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The Earliest “Artists”Reading:Stokstad: 1-25
Range~77,000 BCE-1000 BCEPaleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods
Terms/Concepts:decorative impulse, framing devices, “Venuses,” sympathetic magic, composite pose, henge, post and lintel.
Monument List: 1-13, Ceiling with Bison,
Altamira Spain, Paleolithic, 12,500 BCE
1-7, Woman from Willendorf, Paleolithic, 24,000 BCE
1-11, Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux Cave, Paleolithic, 15,000 BCE
1-24, Jomon Vessel, Paleolithic, 12,000 BCE
1-21, Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, Neolithic, 2900- 1500 BCE
Looking Forward to…
Dreading…
Earliest Cultural Products
Hand Axe, Tanzania, 60,000 years ago
Inscribed Ocher, South Africa, 77,000 years agoI Perforated Shells,
South Africa, 75,000 years ago
“Characteristics” of Paleolithic
• Nomadic Lifestyle• Sustaining life through gathering plants and
hunting• Development of abstract thinking and basic
problem solving skills.
“Prehistoric art is _________, maybe…”
What we’re working with…
Mammoth Hut, excavation at Mezhirich, Ukraine Mammoth Hut, reconstruction at Mezhirich, Ukraine
Making “Venuses”
Willendorf, AustriaDolni Vestonice, Czech Republic Lespugue, France
Making “Venuses”
Willendorf, Austria
=
(view of cast of figurine)
Photographic simulation of what a six-months-pregnant 26-year-old Caucasian female of average weight sees when looking down while standing.
Woman from Willendorf (Austria). c.24,000 BCE. Limestone, height approx. 4”. Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna. (Stokstad 1-7)
Making “Venuses”
Willendorf, Austria
≠
Map of southwest Europe.
Altamira
• Discovered in 1879
Altamira
María, daughter of Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, who participated in discovery of paintings at Altamira in November 1879.
Altamira, Spain, 12,500 BCE
Major Theories about Cave Paintings
• “Art for Art’s Sake” (Picasso)
• Sympathetic Magic (Salomon Reinach/Abbe Henri Breuil)
• Symbolic Systems (Andre Leroi-Gourhan)
• Cross-Chronological Comparison (J.G. Frazer & David Lewis-Williams)
• Neuropsychological Model“Cave Opening Art” The New Yorker March 15, 1999
Lascaux
Map of Major Paintings
Lascaux, France
c.15,000 BCE
Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux, France, 15,000 BCE
“Bird-headed man with bison” Lascaux, France, c. 15,000 BCE,
Film still. Fantastic Mr. Fox. 2009. Directed by Wes Anderson. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
Chauvet
Chauvet, France, 32,000-30,000 BCE
George Stubbs. Whistlejacket. c.1762. Oil on canvas, 9’7” x 8’1”. National Gallery, London.
Wall painting with horses, rhinoceroses, and aurochs. Chauvet Cave. c.32,000-30,000 BCE. Paint on limestone. Approx. half life-size. (Stokstad 1-10)
Pech Merle
Pech Merle, France, 25,000-24,000 BCE (Horses), 15,000 BCE (Hands)
Chapel of Mammoths, Pech Merle, France , 15,000 BCE
Ceiling of the Archer, Pech Merle, France, 15,000 BCE
Enclosed Forms = Female Straight Lines = Male
Western Arnhem Land
“Rainbow Serpent,”Western Arnhem Land, Australia, 6000 BCE
Western Arnhem Land, Australia 2000-2002 CE
Jomon Culture, Japan, 12,000 BCE
Characteristics of Neolithic
• Widespread development of permanent settlements that lasted longer than a single generation.
• More care taken with burial.• Development of more permanent
architecture.• Development of trade networks.• Domestication of plants and animals.
Partial map of Prehistoric Europe and Near East.
Houses, Çatalhöyük, Turkey, c. 7400-6200
Reconstruction drawing of Çatalhöyük, with tending of goats.
Schematic reconstruction drawing of a section of Level VI. Çatalhöyük (Turkey). c.6000-5000 BCE. (related to Stokstad pages 14-15)
Reconstruction drawing of a house in Çatalhöyük. c.7400-6200 BCE. (illustrated on Stokstad page 15)
Landscape with volcanic eruption (?), from copy of wall painting at Çatalhöyük. c.6150 BCE.
View of Mt. Hasan (Hasan Dağ), Turkey.
Partial map of Prehistoric Europe and Near East.
Great stone tower built into the settlement wall
Jericho
c.8000-7000 BCE
Plastered Skull, Jericho, 7000-6000 BCE
Jericho Çatalhöyük
Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, 2900-1500 BCE
Post
Post
Lintel
Post Post
Lintel
24 F
eet
15 Feet 3 Feet
Each Stone = ~40-50 Tons
30 Megaliths, 60 Stones Total
start
end
Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, 2900-1500 BCE
figure 1 Labels: 1. Midsummer sunrise
2. Winter moonrise low point 3. Midwinter Sunrise 4. Southern moonrise (minimum) 5. Southern moonrise (maximum) 6. Midwinter sunset 7. Northern moonset (minimum) 8. Northern moonset (maximum) 9. Midsummer sunset 10. Winter moonrise high point
Critical Thinking Questions
1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the major theories about Paleolithic cave painting?
2. What are the major technological and artistic developments of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras?
3. What was the significance of calling female figures, such as the Woman from Willendorf, “Venus”?
4. How does the existence of Jomon pottery upset conventional theories about the role of pottery in human development?
5. What are some obstacles for archaeologists in interpreting prehistoric materials?
Inkshedding
• What material has left the biggest impression on you this week?
• What material do you still feel uncomfortable about?