Questions in this quiz: Decode 14 mysterious ancient symbols

1. The earliest known writing system, developed in Mesopotamia around 3200 BCE, is named after the Latin word for what shape? — Options: Wedge, Circle, Line, Knot
2. The Rosetta Stone contains the same decree written in three scripts: Greek, Demotic, and which third? — Options: Akkadian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Phoenician alphabet, Linear B
3. Which French scholar announced in 1822 that he had cracked the phonetic principle of Egyptian hieroglyphs? — Options: Jean-François Champollion, Thomas Young, Auguste Mariette, Silvestre de Sacy
4. In the Mayan Long Count calendar, one 'baktun' equals how many days? — Options: 7,200, 14,400, 144,000, 1,872,000
5. Linear B, deciphered by Michael Ventris in 1952, turned out to record an early form of which language? — Options: Etruscan, Minoan, Greek, Phoenician
6. The Phoenician script, ancestor of most modern alphabets, is notable for being the first widely-used writing system to do what? — Options: Be written left-to-right, Use only consonants (abjad), Include vowel markings, Employ logograms
7. The Behistun Inscription, key to deciphering cuneiform, was commissioned by which ruler around 520 BCE? — Options: Cyrus the Great, Xerxes I, Darius the Great, Nebuchadnezzar II
8. The ankh symbol in Egyptian iconography most directly represented which concept? — Options: Kingship, The sun, Life, The afterlife journey
9. The Nazca geoglyphs of Peru were created by a culture that flourished in which approximate period? — Options: 2000–1000 BCE, 100 BCE – 800 CE, 1200–1500 CE, 3000–2500 BCE
10. The Sumerian numerical system, which survives today in our division of hours and circles, used which base? — Options: Base-10, Base-60, Base-12, Base-20
11. The Code of Hammurabi, one of the earliest known legal codes, is inscribed on a stele in which script? — Options: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Old Persian cuneiform, Akkadian cuneiform, Aramaic
12. Which script, once used by Germanic and Norse peoples, features angular letters designed to be carved into wood or stone? — Options: Ogham, Futhark, Glagolitic, Etruscan
13. Mayan hieroglyphs combine which two types of signs? — Options: Logograms and syllabograms, Pictograms and vowels only, Consonants and tone marks, Numerals and ideograms only
14. The Antikythera mechanism, though not a writing system, contained Greek inscriptions and is generally identified as what? — Options: A navigational compass, An astronomical calculator, A ceremonial calendar plate, A musical tuning device