The Codex and the Illuminated Manuscript | 1st Century AD

Post an example of a scroll.
What were the drawbacks of the scroll?
the reader must read the text in the order it was written; too cumbersome for lengthy words

Post an example of a codex.
What is a codex?covered and bound collection of hand written pages; a book

"Codex" is derived from the Latin meaning "block of wood". Why?because the covers were made of wood

What is the difference between "sequential access" and "random access"?random access= one can go to any point to find informationsequential access= must be read in order; one must go through the scroll to find a certain passage

What were the advantages of using the codex?compactness, sturdiness, and ease of reference; more portable; can be opened to any page; easier to organize because title could be written on the spine

What helped spread the use of the codex?the rise of Christianity

What replaced papyrus? Describe the process used to create it?parchment; fat was removed from animal skin, the hide was soaked in water, calcium flour and salt were added, the skin was stretched out, flattened and dried

What is vellum?finer qualities of parchment made from skin of calves

Name several examples of current technology that utilizes the format of the codex?kindle, Ipad, digital books

What led to a period of cultural and economical deterioration?the decline of the Roman Empire resulted in fewer books being created










Post an example of an illuminated manuscript.
Who began creating books by hand, taking the creation to an art form?monastic monks

What does "illumination" refer to? What was included in this ornamentation?illustrations and ornamentation addd to each page of text; initials of chapters or paragraphs, paintings in margins, and borders around the text

What tool was used for creating the illuminated manuscripts?natural guill pens

Why were these manuscripts reserved for religious purposes?the work required so much labor

What is craftsmanship? Why is it important?



being able to make something with your hands; the correct materials might not be available so it is important to be able to do it without them

Scroll

Codex

Illuminated Manuscript

The Greek Alphabet | 800 BC

How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians? Phoenicians regularly traveled to Greece and established agreements with them

How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor? several consonants were adapted as vowels and additional letters were included

Why is the Greek alphabet considered to be the world's first true alphabet?
it has given rise to many other alphabets, including Latin alphabet

Name several similarities and differences between the Greek and modern English alphabets?
Letters were classified as consonants and vowels

The Phoenician Alphabet | 1050 BC

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

Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them?shapes were angular and straight created with a stylus

What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful?it contrasted with other scripts that used contrasting characters that were difficult to learn & the trading culture of the Phoenician merchants spread the use of the alphabet into parts of North Africa and Europe

What long term effects on the social structures of civilizations did the Phoenicians have with the creation of their alphabet?


it was the first widespread phonetic script, it's simplicity allowed it to be used in many languages, and it allowed common people to learn how to write
Post an example of the Phoenician alphabet in visual form.

Hieroglyphics and the Egyptions | 3,000 BC

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

What was discovered on the inside of the temples? Post an example of the inside wall(s) of an Ancient Egyptian temple.carved and painted images on every wall and surface

Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language?cuneiform; concept of expressing words in writing

What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?logograpchic was stylized and simplified where as alphabetic evovled later into demotic (document writing)

The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words?hiero - sacred
glyphic - engraving or writing

What is a scribe? a person who could read and write, could go to scribe school; priests

Who else was trained to read and write? Why?military leaders so they could communicate while in battle


What is a substrate?

What were the Books of the Dead?book of instuctions and spells to help them find their way to the afterlife

How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?all non-christian temples were closed and all who could read and write the hieroglyphics dispeared until no one knew how to decipher the language

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

Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered?a chunk of the stone was missing

Who finally deciphered the text? What was his breakthrough?Jean Francois Champollion; when he was able to match up the hieroglyphic symbols with the greek versionof the name Egyptian Pharoah Ramses

Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance?we know a great deal about the ancient Egyptians and Egyptian Hieroglyphics

 Post an example of the Rosetta Stone.
What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?a stone with translations of the same text; Napolean Bonepart
What is papyrus and how was it made?substrate made from reeds native to Egypt; the wet reeds are placed criss-cross over each other, flattened and dried, then rubbeed with stones to be flattened



Rosetta Stone




Hieroglyphics on papyrus

Inside ancient Egyptian temple walls

Post an example of hieroglyphics on papyrus.

Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean?
The history of our first written language; begining of recorded history.

where cuniform was created (world's first written language)


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


Why was Cuneiform created? Post an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).
to help keep track of business transactions

clay tablets; wet the clay, form into flat surface, use a wedge shaped stylus to make the impressions, lay them in the sun so they were perminent

What did Cuneiform begin as a series of?
pictographs


After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into? Post an example of evolved Cuneiform (wedge-shaped).
wedge-shaped language

After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language? Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.
the Akkadians adopted their culture and new written language, cuneiform

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

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




Early Cuneiform



Wedge-shaped Cuneiform



Akkadian Cuneiform


What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface?Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?

Assignment 14: Research and Inspiration

The backgrounds act as leading lines
to lead you to the computer.

The text makes your eyes follow the Z Pattern. It is in the
optical center.  Applies to high schoolers because of the doodles.

I like the computer with items coming out of it.
The white in the center with the blue makes the
laptop stand out.

I like the typography and textures used; don't like the colors.

Visual Organization

 - not directing through a design is misdirecting them


Eye Movement
 - typical eye moves left to right; top to bottom
 - make it natural for someone to scan through the page, control eye movement
 - eyes move too the areas with the most complexity.  eyes are attracted to the face,       particularly the eyes
 - light areas attract the eye, especially next to dark areas
 - diagonal lines/edges guide eyes
 - optical center: the spot where the human eye tends to enter the page.  slightly above the exact center, to the left.  it takes a compelling element to pull your eyes away from the center
 - Z Pattern: visual pattern making a sweep of the page, in a general "Z" shape.  
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 2 fonts on one page total, make sure they complement each other
 - avoid all caps, use only on important words
 - choose the right font, fits the theme of the tone and design
 - do not overuse fancy or complicated fonts, use as headline only
 - www.typography.com/email/2010-03/index.htm


Visual Hierarchy
 - establishes focal point based on their importance to the message that's being  communicated
 - establish an order of elements, visual structure to help the viewer absorb the information
 - To establish Visual Hierarchy ask yourself:
What do I want my viewer to look at first? second? third?

The Grid

- way of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guidelines, rows, and columns

- 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 distributing elements across a format

- every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure...one that addresses the particular elements without 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 cave walls and ceilings
Name several common themes found in cave paintings?
Large animals such as bisons, horse, deer, tracings of human hands, and abstract patterns


How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)?
Water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, and hematite (a form of iron oxide)


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; discovered in 1940 by 4 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 by tourists; the French government created Lascaux II - a man mad replica next to the original


In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue? Post an example of cave painting(s) from Altamira cave.
because of the red clay found in the soil


Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be?
discovered by Marceline Sanz de Sautuola and his daughter Maria; Nearly 19,000 years ago


What is the oldest known cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?
Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.
Chauvet-Point Arc; discovered in 1994 by Eliette Brunell Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, Jean-Marie Chauvet


What was different about the painting techniques at this site?
The walls were scraped clear of debris, a 3D effect was created by etching around the edges


What is "speleology"?
The scientific study of caves


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 aid to help teach about hunting and techniques, and for magical or religious reasons that if an image of a desired event were painted it might come true