Prehistoric art

Prehistoric painting of rhinoceroses in the Chauvet

Cave, dated circa 35,000 BP. France

In the history of art, prehistoric art is all art

produced in preliterate, prehistorical
cultures beginning somewhere in very late
geological history, and generally
continuing until that culture either
develops writing or other methods of
record-keeping, or makes significant
contact with another culture that has, and
that makes some record of major
historical events. At this point ancient art
begins, for the older literate cultures. The
end-date for what is covered by the term
thus varies greatly between different parts
of the world.[1]

The earliest human artifacts showing

evidence of workmanship with an artistic
purpose are the subject of some debate. It
is clear that such workmanship existed by
40,000 years ago in the Upper Paleolithic
era, although it is quite possible that it
began earlier. In September 2018,
scientists reported the discovery of the
earliest known drawing by Homo sapiens,
which is estimated to be 73,000 years old,
much earlier than the 43,000 years old
artifacts understood to be the earliest
known modern human drawings found
previously.[2]

Engraved shells created by Homo erectus

dating as far back as 500,000 years ago
have been found, although experts
disagree on whether these engravings can
be properly classified as ‘art’.[3] From the
Upper Palaeolithic through to the
Mesolithic, cave paintings and portable art
such as figurines and beads
predominated, with decorative figured
workings also seen on some utilitarian
objects. In the Neolithic evidence of early
pottery appeared, as did sculpture and the
construction of megaliths. Early rock art
also first appeared during this period. The
advent of metalworking in the Bronze Age
brought additional media available for use
in making art, an increase in stylistic
diversity, and the creation of objects that
did not have any obvious function other
than art. It also saw the development in
some areas of artisans, a class of people
specializing in the production of art, as
well as early writing systems. By the Iron
Age, civilizations with writing had arisen
from Ancient Egypt to Ancient China.

Many indigenous peoples from around the

world continued to produce artistic works
distinctive to their geographic area and
culture, until exploration and commerce
brought record-keeping methods to them.
Some cultures, notably the Maya
civilization, independently developed
writing during the time they flourished,
which was then later lost. These cultures
may be classified as prehistoric, especially
if their writing systems have not been
deciphered.

Paleolithic era
Lower and Middle Paleolithic

Homo Erectus shell with geometric incisions, circa

500,000 BP, has been claimed as the first known work
of art. Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Netherlands.[4][5]

Acheulean hand axe.

The earliest undisputed art originated with
the Homo sapiens Aurignacian
archaeological culture in the Upper
Paleolithic. However, there is some
evidence that the preference for the
aesthetic emerged in the Middle
Paleolithic, from 100,000 to 50,000 years
ago. Some archaeologists have
interpreted certain Middle Paleolithic
artifacts as early examples of artistic
expression.[6][7] The symmetry of artifacts,
evidence of attention to the detail of tool
shape, has led some investigators to
conceive of Acheulean hand axes and
especially laurel points as having been
produced with a degree of artistic
expression.

Claimed "Oldest known drawing by human hands",

discovered in Blombos Cave in South Africa.
Estimated to be 73,000 years old.[2]

Similarly, a zig-zag etching made with a

shark tooth on a freshwater clam-shell
around 500,000 years ago (i.e. well into the
Lower Paleolithic), associated with Homo
erectus, was proposed as the earliest
evidence of artistic activity in 2014.[8]
There are other claims of Middle
Paleolithic sculpture, dubbed the "Venus of
Tan-Tan" (before 300 kya)[9] and the
"Venus of Berekhat Ram" (250 kya). In
2002 in Blombos cave, situated in South
Africa, stones were discovered engraved
with grid or cross-hatch patterns, dated to
some 70,000 years ago. This suggested to
some researchers that early Homo
sapiens were capable of abstraction and
production of abstract art or symbolic art.
Several archaeologists including Richard
Klein are hesitant to accept the Blombos
caves as the first example of actual art.
In September 2018 the discovery in South
Africa of the earliest known drawing by
Homo sapiens was announced, which is
estimated to be 73,000 years old, much
earlier than the 43,000 years old artifacts
understood to be the earliest known
modern human drawings found
previously.[2]

Upper Paleolithic

Probably the oldest known painting, from the cave of

Lubang Jeriji Saléh on the Indonesian island of
B i 40 000 BC[10][11]
Borneo, circa 40,000 BC[10][11]

Aurochs on a cave painting in Lascaux, France

In November 2018, scientists reported the

discovery of the oldest known figurative
art painting, over 40,000 (perhaps as old
as 52,000) years old, of an unknown
animal, in the cave of Lubang Jeriji Saléh
on the Indonesian island of Borneo.[10][11]
One of the oldest undisputed works of
figurative art were found in the
Schwäbische Alb, Baden-Württemberg,
Germany. The earliest of these, the Venus
figurine known as the Venus of Hohle Fels
and the Lion-man figurine, date to some
40,000 years ago.

Venus of Willendorf
Further depictional art from the Upper
Palaeolithic period (broadly 40,000 to
10,000 years ago) includes cave painting
(e.g., those at Chauvet, Altamira, Pech
Merle, Arcy-sur-Cure and Lascaux) and
portable art: Venus figurines like the Venus
of Willendorf, as well as animal carvings
like the Swimming Reindeer, Wolverine
pendant of Les Eyzies, and several of the
objects known as bâtons de
commandement.

Paintings in Pettakere cave on the

Indonesian island of Sulawesi are up to
40,000 years old, a similar date to the
oldest European cave art, which may
suggest an older common origin for this
type of art, perhaps in Africa.[12]

Monumental open-air art in Europe from

this period includes the rock-art at Côa
Valley and Mazouco in Portugal, Domingo
García and Siega Verde in Spain, and
Rocher gravé de Fornols in France.

