Chapter 1: Art in the Stone Age

How did painting technique change from Paleolithic times to Neolithic times

Used brushes to apply pigment to a background of dry white plaster Careful preparation of the wall surface is in striking contrast to the direct application of pigment to irregularly shaped walls and ceilings of Old Stone Age caves

Example of anatomically exaggerated sculptures of the Old Stone Age

Venus of Willendorf

When did the first examples of what we call "art" come about?

around 40,000 t0 30,000 BCE during the Paleolithic period

When did scientists excavate the Apollo 11 Cave in Namibia

between 1969 and 1972

The bison on the ceiling seem to float above the viewers head as separate images

bison in Painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain

What cave painting depicted bison laying down

bison in Painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain

Chinese Horse Lascaux Date Medium Materials Subjects Represented Stylistic Characteristics

ca. 16,000 - 14,000 BCE

Chinese Horse Lascaux Medium/Materials

cave painting

What painting styles became common during the Neolithic times

coherent narratives became common, composite views of humans of frontal and profile view

Layout of the megalithic temple at Hagar Qim and other Neolithic Maltese temples is noteworthy for the

combination of rectilinear and curved forms, including multiple apses

What does the difference in style and technique of the Hall of Bulls suggest

created by different painters at different times

Hall of the Bulls in the cave at Lascaux, France: The differences in the style and technique (animals moving in different directions and the difference in the coloring of the animals) suggest that

different painters created the images at different times, maybe even over the course of generations

Findspot of Reclining woman, La Magdeleine

found on the wall of a corridor in La Magdeleine, France

When was Ain Ghazal occupied?

from around 7200 to 5000 BCE

What does the ivory statuette from Hohlenstein-Stadel depict

human with a feline head

What was the singular most important achievement of the Old Stone Age?

humans invented the concept of recording the world around them in pictures, Humans went beyond recognition to representation, initiated an intellectual revolution of enormous consequences

Where did humankind originate

in Africa

How did Paleolithic people record the world around them?

in pictures, often painted on or carved into the walls of caves

How was Stonehenge constructed

in several stages over a hundred years

How did prehistoric people represent beasts?

in strict profile view, showing all of the legs, the head, body, and tail this way persisted for thousands of years

When did humans first consciously manufacture pictorial images?

in the Old Stone Age

Function of Bison licking its flank, fragmentary spear-thrower, from La Madeleine, France

it was a part of a spear thrower

Medium of Head of a woman, Brassempouy

ivory

One of the oldest sculptures ever discovered

ivory statuette found in 1939 40,000 BCE Hohlenstein-Stadel Germany tusk of a woolly mammoth

early examples of corbeled vaulting

passage grave at Newgrange, Ireland

Medium and Materials of Human figure, from Ain Ghazal, Jordan

plaster painted and inlaid with bitumen White plaster built up over a core of reeds and twine, with black bitumen, a tar like substance, for the pupils of the eyes Some figures have painted clothing

The oldest African paintings were ..... objects

portable

Megalithic tombs, temples, houses, and henges of Europe are enduring testaments to the

rapidly developing intellectual powers of the Neolithic humans as well as to their capacity for heroic physical effort

Purpose of the statues found at Ain Ghazal

ritually buried

Types of stones found in Stonehenge

sarsen (a form of sandstone) "bluestones" (various volcanic rock)

stylistic characteristics of Head of a woman, Brassempouy

sculpture in the round, freestanding

characteristics of the "herd" in the Hall of Bulls in the cave at Lascaux

several different kinds of animals in various sizes moving in different directions colored silhouettes and outline drawings

How did the cave painters at Lascaux depict their animals, and why was this important?

showed bulls horns' from the front, not in profile, because the horns are a part of the concept of the bull

Most representative picture of the rapid and exciting transformation of human society and of art during the Neolithic period

temples found in Gobekli Tepe, Turkey

what appears to be the oldest stone temples

temples found in Gobekli Tepe, Turkey

Statues in the Old Stone Age

- Foot tall is very big for this time - Human with feline head - Sometimes they were composite (animal head/human body) - Important to the creators - Sculptors responded to the natural shape of the stone - Many statues did not have facial features - Sculptures in the round and relief sculptures - Artists usually painted stone sculptures

