Prehistoric Art

ART ID 111 | Study of Ancient Arts

Slide concept by William V. Ganis, PhD NYIT Center for Teaching and Learning with Technology

Art : the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced
(Merriam-Webster)

Aesthetics : a particular theory or conception of beauty or art : a particular taste for or approach to what is pleasing to the senses and especially sight
(Merriam-Webster)

What was going on in the world?

There was a lot more ice, for one thing, and ocean shoreline was different from that with which we're familiar. Lower water levels and, in some cases, land bridges (which have long since disappeared) allowed humans to migrate into the Americas & Australia. Humans at this time were strictly hunter-gatherers, meaning they were constantly on the move in search of food.

2 Types of Art: 1.Portable figurative 2.Stationary non-figurative 3 Major Art Forms: 1.Sculptures & Figurines 2.Cave Art 3.Megaliths

Dating Conventions and Abbreviations B.C.=before Christ B.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

Pebble resembling a human face from Makaspansgat South Africa

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

Apollo 11 Cave Namibia

ca. 23,000 B.C.E. charcoal on stone 5 in x 4 3/4 in.

Human with Feline Head from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany

ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E. mammoth ivory 11 5/8 in. high

Human with Feline Head from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany

ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E. mammoth ivory 11 5/8 in. high

enus of Willendorf from Willendorf, Austria

ca. 28,000-25,000 B.C.E. limestone 4 1/4 in. high

Woman of Lespugue from cave of Les Rideaux, France

ca. 20,000 B.C.E. mammoth ivory 5 3/4 in. high

arious European Venus figures

Venus of Doln V stonice

Moravia, Czeck Republic Ceramic (fired clay) 4.4in H 1.7inW

Woman of Laussel from a cave in Laussel, Dordogne, France

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

Bison reliefs from a cave at Le Tuc dAudoubert, Arige, France

ca. 15,000-10,000 B.C.E. clay each approx 2 feet long

Chauvet Cave paintings Vallon-Pont-dArc, Ardche, 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

Mammoth bone dwelling from 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. Wall: 3.6m H x 1.8m width at base Tower: 3.6m H with staircase of 22 stone steps

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

atal Hyk Turkey

ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E. atal is Turkish for "fork", hyk for "mound"

Restoration of a typical interior atal Hyk Turkey

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

Deer Hunt detail of a wall painting from Level III atal Hyk, Turkey
ca. 5,750 B.C.E.

atal Hyk Turkey

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

Landscape with Volcanic Eruption atal Hyk, Turkey

ca. 6150 watercolor copy of a wall painting

Figures of Man and Woman From Cernavoda, Romania

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

Dolmens
Ireland, Scotland, England, France

Dolmens, also called "chamber tombs," usually contain one or more chambers or rooms in which the dead were buried. Some dolmens also contain long, stone chambers or halls which connect different rooms. These long chambers also are referred to as "Long tombs" and "passage-graves."

Menhirs are large standing stones, or groups of standing stones, arranged in circles, or cromlechs, and henges.

various Menhirs
Ireland, Scotland, England, France

Menhir alignments at Mnec, Carnac, France

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

Stonehenge was aligned with the rising sun at the midsummer solstice. It may have served to predict both lunar and solar eclipses.

Stonehenge Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England

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

Sources: http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/paleolithic.htm http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/timelines/europe/prehistoric.html Introduction to Prehistoric Art, 20,0008000 B.C. | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/preh/hd_preh.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/ http://www.donsmaps.com/ Art Through the Ages, 12th/11th ed., Gardner

End of Lecture