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Welcome to the Neolithic
Paleolithic art• jewelry, body decoration• manuports (small portable carved objects)• cave paintings
SHELL BEADSBlombos CaveSouth Africa
found in layer that is 77,000years old
traces of ochre on the beadssuggest either that:a) the beads were paintedORb) they were worn by someonewhose body was painted
ritual/ceremony?or, visualization?Cave of Altamira, Cantabria, Spain
Cave of AltamiraSantillana del MarCantabria, Spain
oldest layers are 35,000 years ago
http://en.museodealtamira.mcu.es/Prehistoria_y_Arte/la_cueva.htmlLearn more about the geology, history, archaeology and art of this site at this weblink (in English).
plan of Altamira with rough locations of the major drawings
"After Altamira, everything is decadence," —Pablo Picasso, after a visit to the cave
Aside from just trying to be a wiseass, why do think Picasso might have said this?
What did he see in these works that he thought had never been surpassed in Western art?
possible interpretations: I. decoration/beautification of dwelling placePROBLEM: no evidence of human habitation in these cavesThis suggests that these are special spaces, set apart from ordinarylife.II. church/cathedral/place of worship Animal spirits everywhere. Religious life populated by animals. LIMIT: No record of specific beliefs, rituals or ceremonies.
III. Is it possible that these are a visualization of the hunt? More like a coach sketchingout a play, trying to get a group to picture how they will execute a plan.
LIMIT: Animals do not appear in a unified, legible space. Different species at different ages and stages of life.
IV. Immersive visual environment? Like reality in that it depicts familiarspecies in realistic ways, but not like reality in that it is climate-controlled,protected and safe, allowing a virtual experience in place of an actual one.
Tim Noble & Sue WebsterMasters of the Universe1998 – 2000translucent resin, fiberglass, plastic and human hair;54 x 27 x 31 inches
Contemporary artists Tim Noble &Sue Webster ask: how much have we really changed since the Paleolithic?
“When humans first gave up the dangerous and uncertain life of the hunter and gatherer for the more
predictable and stable life of the farmer and herder, the change in human society was so significant that
historians justly have dubbed it the Neolithic Revolution.”
—Stephen S. Kleiner, Art: A Global History (2012)
“Neolithic Revolution” –the textbook view
“Besides malnutrition, starvation, and epidemic diseases, farming helped bring another curse upon humanity: deep class divisions. Hunter-gatherers have little or no stored food, and no concentrated food sources, like an orchard or a herd of cows: they live off the wild plants and animals they obtain each day. Therefore, there can be no kings, no class of social parasites who grow fat on food seized from others. Only in a farming population could a healthy, non-producing élite set itself above the disease-ridden masses.”
—Jared Diamond, “The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human
Race”
“Neolithic Revolution” –
alternative view
Jared DiamondGuns, Germs & Steel (2005)
The transition to food production in the Fertile Crescent begins around 8500 BC, not 18,500 or 28,500 BC.
Why not earlier?
• Before that time, hunting-gathering was more rewarding than food production because:• Wild mammals were still abundant (gazelles)• Wild cereals were not yet abundant• People had not yet developed technology
necessary for harvesting and storing grains (sickles with flint blades for harvest; baskets for carrying grain, mortars and pestles to remove the husks; technique of roasting grains so they could be stored without sprouting; plastered underground storage pits)
• Population density was low enough that people didn’t have to worry about extracting the maximum number of calories per acre.
Why did agriculture come first to the Fertile Crescent?
• Climate• Available suites of wild plants• Helped along by available suite of large
mammals suitable for domestication.• They yield milk and meat (important
food source)• They can pull a plow or wagon
(important for development of agriculture)• They can carry a rider (important
military use)
• Agriculture developed first in the Fertile Crescent:• Climate• Available suites of wild plants• Helped along by available suite of large mammals suitable for
domestication.
• This led to:• Dense population• Stored food surplus
• These in turn lead to:• More specialized, stratified societies• Kingdoms with armies (fed on stored grain)• Ability to conquer other territories (empire-building)• Cities with writing, culture, technology development• Dense populations are winnowed by disease, yielding
disease-resistant descendants
Diamond’s purpose is actually to understand why Europe dominated the world from the 16th-19th centuriesBut for right now, let’s think about his argument as it applies in
the initial context he discusses, Mesopotamian agricultural dominance (and consequently, military, political and religious dominance).
This is the later, Greek name for this area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which feed into the Persian Gulf.
It means “land between two rivers.” An alluvial floodplain, this area was perfect for agriculture (when not actually flooded!). Myths about floods abound in the Mesopotamian religions.
what is Mesopotamia?
Looking at the map, you can see that numerous towns and cities grew up in this rich agricultural area that yielded plenty of crops to sustain larger populations.
As Jared Diamond would predict, more intensive agriculture went hand in hand with population growth. Agricultural surplus was the basis for the first taxes, which went to the temple to provide offerings to the gods, and to the king to provide military protection.
A stratified society becomes possible. Most are farmers; a small elite serves as priests,
nobles, and kings.