Subjects Represented, stylistic characteristics of Spotted horses and negative hand imprints, wall painting in the cave at Pech-Merle, France

- Horses with spots in and surrounding them (may indicate stones or signs rather than plain spots) Handprints line the paintings - One of the horses may have been inspired by the rock formation in the wall surface resembling a horse's head and neck

stylistic characteristics of Woman holding a bison horn, from Laussel, France

- Relief Sculpture - Example of open-air art in the Old Stone Age - She is holding a bison horn with 13 incised lines and her left arm draws attention to her belly, drawing attention to the pubic area (another indication this this type of Paleolithic art was homage to fertility) - Same bulbous body as the Venus of Willendorf, exaggerated breasts, abdomen, and hips - No head

Stylistic Characteristics of the Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria

- Sculpture in the round, freestanding - Exaggerated and Disproportionate anatomical features, cluster of ball-like shapes to represent stomach and breasts - No facial features - Has a mass of curly hair or hat woven from plant fibers - Tiny forearms and hands rest upon enormous breasts - Outline of the pubic triangle

function and significance of Aurochs, horses, and rhinoceroses, wall painting in the Chauvet Cave, Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France

- The date of the cave paintings are very controversial - If the murals are the oldest paintings known, they exhibit surprisingly advanced features, such as overlapping horns - Unexpected early date forced scholars to reevaluate the "stylistic development" from simple to more complex forms that historians of the Stone Age accepted for decades - The two rhinoceroses attacking each other suggested that the painter intended a narrative, another first for Paleolithic art

Subjects Represented, stylistic characteristics of Aurochs, horses, and rhinoceroses, wall painting in the Chauvet Cave, Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France`

- The painters depicted the horns of the aurochs (extinct long-horned wild oxen) naturalistically, one behind the other, not in a twisted perspective common for Paleolithic art - Two rhinoceroses in the lower right appear to be attacking one another, suggesting the painter intended a narrative

Stylistic Characteristics of Bison licking its flank, fragmentary spear-thrower, from La Madeleine, France

- This fragment of a spear-thrower was carved, the sculptor turned the bison's head a full 180 degrees to maintain the profile view and incised the details with a stone burin - Very detailed, with the incised lines for the mane, horns, eyes, nostrils, ear, mouth, tongue, and facial hair.

Hall of the Bulls in the cave at Lascaux, France: Function and significance

-Significant for its early date and its subject -Unusually large space and easily accessible -The representation of animals has a meaning, but it is not known -Perhaps the most impressive collection of Paleolithic animals paintings

Size of Spotted horses and negative hand imprints, wall painting in the cave at Pech-Merle, France

11' 2" long

Bison licking its flank, fragmentary spear-thrower, from La Madeleine, France Date Medium Materials and Size

12,000 BCE Reindeer horn, carved with a stone burin 4 ⅛" long

Rhinoceros, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, painting in the well of the cave at Lascaux, France -Date -Size -Medium -Location in cave

16,000-14,000 BCE 3' 4 ½" long Cave painting Deep in a well shaft

Later Paleolithic Dates and achievements

20,000 - 9,000 BCE Painters cover the walls and ceilings of caves at Altamira and Lascaux with profile representations of animals. Sculptors carve images of nude women on the walls of the cave at La Magdeleine

Date of Spotted horses and negative hand imprints, wall painting in the cave at Pech-Merle, France

23,000-22,000 BCE

Date of Head of a woman, Brassempouy

25,000-20,000 BCE

Date of Woman holding a bison horn, from Laussel, France

25,000-20,000 BCE

Date of Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria

28,000-25,000 BCE

Size of Human figure, from Ain Ghazal, Jordan

3' 5 3/8" high

Corbeled vault of the main chamber in the passage grave, Newgrange, Ireland Date

3,200-2,500 BCE

Date of Hagar Qim

3,200-2,500 BCE

Date of Aurochs, horses, and rhinoceroses, wall painting in the Chauvet Cave, Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France

30,000-28,000 BCE

When did the Paleolithic period or Old Stone Age begin?

