AP Art History : African Architecture

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Architecture Beyond European Artistic Traditions

African buildings from the eleventh to fifteenth centuries carved from one large stone would most likely be __________.

Possible Answers:

Kenyan temples

Somali palaces

Ethiopian Orthodox churches

Egyptian mosques

Correct answer:

Ethiopian Orthodox churches

Explanation:

A peculiarity of Ethiopian architecture has been building entire churches from single blocks of stone from about the twelfth century onwards. This was a common practice for statues and monuments, but Ethiopian Orthodox leaders wanted to enhance the splendor and majesty of certain churches by doing this with buildings. The most famous of these are in Labilela, in Northern Ethiopia, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its rock-hewn churches.

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