Asian Art and Culture Trivia Quiz

Answer: Indus Valley

Both Harappa and Mohenjo-daro were sprawling cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, which was a part of the Bronze Age. This Indus Valley stretched over what is now the countries of Pakistan and India. Several artifacts have been excavated from the sites, and several remaining structures demonstrate the Harappans' distinct architecture and capable city planning.

Answer: crackled glaze pattern

Greenware, also known as celadon, is a kind of pottery that takes on a green color. Ge ware is a form of this greenware in which a distinctive pattern in the glaze makes it look like it is crackled. Though a crackled glaze might have lowered the value of pottery in earlier times, Chinese aristocrats enjoyed the seemingly random patterns of this style of pottery making, and so some artisans of the Five Great Kilns of the Song dynasty began to pursue the crackled glaze as its own unique form.

It was highly valued in China from the tenth century to the thirteenth century.

Answer: terracotta

Haniwa means "circle of clay". These figurines were made in a circular style (wazumi), built from the bottom up. Haniwa-style was used to emphasize substance, rather than form. This style of thinking has pervaded the Japanese culture.

Some of these figures were used to guard tombs and given as funerary offerings.

Answer: False

Mauryan legend states that Ashoka began his rule as that of a tyrant, murdering servants and concubines on the smallest of whims. Yet, after he witnessed the devastation of the Kalinga War, he converted to Buddhism and became a changed person. Ashoka ordered the construction of thousands of stupas (religious structures) across the Mauryan Empire, including parts of the famous Mahabodhi Temple.

Answer: Thailand

The pottery of Ban Chiang wasn't discovered until 1966 when a political science student tripped over a root and discovered some old-looking pottery on the ground. He brought the old pots to be studied, and excavations began shortly after. This uncovering of many unique and beautiful Southeast Asian artifacts started a smuggling frenzy.

Interestingly, several of these Thai treasures got sold on the black market to buyers not because they wanted to keep them in their homes but instead because they wanted to donate them to museums in order to get enormous tax write-offs for their "generosity."

Several museums got caught up in the scheme, and when they were confronted with evidence that the artifacts were smuggled, they were given two choices: get prosecuted or send the stolen artifacts back to their homeland. All the museums chose to return the artifacts.

Answer: religious wine

Chinese ritual bronzes from the Chinese Bronze Age combine ancient metalcraft with ritualistic flourish. Using either bronze or ceramic, the Chinese "zun" held wine that would not be used for everyday eating. They took on the appearance of animals, or, as in the case of the famous Four-Goat Square Zun held in the National Museum of China, were decorated with intricate animal heads, this one with four incredibly-detailed ram's heads. Like many artifacts, this one was discovered by chance by farmers digging into the earth.

Answer: South Korea

The gold crowns of Silla (a former kingdom on the Korean peninsula) were given the celebrated designation of National Treasures of Korea by the South Korean government in the 1960s. Excavated from ancient burial mounds (dating from the 5th-7th centuries AD), the various crowns are each made of gold sheet or gold-plated bronze and are delicate to the touch.

The crowns show the influence of various Asian cultures, with many Korean historians believing that these particular artifacts have direct connections to Iranian culture.

Answer: Grand marble columns with fluted surfaces

Stone columns might fit in with Greek and Roman architecture, but they were mostly impractical for the humid, wet weather of the Philippines. Stilt houses are common in the country, and with the "torogan" you have massive posts as thick as tree trunks elevating these ancestral homes.

The exteriors are decorated with intricate designs, several with butterfly-shaped projections. The last habitable torogan, the Kawayan Torogan, was designated a National Cultural Treasure in 2008.

Answer: Mount Meru

Mount Meru is significant in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. It is a five-peaked mountain and is home to divine beings. In each of these religions, several temples have been constructed to mimic the looks of Mount Meru, including Angkor Wat, the Mahabodhi Temple, and the Brihadishvara Temple.

Answer: Parthian Empire

Chinese officials of the Han Empire attempted to send Ban Chao, a general and explorer, to Europe to seek out the Roman Empire. However, while in Parthia (in present-day Iran), the Parthians convinced him that it wouldn't be worth traveling past the Persian Gulf. The general returned home without having met the Romans.

Chinese silk was popular in ancient Rome, and if the Han Chinese could have made direct contact with the Romans, they may have been able to cut out the middleman. The Parthians, who would have lost much in the lucrative silk market, made sure that didn't happen.