40,000 BCE

Early Paleolithic Dates and achievements

40,000-20,000 BCE Hunter-gatherers create the first sculptures and paintings long before the invention of writing. The works range in scale from tiny figurines, such as the Venus of Willendorf, to life-size paintings and relief sculptures, such as the painted horses in the cave at Pech-Merle

Earliest known sculptures date to

40,000-30,000 bce

Date of the human with feline head from Hohenstein, Germany

40,000-35,000 BCE

Paleolithic Art (Old Stone Age Art) ca

40,000-9,000 BCE

Later Neolithic dates and achievements

5,000-2,300 BCE Neolithic builders in Ireland and Britain erect megalithic passage graves and henges. The stone temples of Malta incorporate sophisticated curved and rectilinear forms.

Date of Human figure, from Ain Ghazal, Jordan

6,750-6,250 BCE

Early Neolithic Dates and achievements

8,000 - 5,000 BCE In Anatolia and Mesopotamia, the earliest settled communities take shape and agriculture begins. Neolithic builders erect stone towers and fortification walls at Jericho. Sculptors fashion large-scale painted plaster human figures at Ain Ghazal. Painters depict coherent narratives and employ composite views for human figures at Çatal Höyük

Neolithic Art (New Stone Age Art) ca.

8,000-2,300 BCE

Mesolithic Dates

9,000 - 8,000 BCE

Houses in Ain Ghazal

Houses of irregularly shaped stones with plastered floors and walls painted red

how was the importance of hunting reflected in Catal Hoyuk

Importance of hunting as a food source was reflected in the wall paintings of the site's older decorated rooms, where hunting scenes predominate

Jericho Skulls

Jericho skulls constitute the earliest known "portrait gallery" but the artists intention was not portraiture in the modern sense Neolithic farmers who inhabited perhaps worshipped their dead as intercessors between the living and the world beyond May have believed the dead could exert power over the living and that they had to offer sacrifices to their ancestors to receive favorable treatment Skulls probably the focus of rites in honor of those ancestors

Setting for Hall of the Bulls in the cave at Lascaux, France

Large chamber, away from the cave entrance and mysteriously dark, has good acoustics, and would have provided an excellent setting for the kinds of rituals many archeologists assume took place in front of the paintings.

Local population in Europe during Neolithic times constructed...

Local populations constructed imposing monuments employing massive rough cut stones Size (some 17 feet high) and weight (as much as 50 tons) prompted the name megaliths

Materials of the human with feline head from Hohenstein, Germany

Made out of ivory from the tusk of a wooly mammoth Experts estimate that this large figurine required about 400 hours of skilled work

Subjects depicted on irregularly shaped cave surfaces

Many bison paintings cover bulging rock surfaces Many art historians have observed that bison and cattle appear almost exclusively on convex surfaces, whereas nearly all horses and hands are painted on concave surfaces

Hagar Qim Temple

Megalithic temple is one of many constructed on Malta between 3200 and 2500 BCE Maltese Builders

differences between the Paleolithic and Neolithic art as a result of social and environmental changes

Paleolithic peoples were very nomadic, therefore, many of their artwork is small and portable, except for the cave paintings. Socially, Paleolithic people relied heavily on animals as food sources and hunting was a major part of their life, which is why hunting and animals are the main focus of Paleolithic art. In Neolithic times, people began to settle down and organize into larger civilizations. As a result of their more permanent location, Neolithic art had a lot of megalithic stones that created sites that served many different purposes

Purpose of Stonehenge

Perhaps originally a site where Neolithic peoples cremated their dead In its latest phase, it seems it may have been a kind of astronomical observatory and a remarkably accurate solar calendar Recent theory, it also served as a center of healing that attracted the sick and dying from throughout the region

One of the earliest appearances of a man in Paleolithic art as opposed to a woman

Rhinoceros, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, painting in the well of the cave at Lascaux, France

One of the most perplexing paintings at Lascaux and perhaps all Paleolithic art

Rhinoceros, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, painting in the well of the cave at Lascaux, France

Stylistic Characteristics of the human with feline head from Hohenstein, Germany

Sculpture in the round, freestanding Represents a human (gender cannot be identified) with a feline (maybe lion) head

Why were sculptures created from ivory important in the Stone Age

Sculptures created from ivory were very important to those who created them, because it was a long and arduous process to carve the figures out of the ivory

Variety of Art of Old Stone Age

Shell necklaces, human and animal forms in ivory, clay, and stone, life-sized mural paintings and sculptures in caves

function and significance of Head of a woman, Brassempouy

Significant because it depicted the facial features of a woman, something that was uncommon for art of the time

What often accompanies pictures of animals

Signs consisting of checks, dots, squares, or other arrangements of lines often accompany pictures of animals

What suggests the Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria served as a fertility image?

