1What is the broad definition of graphic design used in the course?
A form of visual communication using marks, images, or writing
2What distinguishes writing from earlier forms of mark-making?
Writing represents language through a systematic set of signs
3What does monogenesis mean?
The idea that writing developed from one original source
4What does polygenesis mean?
The idea that writing developed independently in multiple places
5Why do definitions of writing matter?
They determine what historians include in narratives about writing
6What are quipus or khipus?
Knotted-string records used by the Incas that may have been three-dimensional writing
7What was the original meaning of “civilized”?
Living in permanent dwellings in cities rather than being nomadic
8What is the Latin root of “civilization”?
Civitas, meaning city
9What four traits became minimum qualifications for “civilization” in the 1800s?
Political state, social stratification, urbanization, and writing
10What is one major problem with defining civilization through writing?
It excludes complex societies that lacked conventional writing systems
11What are logograms?
Glyphs that stand for words rather than sounds
12What is phonetic writing?
Writing in which signs represent sounds
13What does acrophonic mean?
Using the initial sound of a depicted word to represent a sound
14What kind of writing system did Egyptian hieroglyphics become?
A hybrid system using pictographic, logographic, and phonetic signs
15How did Egyptians use hieroglyphs phonetically?
They used signs acrophonically to spell names and sounds
16What is a cartouche?
An oval enclosure signaling that Egyptian signs represent a name phonetically
17What is the Narmer Palette important for?
It contains one of the earliest surviving examples of hieroglyphs used phonetically to spell names
18What was the Wadi el-Hol writing?
Early Semitic writing that repurposed Egyptian hieroglyphs acrophonically
19When did the Darnells date the Wadi el-Hol inscriptions?
Approximately 1900–1850 BCE
20What alternative date has been proposed for Wadi el-Hol?
Approximately 1750–1500 BCE
21Who discovered the Wadi el-Hol inscriptions?
Deborah Darnell and John Coleman Darnell
22What is the Lachish lice comb inscription?
A Canaanite inscription on an ivory comb about removing lice
23When is the Lachish lice comb dated?
Approximately 1700–1550 BCE
24Why is the Lachish comb important?
It may be the earliest carbon-datable phonetic inscription
25What is an abjad?
A phonetic writing system primarily representing consonants
26What is an alphabet?
A phonetic writing system representing consonants and vowels
27What is an abugida?
A writing system based on consonants with inherent vowels modified by marks
28What is a syllabary?
A writing system in which signs represent syllables
29What are the three major Japanese scripts discussed?
Kanji, hiragana, and katakana
30What was the traditional date for Cai Lun's invention of paper?
105 CE
31What archaeological evidence complicates the Cai Lun date?
Earlier archaeological examples of paper have been found
32What is the Fangmatan paper?
An early archaeological example of paper dating to approximately 179–141 BCE
33What is amate?
A paper-like material made in Mesoamerica
34What does the course suggest about the origins of paper?
Paper or paper-like substances may have been invented independently in multiple places
35Why does English use the Latin alphabet?
Roman imperialism spread Latin, the Latin alphabet, Christianity, and the codex throughout Europe
36What happened to Latin traditions after the Roman Empire fell?
They continued through medieval European books and Christian institutions
37What are Roman capitals?
Formal capital letters associated with ancient Roman monumental writing
38What is a majuscule?
A capital-letter writing system
39What is a minuscule?
A small-letter or lowercase writing system
40What famous monument exemplifies Roman capitals?
Trajan's Column
41When was Trajan's Column completed?
114 CE
42Why are Roman capitals still used today?
They communicate formality, authority, seriousness, and classical associations
43What are Roman numerals used for today?
Traditional, formal, or prestigious purposes
44Why did Europeans shift to Hindu-Arabic numerals for mathematics?
They were more practical for calculation
45What is the Insular hand?
A medieval script developed in the British Isles and Ireland
46What did the Insular hand contribute to modern writing?
Word spacing, ascenders, and descenders that improved readability
47What is a bouma?
The visual shape or silhouette of a word
48What is Caroline minuscule?
A medieval lowercase script that strongly influenced modern lowercase letters
49Why were minuscules useful in medieval manuscripts?
They saved space and improved readability
50Why were medieval manuscripts so expensive?