A cave at Turobong in South Korea

containing human remains has been found
to contain carved deer bones and
depictions of deer that may be as much as
40,000 years old.[13] Petroglyphs of deer or
reindeer found at Sokchang-ri may also
date to the Upper Paleolithic. Potsherds in
a style reminiscent of early Japanese work
have been found at Kosan-ri on Jeju island,
which, due to lower sea levels at the time,
would have been accessible from
Japan.[14]

The oldest petroglyphs are dated to

approximately the Mesolithic and late
Upper Paleolithic boundary, about 10,000
to 12,000 years ago. The earliest
undisputed African rock art dates back
about 10,000 years. The first naturalistic
paintings of humans found in Africa date
back about 8,000 years apparently
originating in the Nile River valley, spread
as far west as Mali about 10,000 years
ago. Noted sites containing early art
include Tassili n'Ajjer in southern Algeria,
Tadrart Acacus in Libya (A Unesco World
Heritage site), and the Tibesti Mountains
in northern Chad.[15] Rock carvings at the
Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa have
been dated to this age.[16] Contentious
dates as far back as 29,000 years have
been obtained at a site in Tanzania. A site
at the Apollo 11 Cave complex in Namibia
has been dated to 27,000 years.

Göbekli Tepe in Turkey has circles of

massive T-shaped stone pillars dating
back to the 10th–8th millennium BCE; the
world's oldest known megaliths. Many of
the pillars are decorated with abstract,
enigmatic pictograms and carved animal
reliefs.

Asia

The "Dancing Girl of Mohenjo Daro", Indus Valley

civilization

Asia was the cradle for several significant

civilizations, most notably those of China
and South Asia. The prehistory of eastern
Asia is especially interesting, as the
relatively early introduction of writing and
historical record-keeping in China has a
notable impact on the immediately
surrounding cultures and geographic
areas. Little of the very rich traditions of
the art of Mesopotamia counts as
prehistoric, as writing was introduced so
early there, but neighbouring cultures such
as Urartu, Luristan and Persia had
significant and complex artistic traditions.
A possible representation of a "yogi" or "proto-Shiva",
2600–1900 BCE

Azerbaijan

The Gobustan National Park reserve

located at the south-east of the Greater
Caucasus Mountains in Azerbaijan, 60 km
away from Baku date back more than 12
thousand years ago. The reserve has more
than 6,000 rock carvings depicting mostly
hunting scenes, human and animal figures.
There are also longship illustrations
similar to Viking ships. Gobustan is also
characterized by its natural musical stone
called Gavaldash (tambourine stone).
[17][18][19][20][21]

Indian sub-continent

The earliest Indian paintings were the rock

paintings of prehistoric times, the
petroglyphs as found in places like the
Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, and some of
them are dated to circa 8,000
BC.[22][23][24][25][26] The Indus Valley
civilization produced fine small stamp
seals and sculptures, and may have been
literate, but after its collapse there are
relatively few artistic remains until the
literate period, probably as perishable
materials were used.

China

Two bronze heads from Sanxingdui, covered with

gold leafs
Prehistoric artwork such as painted
pottery in Neolithic China can be traced
back to the Yangshao culture and
Longshan culture of the Yellow River
valley. During China's Bronze Age, Chinese
of the ancient Shang Dynasty and Zhou
Dynasty produced multitudes of Chinese
ritual bronzes, which are elaborate
versions of ordinary vessels and other
objects used in rituals of ancestor
veneration, decorated with taotie motifs
and by the late Shang Chinese bronze
inscriptions. Discoveries in 1987 in
Sanxingdui in central China revealed a
previously unknown pre-literate Bronze
Age culture whose artefacts included
spectacular very large bronze figures
(example left), and which appeared
culturally very different from the
contemporary late Shang, which has
always formed part of the account of the
continuous tradition of Chinese culture.

Japan

A Jōmon statue
According to archeological evidence, the
Jōmon people in ancient Japan were
among the first to develop pottery, dated
from the 11th millennium BCE. With
growing sophistication, the Jōmon created
patterns by impressing the wet clay with
braided or unbraided cord and sticks.

Korea

A Korean Neolithic pot found in Busan, 3500 BCE

The earliest examples of Korean art
consist of Stone Age works dating from
3000 BCE. These mainly consist of votive
sculptures, although petroglyphs have also
been recently rediscovered. Rock arts,
elaborate stone tools, and potteries were
also prevalent.

This early period was followed by the art

styles of various Korean kingdoms and
dynasties. In these periods, artists often
adopted Chinese style in their artworks.
However, Koreans not only adopted but
also modified Chinese culture with a native
preference for simple elegance, purity of
nature and spontaneity. This filtering of
Chinese styles later influenced Japanese
artistic traditions, due to cultural and
geographical circumstances.

The prehistory of Korean ends with the

founding of the Three Kingdoms of Korea,
which are documented in the Samguk
Sagi, a 12th-century CE text written in
Classical Chinese (the written language of
the literati in traditional Korea), as
beginning in the 1st century BCE; some
mention of earlier history is also made in
Chinese texts, like the 3rd-century CE
Sanguo Zhi.

Jeulmun period
Clearer evidence of culture emerges in the
late Neolithic, known in Korea as the
Jeulmun pottery period, with pottery
similar to that found in the adjacent
regions of China, decorated with Z-shaped
patterns. The earliest Neolithic sites with
pottery remains, for example Osan-ri, date
to 6000–4500 BCE.[14] This pottery is
characterized by comb patterning, with the
pot frequently having a pointed base.
Ornaments from this time include masks
made of shell, with notable finds at
Tongsam-dong, Osan-ri, and Sinam-ri.
Hand-shaped clay figurines have been
found at Nongpo-dong.[27]
Mumun period

Large Middle Mumun (c. 800 BCE) storage vessel

unearthed from a pit-house in or near Daepyeong

During the Mumun pottery period, roughly

between 1500 BCE and 300 BCE,
agriculture expanded, and evidence of
larger-scale political structures became
apparent, as villages grew and some
burials became more elaborate. Megalithic
tombs and dolmens throughout Korea
date to this time. The pottery of the time is
in a distinctive undecorated style. Many of
these changes in style may have occurred
due to immigration of new peoples from
the north, although this is a subject of
debate.[28] At a number of sites in
southern Korea there are rock art panels
that are thought to date from this period,
mainly for stylistic reasons.[29]