The exaggerated female anatomy, the outlined pubic triangle, and the forearms resting over her breasts

The existence of the major settlement at Jericho and its advanced state by 7000 BCE, suggests that

The existence of the major settlement at Jericho and its advanced state by 7000 BCE, suggests that the development started long before

7000 BCE Jericho

the site was abandoned and inhabited my farmers Rectangular mud brick houses on stone foundations with plastered and painted floors and walls Several excavated buildings have contained statuettes or animals and women that seem to have served as shrines

Huge megaliths forming the vaulted passage and the dome are held in place by their

weight without mortar

What did the excavations at Gobekli Tepe in southern Turkey find?

what appears to be the oldest stone temples Dating back to around 9000 BCE With animal reliefs and t shaped pillars

Date of Reclining woman, La Magdeleine

12,000 BCE

Size and scale of the Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria

4.25 inches high

Species depicted in Stone Age Art

Bulls and horses were the most common depicted species, as well as woolly mammoth, and ibex

Maltese Builders

Erected their temples by piling carefully cut stone blocks in courses Builders employed a post and lintel system for doorways Two upright stones support a horizontal block

Transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic

Ice Age during the Paleolithic ended --Food gatherers Transitional Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) --Intensified food gathering and taming of the dogs Neolithic (New Stone Age) dawned ---Agriculture and livestock became major food sources First occured in Anatolia and Mesopotamia

If animals were painted lying down, what view were they in

If animal was lying down, view point was from above to maintain strict profile view

The earliest art, humankind consists almost exclusively of

women

Experts estimate that this large figurine required about 400 hours of skilled work

the human with feline head from Hohenstein, Germany

Found in 1939 in fragments

the human with feline head from Hohenstein, Germany

One of the oldest sculptures ever discovered

the human with feline head from Hohenstein, Germany

By the end of the fourth millenium, Neolithic civilization spread to

the most remote parts of Europe --Including far north, Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands --Far south as malta

Why did Old Stone Age painters and sculptors frequently and skillfully used the naturally irregular surfaces of caves

to give the illusion of real presence to their forms

Surviving texts from Mesopotamia and Egypt enable historians to

to name the figures and describe their role in religion in mythology

Medium, Materials, and Size of Aurochs, horses, and rhinoceroses, wall painting in the Chauvet Cave, Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France

wall paintings

most commonly depicted species of Paleolithic art

bulls and horses

Date of Painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain

13,000-11,000 BCE

What was the sizes of the the statues found at Ain Ghazal?

As much as 3 feet tall

Clay Statue Creation Process

Brought in clay, used both hands to shape the animal, smooth surfaces with spatula like tool, and fingers to shape details like eyes and mouth

Subjects represented - bison in Painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain

Bison -In profile, either standing or curled up on the ground (they are either dead or possibly giving birth). -To maintain the profile when the bison are curled up on the ground, the painter adopted a viewpoint from above the animal -The bison are outlined in black and seemed to be filled in with red ocher -The bison do not stand on a common ground line nor do they share a common orientation, suggesting that this is not a "group" of bison -The bison on the ceiling seem to float above the viewers head as separate images

This fragment of a spear-thrower was carved, the sculptor turned the bison's head a full 180 degrees to maintain the profile view and incised the details with a stone burin

Bison licking its flank, fragmentary spear-thrower, from La Madeleine, France

Site of flourishing Neolithic culture on the central Anatolian plain between 6500 and 5700 BCE

Catal Hoyuk

One of the first cave paintings to depict a narrative

Chauvet Cave Aurochs, horses, and rhinoceroses, wall painting

Medium for Statues in the Old Stone Age

Clay, ivory, antlers

One of the earliest examples of corbeled vaulting

Corbeled vault of the main chamber in the passage grave, Newgrange, Ireland

Date of the statues found at Ain Ghazal?