They required animal skins, preparation, copying, correction, rubrication, illumination, pigments, binding, and skilled labor
51What is rubrication?
Adding colored letters or marks to manuscripts
52What is illumination?
Decorating manuscripts with images, ornament, and often gold or colored pigments
53What is Hindu-Arabic numeration?
The numeral system using digits such as 0–9
54Who was al-Khwarizmi?
A scholar whose mathematical work helped transmit Hindu-Arabic numerals
55Who was Fibonacci?
A European mathematician who helped popularize Hindu-Arabic numerals in Europe
56What is relief printing?
Printing from a raised surface
57What is intaglio printing?
Printing from recessed or engraved areas
58What is xylography?
Woodblock or woodcut printing
59What is a woodcut?
A relief printing process using a carved wooden block
60What is engraving?
An intaglio process in which lines are cut into a plate
61How does woodcut differ from engraving?
Woodcut removes areas around raised printing surfaces; engraving cuts lines into a recessed plate
62What does “relief” mean in printing?
The printing surface is raised
63What does “intaglio” mean in printing?
The printing surface is recessed
64What is the broad definition of printing used in the course?
A matrix or combination of matrices producing nearly identical copies
65What does a narrow definition of printing require?
Technologies such as a reversed matrix, ink, movable metal type, and a press
66What is the course's position on the definition of printing?
The professor favors the broader outcome-based definition
67When was printing definitely occurring in China for textiles?
By the mid-100s CE
68When was printing definitely occurring in China for text and images on paper?
By the mid-600s CE
69What is xylographic printing?
Printing from a carved woodblock
70What are Chinese chops?
Seals carved with characters and pressed into ink to make impressions
71What is an ink rubbing?
A print made by pressing paper into carved inscriptions and rubbing ink over it
72What is the Diamond Sutra?
A Buddhist text block-printed in China in 868 CE
73Why is the Diamond Sutra important?
It is the earliest printed matter with a complete date and patron inscription
74Who was Empress Wu Zetian?
A Chinese ruler associated with large-scale Buddhist printing
75Who was Empress Shotoku?
A Japanese empress associated with a massive Buddhist printing project
76What was the Tripitaka?
The Buddhist canon printed from woodblocks in China
77When was the Tripitaka printed in Chengdu?
972–983
78How large was the printed Tripitaka project?
About 5,048 volumes and 130,000 pages
79Who was Feng Dao?
A Chinese official who ordered the printing of Confucian classics
80What did Feng Dao's printing project demonstrate?
Woodblock printing could reproduce long, non-Buddhist works
81What was the earliest known commercial printed advertisement discussed?
A Song Dynasty bronze relief plate for the Liu family needle shop
82What were the Mogao Caves important for?
They preserved thousands of documents and printed materials from diverse cultures
83What was the Silk Road's significance to printing?
It helped transmit paper, printing, goods, ideas, and technologies across Eurasia
84What was the Pax Mongolica?
A period of relative peace and trade under the Mongol Empire
85When did the Pax Mongolica occur?
Roughly the 1200s through the 1300s
86What did Mongol rule facilitate?
Trade, cultural interchange, and knowledge exchange across Eurasia
87What was one major effect of the Black Death on Europe?
It reduced the population and increased the value of human labor
88How did the plague indirectly encourage printing technology?
Labor became more valuable, increasing demand for labor-saving technologies
89What was the Bois Protat?
The earliest extant European wood printing block discussed in the lectures
90When is the Bois Protat dated?
Approximately 1370–1380
91Where was the Bois Protat found?
Near Saône-et-Loire, France
92What did early European block printing include?
Religious images, playing cards, and other visual materials
93When were European playing cards being block printed?
Approximately 1390–1418
94Why is the 1423 St. Christopher print significant?
It was once considered the earliest dated European woodcut, though its date is disputed
95When did Europeans begin printing before Gutenberg?
Evidence indicates European printing was occurring by the 1300s
96What did Bi Sheng invent?
Movable ceramic type
97When did Bi Sheng develop movable type?
Approximately 1041–1048
98Who recorded Bi Sheng's invention?
Shen Kuo
99What was Shen Kuo's account of Bi Sheng?
He recorded the invention of movable ceramic type in the Dream Pool Essays
100What was the Auspicious Tantra of All-Reaching Union?