While the exact date of the introduction of

bronzework into Korea is also a matter of
debate, it is clear that bronze was being
worked by about 700 BCE. Finds include
stylistically distinctive daggers, mirrors,
and belt buckles, with evidence by the 1st
century BCE of a widespread, locally
distinctive, bronzeworking culture.[30]

Protohistoric Korea

Goguryeo tomb mural

The time between 300 BCE and the

founding and stabilization of the Three
Kingdoms around 300 CE is characterized
artistically and archaeologically by
increasing trade with China and Japan,
something that Chinese histories of the
time corroborate. The expansionist
Chinese invaded and established
commanderies in northern Korea as early
as the 1st century BCE; they were driven
out by the 4th century CE.[31] The remains
of some of these, especially that of Lelang,
near modern Pyongyang, have yielded
many artifacts in a typical Han style.[32]

Chinese histories also record the

beginnings of iron works in Korea in the
1st century BCE. Stoneware and kiln-fired
pottery also appears to date from this
time, although there is controversy over
the dates.[33] Pottery of distinctly
Japanese origin is found in Korea, and
metalwork of Korean origin is found in
northeastern China.[34]

Steppes Art

Late 7th-century Scythian plaque of a leopard

Superb samples of Steppes art - mostly

golden jewellery and trappings for horse -
are found over a vast expanses of land
stretching from Hungary to Mongolia.
Dating from the period between the 7th
and 3rd centuries BCE, the objects are
usually diminutive, as may be expected
from nomadic people always on the move.
Art of the steppes is primarily an animal
art, i.e., combat scenes involving several
animals (real or imaginary) or single
animal figures (such as golden stags)
predominate. The best known of the
various peoples involved are the Scythians,
at the European end of the steppe, who
were especially likely to bury gold items.

Among the most famous finds was made

in 1947, when the Soviet archaeologist
Sergei Rudenko discovered a royal burial
at Pazyryk, Altay Mountains, which
featured - among many other important
objects - the most ancient extant pile rug,
probably made in Persia. Unusually for
prehistoric burials, those in the northern
parts of the area may preserve organic
materials such as wood and textiles that
normally would decay. Steppes people
both gave and took influences from
neighbouring cultures from Europe to
China, and later Scythian pieces are
heavily influenced by ancient Greek style,
and probably often made by Greeks in
Scythia.

Near East
 

Pillar from Göbekli Tepe with low reliefs of what are

believed to be a bull, fox, and crane, 9600 to 8800
BCE.

The Ain Sakhri Lovers from modern Israel,

is a small Natufian carving in calcite, from
about 9,000 BCE. Around the same time,
the extraordinary site of Göbekli Tepe in
eastern Turkey was begun. During the first
phase, belonging to the Pre-Pottery
Neolithic A (PPNA), circles of massive but
neatly shaped T-shaped stone pillars were
erected – the world's oldest known
megaliths.[35] More than 200 pillars in
about 20 circles are currently known
through geophysical surveys. Each pillar
has a height of up to 6 m (20 ft) and
weighs up to 10 tons. They are fitted into
sockets that were hewn out of the
bedrock.[36] In the second phase,
belonging to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
(PPNB), the erected pillars are smaller and
stood in rectangular rooms with floors of
polished lime. On the smoothed surfaces
of the pillars there are reliefs of animals,
abstract patterns, and some human
figures.

By convention, prehistory in the Near East

is taken to continue until the rise of the
Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century
BCE, although writing existed in the region
from nearly 2,000 years earlier. On that
basis the very rich and long tradition of the
art of Mesopotamia, as well as Assyrian
sculpture, Hittite art and many other
traditions such as the Luristan bronzes all
fall under prehistoric art, even if covered
with texts extolling the ruler, as many
Assyrian palace reliefs are.
Europe
Stone Age

Hand stencil, Cosquer Cave, France, c. 27,000 years

old

The Art of the Upper Paleolithic includes

carvings on antler and bone, especially of
animals, as well as the so-called Venus
figurines and cave paintings, discussed
above. Despite a warmer climate, the
Mesolithic period undoubtedly shows a
falling-off from the heights of the
preceding period. Rock art is found in
Scandinavia and northern Russia, and
around the Mediterranean in eastern Spain
and the earliest of the Rock Drawings in
Valcamonica in northern Italy, but not in
between these areas.[37][38] Examples of
portable art include painted pebbles from
the Azilian culture which succeeded the
Magdalenian, and patterns on utilitarian
objects, like the paddles from Tybrind Vig,
Denmark. The Mesolithic statues of
Lepenski Vir at the Iron Gate, Serbia date
to the 7th millennium BCE and represent
either humans or mixtures of humans and
fish. Simple pottery began to develop in
various places, even in the absence of
farming.

Mesolithic

Compared to the preceding Upper

Paleolithic and the following Neolithic,
there is rather less surviving art from the
Mesolithic. The Rock art of the Iberian
Mediterranean Basin, which probably
spreads across from the Upper Paleolithic,
is a widespread phenomenon, much less
well known than the cave-paintings of the
Upper Paleolithic, with which it makes an
interesting contrast. The sites are now
mostly cliff faces in the open air, and the
subjects are now mostly human rather
than animal, with large groups of small
figures; there are 45 figures at Roca dels
Moros. Clothing is shown, and scenes of
dancing, fighting, hunting and food-
gathering. The figures are much smaller
than the animals of Paleolithic art, and
depicted much more schematically,
though often in energetic poses.[39] A few
small engraved pendants with suspension
holes and simple engraved designs are
known, some from northern Europe in
amber, and one from Starr Carr in Britain in
shale.[40]
The rock art in the Urals appears to show
similar changes after the Paleolithic, and
the wooden Shigir Idol is a rare survival of
what may well have been a very common
material for sculpture. It is a plank of larch
carved with geometric motifs, but topped
with a human head. Now in fragments, it
would apparently have been over 5 metres
tall when made.[41]

