Humanities I: Chapter 1 Evaluation
Humanities I: Chapter 1 Evaluation
1. In general, how do anthropologists describe life for humans during the Paleolithic period?
2. What is the significance of the Figurine (or Venus) of Willendorf?
3. In what ways did humans benefit from the domestication of animals, and how did that help to change the lifestyle of humans during the Neolithic period?
4. What does “Mesopotamia” mean? What are the three successive ancient Mesopotamian civilizations? And, on a current world map, what modern countries correspond to ancient Mesopotamia?
5. What are pictograms, ideograms, and phonograms?
6. What is cuneiform, and who invented it?
7. What does it mean when we say that Mesopotamians viewed their deities through the following: polytheism, anthropomorphism, and pantheism?
8. We’ve seen the similarities and differences between the Mesopotamian Utnapishtim and the Hebrew Noah. But, what do you make of those similarities and differences? How do you view the two stories together?
9. Discuss at least two of Hammurabi’s laws and your reactions to them. Also, how does the Code of Hammurabi compare to U.S. Constitutional law? Which do you prefer, and why?
10. What is Egyptian zoomorphism?
11. What do we mean when we say that Egypt was a theocracy? How did it happen practically?
12. What is significant about the reign of Akhenaten and Nefertiti?
13. What are some typical characteristics of Egyptian sculpture?
14. Who was the most successful female pharaoh to rule alone in ancient Egypt, and how would you characterize her?
15. What is the ancient Egyptian writing system? What discovery led to the deciphering of that system, and how did it do that?
16. Read the selections from The Book of the Dead in your Readings book. How would you summarize the Egyptian view of judgment and the afterlife based on these selections? Also, how does it compare or contrast to your own view?
17. What material did you find most interesting to study in Chapter 1? In other words, what did we cover that you would be most apt to further discover on your own time?
18. What was your favorite creative work from Chapter 1? It can be a painting, a sculpture, literature, you name it. What piece stood out the most to you?