The oldest surviving typographic book discussed in the course
101When was the Auspicious Tantra printed?
Approximately 1139–1193
102Where was the Auspicious Tantra printed?
Western Xia
103What type of movable type was used for the Auspicious Tantra?
Movable wooden type
104What script was used for the Auspicious Tantra?
Tangut script
105What is evidence that the Auspicious Tantra used movable type?
An upside-down character appears where a woodblock would not normally produce one
106Who was Choe Yun-ui?
A Korean official associated with movable bronze type in the 1230s
107When did movable metal type begin in Korea?
The 1230s
108What is Jikji?
A Korean Buddhist book printed with movable metal type in 1377
109Why is Jikji important?
It is widely agreed to be the oldest surviving book printed with movable metal type
110What is the key distinction between Jikji and the Auspicious Tantra?
Jikji used movable metal type; the Auspicious Tantra used movable wooden type
111What did Korean printers continue using in the 1400s?
Movable bronze type for books in Chinese characters and later Hangeul
112What does the Korean evidence challenge?
The idea that movable type was simply a European invention
113What is Gutenberg traditionally credited with?
Inventing European movable metal type and modern printing
114What did Gutenberg definitely not invent?
Printing, woodblock printing, engraving, movable type generally, or metal type generally
115When did Gutenberg begin printing?
In the 1440s
116When did European printing exist before Gutenberg?
Woodblock and other printing existed by the 1300s
117What did Gutenberg's printing method apparently involve?
Casting two lines of text at a time and assembling them into printing forms
118What does “cuneiform typography” refer to in the lecture?
Gutenberg's distinctive method involving two-line slugs
119What is the Gutenberg Bible?
A major early European typographic book printed in the 1450s
120What typeface style was associated with the Gutenberg Bible?
Textura or blackletter
121What is the Fust and Schoeffer Psalter?
A 1457 printed book notable for early sophisticated typographic and color printing
122When was the Fust and Schoeffer Psalter printed?
1457
123What is the Catholicon?
A large Latin reference work associated with Gutenberg-era printing
124What did Paul Needham study about Gutenberg?
Material evidence concerning how Gutenberg printed the Catholicon
125What did Europeans initially use typographic printing for?
Religious materials
126When did printing spread rapidly across Europe?
During the late 1400s
127How many European towns had printing by 1500?
More than 140 towns
128How many editions had European printers produced by 1500?
About 35,000 editions
129Approximately how many books were printed in Europe by 1500?
About 9 million
130How did printing affect the cost of books?
It dramatically lowered the cost
131How did cheaper books affect literacy?
More people had reason and opportunity to become literate
132What was the effect of Latin printing across Europe?
It rapidly disseminated ideas among educated elites
133What was the effect of vernacular printing?
It rapidly disseminated ideas locally and regionally
134What did printers working in Italy contribute to European books?
They introduced important stylistic improvements to typography and book design
135What was the role of women in early European printing?
Women participated in printing, publishing, and running print businesses
136What is Meggs's general narrative about Asian printing?
It credits China with major innovations but presents movable type as less widely used in Asia
137How does the lecture challenge Meggs's account of Asian movable type?
It presents evidence of extensive and sustained movable-type use in Asia
138What is one major criticism of a Gutenberg-centered history?
It can minimize earlier Asian and European printing evidence
139What is the lecture's major takeaway about Gutenberg?
Question the traditional “Gutenberg invented printing” narrative
140What is the most important distinction between woodcut and typography?
Woodcut is relief block printing; typography uses movable type
141What is the relationship between printing and matrices?
A matrix transfers a repeated image or text to another surface
142Why does the definition of printing change its history?
Different definitions produce different answers about where and when printing began
143What is one key timeline for movable type?
Bi Sheng → Auspicious Tantra → Choe Yun-ui → Jikji → Gutenberg
144What is the key timeline for European printing?
Pre-Gutenberg printing → Gutenberg in the 1440s → rapid expansion by 1500
145What is the key timeline for paper?
Traditional Cai Lun date 105 CE → earlier archaeological evidence such as Fangmatan
146What is the key timeline for Roman-to-modern lowercase writing?
Roman writing → Insular hand → Caroline minuscule → modern lowercase
147What is the central historical lesson of the course's printing lectures?
Printing developed through multiple technologies and cultures rather than one invention