Prehistoric Art

1. Prehistoric Art

2. Dating Conventions and Abbreviations B.C.=before ChristB.C.E.=before the Common Era A.D.=Anno Domini (the year of our Lord)C.E.=Common Era c. or ca.= circa C.=century

3. Paleolithic Art introduces the student to the “image-making” capability of humankind. Representational images appeared in Asia, Africa and Europe. Mesolithic Art further developed the representational skills which theses early peoples used to describe and define their domain. Human figural representation is regularized into narratives, which identify human activities and concerns. Neolithic people settle into communities, which are fixed in place, and animals and foods stuffs are domesticated. Art becomes an integral component for community living.

4. Twisted perspective A convention of representation in which part of a figure is shown in profile and another part of the same figure is shown frontally; a composite view.

5. Around 30,000 BCEhuman beings were thought to have intentionally created works of art Pebble resembling a human face from Makaspansgat South Africa ca. 3,000,000 B.C.E. reddish brown jasperite approximately 2 3/8 in. wide

6. Animals were most often depicted by Paleolithic artists. Apollo 11 Cave Namibia ca. 23,000 B.C.E. charcoal on stone 5 in x 4 3/4 in.

8. Incise To cut into a surface with a sharp instrument; a means of decoration, especially on metal and pottery. Human with Feline Head from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E. mammoth ivory 11 5/8 in. high

9. Interpretations given to figures • Sorcerers • Magicians wearing masks • Humans dressed up as animals. Human with Feline Head from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E. mammoth ivory 11 5/8 in. high

11. Venus of Willendorffrom Willendorf, Austria ca. 28,000-25,000 B.C.E. limestone 4 1/4 in. high

13. Woman of Lespugue from cave of Les Rideaux, France ca. 20,000 B.C.E. mammoth ivory 5 3/4 in. high

14. Various European “Venus” figures

16. Woman of Laussel from a cave in Laussel, Dordogne, France ca. 25,000-20,000 B.C.E. painted limestone approximately 18 in. high

18. Bison reliefs from a cave at Le Tucd’Audoubert, Ariége, France ca. 15,000-10,000 B.C.E. clay each approximately 2 feet long

21. Chauvet Cave paintings Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, Ardèche, France ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E. pigment on stone

22. Three caves or caverns that contain Paleolithic paintings are; • Altamira, Spain; • Lascaux, France; • Pech-Merle, Lot, France.

24. The prehistoric peoples may have attributed magical properties to the paintings. Confining animals to the surface of their cave walls, they may have felt they were bringing the animals under their control. Rituals or demons may have been performed in front of them either to aid in hunting or insure survival of the herds. They may have been teaching tools to instruct new hunters or to serve as target practice. Pech-Merle Cave paintings Lot, France ca. 22,000 B.C.E. pigment on stone

25. Techniques the artists may have used to create thePech-Merle prints Negative prints: The painter placed one hand against the wall and brushed or blew pigment around it. Positive prints: The painter dipped a hand in pigment and then pressed the hand against the wall. • Meaning; • They may have been signatures, either of the individual artist or the artist’s community.

27. Organization of the bison images from Altamira • They are all in profile to show all parts of the animal. • They seem to float above the viewer’s head and do not share a common ground line or orientation. • They are separate rather than a group. Altamira Cave paintings Santander, Spain ca. 12,000-11,000 B.C.E. pigment on stone

30. Lascaux Cave paintings Lascaux, Dordogne, France ca. 15,000-13,000 B.C.E. pigment on stone

31. Two different techniques used at Lascaux to depict animals • Colored silhouettes. Outline alone.

32. Were the animals at Lascaux painted at different times? Two different techniques (silhouettes and outlines). The “herd” also consists of several different kinds of animals of various sizes and styles moving in different directions.

34. Mammoth bone dwelling from Ukraine ca. 16,000-10,000 B.C.E.

37. Neolithic Art Neolithic art and architecture vocabulary: Lintel • A beam used to span an opening, or a stone in the case of megalith circles. Megalith • Massive rough-cut stones, usually grouped into circles or “henges.” Terracotta • Hand-baked clay used for sculpture and as a building material. It may be glazed or painted.

38. Contained the earliest permanent stone fortifications Great Stone Tower of Settlement Wall Jericho, Israel/Gaza ca. 8,000-7,000 B.C.E.

39. Human Skulls with Restored Features from Jericho, Israel/Gaza ca. 7,000-6,000 B.C.E.skulls, plaster, shells

41. Çatal Höyük Turkey ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.

42. ÇatalHöyükis best known for its wall paintings and shrines Deer Hunt detail of a wall painting from Level III ÇatalHöyük, Turkey ca. 5,750 B.C.E. • Two subjects that were portrayed in the paintings at ÇatalHöyük were a hunting party and a landscape. • The technique; • Pigments were applied with a brush to a white background of dry plaster.

43. Landscape with Volcanic Eruption Çatal Höyük, Turkeyca. 6150watercolor copy of a wall painting

44. Three changes in artistic production that paralleled the shift from a food-gathering to a food-producing society. • Paintings are made on walls of permanent houses, not in caves. • The first known landscape, showing a village. • The Tower of Jericho, the beginning of monumental architecture.

46. Stonehenge was thought to have been erected in several phases in centuries before and after 2000 BCE. • It was probably an astronomical observatory as it is an accurate solar calendar. Stonehenge Salisury Plain, Wiltshire, England ca. 2,550-1,600 B.C.E.sarsen and bluestone

48. Çatal Höyük Turkey ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.

49. Figures of Man and Woman From Cernavoda, Romania ca. 4,000-3,500 B.C.E.ceramic4 1/2 in. high