LANDSCAPE OF PRE-HISTORIC HUMAN fg, water gf agriculture 2? 3 Ww | > Survival x Qe s 2 *& o,% 0 5 8 © e d a e% wo a2 lanets as 3 Pp %%, a ® Z Ba é ritual rel € 5 g 5 s Ny “, ] SS %, Oe ‘©, yt ee i % Keys A ’ ny os Qe” ong, Oo? OU 7 & oak exy nomadic Coe painting? Pine NANDITA SINGH ra es =} =) & i) pe ie) = ie a os] io) Ea cs 3) 2) Qa ca ei —LANDSCAPE OF PRE-HISTORIC HUMAN "landscapes as a reflection of a particular of seeing and conceiving land" "a landscape is the most solid appearance in which a history can declare itself. It is not background, nor is it stage . There it is, the past in the present, con- stantly changing and re- newing itself as the pres- ent rewrites the past. - Inglis (1977) The world on a modern days seems to move into a phase where landscape is being referred as the most comprehensive of arts. The reasons for being said so can be either of the below such as the existing delicately balanced order of nature within the biosphere is being disturbed by man which seem that only his own action can restore and ensure the survival of the disturbed earth; or the second being man's destiny being to rise above animal state, he creates around him an environment that is a projection into nature of his abstract ideas. The first has led to a "green revolution" whereas the second has led to landscape conceive as “an art” on a scale never before imagined on earth, (On a present day context one could easily come across any of the below defi tions for the term landscape such as, "a picturesque representing a view of natu- ral inland scenery" or "the art of depicting such scenery" or "the landforms of a region in the aggregate” or "a portion of territory that can be viewed at one time from one place” or "it can refer to a portion of territory that can be viewed from one spot”. These approaches are limited and reflect a particular way of seeing and conceiving the land. But what one indirectly needs to perceive is that landscapes help us understand and recognize the way in which people understood and en- gaged themselves with their world depends upon the specific time and place and historical conditions; it depends upon gender, age, class and religion. This is the basis for anyone who wishes to learn and interpret history through landscapes. Thus, the landscape of pre-historic human can help us identify the active sense of the presence of landscapes: how people engaged and re-engaged, appropriate and contest them, use them to create and dispute a sense of identity - whether of self, {group oF society. Landscapes were not only created by and creative of specific cultural, social, political and economic configurations, they were also tensioned by the contradictory claims and counterclaims made upon them which different viewpoints are empowered. Landscape as a way to comprehend, perceive and relate to nature. It is also a depiction of nature or societies perceived view of nature or idealized view of nature. Landscape has socio-cultural continuum or ‘means to depict the embedded cultural aspects of man. Thus, Landscape formed a setting for the pre-historic human. oO rn PONG ‘SUBM cA : iS x fe) e 2 a E os] i) Ea Ed i) i725 Es et —LANDSCAPE OF PRE-HISTORIC HUMAN “earliest land and land- thesunasa centre ofa system of solid bods, apart ofthe galaxy that fats. The it. s0lr system is one of the grevty balanced planet systems originated with sin scapes that the earth wit- finding the energy toi. nay the earth had no water, no stmosphere and no nessed” life. Then the surface cooled over a period of time, the water vapours cooled, at mosphere was created and there began ife on earth, The fist landscape of veg: etation was one ofthe shallow lagoons with moses, fens and swamp conifer for ests that are coal measures today Slowiythe ital anim ie which was amphi cus was followed by the reptiles, There were stil movements of continents, te tonic plates and oceans finally leading to dry vegetation, Grasses and flowers were abundant wit forests everywhere, the mammal appeared, NANDITA SINGH er "this mammal had invent- Then this mammal was quite distinctly capable and had invented tools and thus became a man. The other main achievement of man during this age was his ed tools and thus became a muiplicaion despite the succeeding glacial ages. The inital man was believed to man." be populous in Africa and south-west Asia but believed to have spread as years flowed upon. He developed hunting skills and elementary protection against ‘weather. His life was simple and egalitarian, also had a sedentary lifestyle when there were abundant resources for his survival. Prehistoric Art came up when society/culture neither developed writing or other methods of record-keeping, nor made any significant contact with another society/culture that has, and that makes some record of major historical events. The very earliest human artifacts showing evidence of workmanship with an attistic purpose are nearly 40,000 years ago. This period saw the cave paintings ‘and portable art such as figurines and beads predominated, with decorative figured workings also seen on some utilitarian objects. Art was seen as a movement to make the fundamental tools and