Neolithic

 
Gold lunula from Blessington, Ireland, Late
Neolithic/Early Bronze Age, c. 2400–2000 BC

Map with distribution of statue-menhir in Europe.[1]

Photos and pictures: 1y 4.-Bueno et al. 2005; 2.-
Santonja y Santonja 1978; 3.-Jorge 1999; 5.-Portela y
Jiménez 1996; 6.-Romero 1981; 7.-Helgouach 1997;
8.- Tarrete 1997; 9, 10, 13, 14, 29, 30, 31, 32.-Philippon
2002; 11.-Corboud y Curdy 2009; 12.-Muller 1997; 15,
16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 Arnal 1976; 24 y 25.-
Augusto 1972; 26 y 27.- Grosjean 1966; 34.- López et
al. 2009.
In Central Europe, many Neolithic cultures,
like Linearbandkeramic, Lengyel and
Vinča[42], produced female (rarely male)
and animal statues that can be called art,
and elaborate pottery decoration in, for
example, the Želiesovce and painted
Lengyel style.

Megalithic (i.e., large stone) monuments

are found in the Neolithic Era from Malta
to Portugal, through France, and across
southern England to most of Wales and
Ireland. They are also found in northern
Germany and Poland, as well as in Egypt in
the Sahara desert (at Nabta Playa and
other sites). The best preserved of all
temples and the oldest free standing
structures are the Megalithic Temples of
Malta. They start in the 5th millennium BC,
though some authors speculate on
Mesolithic roots. One of the best-known
prehistoric sites is Stonehenge, part of the
Stonehenge World Heritage Site which
contains hundreds of monuments and
archaeological sites. Monuments have
been found throughout most of Western
and Northern Europe, notably at Carnac,
France.
 

Entrance stone with megalithic art at Newgrange

The large mound tomb at Newgrange,

Ireland, dating to around 3200 BC, has its
entrance marked with a massive stone
carved with a complex design of spirals.
The mound at nearby Knowth has large
flat rocks with rock engravings on their
vertical faces all around its circumference,
for which various meanings have been
suggested, including depictions of the
local valley, and the oldest known image of
the Moon. Many of these monuments
were megalithic tombs, and
archaeologists speculate that most have
religious significance. Knowth is reputed
to have approximately one third of all
megalithic art in Western Europe.

In the central Alps, the Camunni made

some 350,000 petroglyphs: see Rock
Drawings in Valcamonica.

Bronze Age

 
Three men performing a ritual, Bohuslän, Sweden

During the 3rd millennium BCE, the Bronze

Age began in Europe, bringing with it a
new medium for art. The increased
efficiency of bronze tools also meant an
increase in productivity, which led to a
surplus — the first step in the creation of a
class of artisans. Because of the
increased wealth of society, luxury goods
began to be created, especially decorated
weapons.

Examples include ceremonial bronze

helmets, ornamental ax-heads and swords,
elaborate instruments such as lurer, and
other ceremonial objects without a
practical purpose, such as the oversize
Oxborough Dirk. Special objects were
made in gold; many more gold objects
have survived from Western and Central
Europe than from the Iron Age, many
mysterious and strange objects ranging
from lunulas, apparently an Irish speciality,
the Mold Cape and Golden hats. Pottery
from Central Europe can be elaborately
shaped and decorated. Rock art, showing
scenes from the religious rituals have
been found in many areas, for example in
Bohuslän, Sweden and the Val Camonica
in northern Italy.
In the Mediterranean, the Minoan
civilization was highly developed, with
palace complexes from which sections of
frescos have been excavated.
Contemporary Ancient Egyptian art and
that of other advanced Near Eastern
cultures can no longer be treated as
"prehistoric".

Iron Age

Gold shoe plaques from the Iron Age Hochdorf

Chi ft i ' G G 530 BC
Chieftain's Grave, Germany, c. 530 BC.

The Iron Age saw the development of

anthropomorphic sculptures, such as the
warrior of Hirschlanden, and the statue
from the Glauberg, Germany. Hallstatt
artists in the early Iron Age favored
geometric, abstract designs perhaps
influenced by trade links with the Classical
world.

The more elaborate and curvilinear La

Tène style developed in Europe in the later
Iron Age from a centre in the Rhine valley
but it soon spread across the continent.
The rich chieftain classes appear to have
encouraged ostentation and Classical
influences such as bronze drinking vessels
attest to a new fashion for wine drinking.
Communal eating and drinking were an
important part of Celtic society and culture
and much of their art was often expressed
through plates, knives, cauldrons and
cups. Horse tack and weaponry were also
decorated. Mythical animals were a
common motif along with religious and
natural subjects and their depiction is a
mix between the naturalistic and the
stylized. Megalithic art was still
sometimes practiced, examples include
the carved limestone pillars of the
sanctuary at Entremont in modern-day
France. Personal adornment included torc
necklaces whilst the introduction of
coinage provided a further opportunity for
artistic expression. The coins of this
period are derivatives of Greek and Roman
types, but showing the more exuberant
Celtic artistic style.

A 1st century BCE mirror found in Desborough,

England, showing the spiral and trumpet motif
The famous late 4th century BCE
Waldalgesheim chariot burial in the
Rhineland produced many fine examples
of La Tène art including a bronze flagon
and bronze plaques with repoussé human
figures. Many pieces had curvy, organic
styles though to be derived from Classical
tendril patterns.

In much of western Europe elements of

this artistic style can be discerned
surviving in the art and architecture of the
Roman colonies. In particular in Britain
and Ireland there is a tenuous continuity
through the Roman period, enabling Celtic
motifs to resurface with new vigour in the
Christian Insular art from the 6th century
onwards.

The sophisticated Etruscan culture

developed from the 9th to 2nd centuries,
with considerable influence from the
Greeks, before finally being absorbed by
the Romans. By the end of the period they
had developed writing, but early Etruscan
art can be called prehistoric.

Africa
Ancient Egypt falls outside the scope of
this article; it had a close relationship with
the Sudan in particular, known in this
period as Nubia, where there were
advanced cultures from the 4th millennium
BCE, such as the "A-Group", "C-Group", and
the Kingdom of Kush.