Datable to about 6500 BCE

House 1, Skara Brae

Date: ca. 3,100 - 2,500 BCE Materials & construction method: Stone laid on top of each other Function & significance: Shows how Neolithic civilization had spread even to remote parts of Europe, even north like Skara Brae

Chinese Horse Lascaux Subjects Represented

Depicts a running horse

Chinese Horse Lascaux Stylistic Characteristics

Depicts a running horse Engorged belly may indicate that it was pregnant Surrounded by what may be arrows or traps Outlined in black and partially filled in with brown pigment

What marks the beginning of large scape sculptures in Mesopotamia

Human figure, from Ain Ghazal, Jordan

Layout of Stonehenge

Final henge consists of concentric post and lintel circles Huge sarsen megaliths form the outer ring (almost 100 feet in diameter) Inside is a ring of bluestones and this ring encircles a horseshoe of trilithons (three-stone constructions) Five lintel topped pairs of the largest sarsens, each weighing 45 to 50 tons Standing apart to the east is the "heel stone" would have marked the point where the sun rose at the summer solstice

Central subjects of Neolithic paintings

Human themes and concerns and action scenes with humans dominating animals

function and significance of Spotted horses and negative hand imprints, wall painting in the cave at Pech-Merle, France

Furnish some insight into the reasons Paleolithic people chose subjects for specific places in a cave

How did Old Stone Age painters paint

Ground up charcoal and red and yellow ocher into powder, combined them with water and then used their fingers, or brushes from reeds, bristles, or twigs, or they may have used blowpipes of reed or hollow bone to spray pigments on out of reach surfaces. They would draw using charcoal and/or yellow and red ocher, unground.

How did the artists paint ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain?

Ground up charcoal and red and yellow ocher into powder, combined them with water and then used their fingers, or brushes from reeds, bristles, or twigs, or they may have used blowpipes of reed or hollow bone to spray pigments on out of reach surfaces. They would draw using charcoal and/or yellow and red ocher, unground.

Style of Deer Hunt Mural at Catal Hoyuk

Group of hunters, an organized hunting parts not a series of individual figures, is a rhythmic repetition of basic shapes

Level of architecture and sculptural sophistication seen on this isolated island at so early a date is extraordinary

Hagar Qim

Main chamber of the caves at Lascaux, what painting was there and what are the characteristics of the space?

Hall of the Bulls unusually large space easily accessible

What is perhaps the most impressive collection of Paleolithic animal paintings

Hall of the Bulls at the cave in Lascaux, France

What is mountain is thought to be depicted in the first landscape?

Hasan Dag

Statue made in the Old Stone Age that depicted female facial features

Head of a woman, Brassempouy

Henge is almost exclusive to

Henge, arrangement of megalithic stones in a circle often surrounded by a ditch is almost exclusively limited to Britain

What was important in Neolithic society

Honoring the dead was important in Neolithic society Passage graves in Newgrange, Ireland and similar graves in England, France, Spain, and Scandinavia attest to this

Function and Significance of Painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain

Incorporated animals depicted in different viewpoints to ensure the clear depiction of the animal was as complete and informative as possible

Site of a small village as early as the ninth millennium BCE, and the village went through a spectacular development around 8,000 BCE

Jericho

Who had the first known stone fortification to protect against nomads and what were the charactertistics

Jericho By 7500 BCE a wide rock-cut ditch and a 5 foot thick wall surrounded the town Set into the circuit wall (height of almost 13 feet) was a 30 foot tall tower constructed of roughly shaped stones laid without mortar Almost 33 feet in diameter at the base Inner stairway leading to its summit Tremendous technological achievement

Composite creatures with animal heads and human bodies (or vice versa) are common in the art of

Mesopotamia and Egypt

one of the earliest relief sculptures

Laussel Woman

What is extraordinary of the temples at Hagar Qim

Level of architecture and sculptural sophistication seen on this isolated island at so early a date is extraordinary

Medium and Materials of Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria

Limestone Traces of red ocher is found, suggesting it was painted

one of the oldest funerary monuments in Europe

Newgrange, Ireland date back to as early as 3200 BCE

Majority of statues represent

Majority of statues represent animals or human, but humans were almost always women

Handprints of Old Stone Age

Most handprints are negative (outline of the hand) while some are positive (full hand), these may served as signatures of cult or community members, but do serve a meaning

What did the temples found in Gobekli Tepe, Turkey show?