weapons a more sophisticated look and uniqueness. cA ao = 5 x iS 4 fe) e a a ES os] i) Ea a 1S) i725 a Zz < — tee ch scoverineeoloy/solgyOfBitin/archivesipevch/magess0126 206 02LANDSCAPE OF PRE-HISTORIC HUMAN "landscape as a reflection the eary human landscape unlike the early art was something more basic, the of ‘Functional’ and ‘Ritual’ ‘etedress in the human psyche of certain fundamental spatial constructs that Views" relate ourselves in space in ways that are charged with societal meaning and our yearning for connection with the infinite and eternal. In simple words they had served two main functions during prehistoric times namely: functional and ritual; Individual experience was influenced by social codes. This was reflected as a u versal concept of mysterious forces behind life, expressed in the worship of a Mother Goddess of fertility. Cave seemed to be safest place for man and earth as it had protected him from all the wild and danger of the outside and unknown worid to him. This concept was further elaborated by the "Prospect and Refuge Concept” by Appleton in 1975. "factor of ‘Prospect’ and Thetheorystates that taste in artis'an acquired preference for particular methods ‘Refuge’ scapes” dictating land- of satisfying inborn desires.’ The two desires are for opportunity (prospect) and safety (refuge). His idea is that human aesthetic experience of landscape is based ‘on perceptions that are evolved for survival. The concepts rooted in evolutionary psychology. On one hand you have places to hide, versus areas which are escape routes, places with a clear view. Appleton predicts that within a given landscape preferred locations are found at interfaces between prospect-dominant and refuge-dominant areas. These vantage points combine unimpeded visual prospects with a ready opportunity for concealment and/or withdrawal to a safe refuge. Thus a treeless landscape is less visually attractive than a habitat containing isolated trees that can provide opportunities to hide or escape from potential predators. Landscapes that enable prospect while providing refuge are considered desirable when designing the sensory driven landscape. The aim of man was to see and not to be seen. We are at the edge, such that our back is protected (rather than the middle where we are most exposed). We are covered, rather than open to the sky. 03 4 ao = = i iS 4 S) S ica) a a x a os] is} a a So a Z < |LANDSCAPE OF PRE-HISTORIC HUMAN "a response to geographic setting , panoromic views and vistas" "cave as a sanctity” ‘Most prehistoric settlements are to be found on environmental gradients. In that way they were able to optimally profit from the available natural resources with- out putting too much effort in it. Examples are transitions between land and water, high and low, dry and wet, fertile and less fertile. Furthermore settlements are found on boundaries between open and closed environments. These attribute clearly to the fact that landscape was a more a response to the geographic setting. The attractiveness of landscape is related to its suitability as human habitat, as is mentioned before and that human beings particularly like to see without being seen, Humans need to be able to identify their prey. Humans are not quick runners and cannot combat, so we need to use our environment to hide from those that are hunting us. This phenemenon also reinforces the Appleton’s Prosepect and Refuge theory. ‘The panorama is ideally 360" with 2 broad and long view. The vista however is ‘much narrower and is a restricted view where the horizontal dimension is severely restricted, but gives @ greater feel of control. The vistas were split into two further elements: the deflected vista is the view along a vista, a river or road perhaps that bends left or right. This gives a sense af movement which draws people towards it to see the next vista, There is also the peephole vista, where vision is restricted in the vertical dimension also, as when the branches of the trees overhang over the road. The natural hilly terrain and the basic quality of "Prospect" and "Refuge" were found naturally along the cave, making it the first and most desirable place for the early landscape of Human. The cave, especially, as sanctuary, the womb of earth, place of cultic mystery and ritual revitalization, occupies a privileged place in the human imaginations. Associated with the cave is the rule of an earth goddess, which recognizes the earth as a generative and pro-creative force, the fertile source of human and animal vitality. Caves and Crevices were sources for springs and shrines at caves or near springs especially prevailed in the dry lands. Thus, humans evoke the durable potency of stones, the fertility associated with water and fecundity of nature as embodied in the living tree. ‘The cunning tool making and weapon wielding being was pitted against the speed and bulk of large roaming beasts. The vitality of the paintings may derive from their association with a precipitator ritual to ensure the continued fertility of these beasts. One alternate theory suggest that these paintings were initiated as a language to others on how to track and kil bison. Be it