Hieroglyphics and the Egyptians | 3,000 BC

In the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt?

The Persians, the Greeks, and the 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?
By the Simarian concept of expressing words in writing.

What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?
Logograms are visual symbols representing ideas or objects, whereas Alphabetic came later.

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

What is a scribe?
Priests who worked in the temples.
Who else was trained to read and write? Why?
Military leaders, so they could communicate during battle.


Post an example of hieroglyphics on papyrus.

What is papyrus and how was it made?
Wet reeds are placed criss-cross over each other, flattened, and dried.
What is a substrate?
Papyrus is an example of a substrate.

What were the Books of the Dead?
Books that were commissioned themselves before death. They were instructions and spells to help them find there way home in the afterlife.

How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?
By the time the Greeks and Romans ruled Egypt, few Egyptians were capable of reading or writing them.  


Post an example of the Rosetta Stone.

What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?
 A slab with inscriptions on it discovered by French soldiers. It has the same inscription written on it in three different languages. 

What three languages are included on the stone?Ancient Hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek. 

Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered?
A chunk of the stone was missing and none of the three texts were complete.

Who finally deciphered the text? 
A French scholar by the name of Jean Francois Champollion. 


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

We now know a great deal about the Ancient Egyptians and Hieroglyphics. 

The Phoenician Alphabet | 1050 BC

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

Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them?Angular and straight, incised with a stylus
What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful?
 Its simplicity allowed it to be used in multiple languages, and it also allowed common people to learn how to write.


What long term effects on the social structures of civilizations did the Phoenicians have with the creation of their alphabet?
Disintegrated class divisions between royalty and the common people.
Post an example of the Phoenician alphabet in visual form.

Cave Paintings | 35,000 years ago

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean?
They were one of the earliest nomadic civilizations. This means they move around from place to place.

Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?
It is where Cuneiform was created. The world's first written language.

What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate?
Agriculture. This is what allowed them to stay in this region instead of moving away. 


Post an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).

Why was Cuneiform created?To help keep track of business transactions.

What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface?
They wrote on clay tablets. They would wet the clay, form it into flat surfaces and then use a wedge shaped stylus made from reeds to make impressions into the clay surface.


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?
They evolved into a wedge-shaped language.


Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.

After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?
The Akkadians adopted the Sumerian culture and their written language.



What is a pictograph?
A pictorial or visual representation of an object.

Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture?
They could record history and keep track of things they normally wouldn't be able to do, making them more organized than most civilizations. 

Assignment #14: Research and Inspiration

I like this poster because it uses a light element against a dark background to emphasize the bird and letters. The bird is also in a place that the audience is automatically drawn to. 

This poster always uses a light area against a dark background to bring out the focal point. You move in a  "Z" pattern and you can take in everything about the design. I also love the colors used. 

Visual Organization

Not directing the audience through a design is misdirecting them!


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 eye.
- The eye tends to 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 adjacent 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 or 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 viewer's eye to the important elements or information.

Fonts:
- No more than two different fonts in one composition.
- Two fonts must complement each other.
- Avoid Uppercase.
- Choose the right font (fits theme and tone of design).
- Do not overuse fancy or complicated fonts.
- www.typography.com/email/2010-03/index.htm

Visual Hierarchy:
- will establish focal points
- establish an order of elements (a visual structure)
- what do I want my viewer to look at first?
- what do they want to look at second? third etc.
- visual order of importance

The Grid:
- way of organizing content on a page using any combination of margins, guide lines, etc.
- all design involves problem solving on both visual and organizational levels.
- instituted by Modernism
- can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chunks and establishing relationships between text and images.
- a grid consists of a distinct set of alignment-based relationships that act as guides for disturbing elements across a format.
- every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure... one that addresses the particular elements within the design.

Cave Pantings, 35,000 years ago

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

Name several common themes found in cave paintings?
Large animals such as bison, horses, or deer and tracings of human hands as well as abstract patterns.

How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)?
They used paints made from plant juices, animal blood, soil, and charcoal. Brushes were made from 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.
The most famous cave painting site is located in Lascaux. It was discovered in 1940 by four teenage boys.

Why did this cave have to be closed? What was done to satisfy public curiosity?
It had to be closed because the paintings were being damaged by the carbon dioxide emitted from the tourists. The French then created Lascaux II which was a man-made replica next to the original. 


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

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

Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be?
The site was discovered by Marceline Sanz De Sautuola and his daughter Maria. The paintings were confirmed to have been created nearly 19,000 years ago.

What is the oldest known cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?
The Chauvet-Point Arc was discovered in 1994 by Eliette Brunell Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, and Jean-Marie Chauvet. 


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

What was different about the painting techniques at this site?
The walls were scraped clear of debris to make the surface smoother and a 3D affect was created by etching around the edges.

What is "speleology"?

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