Most representative picture of the rapid and exciting transformation of human society and of art during the Neolithic period

houses in Jericho around 8000 BCE

Mud-brick houses sat on oval stone foundations and had roods of branches covered with earth

What age brought the birth of large scale sculptures

Neolithic New Stone Age

Jericho death beliefs and traditions

Neolithic farmers who inhabited perhaps worshipped their dead as intercessors between the living and the world beyond May have believed the dead could exert power over the living and that they had to offer sacrifices to their ancestors to receive favorable treatment Skulls probably the focus of rites in honor of those ancestors

How did Neolithic Technology spread

Neolithic technology spread gradually from Anatolia and Mesopotamia to Europe, where it continued longer in remote places - like Stonehenge in England

Site of the oldest megalithic structures and one of the most impressive

Newgrange, Ireland

Background of Painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain

No setting, no background, no indication of where the bison are, how they relate to one another, and the significance of them

One of the oldest and most famous Paleolithic female images

Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria

Most important era in the history of art

Old Stone Age, Paleolithic Period

Where were the oldest settled communities

Oldest settled communities were in the foothills of Antilebanon, Taurus, and Zagros mountains in present day Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran

What was found in the Apollo 11 cave?

seven fragments of painted stone plaques, including four or five recognizable images of animals one plaque depicts a striped beast approximate date of the charcoal is 23,000 BCE

function and significance of Woman holding a bison horn, from Laussel, France

One of the earliest relief sculptures found When discovered, it was part of a great stone block of 149 cubic feet, it stood in the open air in front of a Paleolithic rock shelter

Function and Significance of Rhinoceros, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, painting in the well of the cave at Lascaux, France

One of the most perplexing paintings at Lascaux and perhaps all Paleolithic art One of the earliest appearances of a man in Paleolithic art as opposed to a woman The position of the man at a tilt is ambiguous. It is unknown whether the man is wounded, dead, unharmed. Does the depiction of what is presumed to be a staff belong to the man, did he use it to wound the bison, is the bison wounded or does the outline of something hanging from his belly indicate something else? Which animal knocked the man down, if he is down on the ground? Are these images even related?

Function and significance of the Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria

One of the oldest and most famous Paleolithic female images Exaggerated female anatomy suggests this figurine served as fertility images The lack of feet and its small size suggests that it was meant to be portable

Function and Significance of the human with feline head from Hohenstein, Germany

One of the oldest sculptures ever discovered Not something that the artist could see and recreate, but he had to imagine it in his head and then create that image into a physical statue Testifies to a very early date of for the development of the human brain Foot tall is very big for this time - Human with feline head

What art originated in the Neolithic times

Originated: -weaving -metalworking -pottery -counting and recording with clay tokens

Medium and size of Woman holding a bison horn, from Laussel, France. How did the artist make it?

Painted Limestone Used a stone chisel to cut into the surface of a relatively flat rock Painted using red ocher 1' 6" high

How were the humans depicted in the Deer Hunt Mural at Catal Hoyuk?

Painter took care to distinguish important descriptive details (bows, arrows, and garments) Heads have clearly defined noses, mouths, chin, and hair -Composite View of Humans All heads placed in profile for the same reason Paleolithic painters chose profile view for animals Painted torso from the front, profile for head, legs, and arms Composite view describes what a human body is as opposed to how it appears from a particular viewpoint

New kind of civilization in the Neolithic period

People started to settle, domesticate plants and animals, went from hunters to farmers

Where is Stonehenge

Salisbury Plain in Southern England

In most cases, how do art historians determine species?

species is almost always uncertain

Oldest funerary grave in Europe takes the form of

Takes the form of a passage grave

Subjects depicted in the statues found at Ain Ghazal

rarely sculptors indicated gender

Stylistic characteristics of Reclining woman, La Magdeleine

relief sculpture

How were the statues found at Ain Ghazal created?