Southern Africa

San rock painting of an eland at Drakensberg

In September 2018, scientists reported the

discovery of the earliest known drawing by
Homo sapiens, which is estimated to be
73,000 years old, much earlier than the
43,000 years old artifacts understood to
be the earliest known modern human
drawings found previously.[2]

There is a significant body of rock painting

in the region around Matobo National Park
of Zimbabwe dating from as early as 6000
BCE to 500 CE.[43]

Significant San rock paintings exist in the

Waterberg area above the Palala River and
around Drakensberg in South Africa, some
of which are considered to derive from the
period 8000 BCE. These images are very
clear and depict a variety of human and
wildlife motifs, especially antelope. There
appears to be a fairly continuous history of
rock painting in this area; some of the art
clearly dates into the 19th century. They
include depictions of horses with riders,
which were not introduced to the area until
the 1820s.[44]

Namibia, in addition to the Apollo 11 Cave

complex, has a significant array of San
rock art near Twyfelfontein. This work is
several thousand years old, and appears to
end with the arrival of pastoral tribes in the
area.[45]

Horn of Africa
Long-horned cattle and other rock art in the Laas
Geel complex.

Laas Geel is a complex of caves and rock

shelters in northwestern Somalia. Famous
for their rock art, the caves are located in a
rural area on the outskirts of Hargeisa.
They contain some of the earliest known
cave paintings in the Horn of Africa, many
of which depict pastoral scenes. Laas
Geel's rock art is estimated to date back to
somewhere between 9,000–8,000 and
3,000 BCE.

In 2008, archaeologists also announced

the discovery of cave paintings in
Somalia's northern Dhambalin region,
which the researchers suggest includes
one of the earliest known depictions of a
hunter on horseback. The rock art is in the
Ethiopian-Arabian style, dated to 1000 to
3000 BCE.[46][47]

Other prehistoric art in the Horn region

include stone megaliths and engravings,
some of which are 3,500 years old. The
town of Dillo in Ethiopia has a hilltop
covered with stone stelae. It is one of
several such sites in southern Ethiopia
dating from historic period (10th-14th
centuries).[48]

Saharan Africa

A petroglyphic Saharan rock carving from southern

Algeria depicting an antelope or gazelle.

The early art of this region has been

divided into five periods:
 Bubalus Period, roughly 12-8 kya
Round Head Period, roughly 10-8 kya
Pastoral Period, roughly 7.5-4 kya
Horse Period, roughly 3-2 kya
Camel Period, 2,000 years ago to the
present

Rock carving of an elephant at Tadrart Acacus

Works of the Bubalus period span the

Sahara, with the finest work, carvings of
naturalistically depicted megafauna,
concentrated in the central highlands. The
Round Head Period is dominated by
paintings of strangely shaped human
forms, and few animals, suggesting the
artists were foragers. These works are
largely limited to Tassili n'Ajjer and the
Tadrart Acacus. Toward the end of the
period, images of domesticated animals,
as well as decorative clothing and
headdresses appear. Pastoral Period art
was more focused on domestic scenes,
including herding and dancing. The quality
of artwork declined, as figures became
more simplified.[49]
The Horse Period began in the eastern
Sahara and spread west. Depictions from
this period include carvings and paintings
of horses, chariots, and warriors with
metal weapons, although there are also
frequent depictions of wildlife such as
giraffes. Humans are generally depicted in
a stylized way. Some of the chariot art
bears resemblance to temple carvings
from ancient Egypt. Occasionally, art
panels are accompanied by Tifinagh script,
still in use by the Berber people and the
Tuareg today; however, modern Tuareg are
generally unable to read these inscriptions.
The final Camel period features carvings
and paintings in which camels
predominate, but also include humans
with swords, and later, guns; the art of this
time is relatively crude.[50]

North Africa

The Americas
North America

 
Great Serpent Mound, a 411-meter long (1,348 ft)
effigy mound in Adams County, Ohio, ca. 1070 CE

Belonging in the Lithic stage, the oldest

known art in the Americas is the Vero
Beach bone, possibly a mammoth bone,
etched with a profile of walking mammoth
that dates back to 11,000 BCE.[51] The
oldest known painted object in the
Americas is the Cooper Bison Skull from
10,900–10,200 BCE.[52]

Mesoamerica
 

An Olmec stone head

The ancient Olmec "Bird Vessel" and bowl,

both ceramic and dating to circa 1000 BC
as well as other ceramics were produced
in kilns capable of exceeding
approximately 900 °C. The only other
prehistoric culture known to have achieved
such high temperatures is that of Ancient
Egypt.[53]

Much Olmec art is highly stylized and uses

an iconography reflective of the religious
meaning of the artworks. Some Olmec art,
however, is surprisingly naturalistic,
displaying an accuracy of depiction of
human anatomy perhaps equaled in the
pre-Columbian New World only by the best
Maya Classic-era art. Olmec art-forms
emphasize monumental statuary and
small jade carvings. A common theme is
to be found in representations of a divine
jaguar. Olmec figurines were also found
abundantly through their period.

