As we know them today, flower arrangements represent an amalgamation of two styles: the European and the New World style - Oriental style. The European style arrangements from which we borrowed were filled with large numbers of flowers rich in various colours, and are referred to as 'Mass Arrangements'. In contrast, the Oriental styles emphasized simplicity, containing few flowers and conservative colours, and, as they emphasized lines instead of masses, are known as 'Line Arrangements'. The knowledge of how our ancestors used flowers comes to us by glancing at the following floral designs of the respective periods.