Chapter 1

Prehistoric Art in Europe

Dating Conventions and Abbreviations

• B.C.=before ChristB.C.E.=before the Common Era

• A.D.=Anno Domini (in the year of our Lord)C.E.=Common Era

• c. or ca.= circa

• C.=century

Outline of Prehistoric Period

• Paleolithic– Lower– Middle – Upper

• Neolithic

Paleolithic Age• “Old Stone Age” - 2,500,000 – 10,000 BC

– Technological advancement from spear to bow/arrow = better hunting

• Appearance of Homo sapiens sapiens (-120,000)• Cro-Magnon Man

– Europe– Stone Ax = chop down trees & make boats– Hunting large animals required 4-5 “bands” of people

working together• Chief status for leader

– Cave Paintings

Homo Sapiens Sapiens

Shelter or Architecture?

Mammoth bone dwelling

from Ukraine

ca. 16,000-10,000 B.C.E.

Architecture of Mammoth-Bone Houses

Artifacts or Works of Art?

Lion-Human

from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany

ca. 30,000-26,000 B.C.E.mammoth ivory11 3/8 in. high

Sculpture• Oldest surviving art objects• Made from bone, ivory,

stone, or antlers• Either engraved (by incising

an outlined figure with a sharp tool), carved in deep relief or fully rounded three-dimension

• Lion-Human is half man, half beast

Female Figurines

Venus of Willendorffrom Willendorf, Austria

ca. 28,000-25,000 B.C.E.limestone4 1/4 in. high

“Venus” of WillendorfMost of the Upper

Paleolithic figures are female

Originally colored red

Exaggerated features - enormous breasts,

protruding belly & stylized round head

Probably a fertility symbol, symbolizing abundance

Woman of Lespugue

from cave of Les Rideaux, France

ca. 20,000 B.C.E.mammoth ivory5 3/4 in. high

Other Female Beauties

Various European “Venus” figures

Modern Exaggeration

The Meaning of Cave Paintings

• The first “paintings” were probably made 15,000 years ago

• Pictures of bison, deer, horses, cattle, mammoths & boars are in the most remote recesses of the caves, from the entrance

• Scholars proposed the social function of art lead to totemistic rites and increase ceremonies used to enhance fertility

The Meaning of Cave Paintings

• Archeologists speculate the animal images were meant to guarantee a successful hunt– Drawing a picture of it gave you power over it?– Sympathetic magic

• Artwork has been depicted with realistic features that enables scholars to identify animals

Chauvet Cave paintings

Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, Ardèche, 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

Not intended for long-term use?Used for rituals?

Lascaux Cave paintings

Lascaux, Dordogne, France

ca. 15,000-13,000 B.C.E.pigment on stone

Twisted Perspective – horns, eyes & hooves are shown as seen from the front, yet heads & bodies are rendered in profile

Prehistoric Art Tools

•Cave artists used charcoal to outline the walls; sometimes they incised the wall with sharp stones or charcoal sticks•The “paints” used were ground minerals like red & yellow ochre•The minerals were applied directly on the damp limestone walls

Altamira Cave paintings

Santander, Spain

ca. 12,000-11,000 B.C.E.pigment on stone

Bison Ceiling

Artists used the irregularities of the cave to create sculptural effects by painting over them

Neolithic Revolution

• End of Ice Age (100,000 – 8000 BCE) brought ability to search for new food

• Systemic Agriculture – Making the conscious decision to plant & grow food

• Domestication – Raising goats, sheep, pigs & cattle

• Development of permanent, year-round settlements (and eventually, civilization)

Skara Brae Architecture

• Neolithic settlement in northern Scotland

• 3100 and 2600 BCE• Corbeling – layers of

stones are piled on top of each other to form walls without mortar

Megalithic Architecture• “Large stone” (mega + lithos)• Powerful religious or political figures and beliefs was the

impetus for these massive building projects• 2 types:

– Dolmen – large, vertical stones with a covering slab like a giant table (mounded over with dirt to form a cairn)

– Menhir – single stone set on its end• Positioned:

– Henge – circular arrangement of stones– Alignment – in rows

Stonehenge

Salisury Plain, Wiltshire, England

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

Stonehenge: England’s First Rock Group

• Series of concentric circles & circular shapes

• Outer circle of 13 foot high gray sandstones, called sarsen stones, topped by a continuous lintel– They weigh up to 26 tons each!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DewEKz9TzmM

Built it and They Will Come?

How Did They Do That?!

• Lacked bronze or iron tools and, possibly, the wheel• Transported the stones by barge or sled

– Heel stone standing upright, weighs 35 tons and was brought in from 23 miles away

• Raising of the stones was done in stages by prying the ends up and inserting timber beneath– Added layer after layer and then removed the

elevated scaffolding

Banksy

Stonehenge Port-A-Potties

Glastonbury, England

2008metal and plastic

Jim Reinders

Carhenge

Alliance, Nebraska

1987metal

Could Coral Castle Provide an Answer?

Menhir alignments at Ménec,

Carnac, France

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

various Menhirs

Ireland, Scotland, England, France

Dolmens

Ireland, Scotland, England, France

Essential Questions

• What is prehistory? • What are the problems and challenges of

making meaning of prehistoric art?• How is prehistoric art useful in

understanding the human condition?