South America

Lithic age art in South America includes

Monte Alegre culture rock paintings
created at Caverna da Pedra Pintada
dating back to 9250–8550 BCE.[54][55]
Guitarrero Cave in Peru has the earliest
known textiles in South America, dating to
8000 BCE.[56]

Peru and the central Andes

Lithic and preceramic periods

Stirrup handled Cupinisque ceramic vase 1250 BCE

from the Larco Museum
Peru, including an area of the central
Andes stretching from Ecuador to northern
Chile, has a rich cultural history, with
evidence of human habitation dating to
roughly 10,000 BCE.[57] Prior to the
emergence of ceramics in this region
around 1850 BCE, cave paintings and
beads have been found. These finds
include rock paintings that controversially
date as far back as 9500 BCE in the
Toquepala Caves.[58] Burial sites in Peru
like one at Telarmachay as old as 8600-
7200 BCE contained evidence of ritual
burial, with red ocher and bead
necklaces.[59]
The earliest ceramics that appear in Peru
may have been imported from the Validivia
region; indigenous pottery production
almost certainly arrived in the highlands
around 1800 BCE at Kotosh, and on the
coast at La Florida c. 1700 BCE. Older
calabash gourd vessels with human faces
burned into them were found at Huaca
Prieta, a site dating to 2500-2000 BCE[60]
Huaca Prieta also contained some early
patterned and dyed textiles made from
twisted plant fibers.[61]

Initial Period and First Horizon

 

An image of the Lanzón deity on the great wall at

Chavín de Huantar, a First Horizon site

The Initial Period in Central Andean

cultures lasted roughly from 1800 BCE to
900 BCE. Textiles from this time found at
Huaca Prieta are of astonishing
complexity, including images such as
crabs whose claws transform into snakes,
and double-headed birds. Many of these
images are similar to optical illusions,
where which image dominates depends in
part on which the viewer chooses to see.
Other portable artwork from this time
includes decorated mirrors, bone and shell
jewelry, and unfired clay female effigies.[62]
Public architecture, including works
estimated to require the movement of
more than 100,000 tons of stone, are to be
found at sites like Kotosh, El Paraíso, Peru,
and La Galgada (archaeological site).
Kotosh, a site in the Andean highlands, is
especially noted as the site of the Temple
of the Crossed Hands, in which there are
two reliefs of crossed forearms, one pair
male, one pair female.[63] Also of note is
one of South America's largest ceremonial
sites, Sechín Alto. This site's crowning
work is a twelve-story platform, with
stones incised with military themes.[64]
The architecture and art of the highlands,
in particular, laid down the groundwork for
the rise of the Chavín culture.[65]

The Chavín culture dominated the central

Andes during the First Horizon, beginning
around 900 BCE, and is generally divided
into two stages. The first, running until
about 500 BCE, represented a significant
cultural unification of the highland and
coastal cultures of the time. Imagery in all
manner of art (textiles, ceramics, jewelry,
and architectural) included sometimes
fantastic imagery such as jaguars, snakes,
and human–animal composites, much of
it seemingly inspired by the jungles to the
east.[66]

The later stage of the Chavín culture is

primarily represented by a significant
architectural expansion of the Chavín de
Huantar site around 500 BCE,
accompanied by a set of stylistic changes.
This expansion included, among other
changes, over forty large stone heads,
whose reconstructed positions represent a
transformation from human to
supernatural animal visages. Much of the
other art at the complex from this time
contains such supernatural imagery.[67]
The portable art associated with this time
included sophisticated metalworking,
including alloying of metals and
soldering.[68] Textiles found at sites like
Karwa clearly depict Chavín cultural
influences,[69] and the Cupisnique style of
pottery disseminated by the Chavín would
set standards all across the region for
later cultures.[70] (The vessel pictured at
the top of this article, while from the later
Moche culture, is representative of the
stirrup-spouted vessels of the Chavín.)

Early Intermediate Period

 

A Paracas Mantle dating from 200 CE

The Early Intermediate Period lasted from

about 200 BCE to 600 CE. Late in the First
Horizon, the Chavín culture began to
decline, and other cultures, predominantly
in the coastal areas, began to develop. The
earliest of these was the Paracas culture,
centered on the Paracas Peninsula of
central Peru. Active from 600 BCE to 175
BCE, their early work clearly shows Chavín
influence, but a locally distinctive style and
technique developed. It was characterized
by technical and time-consuming detail
work, visually colorful, and a profusion
visual elements. Distinctive technical
differences include painting on clay after
firing, and embroidery on textiles.[71] One
notable find is a mantle that was clearly
used for training purposes; it shows
obvious indications of experts doing some
of the weaving, interspersed with less
technically proficient trainee work.[72]

 
The Nazca line figure known as The Dog

The Nazca culture of southern Peru, which

is widely known for the enormous figures
traced on the ground by the Nazca lines in
southern Peru, shared some similarities
with the Paracas culture, but techniques
(and scale) differed. The Nazca painted
their ceramics with slip, and also painted
their textiles.[73] Nazca ceramics featured
a wide variety of subjects, from the
mundane to the fantastic, including
utilitarian vessels and effigy figures. The
Nazca also excelled at goldsmithing, and
made pan pipes from clay in a style not
unlike the pipes heard in music of the
Andes today.[74]

The famous Nazca lines are accompanied

by temple-like constructions (showing no
sign of permanent habitation) and open
plazas that presumably had ritual
purposes related to the lines. The lines
themselves are laid out on a sort of natural
blackboard, where a thin layer of dark
stone covers lighter stone; the lines were
thus created by simply removing the top
layer where desired, after using surveying
techniques to lay out the design.[75]
 

Gold Moche headdress representing a condor

In the north of Peru, the Moche culture

dominated during this time. Also known as
Mochica or Early Chimú, this warlike
culture dominated the area until about 500
CE, apparently using conquest to gain
access to critical resources along the
desert coast: arable land and water.
Moche art is again notably distinctive,
expressive and dynamic in a way that
many other Andean cultures were not.
Knowledge of the period has been notably
expanded by finds like the pristine royal
tombs at Sipán.[76]

The Moche very obviously absorbed some

elements of the Chavín culture, but also
absorbed ideas from smaller nearby
cultures that they assimilated, such as the
Recuay culture and the Vicús.[77] They
made fully sculpted ceramic animal
figures, worked gold, and wove textiles.
The art often featured everyday images,
but seemingly always with a ritual
intent.[78]
In its later years, the Moche came under
the influence of the expanding Huari
empire. The Cerro Blanco site of Huaca del
Sol appears to have been the Moche
capital. Largely destroyed by natural
events around 600 CE, it was further
damaged by Spanish conquistadors
searching for gold, and continues with
modern looters.[79]

