Special Sub-Topic: The Arts and Western Civilization Click Here To Play: The Arts and Western Civilization

Early humans carved statues of a goddess, which shows that they practiced an early form of religion. Where do anthropologists believe the first humans originated?

East Africa. The earliest hominid fossils on record came from the East African Rift.

The Sumerians are believed to have invented the first system of writing, which evolved from their decorations. What was this writing system called?

Cuneiform. Hieroglyphics came from the Egyptians, Ugaritic is Syrian, and Canaanite came from those alphabet masters, the Phoenicians.

Now we move on to Ancient Greece. Art in Greece went through several different stages, but which period produced the most realistic sculptures?

Hellenistic. The periods go in order from Geometric to Archaic to Hellenic (also known as Classical) to Hellenistic. There is no sculpture that is classified as Geometric, as that period mostly produced urns and vases.

The Romans liked to have huge and impressive houses to show off their status. What were Roman noblemen called?

Patricians. Plebians were the peasants. While many Roman noblemen were Senators, not all of them were. Caesar, of course, was the title of the emperor.

The Orthodox Christians of Byzantium believed that it went against the Bible to have art depicting religious icons. During which event did the Byzantine people destroy much of their religious art?

The Iconoclasm. Sad but true. There was much conflict over this movement, but eventually the iconodules, or people in favour of religious images, won out.

Like the Sumerians, people in the Middle Ages used their artistic skills in the pursuit of writing. What do we call the adornments of the painstakingly copied out books of the period?

Illuminations. It was mostly monks and nuns that produced books, and they created these beautiful images.

Another art form that came from the Middle Ages was Cathedral architecture. In what order did the different styles come, chronologically?

Romanesque to Gothic. Romanesque Cathedrals were characterized by their thick walls and high, small windows. Gothic Cathedrals had thinner walls, large stained glass windows, groin vaulting, and flying butresses.

There were many new developments in art during the Renaissance. Which artist distinguished himself by prolifically producing female nudes?

Sandro Botticelli. A notable example of this is Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus." Michaelangelo is well-known for his male nude, "David."

Enlightened eighteenth century thinkers such as Jonathan Swift used literature to make their views known in society. What did an anonymous satirical pamphlet of Swift's suggest that English nobles do with poor Irish Catholic children?

Eat them. The pamphlet was called "A Modest Proposal." Some people took it seriously and it caused widespread controversy.

The Bourbon monarchs of France constantly surrounded themselves with decadent art. What was the name of the palace built by Louis XIV that was prominent in the French Revolution?

Versailles. The Bastille was the prison in Paris. On July 14, 1789, the Bastille was stormed and the people currently imprisoned there were freed. All seven of them.