Hieroglyphics and the Egyptians | 3,000 BC

in the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt? Persians, Greek, and 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 pictures on every wall


Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language?
cuneiform


What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?Logographic was very general and stylized, and Alphabetic was more or documenting events


The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words?
Hiero meaning sacred and Glyphic meaning engraving or writing


What is a scribe?a person who writes books or documents by hand as a profession


Who else was trained to read and write? Why?Students, military leaders. In order to  communicate with one another in battle

Post an example of hieroglyphics on papyrus.


What is papyrus and how was it made?Substrate made from reeds native to Egypt 


What is a substrate?
What were the Books of the Dead?
The text consists of a number of magic spells intended to assist a dead person's journey through the afterlife.


How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?After non-christian temples and tombs were closed people who could read hieroglyphics disappeared until no one knew how to read it

Post an example of the Rosetta Stone.

What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?Discovered in Egypt. A rock with writing used to decipher the Hieroglyphics. 


what three languages are included on the stone?It was in Greek, eygptian hieroglyphics and demotic.


Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered?
The stone was broken in places and none of the three texts were complete.


Who finally deciphered the text? 
Jean Francois Champollion


What was his breakthrough?
when he matched the hieroglyphics with the Greek version of them


Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance?Because now we know more about ancient Egypt and the Egyptian hieroglyphics

Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? 
Nomadic


What does that mean?
without a fixed home


Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?
Because Cuneiform was created there


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

Post an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).


Why was Cuneiform created?To track business transactions


What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface? Wet clay and impress sticks into them to write and then lay them out in the sun in order to dry the slabs.


What did Cuneiform begin as a series of? 
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

Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.

After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?It was adopted by the Akkadians


What is a pictograph?Visual representation of an object


Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture?
It was a new form of communication

inspiration for assignment #14

i really like how the building are displayed the brig my eye from the red M up and everything moves throughout the page and that the text is the last thig you see because its not as important 

this is inspiring because i really like how that put that image and blended it in the back of that guys jacket. and i like the colors and it really moves my eyes throughout the poster

i really like this design how that designer move your from top to bottom and its a great design and has a lot of creativity.

visual organization

not directing the audience through a design is misdirecting the.
eye movement: 

• the typical eye moves left to right and top to bottom. 
• Controlling eye movement within a composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewer's eyes. 
• the eye tends gravitate towards areas of complexity first. in pictures of people, the eye is always attracted to the face and particularly the eye.
•  Light areas of a composition will attract the eye, especially when adjusting to a dark area. Diagonal lines or edges will guide eye movement.

Optical center: the spot where the human eye tends to enter the page. Optical center is slightly above mathematical (or exact) center and just to the left.

• it takes a compelling element to pull your eyes away from this spot. 

Z Pattern: Our visual pattern makes a sweep of the page, generally, in the shape of a "Z".

• effective page design maps a viewer's route through the information. The designer's objective is to lead the viewers eye to the important element of information.

Fonts

• pay attention to the amount of font you use (no more then two fonts in one composition). Fonts complement each other.
• avoid all upper case
• chose the right font 
• do not over use fancy or complicated fonts 
• www.typography.com/email/2010-03/index.htm

Visual Hierarchy: will establish focal points based on their importance

a crucial part of the design process is to establish an order of elements, a visual structure. 

question to ask:

1. what do i want my viewer to see first?

The Grid: way of organizing content on page, using any combination or margins, guide lines, rows and columns. 

instituted my modernism: can assist the audience by breaking info into manageably chunks and establishing relationships between text and images.

a grid consists of a distinct set of alignment-based relationship that act as a guides for distributing elements across a format.

every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure... one that addresses the elements within the design. 

a grid is used to help clarify the message being communicated and to unify the elements.

 

Cave Paintings | 35,000 years ago

What are cave paintings?
Beautiful detailed and colorful representations found on the inside of a cave walls and ceilings.

Name several common themes found in cave paintings?
large animals such as bison, horses, deer, tracing of hands, abstract patterns.

How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)?
mixing water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, and hematite a form of iron oxide. brushes were made by putting together : sticks, small stones, leaves, 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.
Lascaux France, discovered in 1940 by four teenage boys.

Why did this cave have to be closed? What was done to satisfy public curiosity?
because the paintings were being damaged by the carbon dioxide emitted from the tourists.

Post an example of cave painting(s) from Altamira cave.


In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue?
caused by the red clay in the soil

Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be?
discovered by Marceline Sans De Sautuola and his Daughter Maria, were created 19,000 years ago.

What is the oldest known cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?Chauvet-Point Arc, Discoverd by three speleologists Eliette Brunell Deschanps, Christian Hillaire, Jean-Marie Chauvet.

Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.

What was different about the painting techniques at this site?
paintings were created with techniques not seen in other sites: wales were scrapes clear or debris, 3D effects was created by etching around the edge. also found fossilized remains and items such as sticks and small stones which appear to have been fashioned into paint brushes.

What is "speleology"?
mans first attempt to communicate with image and symbols.

What three reasons do archeologists and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings?
1.) to tell a story or recount and event that already happened.
2.)they were created as an instructional visual aid to help teach about hunting techniques.
3.)created for magical or religious reasons that if an image of a desired event were painted it might come true.