Midterm Ch 1 Art History

Salisbury Plain,

- a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering 300 square miles. -The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known landmarks.

menhir

(a tall upright stone of a kind erected in prehistoric times in western Europe) "Standing stone" standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large man-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found solely as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones.

Stonehenge,

-(Salisbury Plain in southern England) -A henge: is a circle of stones or posts, often surrounded by a ditch with built-up embankments. Laying out such circles with accuracy would have posted no particular problem. Architects likely relied on the human compass, a simple but effective surveying method that persisted well into modern terms. All that is required is a length of cord either cut or knotted to mark the desired radius of the circle. a person holding one end of the cord is stationed in the center; a coworker, holding the other end and keeping the cord taut, steps off the circle's circumference. By the time of Stonehenge's construction, cords and ropes were readily available. - Stonehenge is NOT the largest such circle from the Neolithic period, but it is one of the most complex, with eight different phases of construction and activity started in 3000 BCE during the Neolithic period, and stretching over a millennium and a half through the Bronze Age. -The site started as a cemetery of cremation burials marked by a circle of bluestones. It continued to function as a "domain of the dead". Between 2900 and 2600 BCE the bluestones were rearranged into an arc. Around 2500 BCE, a circle of sarsen stones (grey sandstone) was used to create the famous appliance we know of today. the bluestones were rearranged within the wardens. The center is dominated by horseshoe-shaped arrange, emts of.five flagstone trilithons.

cromlechs (England)

-A dolmen(Cromlech) is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more vertical megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (4000-3000 BCE) and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a tumulus. Small pad-stones may be wedged between the cap and supporting stones to achieve a level appearance.[1] In many instances, the covering has weathered away, leaving only the stone "skeleton" of the mound intact. They are generally all regarded as tombs or burial chambers, despite the absence of clear evidence for this. Human remains, sometimes accompanied by artifacts.

Lascaux

-best known cave paintings are fround in 1940 at Lascaux, in the Dordogne region of southern France. -They have been dated to15,000 B.C.E. -Opened to the public after WWII, the prehistoric "museum" at Lascaux became too popular. The visitors brought heat, humidity, exhaled carbon dioxide and other contaminants. The cave was closed to the public in 1963 so that conservators could battle an aggressive fugue. Eventually they won, but instead of reopening, the authorities created a facsimile of it. it was called LASCAUX II now hold copies of the paintings without harming the originals.

Hall of bulls -date 13 000B.C

-the Lascaux painters depicted cows, bulls, horses, and deer along the natural ledges of a smooth white limestone rock of the ceiling and upper wall meets a rougher surface. -they also utilized the curving wall the suggest space -the animals appear singly, in rows, face to face, tail to tail and painted on top of another. -Most characteristic features have been emphasized. -COMPOSITE POSE: Horns, eyes, and hooves are seen from the front, heads & bodies are rendered in profile. -animals are full of life and energy, and the accuracy in the drawings of their outlines is remarkable.

megaliths

a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. The word megalithic describes structures made of such large stones without the use of mortar or concrete, representing periods of prehistory characterised by such constructions. For later periods, the word monolith, with an overlapping meaning, is more likely to be used.

trilithons

a structure consisting of two large vertical stones (posts) supporting a third stone set horizontally across the top (lintel). It is commonly used in the context of megalithic monuments.