Deck 20: Arts of the Pacific and of the Americas

Question 1

One similarity between the feather cloaks of Hawaii and the meetinghouses of the Maori people of New Zealand is that:

A) both embody ideas about the order of society and the protective powers of the gods.
B) both represent human control over natural forces.
C) both deny the existence of an afterlife.
D) both commemorate important war victories.
E) both are used exclusively by women.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A kiva is a large, underground ceremonial chamber of the ________ people.

A) Anasazi
B) Moche
C) Crow
D) Tairona
E) Maori

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The Tairona ornament made of tumbaga was fashioned using the technique of:

A) stone carving.
B) lost-wax casting.
C) wood carving.
D) clay coiling.
E) basket weaving.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In the Tolai spirit society known as duk duk, the duk duk are:

A) animal spirits that cause mischief.
B) female spirits who have lost children.
C) evil spirits that hinder progress to the afterlife.
D) male spirits who punish lawbreakers.
E) apathetic spirits of forces in nature.

Question 5

The use of gold in the Americas was:

A) first developed in Peru.
B) confined to Central America and Mesoamerica.
C) introduced by the Spanish conquistadors.
D) mainly in the form of coins.
E) nonexistent until modern times.

Question 6

Several cultures are known collectively as the "mound builders." The most famous of the mounds still visible is:

A) Spiral Jetty.
B) the Serpent Mound.
C) the Crouching Dog Mound.
D) the Pyramid of the Sun.
E) the Mound of Venus.

Question 7

The ability to decipher Mayan writing has shifted our understanding of Mayan art. Whereas scholars previously believed Mayan art's purpose was to ________, they now believe it to have been ________.

A) depict historic images; purely concerned with beauty
B) display dream imagery and monsters; focused upon the everyday life of ordinary people
C) present stories of the gods; almost entirely concerned with history
D) celebrate the glories of rulers of the past; a symbolic representation of a complex legal system
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 8

Like the ziggurats of Mesopotamia, ____________ pyramids were symbolically understood as mountains.

A) Mesoamerican
B) Polynesian
C) North American
D) Australian
E) South American

Question 9

____________ was considered a sacred substance by many North American peoples and the vehicle for delivery became a sculptural art form.

A) Water
B) Dirt
C) Charcoal
D) Earth pigment
E) Tobacco

Question 10

One god in the Aztec pantheon was Quetzalcoatl, who played an important role in the survival of this culture by:

A) building the city of Teotihuacán.
B) communicating to leaders through animal spirits.
C) facilitating the domestication of animals.
D) bringing rain and water through windstorms.
E) protecting the Aztec people from other, less-friendly gods.

Question 11

The Moche of South America left a substantial record of art that includes:

A) rice-paper scrolls depicting court scenes.
B) hundreds of huge stone sculptures commonly depicting fierce owls.
C) intricately painted ornamental eggs.
D) a small temple with a completely gold-lined interior chamber.
E) tens of thousands of ceramic objects, often depicting kneeling warriors.

Question 12

In the tumbaga pendant depicting a ruler, birds unfold like wings on either side of his head, representing:

A) the belief that rulers could fly.
B) this ruler's identification with caged birds.
C) spirit alter egos that give access to the other world.
D) conflicts in the Tairona culture that eventually led to its ruin.
E) religious ecstasy achieved through the use of a hallucinogen.

Question 13

Masks and masking played important roles in some Indian cultures. The Kwakiutl mask called Crooked Beak:

A) is a symbol for victory in war and games.
B) is one of the guardians of the stars.
C) appears in monthly dance rituals curing the sick.
D) brings abundance in the coming harvest.
E) is one of four monstrous beings who eat human flesh.

Question 14

The Yucatán Peninsula was home to the civilization of the Maya. All but which of the following have been acknowledged as accomplishments of the Mayan culture?

A) An advanced writing system
B) Astronomy
C) Oil painting
D) Biology
E) The mathematical concept of zero

Question 15

The Aborigines of Australia:

A) arrived by sea as early as 50,000 years ago from Southeast Asia.
B) crossed a land bridge from New Zealand 3,000 years ago.
C) no longer exist.
D) have returned to Malaysia and Indonesia.
E) developed large urban centers.

Question 16

One Mesoamerican culture is often called the "mother culture" because it seemed to have institutionalized the features that mark later civilizations in the region. To which culture does this term refer?

A) The Inca
B) The Olmec
C) The Maya
D) The Aztec
E) The Moche

Question 17

Many Mimbres ceramics recovered from graves have been shattered or pierced. This may represent:

A) a low level of craftsmanship.
B) the breaking of the vessel of the human body in death.
C) the works of art that were rejected by the artist.
D) the strength or ferocity of the deceased.
E) the less-than-honorable circumstances of the death.

Question 18

The monumental sculptures of Easter Island:

A) are explained in detail in stone tablets inset in the base of each figure.
B) were carved from the trunks of giant trees brought to the island on barges.
C) depict the animal gods of an ancient cosmology.
D) were carved from volcanic stone in the island's mountains.
E) were arranged in circles facing inward, perhaps representing a gathering of rulers.

Question 19

Although no one knows for certain how long people have lived in the Americas, the earliest-known evidence points to human habitations from about:

A) 1,200 years ago.
B) 12,000 years ago.
C) 120,000 years ago.
D) 1,200 centuries ago.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 20

The term "pre-Columbian" is currently questioned as a description of cultures in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus because:

A) recent historical discoveries indicate that Columbus was never in the "new world."
B) some of the cultures referred to by this term continued after Columbus's arrival.
C) the cultures did not think of themselves as coming "before" anything.
D) the actual time of the arrival of Columbus is disputed.
E) other descendants of the cultures prefer to be identified by the names of other conquerors.

Question 21

Consider the ways in which the artists of early cultures in the Pacific and the Americas used the materials in their natural environment to create their art. How does this aspect of their art relate to their cultural beliefs?

Question 22

Consider the stone figures on Ahu Naunau, Easter Island. Discuss interpretations of the possible meanings of these statues and explain the process of their creation.

Question 23

Discuss why we don't have a clearer picture of the ancient arts of North America, citing examples of various artworks produced and their function.

Question 24

A culture whose speech was rich in metaphors was the:

A) Anazasi.
B) Mayan.
C) Aztec.
D) Olmec.
E) Moche.

Question 25

Explain the effects the European conquest of the Americas had on the native inhabitants, their culture, and their arts.

Question 26

Consider these works: the kachina doll of the Zuni culture; Lipundja's Djalambu; and the pendant depicting a ruler of the Tairona culture. Discuss their purposes in the context of the spiritual beliefs of their respective cultures. Discuss the views of the relationships between the living and the dead that these works represent.

Question 27

Discuss the art of tattooing, the culture that practiced it, the process, and how it was considered a sacred act.

Question 28

Compare and contrast the uses of masks in the Americas with that in Africa, making reference to specific works to support your statements.

Question 29

Consider these works: Duk duk maskers, Papua New Guinea; ritual mask, Aztec; and hide painted with scenes of warfare, Lakota. Identify the purpose for which each was created. Discuss briefly how each functioned to express the beliefs of its culture.

Question 30

Discuss the ways in which the various cultures of the Pacific and the Americas believed that they could interact with the spirit world.

Question 31

Compare the ways in which two different cultures discussed in this chapter use visual symbols, relating your comments to specific works or types of works.