Prehistoric ArtPrehistoric Art

Before a written history

Art HistoryChapter 1 PrehistoryChapter 1 Prehistory

Dating Conventions and Abbreviationsg

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

d 1400 = 15th Centuryd. 1400 15 Century

Paleolithic Period   (2 5 MILLION  8000 BCE)  OLD Paleolithic Period:  (2.5 MILLION ‐8000 BCE) –OLD STONE AGE

Early humans ‐ age of food gatheringCave painting, sculptures 

Mesolithic Period: (10,000 – 6,000 BCE )Ice begins to melt and the climate becomes warmergBegin to control fire

Neolithic Period: (8,000 – 3,000 BCE) New Stone AgeHomo sapiens – thinking/planningHomo sapiens  thinking/planningAgriculture and stock raising became a food sourceStart to live together, beginning new skills (spinning, weaving  and building)weaving, and building)

No written languageMost painting were animals (bison, 

h hmammoth, horse)Paintings were in strict profile –The only view 

h h d b d l d ll f lto see the head, body, tail, and all four legs.  This gives us the most information about the 

l hanimals shape.Painters and sculptors depicted human f l d linfrequently and men almost never

Pebble resembling a human face

from Makaspansgat South Africa

ca. 3,000,000 B.C.E.ca. 3,000,000 B.C.E.reddish brown jasperiteapproximately 2 3/8 in. wide

Apollo 11 Cave

Namibia

ca. 23,000 B.C.E.ca. 23,000 B.C.E.charcoal on stone5 in x 4 3/4 in.

Human with Feline Head

from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany

ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E.ca. 30,000 28,000 B.C.E.mammoth ivory11 5/8 in. high

What do you think this is?

When archaeologist discovered statuettes ofdiscovered statuettes of women, they dubbed them “Venuses” for the Greco-Roman goddess of beauty and lovebeauty and love.

Venus of Willendorffrom Willendorf, Austria

ca. 28,000-25,000 B.C.E.Limestone, 4 1/4 in. highSubtractive Sculpture

One of the earliest relief(fi j ti f(figures projecting from a background) sculptures known

Woman of LausselWoman of Laussel

from a cave in Laussel, Dordogne, France

ca. 25,000-20,000 B.C.E.painted limestoneapproximately 18 in. high

Bison reliefs

from a cave at Le Tuc d’Audoubert, Ariége, France

ca. 15,000-10,000 B.C.E.ca. 15,000 10,000 B.C.E.clayeach approximately 2 feet long

Chauvet Cave paintings

Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, Ardèche, France

ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E., ,pigment on stone

Pech-Merle Cave paintings

Lot, France

ca. 22,000 B.C.E.pigment on stone

Altamira Cave paintings

Santander, Spain

ca. 12,000-11,000 B.C.E.pigment on stone

Lascaux Cave paintings

Lascaux, Dordogne, France

ca. 15,000-13,000 B.C.E.pigment on stone

Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux, Dordogne, France, ca. 15,000‐13,000 BCE, largest bull approx. 11’6” 

TWISTED PERSPECTIVE – combination of frontaland side view.

Frontal

Side view(profile)(profile)

Hall of Bulls, Lascaux bull is 11’ 6” long

Is this man dead, wounded? What is the story?

Bird faced man -like the feline headedthe feline-headed human

Painted with charcoal, iron ore, and plants –paint was bound with animal fat

b ll650 paintings: most common cows, bulls, horses, and deer

l d d hAnimals deep inside the caveBodies in profile, frontal or diagonal view of h d hhorns, eyes, and hoovesHandprints could be the artist’s signature

l fMany overlapping figures

Traditional view that they were used to ensure a successful hunt

l l hAncestral animal worshipShamanism: a religion based on the idea that h f f b dthe forces of nature can be contacted intermediaries, called shamans, who go into a 

l k h h ftrancelike state to reach another state of consciousness

Humans began settle in homes They begin to domesticate plants and 

l h f d l danimals – the food supply assured, People changed from hunters to herders to f d f ll lfarmers and finally to townspeople.  This occurred first in the Ancient Near East

Mammoth bone dwelling

f Uk ifrom Ukraine

ca. 16,000-10,000 B.C.E.

Great Stone Tower of Settlement Wall

Jericho, Israel/Gaza

ca. 8,000-7,000 B.C.E.

Human Skulls with Restored Features

from Jericho, Israel/Gaza

ca. 7,000-6,000 B.C.E.skulls, plaster, shells

Human figure

From Ain Ghazal, Jordan

ca. 6,750-6,250 B.C.E., ,plaster, painted and inlaid with cowrie shell and bitumen

Çatal Höyük

T kTurkey

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

Catal Hoyuk, Turkey

COMPOSITE RECONSTRUCTION DRAWING OF A SHRINE ROOMfaculty.evansville.edu/.../sum04/art105-12.html

http://catal.arch.cam.ac.uk/visit/Neolithic/B5EN.html

D H t Deer Hunt detail of a wall painting from Level III

Ç t l Hö ük T kÇatal Höyük, Turkey

ca. 5,750 B.C.E.

Çatal Höyük

T kTurkey

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

Landscape with Volcanic Eruption

Çatal Höyük, Turkeyca. 6150watercolor copy of a wall painting

Figures of Man and Woman

From Cernavoda, Romania

ca. 4,000-3,500 B.C.E.ca. 4,000 3,500 B.C.E.ceramic4 1/2 in. high

Menhir alignments at Ménec,

C FCarnac, France

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

Carnac

France

dolmen

i M hivarious Menhirs

Ireland, Scotland, England, France

D lDolmens

Ireland, Scotland, England, France

Megalithic (great stones) monument

StonehengegSalisury Plain, Wiltshire, England

ca. 2,550-1,600 B.C.E.sarsen and bluestone

Stonehenge

M lithMegaliths

Cromlech or hengeTrilithon

C o ec o e ge

Post and LintelLintel

Post

Significant astronomical alignments at Stonehenge

faculty.evansville.edu/.../sum04/art105-12.html

Perhaps took a thousand years to buildp yPost‐and‐lintel building, lintels grooved in place by the mortise‐and‐tenon system of constructionLarge megaliths in center are over 20 feet tall  the largest Large megaliths in center are over 20 feet tall, the largest weigh over 50 tons and imported from over 200 milesThe large megaliths form a horseshoe surrounding a central fl t  t   d Ri   f  lith   d  t l h hflat stone and Ring of megaliths surround central horseshoeGenerally thought to be oriented toward sunrise on the longest day of the year; may also predict eclipsesg

Time period:  30,000 BCE – 2300 BCEPaleolithic  Old stone agePaleolithic –Old stone age

Most painting were animals (bison, mammoth, horse)Painters and sculptors depicted human infrequently and men almost neveralmost never

Mesolithic –Middle Stone Age ‐ ice melts and the earth starts to warmNeolithic – New Stone Age Neolithic  New Stone Age 

Hunter Gatherers to towns with permanent housesNo written language – unable to understand art’s meaning –must speculatemust speculate

▪ Paintings were in profile – see head, body, tail, and 4 legsTool – burin used to incise (scratch)

Paleolithic  mostly animals• Paleolithic – mostly animals• Cave paintings• Sculptures – relief, subtractive, in the roundSculptures  relief, subtractive, in the round• Animals – strict profile• Humans – twisted or composite perspective 

(combined front & side view)• Megaliths, trilithons, cromlechs/henge, post & lintel