Ancient Lineage-Based Cultures

Ancient Lineage-Based Cultures• Ancient lineage-based cultures are pre-history.– That is, they are cultures before the recorded word.

• Usually split into five distinct (but related) areas of study:1.Europe2.Native American Cultures3.African Cultures4.Egyptian Cultures5.The Fertile Crescent

EuropeMost important historical discovery is the Cave of

Lascaux, which used pictographs Pictographs—Pictures that tell a story without

words

Pictographs from the Cave of Lascaux use stylized drawings of the natural world and dyes made from the natural world. BloodMineralsDyes from plants

Cave of Lascaux

Notice the semi-realistic versions of buffalo and the blood from the hunt.

Cave of Lascaux

Importance of Discovery• 1st example of art in human history (Paleolithic

Era)– 17,300 years old

• Realistic (but primitive) depictions of the hunt, markers for specific tribes, and generational paintings

• 1st use of “realism”—– Animals in motion– Perspective in animals

The Fertile CrescentMost notable for their use of cuneiform or

ideogram languageIdeograms– Words that are formed from pictures or

symbols, rather than an accepted alphabet.Mesopotamia created the first epic hero,

GilgameshThe Epic of Gilgamesh tells of a culture that is

polytheistic and seeks to understand the nature of death.

First uniform code of conductThe Code of Hammurabi explains laws, rules, and

regulations within Mesopotamian society.

Examples of Sumerian Cuneiform

Native Americans• Native Americans tenet of “Use everything, and

everything has a purpose” explains the focus of all culture– Most notable art is applied, ceremonial, and often

narrative.

• Belief in pattern of life seen in focus on patterns in art.

Native American Art

• Native Americans revered nature and practiced a type of animalism– Animalism—The belief that

animals can guide and influence humanity with their own often magical nature.

• Often, totems depicted a mix of man and animal together

Native American Art

• Notice again the use of natural colors and dyes in the blanket, an applied piece of art.

• Applied art, remember, is art that is used.

Native American Art

• Again, the applied art of the tepee.

• Notice the earth tones and the patterns on the tepee.

Egypt

• Egypt= Mummies • The pyramids of Giza • The largest and best-known is the Great Pyramid, or

the Pyramid of Khufu. • Covered in hieroglyphs • “The Book of the Dead”

The Great Pyramid

Egyptian Hieroglyphs• Egyptians “wrote” in hieroglyphs, a mixture of

cuneiform and pictographs. – Some accepted pictographs of Egyptian descent:

Hieroglyph Examples

Hieroglyph Examples

Hieroglyph Examples

African Culture

• Call and response music– Drum as primary instrument, aside from voice– A speaker or lead singer would sing chorus, then all

would repeat together.– Call and response is the basis for all popular music

today and the primary reason we have choruses in our songs.

• Like Native Americans, they practiced a form of Animalism

African Animal Masks

• Usually made out of wood or another natural resource and focused on the spirit of an animal

• Would be used in ceremonial dances asking for a gift from the animal gods.