Prehistoric Art

Paleolithic

• Old Stone Age = Paleolithic period (Greek

paleo = old and lithos = stone)

• Works from this period vary greatly

• Focus on animal representation with some

human representation

Human with Feline Head

from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany

ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E.

mammoth ivory

11 5/8 in. high

Venus of Willendorf

from Willendorf, Austria

ca. 28,000-25,000 B.C.E.

limestone

4 1/4 in. high

Venus of Willendorf

• 28,000-25,000 BC

• Limestone carved with simple tools

• Found in Austria

• Old Stone Age –preoccupation with women and importance of fertility

Venus of Hohle Fels

• 38,000-33,000 BCE

• Found in

Wurttemberg,

Germany

• 2.4’’

• Sculpted from a

woolly mammoth

tusk

• What differences do

you see?

Woman of Lespugue

from cave of Les Rideaux, France

ca. 20,000 B.C.E.

mammoth ivory

5 3/4 in. high

Various European “Venus” figures

Bison reliefs

from a cave at Le Tuc d’Audoubert,

Ariége, France

ca. 15,000-10,000 B.C.E.

clay

each approximately 2 feet long

Bison Reliefs cont.

• 15,000-10,000 BCE

• Each are about 2 feet long

• Sculptor pressed clay to rock and used

both hands to form the shape

• Used fingers for shapes and a tool to

create the smooth body

• Among the largest sculptures of the

Paleolithic era

Mesolithic Period• Middle Stone Age (Greek mesos = middle

and lithos = stone)

• Between Paleolithic and Neolithic

• Remains from this period are few and far between

• Characterized by small tools, fishing tackle, and wooden objects (canoes and bows)

• Domestication of animals and the beginning of agriculture.

Neolithic

• New Stone Age (Greek neo=new and

lithic=stone)

• Human beings began to settle in homes

and domesticate animals

• Many groups changed from hunters to

herders to farmers and to townspeople

Turkey, Çatal Höyük

• Most extensively excavated Neolithic sites

• “Urban living”

• Houses were constructed of mud brick

with painted floors and walls (decorated

with mural paintings and relief)

• Living buried the dead beneath the floors

• Area flourished between 7000-5000 BCE

Çatal Höyük

Turkey

ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.

Çatal Höyük

Turkey

ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.

Deer Hunt

• What do you notice about

this painting in relation to the

Paleolithic cave paintings?

Deer Hunt

detail of a wall painting from

Level III

Çatal Höyük, Turkey

ca. 5,750 B.C.E.

Deer Hunt

• Human figures

• Movement (variety of poses)

• Humans are dominating animals

• Other paintings show garments, bows, and

arrows

Çatal Höyük

Turkey

ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.

Landscape with Volcanic Eruption

Çatal Höyük, Turkeyca. 6150

watercolor copy of a wall painting

Megaliths• As early at 4000 BCE Neolithic populations

began to create monumental architecture with massive stones

• Due to the size and mass of the stones, historians call these monuments megaliths.

• Megaliths – literally means great stones

• Megalithic – the culture that produced these monuments/megaliths

• Henge - arrangement of huge stones in a circle

Types of Megalithic Structures

• Dolmen—several great stones set on end

with a large covering slab.

• Menhirs—single stones set on end

• Trilithon—a structure consisting of two large

vertical stones (posts) supporting a third

stone set horizontally across the top (lintel)

Menhir alignments at Ménec,

Carnac, France

ca. 4,250-3,750 B.C.E.

various Menhirs

Ireland, Scotland, England, France

Dolmens

Ireland, Scotland, England, France

Stonehenge

Salisury Plain, Wiltshire, England

ca. 2,550-1,600 B.C.E.

sarsen and bluestone

Stonehenge

Salisury Plain, Wiltshire, England

ca. 2,550-1,600 B.C.E.

sarsen and bluestone

Stonehenge• Stones are 24 feet tall and made of sarsen (a

form of sandstone) and smaller “blue stones”(various volcanic rocks)

• Some weighed up to 50 tons

• What is it?

– The creation of an ancient race of giants

– Conjured by Merlin the Magician who transplanted it

from Ireland

• Stonehenge today is regarded by

archaeologists as an accurate solar calendar

Journal #4

• How will improving technology continue

to influence archeological findings?

– Think positive and negative

• How does all of this research change

how we view and interact with ancient

monuments/art?

• http://www.cbsnews.com/news/stonehe

nge-mystery-radar-finds-more-stones-

hidden-landscapes-project/