Paleolithic and Neolithic Art

History Timeline

Prehistoric Art

Paleolithic

“Old Stone Age”30, 000 BCE – 8, 000 BCE

Neolithic

“New Stone Age”8,000 BCE-5,000 BCE

“Hall of Bulls”Lascaux Caves, France

15,000 BCE – 13, 000 BCE

Neolithic Period (c. 8,000 – 5,000 BCE)

• Neolithic-from Greek words neo and lithos meaning “new” and “stone”.

NEOLITHIC means New Stone Age, and is characterized by:1. The domestication of plants and animals and2. The development of a sedentary lifestyle.

Our Neolithic Ancestors

•The greatest impact on the lives of the Neolithic people was the transition from hunters and gatherers to farmers.

•Domestication of animals

•Settlement into permanent villages.

Food

• Hunting from domesticated animals and birds

• Vegetables and fruit from farming

• Wheat and grains cultivated from farming.

• Now able to supply food for more people.

• Now able to have more free time.

Clothing

• Brightly coloured clothes made from dyed wool.

• Created jewelry from bones and stones.

Shelter

• Wooden and grass huts

• Stones built as shelters

Villages were established. Spaces were dedicated to family life, worship, commerce, and defensive

walls were built.

Occupation

• A wide variety of roles were becoming available.

• Some were farmers, others were clothes makers, potters, etc.

Religion

• Worshipped many gods and goddesses, however, strongly based on nature

Language

• Neolithic people didn’t have a written language. Instead they had an oral language- stories were passed down through generations.

Megaliths

More than 4,000 years ago, the people of the Neolithic period decided to build a massive stone monument or megalith using earth, timber and eventually, stones, placing it high on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England.

This megalith is known as Stonehenge.

Stonehenge

Salisbury Plain, England

3000 BCE and 1400 BCE

• Stonehenge was built over a 2,000 year period, and modern scientists are still attempting to figure out how these Neolithic people were able to erect such large stones without the use of machines.

• Stonehenge tells us that the Neolithic people knew a lot about architecture, mathematics and astrology.

Ariel View of Stonehenge

Neolithic Architecture

• Stonehenge demonstrates the first use of post and lintel construction. We still use this technique today in modern architecture.

• Post and lintel is a simple construction technique, also called "post and beam", where a horizontal member (the lintel) is supported by two vertical posts at either end. This very simple form is commonly used to support windows and doors.

post

lintel

How?

• Construction took place in three phases, over 25 generations. Most of it was the result of human muscle and a system of ropes and wooden levers used to transport the massive stones. Primitive tools, such as red deer antlers, were used to dig up the chalky countryside of Salisbury Plain, which was then taken away on ox shoulder blades.

An artists concept of how Stonehenge looked when

complete.

Built in 3 stages, Stonehenge is a kind of astrological observatory.

It was built of an earth-work trench and wall…then a ring of small stones placed flush to the ground encircling an inner ring that encircles a horse shoe configuration.

The Builders

• No one can say for sure who built the monument. Seventeenth century, English antiquarian, John Aubrey, implicated the Druids, a religious sect known to worship at modern day Stonehenge. But this theory is now considered implausible. The modern Druid, possibly formed from a Celtic priesthood, is believed to have come along 2,000 years after the stone monument had been built and perhaps was in ruin.

Why?

• Stonehenge is believed to have religious significance due to its many alignments to celestial events. (Primarily the rising and setting of the sun on the winter and summer solstice.)

Stonehenge Summer Solstice 1987.gvi

Stonehenge Summer Solstice 2004.gvi

What?

• The megalith, “Stonehenge”.

Where?

• Salisbury Plain, England

When?

• 3,000 BCE to 1,400 BCE, over a 2000 year period.

Who?

• Neolithic people, possibly the Celts or the Druids.

How?

• Using the post and lintel technique.

• A system of ropes, wooden levers and primitive tools were used to transport the massive stones.

• The Neolithic people had knowledge of architecture, mathematics and astrology.

Why?

• We don’t know for sure, however some theories suggest:

• For religious ceremonies

• An astronomical calendar

• Burial ground

History Timeline

Prehistoric Art

Paleolithic

“Old Stone Age”30, 000 BCE – 8, 000 BCE

Neolithic

“New Stone Age”8,000 BCE-5,000 BCE

“Hall of Bulls”Lascaux Caves, France

15,000 BCE – 13, 000 BCE

“Stonehenge”Salisbury Plain, England

3,000 BCE – 1,400 BCE

Moai, Easter Island, Chile

A.D. 1000–1100.

• Moai are statues of heads carved from volcanic rock on Easter Island, Chile.

• The statues are all monolithic, that is, carved in one piece.

Easter Island Rapa Nui Holiday video with music..gvi

• The largest moai erected, "Paro", was almost 10 metres (33 feet) high and weighed 75 tonnes. One unfinished sculpture has been found that would have been 21 metres (69 ft) tall and would have weighed about 270 tons.

How?

• It is not known exactly how the moai were moved but the process almost certainly required human energy, ropes, wooden sledges and/or rollers. Another theory is that the moai may have been "walked" by rocking them forward.

• We are still trying to figure out today how these statues were erected without modern equipment.

• In recent years, toppled moai have been found untouched and face-down. This led to the discovery that the famous deep eye sockets of the moai were designed to hold coral eyes. Replica eyes have been constructed and placed in some statues for photographs.

What?

• “Moai”, monolithic statues of people carved out of volcanic ash.

When?

• 1,000- 1,100 AD

Where?

• Easter Island, Chile.

How?

• Human energy, ropes, wooden sledges and/or rollers.

• Another theory is that the moai may have been "walked" by rocking them forward.

Who?

• The statues were carved by the Polynesian colonizers of the island beginning by about A.D. 1000–1100.

Why?

• In addition to representing deceased ancestors, the moai, once they were erect on ceremonial sites, may also have been regarded as the embodiment of powerful living chiefs.

History Timeline

Prehistoric Art

Paleolithic

“Old Stone Age”30, 000 BCE – 8, 000 BCE

Neolithic

“New Stone Age”8,000 BCE-5,000 BCE

“Hall of Bulls”Lascaux Caves, France

15,000 BCE – 13, 000 BCE

“Stonehenge”Salisbury Plain,

England

3,000 BCE – 1,400 BCE

“Moai”Easter Island,

Chile

1,000 – 1,100 AD