White plaster built up over a core of reeds and twine Black bitumen for the pupils of the eyes some have painted clothing

One of the earliest relief sculptures found

Woman holding a bison horn, from Laussel, France

What can artists learn by studying the Lascaux paintings and others like them?

a great deal about the working methods and conceptual principles of the worlds first artists

What does the ivory statuette from Hohlenstein-Stadel testify to?

a very early date for the development of the human brain the sculptor had to copy the statue from his imagination

Most famous cave painting

cave at Lascaux

Vast majority of Stone Age sculptures depict

either animals or humans

Where was the Chinese Horse Lascaux featured

featured in the Axial Gallery at the Lascaux caves

First Landscape

found at Catal Hoyuk Depicts a town with a volcano erupting in the back May represent a recurring phenomenon rather than a specific event Earliest preserved representation of nature without either humans or animals

function and significance of Reclining woman, La Magdeleine

most interesting depiction of nude women inside caves of the Old Stone Age

Scene of Rhinoceros, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, painting in the well of the cave at Lascaux, France

--At the left, and moving to the left, is a rhinoceros with two rows of three dots under its tail --At the right, a left-facing bison with less realistic proportions (probably the work of a different painter than the rhinoceros) (Bowels are hanging from the right side of the underbelly in a heavy coil, shows the bristling rage) --Between the two beasts, a man with a bird face (possibly representing a mask) with outstretched hands and only four fingers --The man is depicted at an angle, and with far less care than the two beasts (Has a prominent penis to ensure the viewer knew it's a male, position is ambiguous) --To the lower right of the man, is a spear with a bird on top of it

What scene is depicted in the first landscape?

--Foreground interpreted as a town with rectangular houses neatly laid out in rows --Behind the town appears to be a mountain with two peaks --Dots and line coming from the higher of the two cones may represent a volcano erupting --May represent a recurring phenomenon rather than a specific event

by 8000 BCE, what was the settlement in Jericho

-8000 BCE inhabitants established a new Neolithic settlement covering about 10 acres -Mud-brick houses sat on oval stone foundations and had roods of branches covered with earth -First known stone fortifications to protect against nomads

Restored view of Çatal Höyük, ca. 6000-5900 BCE Description

A water source is right outside of the buildings, the buildings appear to be several stories high with ladders to access the upper levels Has windows Seems to be made out of mud and maybe stone, with earthen roofs

Where was the earliest evidence of human recognition of pictorial images in the natural environment

Africa

How were women depicted in early stone age art

Almost always showed women nude, even though humans of that age are thought to have worn clothes anatomically exaggerated while others are depicted far more slender

Inside megalithic temple at Hagar Qim

Altars (identified it as a religious shrine) Several stone statues of headless nude women One standing and others seated

Where did the Neolithic Age first occur?

Anatolia and Mesopotamia

Civilization at Catal Hoyuk

Animal husbandry was well established but hunting played an important part in the early Neolithic economy

Function and Significance of Catal Hoyuk

Animal husbandry was well established, hunting continued to play an important part in the early Neolithic capital The importance of hunting as a food source is reflected in the wall paintings of the site's older decorated rooms, where hunting scenes predominate.

What is unique about the passage grave at Newgrange, Ireland

At winter solstice, the sun illuminates the passageway and burial chamber

Composite art in the Stone Age

Art depicting a cross between human and animal in the Stone Age has no indication of what the makers had in mind

Subjects represented, stylistic characteristics: Rhinoceros, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, painting in the well of the cave at Lascaux, France

At the left, and moving to the left, is a rhinoceros Two rows of three dots under its tail At the right, a left-facing bison with less realistic proportions (probably the work of a different painter than the rhinoceros) Bowels are hanging from the right side of the underbelly in a heavy coil, shows the bristling rage Between the two beasts, a man with a bird face (possibly representing a mask) with outstretched hands and only four fingers The man is depicted at an angle, and with far less care than the two beasts Has a prominent penis to ensure the viewer knew it's a male Position is ambiguous To the lower right of the man, is a spear with a bird on top of it

How did people around 7000 BCE in Jericho bury their dead?

Buried their dead beneath the floors of their houses with the craniums detached from their skeletons and their features reconstructed with plaster Subtly molded with inlaid seashells for eyes and painted hair Appearance is strikingly lifelike Jericho skulls constitute the earliest known "portrait gallery" but the artists intention was not portraiture in the modern sense Served ritualistic purposes

Why did the Bison licking its flank, fragmentary spear-thrower, from La Madeleine, France depict the animal the way it did?