whatever instructional purpose these images have served, they were also served with some kind of religious purpose, the placement of them in the auspicious cave itself was a symbol to it. The cave was also seen sensitive to the spatial aspects of the caves and to have taken into consideration the routes leading into them.. Passage and chamber are integral parts of their planning with concept. The cave would also have served 135 a sound chamber and we may suppose that its resonant properties would also have been exploited in ritual chants and also perhaps beating of the drum. into ed europeanstucespx/Cave20Psntnes_Lpe 04 BY: NANDITA SINGH ‘SUBMr ra 4 = =) x iC) 4 ° = a a EY Ay by ° wm a a 7 a 4 a aLANDSCAPE OF PRE-HISTORIC HUMAN "landscape overlooked by TheNeolithic era forms an important aspect of man shaping the landscape around the sky" “Man as an observer to seasonal cosmos" changes and Us. This was facilitated by the introduction of Agriculture, He transformed himself from being a hunter to a agriculturist, thanks to the flint axes and stone adzes that helped him clear forests and cultivate land. He also learnt to domesticate animals such as goats, sheets, pigs. Since water was a basic necessity of both his survival and for the crops, man naturally started settling along fertile river valleys. With the change of celing from a canopy to trees to the sky itself, a forest dweller for a caveman who always had short rhythm of day and night was now allowed to experience a vaster scale of rhythm of the year. It was then Inevitable that the con- cept of celestial gods should gradually evolve. Boundary as a concept arrived when people began to circumscribe the villages and sub-divide the land into fields for agriculture. During such alteration to the landscape, mega stones expelled from the earth constituting to the world's first monuments. But the facing of the stone towards the sky was not accidental. The positioning of earth at the centre of universe and the centring of human societies within the world are fundamental constructs. with many early cosmologies. Cosmic centring involved the awareness of these vertical strata: above, below and a terrestrial middle plain. Since lakes were generally under the surface of earth, they were considered as the gateway for earth and the underworld, The E-W axis was a result of the sun, The N-W was to divide the sky {and the earth into quadrants, which provided the framework for observation and terrestrial navigation. Settlement within agricultural brought about a new range of fears. The co-operation of the cosmos itself was necessary if crops were not to be failed. Diligent sky watchers, they associated the positions of various celestial bodies with recurring seasonal patterns. 05 into ed europeanstucespx/Cave20Psntnes_Lpe NANDITA SINGH ‘SUBMr Zz es =} =) & i) pe ie) = 2 a EY 3 os] io) a a cs 2) Qa 4 ei —LANDSCAPE OF PRE-HISTORIC HUMAN "landscape getting rid of the caves" "there began the stupen- dous task of adjusting the environment to himself as well as himself to the envi- ronment, and this process had being going on ever since then." THE STONENENGE ASA FIRST FREE STANDING STRUCTURE OF THE PRE ‘The Stonehenge may have functioned as a religious festival space where celebra- tions relating to its function as an astronomic observatory were held, This was a proof of relating earthworks with the position of heavenly bodies at certain points in the calendar cycle. It was also the first free standing structure made by man on earth on such a massive scale. The journey from the caves to the stonehenge seem to have conveyed that landscapes seemed to respond different through ages but the belief’s on the world view seems to be the orienting and understanding nature and the cosmos. a a AXIS MUNDI HELPING UNDER: SUMMER AND WiNTER STAND DIRECTIONS ‘SOLSTICE raunox GENUS LOCI REFERING TO THE The key principles and world views of the pre-historic can be defined as the above four in short which laid the foundation for the next 21 centuries where the humans became dictating the world more dominating than any other organism in the history of the earth. There began the stupendous task of adjusting the environment to himself as well as himself to the environment, and this process had being going on ever since then. An observer from without would now see a curious ‘change come over the surface of earth. The forests were being cleared and the scene was changing from natural to man made. Exploitation seemed to be the culture that yielded quick results to man leading to denudation forests and ultimately to waste, erosion and scars on the landscape, which very much summarizes the journey of landscape from pre-historic age to the present modern day. NANDITA SINGH ir FA 4 = Si Fs iC) 4 5 2 2 a EY 3 os] ro) a a E 2) a Z a —LANDSCAPE OF PRE-HISTORIC HUMAN “references” “Landscape of Man” by Geoffrey Alan Jellicoe , Susan Jellicoe. “illustrated History of Landscape Design” by Chip Sullivan, Elizabeth Boults. ‘Theorising Landscapes and the pre-historic Landscape of Stonehenge” by Barbara Bender. “Reading the prehistoric Landscape” by Mats Widgren, 4 ao = = i iy 4 S) S ica) a a x oe os] is} a a < a Z < |