Middle Horizon
 

Ponce monolith in the sunken courtyard of the

Tiwanaku's Kalasasaya temple

The Middle Horizon lasted from 600 CE to

1000 CE, and was dominated by two
cultures: the Huari and the Tiwanaku. The
Tiwanaku (also spelled Tiahuanaco)
culture arose near Lake Titicaca (on the
modern border between Peru and Bolivia),
while the Wari culture arose in the
southern highlands of Peru. Both cultures
appear to have been influenced by the
Pukara culture, which was active during
the Early Intermediate in between the
primary centers of the Wari and
Tiwanaku.[80] These cultures both had
wide-ranging influence, and shared some
common features in their portable art, but
their monumental arts were somewhat
distinctive.[81]

The monumental art of the Tiwanaku

demonstrated technical prowess in
stonework, including fine detailed reliefs,
and monoliths such as the Ponce monolith
(photo to the left), and the Sun Gate, both
in the main Tiwanaku site. The portable art
featured "portrait vessels", with figured
heads on ceramic vessels, as well as
natural imagery like jaguars and
raptors.[82] A full range of materials, from
ceramics to textiles to wood, bone, and
shell, were used in creative endeavours.
Textiles with a weave of 300 threads per
inch (80 threads per cm) have been found
at Tiwanaku sites.[83]

The ruins of Pikillacta, a Wari site

The Wari dominated an area from central
Peru to Ecuador, with their main center
near Ayacucho, Peru. Their art is
distinguished from the Tiwanaku style by
the use of bolder colors and patterns.[84]
Notable among Wari finds are tapestry
garments, presumed to be made for
priests or rulers to wear, often bearing
abstract geometric designs of significant
complexity, but also bearing images of
animals and figures.[85] Wari ceramics,
also of high technical quality, are similar in
many ways to those of the preceding
cultures, where local influences from fallen
cultures, like the Moche, are still
somewhat evident. Metalwork, while rarely
found due to its desirability by looters,
shows elegant simplicity and, once more,
a high level of workmanship.[86]

Late Intermediate Period

Following the decline of the Wari and

Tiwanaku, the northern and central coastal
areas were somewhat dominated by the
Chimú culture, which included notable
subcultures like the Lambayeque (or
Sicán) and Chancay cultures. To the south,
coastal cultures dominated in the Ica
region, and there was a significant cultural
crossroads at Pachacamac, near Lima.[87]
These cultures would dominate from
about 1000 CE until the 1460s and 1470s,
as the Inca Empire began to take shape
and eventually absorbed the
geographically smaller nearby cultures.

Chimú and Sicán Cultures

Sicán funerary mask, Metropolitan Museum

The Chimú culture in particular was

responsible for an extremely large number
of artworks. Its capital city, Chan Chan,
appears to have contained building that
appeared to function as museums—they
seem to have been used for displaying and
preserving artwork. Much of the artwork
from Chan Chan in particular has been
looted, some by the Spanish after the
Spanish conquest.[87] The art from this
time at times displays amazing
complexity, with "multimedia" works that
require artists working together in a
diversity of media, including materials
believed to have come from as far away as
Central America. Items of increasing
splendor or value were produced,
apparently as the society became
increasing stratified.[88] At the same, the
quality of some of the work declined, as
demand for pieces pushed production
rates up and values down.[89]

The Sicán culture flourished from 700 CE

to about 1400 CE, although it came under
political domination of the Chimú around
1100 CE, at which time many of its artists
may have moved to Chan Chan. There was
significant copperworking by the Sicán,
including what seems to be a sort of
currency based on copper objects that
look like axes.[90] Artwork includes burial
masks, beakers and metal vessels that
previous cultures traditionally made of
clay. The metalwork of the Sicán was
particularly sophisticated, with innovations
including repoussé and shell inlay. Sheet
metal was also often used to cover other
works.[91]

Prominent in Sicán iconography is the

Sicán deity, which appears on all manner
of work, from the portable to the
monumental. Other imagery includes
geometric and wave patterns, as well as
scenes of fishing and shell diving.[92]

Chancay culture Chancay culture, before it

was subsumed by the Chimú, did not
feature notable monumental art. Ceramics
and textiles were made, but the quality and
skill level was uneven. Ceramics are
generally black on white, and often suffer
from flaws like poor firing, and drips of the
slip used for color; however, fine examples
exist. Textiles are overall of a higher
quality, including the use of painted
weaves and tapestry techniques, and were
produced in large quantities.[93] The color
palette of the Chancay was not overly
bold: golds, browns, white, and scarlet
predominate.[94]

Pachacamac Pachacamac is a temple site

south of Lima, Peru that was an important
pilgrimage center into Spanish colonial
times. The site boasts temple
constructions from several periods,
culminating in Inca constructions that are
still in relatively good condition. The
temples were painted with murals
depicting plants and animals. The main
temple contained a carved wooden
sculpture akin to a totem pole.[94]

Ica culture The Ica region, which had been

dominated by the Nazca, was fragmented
into several smaller political and culture
groups. The pottery produced in this
region was of the highest quality at the
time, and its aesthetics would be adopted
by the Inca when they conquered the
area.[95]
Late Horizon and Inca culture

An 1860 map of Cusco. The puma shape is

discernible, with the head at the upper left and the tail
at the lower right.

The twelve angle stone, in the Hatum Rumiyoc street

of Cusco, is an example of Inca masonry.
 , p y

This time period represents the era in

which the culture of the central Andes is
almost completely dominated by the Inca
Empire, which began its expansion in
1438. It lasted until the Spanish conquest
of the Inca Empire in 1533. The Inca
absorbed much technical skill from the
cultures they conquered, and
disseminated it, along with standard
shapes and patterns, throughout their area
of influence, which extended from Quito,
Ecuador to Santiago, Chile. Inca stonework
is notably proficient; giant stones are set
so tightly without mortar that a knife blade
will not fit in the gap.[96] Many of the Inca's
monumental structures deliberately
echoed the natural environment around
them; this is particularly evident in some
of the structures at Machu Picchu.[97] The
Inca laid the city of Cusco in the shape of
a puma, with the head of the puma at
Sacsayhuaman,[98] a shape that is still
discernible in aerial photographs of the
city today.

