able to match heiroglyphics with the greek version of the name Egyption Pharos Ramses

Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance?

we now know the history of the first written language

Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean?
one of the earliest nomadic civilizations, moved around often and settled at different places

Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?
first written language, cunieform was created

What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate?
year round agriculture

Post an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).
Why was Cuneiform created?
they needed a way to track the business transactions

What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface?
clay gablets, wetting the clay, forming flat surfaces, using a wedge shaped stylus to make impressions, dry them in the sun to let them harden

What did Cuneiform begin as a series of?
pictographs

Post an example of evolved Cuneiform (wedge-shaped).
After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into?
wedge shaped language

Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.
After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?
adopted the sumerian culture and their written language

What is a pictograph?
picture representation of an object

Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture?
they were the only ones with a written language

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Cave Paintings | 35,000 years ago

What are cave paintings?
artistic representations found on cave walls and ceilings

Name several common themes found in cave paintings?
large animals, human hands, and abstract patterns

How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)?
water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, and hermatite, homemade brushes were made with sticks, small stones, leaves, and animal hair.

What is the most famous cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?
Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.
Lascaus, France 1940

Why did this cave have to be closed? What was done to satisfy public curiosity?
A replica was created next to the original, tourists were damaging the paintings with carbon dioxide

Post an example of cave painting(s) from Altamira cave.
In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue?
red clay in the soil

Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be?
discovered by Marceline Sanz de Sautola and his daughter, about 19,000 years old

What is the oldest known cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?
Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.
Chauvet-Point Arc. Discovered in 1994 by Eliette Brunell Deschamps, Christian Hilliaire, and Jean-Marie Chauvet

What was different about the painting techniques at this site?
3d effect by etching around edges and walls were scraped clear of debris.

What is "speleology"?
study of features, history, processes, life, etc of caves

What three reasons do archeologists and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings?
storytelling, teaching how to hunt, and magical reasons

Monday, March 5, 2012

Assignment 15 Research and Inspiration

This one has a more simple, colorful border around it and an interesting border for the picture, but no initial cap.

This one was done  by a high school student.  The  manuscript utilizes bright, bold colors and the images go perfectly with the words.