Prehistoric art fall 2011 (ucd)

The Earliest “Artists”Reading:Stokstad: 1-25

Range~77,000 BCE-1000 BCEPaleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods

Terms/Concepts:decorative impulse, framing devices, “Venuses,” sympathetic magic, composite pose, henge, post and lintel.

Monument List: 1-13, Ceiling with Bison,

Altamira Spain, Paleolithic, 12,500 BCE

1-7, Woman from Willendorf, Paleolithic, 24,000 BCE

1-11, Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux Cave, Paleolithic, 15,000 BCE

1-24, Jomon Vessel, Paleolithic, 12,000 BCE

1-21, Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, Neolithic, 2900- 1500 BCE

Looking Forward to…

Dreading…

Earliest Cultural Products

Hand Axe, Tanzania, 60,000 years ago

Inscribed Ocher, South Africa, 77,000 years agoI Perforated Shells,

South Africa, 75,000 years ago

“Characteristics” of Paleolithic

• Nomadic Lifestyle• Sustaining life through gathering plants and

hunting• Development of abstract thinking and basic

problem solving skills.

“Prehistoric art is _________, maybe…”

What we’re working with…

Mammoth Hut, excavation at Mezhirich, Ukraine Mammoth Hut, reconstruction at Mezhirich, Ukraine

Making “Venuses”

Willendorf, AustriaDolni Vestonice, Czech Republic Lespugue, France

Making “Venuses”

Willendorf, Austria

=

(view of cast of figurine)

Photographic simulation of what a six-months-pregnant 26-year-old Caucasian female of average weight sees when looking down while standing.

Woman from Willendorf (Austria). c.24,000 BCE. Limestone, height approx. 4”. Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna. (Stokstad 1-7)

Making “Venuses”

Willendorf, Austria

≠

Map of southwest Europe.

Altamira

• Discovered in 1879

Altamira

María, daughter of Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, who participated in discovery of paintings at Altamira in November 1879.

Altamira, Spain, 12,500 BCE

Major Theories about Cave Paintings

• “Art for Art’s Sake” (Picasso)

• Sympathetic Magic (Salomon Reinach/Abbe Henri Breuil)

• Symbolic Systems (Andre Leroi-Gourhan)

• Cross-Chronological Comparison (J.G. Frazer & David Lewis-Williams)

• Neuropsychological Model“Cave Opening Art” The New Yorker March 15, 1999

Lascaux

Map of Major Paintings

Lascaux, France

c.15,000 BCE

Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux, France, 15,000 BCE

“Bird-headed man with bison” Lascaux, France, c. 15,000 BCE,

Film still. Fantastic Mr. Fox. 2009. Directed by Wes Anderson. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

Chauvet

Chauvet, France, 32,000-30,000 BCE

George Stubbs. Whistlejacket. c.1762. Oil on canvas, 9’7” x 8’1”. National Gallery, London.

Wall painting with horses, rhinoceroses, and aurochs. Chauvet Cave. c.32,000-30,000 BCE. Paint on limestone. Approx. half life-size. (Stokstad 1-10)

Pech Merle

Pech Merle, France, 25,000-24,000 BCE (Horses), 15,000 BCE (Hands)

Chapel of Mammoths, Pech Merle, France , 15,000 BCE

Ceiling of the Archer, Pech Merle, France, 15,000 BCE

Enclosed Forms = Female Straight Lines = Male

Western Arnhem Land

“Rainbow Serpent,”Western Arnhem Land, Australia, 6000 BCE

Western Arnhem Land, Australia 2000-2002 CE

Jomon Culture, Japan, 12,000 BCE

Characteristics of Neolithic

• Widespread development of permanent settlements that lasted longer than a single generation.

• More care taken with burial.• Development of more permanent

architecture.• Development of trade networks.• Domestication of plants and animals.

Partial map of Prehistoric Europe and Near East.

Houses, Çatalhöyük, Turkey, c. 7400-6200

Reconstruction drawing of Çatalhöyük, with tending of goats.

Schematic reconstruction drawing of a section of Level VI. Çatalhöyük (Turkey). c.6000-5000 BCE. (related to Stokstad pages 14-15)

Reconstruction drawing of a house in Çatalhöyük. c.7400-6200 BCE. (illustrated on Stokstad page 15)

Landscape with volcanic eruption (?), from copy of wall painting at Çatalhöyük. c.6150 BCE.

View of Mt. Hasan (Hasan Dağ), Turkey.

Partial map of Prehistoric Europe and Near East.

Great stone tower built into the settlement wall

Jericho

c.8000-7000 BCE

Plastered Skull, Jericho, 7000-6000 BCE

Jericho Çatalhöyük

Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, 2900-1500 BCE

Post

Post

Lintel

Post Post

Lintel

24 F

eet

15 Feet 3 Feet

Each Stone = ~40-50 Tons

30 Megaliths, 60 Stones Total

start

end

Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, 2900-1500 BCE

figure 1 Labels: 1. Midsummer sunrise

2. Winter moonrise low point 3. Midwinter Sunrise 4. Southern moonrise (minimum) 5. Southern moonrise (maximum) 6. Midwinter sunset 7. Northern moonset (minimum) 8. Northern moonset (maximum) 9. Midsummer sunset 10. Winter moonrise high point

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the major theories about Paleolithic cave painting?

2. What are the major technological and artistic developments of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras?

3. What was the significance of calling female figures, such as the Woman from Willendorf, “Venus”?

4. How does the existence of Jomon pottery upset conventional theories about the role of pottery in human development?

5. What are some obstacles for archaeologists in interpreting prehistoric materials?

Inkshedding

• What material has left the biggest impression on you this week?

• What material do you still feel uncomfortable about?