The iconography of Inca art, while clearly

drawing from its many predecessors, is
still recognizably Inca. Bronzework owes a
clear debt to the Chimú, as do a number of
cultural traditions: the finest goods were
reserved to the rulers, who wore the finest
textiles, and ate and drank from gold and
silver vessels.[99] As a result, Inca
metalwork was relatively rare, and an
obvious source of plunder for the
conquering Spanish.

An Inca period tunic

Textiles were widely prized within the

empire, in part as they were somewhat
more portable in the far-flung empire.[100]
Ceramics were made in large quantities,
and, as with other media, in standardized
shapes and patterns. One common shape
is the urpu, a distinctive urn shape that
came in a wide variety of standard
capacities, much as modern storage
containers do.[101] In spite of this
standardization, many local areas retained
some distinctive aspects of their culture in
the works they produced; ceramics
produced in areas under significant Chimú
control prior to the Inca rule still retain
characteristics indicative of that style.[102]

Following the Spanish conquest, the art of

the central Andes was significantly
affected by the conflict and diseases
brought by the Spanish. Early colonial
period art, began to show influences of
both Christianity and Inca religious and
artistic ideas, and eventually also began to
encompass new techniques brought by
the conquerors, including oil painting on
canvas.[103]

Early ceramics in northern South

America

The earliest evidence of decorated pottery

in South America is to be found in two
places. A variety of sites in the Santarém
region of Brazil contain ceramic sherds
dating to a period between 5000 and 3000
BCE.[104] Sites in Colombia, at Monsú and
San Jacinto contained pottery finds in
different styles, and date as far back as
3500 BCE.[105] This is an area of active
research and subject to change.[106] The
ceramics were decorated with curvilinear
incisions. Another ancient site at Puerto
Hormiga in the Bolívar Department of
Colombia dating to 3100 BCE contained
pottery fragments that included figured
animals in a style related to later
Barrancoid cultural finds in Colombia and
Venezuela.[105] Valdivia, Ecuador also has
a site dated to roughly 3100 BCE
containing decorated fragments, as well
as figurines, many represent nude
females. The Valdivian style stretched as
far south as northern Peru,[107] and may,
according to Lavallée, yet yield older
artifacts.[104]

By 2000 BCE, pottery was evident in

eastern Venezuela. The La Gruta style,
often painted in red or white, included
incised animal figures in the ceramic, as
well as ceramic vessels shaped as animal
effigies. The Rancho Peludo style of
western Venezuela featured relatively
simple textile-type decorations and
incisions.[107] Finds in the central Andes
dating to 1800 BCE and later appear to be
derived from the Valdivian tradition of
Ecuador.[108]

Early art in eastern South America

Relatively little is known about the early

settlement of much of South America east
of the Andes. This is due to the lack of
stone (generally required for leaving
durable artifacts), and a jungle
environment that rapidly recycles organic
materials. Beyond the Andean regions,
where the inhabitants were more clearly
related to the early cultures of Peru, early
finds are generally limited to coastal areas
and those areas where there are stone
outcrops. While there is evidence of
human habitation in northern Brazil as
early as 8000 BCE,[109] and rock art of
unknown (or at best uncertain) age,
ceramics appear to be the earliest artistic
artifacts. The Mina civilization of Brazil
(3000–1600 BCE) had simple round
vessels with a red wash, that were stylistic
predecessors to later Bahia and Guyanan
cultures.[107]

Southern South America

The southern reaches of South America

show evidence of human habitation as far
back as 10,000 BCE. A site at Arroio do
Fosseis on the pampa in southern Brazil
has shown reliable evidence to that
time,[110] and the Tierra del Fuego at the
southern tip of the continent has been
occupied since 7000 BCE.[111] Artistic
finds are scarce; in some parts of
Patagonia ceramics were never made, only
being introduced by contact with
Europeans.[112]

Native arts of Oceania

Australia
 

Aboriginal rock painting at Namadgi National Park

From earliest times, the natives of

Australia, often known as Aborigines, have
been creating distinctive patterns of art.
Much of Aboriginal art is transitory, drawn
in sand or on the human body to illustrate
a place, an animal totem, or a tribal story.
Early surviving artworks of the Aborigines
are mostly rock paintings. Many are called
X-ray paintings because they show the
bones and organs of the animals they
depict. Some Aboriginal art seems
abstract to modern viewers; Aboriginal art
often employs geometrical figures and
lines to represent landscape, which is
often shown from a birds-eye view. For
instance, in Aboriginal symbolism, a swirl
stands for a watering hole.

Bradshaw rock paintings found in the north-west

Kimberley region of Western Australia

The Bradshaw rock paintings are a style of

rock art found in Western Australia. They
are predominantly human figures drawn in
fine detail with accurate anatomical
proportioning. They are usually dated to be
around 17,000 years old, and there have
been suggestions they are as much as
70,000 years old.[113] The Sydney rock
engravings are also prominent rock art
sites in the country.[114]

Polynesia

The natives of Polynesia have a distinct

artistic heritage. While many of their
artifacts were made with organic materials
and thus lost to history, some of their most
striking achievements survive in clay and
stone. Among these are numerous pottery
fragments from western Oceania, from the
late 2nd millennium BCE. Also, the natives
of Polynesia left scattered around their
islands Petroglyphs, stone platforms or
Marae, and sculptures of ancestor figures,
the most famous of which are the Moai of
Easter Island.

See also
Çatalhüyük
List of Stone Age art
Nevalı Çori
Prehistoric music
Prehistoric religion
Notes
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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media

related to Prehistoric art.

RockArtScandinavia Tanums
Hällristningsmuseum Underslös. Rock
art research centre.
EuroPreArt database of European
Prehistoric Art
Lepenski Vir
Göbekli Tepe, in German
Nevali Cori
 Prehistoric Art Expressions from India
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHprehistor
ic.html#general
http://donsmaps.com/combarelles.htm
l
Human Timeline (Interactive) –
Smithsonian, National Museum of
Natural History (August 2016).

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