Chapter 1: preHistoric Art

True or false: we associate a nomadic, hunting and gathering life style with the Neolithic period.

FALSE

True or false: the invention of agriculture and domestication of animals occurred during the Paleolithic period.

FALSE.

What is the term for symbolic meaning and significance conveyed through subject matter, style, and form?

Iconography

Describe a cave painting using stylistic terms. Also describe methods used.

- Animals shown in profile, sometimes w/ a twisted perspective - Gardner's describe the style for depicting animals as "descriptive" + Descriptive: showing profiles, describes what we know of the subject. - Animals are depicted with greater naturalism than human forms;

Define "Prehistoric":

used for time before the invention of writing.

Neolithic Towns: Anatolia & Mesopotamia: Jericho, Catal Hoyuk, Gobekli Tepe.

1. Jericho; (West Bank, Palestinian territories): walls are first stone fortifications. Jericho skulls = "spirit trap"/ ancestor worship. = spiritual/religious beliefs. 2. Catal Hoyul; ( S. Turkey): lack of streets = defensive purposes. Shrines had symbols of female/male fecundity. Bovine skulls (bucrania) and horns = male virility; statuettes suggest female fertility. Paintings show humans in hunting scenes; first volcano erupting. 3. Ain Ghazal; (Jordan): plaster statuettes of human figures. Beginning of monumental sculpture. (3 feet) 4. Gobelki Tepe; (SE Turkey): oldest known stone shrine with T-shaped pillars and animal reliefs.

How would you define post and lintel construction?

A system of construction in which two posts support a lintel.

Describe Venus of Willdendorf, naturalistic or stylized/abstract?

Abstracted and stylized : lack of facial features, de-emphasis of the arms, hands, and feet, and exaggerated proportions of the breasts, belly, thighs.

How are the Neolithic towns of Jericho and Catal Hoyuk similar? How are they different?

Both towns show the need for fortification and defense. In both towns, people buried their dead ancestors under their homes' floors, showing a desire to remember ancestors and possibly belief in an afterlife. Jericho: skulls detached from bodies and buried. Catal Hoyuk: shrines, decorated w/ paintings.

Compare/defineL

Carving/Modeling: C: a technique of sculpture in which the artist cuts away material in order to create a statue/relief. M: the shaping or fashioning of 3 dimensional forms in a soft material, such as clay. Subtractive/Additive: S: sculpture technique in which materials are taken away from the original mass; carving. A: sculpture technique in which materials are built up or "added" to create a form. Sculpture in the round/ Relief Sculptures: SR: Freestanding figures, carved or modeled in 3 dimensions. RS: in sculpture, figures projecting from a background of which they are part. Degree of relief: High, low, sunken.

What major transition that took place during the Neolithic period?

Change from hunting and gathering to production of food and domestication of animals. Development of agriculture leads to the most revolutionary transformation of human existence = "civilization". Agriculture & first permanent settlements develop in the Ancient Near East.

What architecture develops in the Neolithic period in France and Great Britain?

Megalithic

Define these terms: a) menhir, b) dolmen, c) cromlech

Menhir: means "long stone": it refers to single upright stones erected alone or in rows. Dolmen: means "table": it refers to 2 or more vertical stones that support a large horizontal stone. Dolmens served as tombs or as passageways to underground tombs. Cromlech: means "circle": Stonehenge is the most famous example of a cromlech.

Explain the difference between naturalistic versus stylized/abstract.

Naturalistic: used interchangeably w/ realistic. N: representation is based closely on the real object, somewhat generalized, simplified/idealized. R: attention to detail; "warts & all". Stylized/Abstract: suggest exaggeration/simplification of features, or some form of distortion.

Neolithic period in Western Europe (4000 BCE-1500 BCE): Neolithic period occurs later in Western Europed. Megalithic (mega=large; lithic=stone) architecture develops.

Newgrange, Ireland: megalithic tomb with corbeled vaulting under a tumuls mound; passage graves decored with spirals and abstract motifs. Haqar, Qim: megalithic stone temple with courses of stones, post-and-lintel doors, altars, and circular apses in temples. Stonehenge, England: post-and-lintel stone circles built in several stages. Heel stone aligned with summer solstice. Sarsen stones and blue stones arranged in trilithons.

What are the 3 sub-periods of the Stone Age?

Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic.

What is a shaman? How is shamanism connected to cave paintings?

Shaman means "to know" or "to see", and shamanism is practiced in small scale, hunting and gathering societies. A shaman acts as an intermediary between the human and spirit realms and has supernatural powers.

Paleolithic Cave paintings in Southern France and Northern Spain.

The most important caves include those of Altimira, Spain, Lascaux, France, and the recently discovered Chauvet cave in France.

Mesolithic period (12,000-8,000 BCE.)

Transition from nomadic hunting and gathering. Dog domesticated. Ice glaciers recede and climate warms.