Depicts the bison with its head turned and licking its flank, probably because the horn was not large enough to encompass the entire head

Why is the date of Aurochs, horses, and rhinoceroses, wall painting in the Chauvet Cave, Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France controversial

Radiocarbon dating of the charcoal in the black pigments showed that these wall paintings were thousands of years older than any previously discovered If the murals are the oldest paintings known, they exhibit surprisingly advanced features, such as overlapping horns

The most interesting depiction of nude women inside caves of the Old Stone Age

Reclining woman, La Magdeleine

Houses in Jericho around 7000 BCE

Rectangular mud brick houses on stone foundations with plastered and painted floors and walls Several excavated buildings have contained statuettes or animals and women that seem to have served as shrines

The appearance of what was invented in Neolithic times

Regular appearance of humans in murals at Catal Hoyuk and similar Neolithic examples Humans were not only singly but in large, coherent groups with a wide variety of poses, subjects, and settings

Catal Hoyuk was the site of

Site of flourishing Neolithic culture on the central Anatolian plain between 6500 and 5700 BCE

What was the comparison of the statues found at Ain Ghazal to those in the Paleolithic times

Size and sophisticated technique make these statuettes and busts tower of Paleolithic figurines

Size of Painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain

Standing bison 5' 2 ½" long

Variety of the statues found at Ain Ghazal

Statuettes, busts, some with two heads

Most famous megalithic monument in Europe

Stonehenge

Roles of Human Figures in Paleolithic Art

The exact roles of human figures cannot be determined because there is a lack of written information about the civilizations of the time and their intentions

What set the Deer Hunt Mural at Catal Hoyuk apart?

Style and concept set it apart from walls paintings the hunters of the Paleolithic period produced

Stylistic characteristics and function and significance of Human figure, from Ain Ghazal, Jordan

Stylistic characteristics: Plaster statuettes and busts Appear to have been ritually buried Function & significance: The dozens of large painted plaster statuettes (some with two heads and with details added in paint or inlaid with bitumen) found at Ain Ghazal are the earliest large-scale sculptures known Mark the beginning of large scale sculptures in Mesopotamia

Alters and several stone statues of headless nude women - one standing and the others seated - were also found

Temple at Hagar Qim

Remarkable sophisticated for its date, especially in the way the Neolithic builders incorporated both rectilinear and curved forms

Temple at Hagar Qim

The layout is especially noteworthy for the combination of rectilinear and curved forms, including multiple apses (semicircular recesses)

Temple at Hagar Qim

The stone fortifications at Jericho built around 7500 BCE testify to what?

Testimony to the Neolithic builders' ability to organize a significant workforce

Process of Carving Ivory

The ivory must first be cut from the dead animal but cutting into the tusk where it joined the head, then cut to the desired size and rub it with sandstone into its final shape. Finally, the carver used a sharp stone blade to shape the body, limbs, and head, and a stone burin (a pointed engraving tool) to incise (scratch or engrave) lines into the surfaces.

Why do art historians think Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria was meant to be portable?

The lack of feet and its small size suggests that it was meant to be portable

Characteristics of the passage graves at Newgrange, Ireland

Tomb with a long stone corridor leading to a burial chamber beneath a great tumulus Primitive dome over the main chamber Some mounds found here contain more than one passage grave Huge megaliths forming the vaulted passage and the dome are held in place by their own weight without mortar Incised spirals and other motifs decorate the walls

Size of the passage grave at Newgrange, Ireland

Tomb with a long stone corridor leading to a burial chamber beneath a great tumulus 280 feet in diameter and 44 feet tall Passageway is 62 feet long

one of the largest Paleolithic sculptures ever known

Two Bison reliefs in the cav at Le Tuc D'Audoubert

What was an important find at Ain Ghazal

Two caches containing three dozen plaster statues

Function of Cave Paintings

Unknown - no written records to use Maybe: - Bring beasts under control - Rituals and dances may be performed in front of murals to improve luck of hunters - Teaching tools to instruct young hunters (character of various species or target practice) - Assure survival of herd not destruction (but problem is these animals were not staples of diet) - Certain species represented deities, some animals associated with women and others with men *Meanings are unlikely universal*

Oldest and best known painted caves are

located in southern France and northern Spain Oldest paintings may be Chauvet Cave with date of 30,000 to 28,000 BCE but this is controversial

Why are the works of the earliest artists significant?

not just for their existence, but for their variety

What kind of art did Stone Age people employ?

open air art