Prehistory Vocab

Question 1

Anthropomorphic

Answer 1

Characteristics of a human; human like

Question 2

Post and lintel

Answer 2

A structure consisting of vertical beams (posts) supporting a horizontal beam (lintel)

Question 3

Neolithic

Answer 3

10,000-8,000 BCE
The switch from a nomadic lifestyle to a settled agricultural lifestyle. Leading to domestication of plants and animals and settlement.

Question 4

Megalith

Answer 4

A large stone that forms a prehistoric monument (Stonehenge)

Question 5

Stylized

Answer 5

Simplified or exaggerated features (intentional)

Question 6

Bas relief

Answer 6

A sculptural relief in which forms extend only slightly from the background; often called relief

Question 7

Prehistory

Answer 7

Before written records

Question 8

Zoomorphic

Answer 8

Animal characteristics; animal like

Question 9

Hierarchy of scale

Answer 9

Represents a person’s relative importance by the size of his dipiction

Question 10

Paleolithic

Answer 10

The period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution of humans; before the Neolithic period

Question 11

Terra cotta

Answer 11

Hard brownish-red pottery

Question 12

Cuneiform

Answer 12

A form of writing developed by the Sumerians, the world’s first form of writing

Question 13

Acropolis

Answer 13

High city or fortified hill top

Question 14

Bushel or beaker

Answer 14

Ceramic vessel

Question 15

Stele

Answer 15

An ancient upright stone salad bearing markings

Question 16

Narrative art

Answer 16

Art that tells a story

Question 17

Geometric

Answer 17

Shapes or forms that are “regular” lots of straight lines, symmetry

Question 18

Groundline

Answer 18

In paintings and reliefs, a painted or carved baseline on which figures appear to stand

Question 19

Trilithon

Answer 19

A pair of monoliths topped with a lintel

Question 20

Aubrey holes

Answer 20

The 56 evenly spaced holes found inside the inner ring of stone henge that contains evidence that the henge was used for burials

Question 21

Henge

Answer 21

An arrangement of megalithic stones in a circle, often surrounded by a ditch

Question 22

Naturalism

Answer 22

Realism; a resemblance to the “real world”

Question 23

Neolithic

Answer 23

The period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient agricultural revolution

Question 24

Engraving/ incoming

Answer 24

Printmaking process where a tool (burin) is used to carve into a metal plate. Ink passed into the crevasses to make the drawing on paper