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| Scroll. |
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 in.
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| Codex. |
Post an example of a codex.
What is a codex? A covered and bound collection of hand written pages.
"Codex" is derived from the Latin meaning "block of wood". Why?
What is the difference between "sequential access" and "random access"? Random access means thats one can go to any point to find information and sequential access means that 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 and easier to organize in libraries because the title could be written on the spine.
What helped spread the use of the codex? The rise of Christianity.
What replaced papyrus? The parchment. Describe the process used to create it? A substrate made from animal skin such as sheep, goats, and cows. Hair and fat were removed and skin was smoothed out, hide was soaked in water, calcium, flour and salt were added, skin was stretched out, flattened and dried.
What is vellum? A finer qualities of parchment were made from skins of young calves.
Name several examples of current technology that utilizes the format of the codex? The Kindle and iPad.
What led to a period of cultural and economical deterioration ? The Dark Ages.
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Illuminated
Manuscript |
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? The borders, illustrations and ornamentation added to each page of text.
What was included in this ornamentation? Initials of chapters or paragraphs, paintings in margins and borders and around text.
What tool was used for creating the illuminated manuscripts? Natural guill pens.
Why were these manuscripts reserved for religious purposes? Because the work was laborious.
What is craftsmanship? A person who practices or is highly skilled in a craft.
Post an example of the Roman alphabet in visual form.
What was the basis of the Roman uppercase alphabet? They used a variant of the Greek alphabet.
What were the purposes of the formal and informal styles of lettering?
Why is the Roman alphabet the most widely used and what contributions did it make? The Romans refined several distinct styles of lettering which were used for different purposes. The contributions it made was that a rigid, formal script was used for important manuscripts and official documents, a quicker, informal style was used for letters and routine types of writing.
From where did serifs originate? With the craving of words into stone.
When and where did lowercase, or minuscule, letters develop?
What is a ligature and why were they utilized?
Post an example of the Greek alphabet in visual form. 
How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians? Because of the adaptation of the phoenician letterforms.
How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor? Several of the consonants were adapted as vowels.
Why is the Greek alphabet considered to be the world's first true alphabet? It has given rise to many others alphabets including the Latin alphabet.
Name several similarities and differences between the Greek and modern English alphabets?
Post an example of the Phoenician alphabet in visual form.
The Phoenician alphabet is based on what principle? That one sign represents one spoken sound.
Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them? The shape of the letters were angular and straight. The tool that was used to create them were incised with a stylus.
What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful? The Phoenician alphabet was successful because the system contrasted with other scripts at the time which used complex characters and were difficult to learn, and also because 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 1st widespread script, its simplicity allowed it to be used in multiple languages but it also allowed common people to learn how to write.
The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? Nomadic. What does that mean? They were the first to arrive in that area.
Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization? Because its where cuneiform was created.
What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate? Agriculture.
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| Early Cuneiform |
Post an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).
Why was Cuneiform created? To help keep track of these business transactions.
What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Clay tablets. Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface? They would wet the clay first, then form it into flat surfaces, next they would use a wedge shaped stylus made from reeds to make impressions into the clay surface, and then finally they would lay the clay tablets in the sun allowing them to dry and harden.
What did Cuneiform begin as a series of? Pictographs.
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| Evolved Cuneiform |
Post an example of evolved Cuneiform (wedge-shaped).
After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into?
Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.
After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language? They adopted the Sumerian culture and 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? Because they formed a new language.