Welcome to the Neolithic...• Beginning of AGRICULTURE: • Oldest communities near the Tigris & Euphrates rivers in
Mesopotamia. [part of modern day Syria/Iraq]• Neolithic innovations: systematic agriculture, weaving,
metalworking, pottery, and counting & recording with tokens.• Ain Ghazal• Catal Huyuk• Gobekli Tepe• Jericho
surplusconcentration of wealth in hands of a fewlarge expensive building projects to maintain and enhance elite power and prestige
The first cities, the first temples, the first fortresses came into being in Mesopotamia as well.
ancient walls of Jericho, c. 7000 BCE
Jericho archaeological site, outside modern city of Jerichowalls and tower date to 9,000 BCE
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Great stone tower built into the settlement wall, Jericho, ca. 8000–7000 BCE.
House with foundations and floor
Plaster patches are covering sub-floor burials
Ain Ghazal, near Amman, Jordan
early human settlementburials of family members underneath floors
A burial under the floor
Photo: G. Rollefson
4 adult male skulls placedFacing SW in a pit in a Courtyard
Skull on Right still retainsPlaster
Photo; G. Rollefson
Three plastered faces from Ain Ghazal. Photo Carol Grissom
Statue from Cache 1 (6,750+/- 80 BCEWoman showing her breasts
Statues from Cache 1. Photos from Ain Ghazal Institute
Statues from Cache 2 (6,570 +/- 110 BCE. Photos from Smithsonian Institute, Washington
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Human figure, from Ain Ghazal, Jordan, ca. 6750–6250 BCE. Plaster, painted and inlaid with bitumen, 3’ 5 3/8” high. Louvre, Paris.
• Plaster over a core of reeds and twine.
• Orange & black hair, clothing and some body painting.
Neolithic Art: Catal Hoyuk• City without streets: 7-5th mil BCE -- predetermined plan
– Twelve building levels excavated, thus revealing the development of a NEOLITHIC culture based on trade in obsidian.– Narrative Painting: Regular appearance of human figure.
• Composite view based on what presented the most information about the body segment.
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Deer hunt, detail of a wall painting from Level III, Çatal Höyük, Turkey, ca. 5750 BCE. Museum of Anatolian Civilization, Ankara.
Landscape with volcanic eruption (?), watercolor copy of a wall painting from Level VII, Çatal Höyük, Turkey, ca. 6150 BCE.
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temple site, Gobekli Tepe, c. 10,000 BCE
temple site, Gobekli Tepe, c. 9,000 BCErelief sculpture on massive T-shaped stone
temple site, Gobekli Tepe, c. 10,000 BCEcircle of stones
Catal Höyük (1-16), c. 7400 BCE
http://www.catalhoyuk.com/history.htmlhttp://www.catalhoyuk.com/news/wall_paintings_2011.html
surplustradedevelopment of writing
Large treasuries of grain and other agricultural products permitted trade with other nations for goods that could not be produced locally.
This stimulates the need for writing and accounting, which first arose in Mesopotamia, an agricultural powerhouse.
pre-cuneiform clay tablet, city of Ur, Sumeria4th millenium BCE
The priesthood commissioned valuable objects to be used in religious worship.
Kings tended instead to call for art that represented their likenesses and demonstrated their achievements.
surplusconcentration of wealth making of precious objects for the:
a) temple to be used in religious worship and b) king to represent his power and achievements prestige.
Many successive cultures came to power in this region. http://
www.mesopotamia.co.uk/menu.html
Among them were…SumeriansElamitesAkkadiansBabyloniansAssyriansneo-Sumeriansand neo-Babylonians!
Although there was a lot of complexity in terms of changing centers of power, changing rulers, and changing religious beliefs, these societies also had a great deal in common.
To keep things simple, we are going to look primarily at artifacts from the first culture to come into ascendance in the region, the Sumerians.
Mesopotamia, Sumeria, city of Uruklarge votive vase with sculptural relief
known as the “Warka Vase”, c. 3500 BCE
damaged, stolen, and subsequentlyreturned during the fall of Baghdad in 2003to NATO forces and the looting of the BaghdadMuseum
reconstruction drawing of the Warka Vase, showing the figures on each register
Mesopotamia, Sumerian,from the city of Urukfemale head, c. 3200 BCE(possibly the goddess Inannabased upon being found at the site of a temple in her honor)marble8 inches highalso known as the Lady of Warkaalso stolen in 2003 from the Baghdad Museum
view in profile
most likely this head was attached to a body made out of wood or other material
marble was used only for the front of the face
this picture of the “Lady of Warka” is included for scale
Mesopotamia, SumerianTwo worshippers, c. 2700 BCE, Baghdad Museum
Votive Figures, c. 2700 B.C.E. limestone;Square Temple in Eshnunna (Tell Asmar, Iraq).
model of the Ziggurat of Ur (proposed reconstruction) at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin
Mesopotamia, neo-Sumerian, Ziggurat of Ur, c. 2100 BCE
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/zigg/hd_zigg.htmhttp://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/ziggurats/explore/exp_set.html
plastered skulls
c.8500 BCE, Jericho c. 4000 BCE, Beisamun
Prehistoric (before the invention of writing)
Europe: France, Spain[Central Europe][China][India][Japan][Korea][Africa]
Paleolithic Multiple hominin speciesSimple stone toolsHunting-gathering
NeolithicHomo sapiensTransition to agricultureSettlements, food storage, stratification by wealth and profession, religion
