Unit 1: The Birth of Art Art before history

Prehistoric Europe and the Near East

Prehistoric Art Before written language Speculation of purpose No context To be classified artwork, it must be “modified by human intervention beyond mere selection”—what does that mean? First intentional art begins 30,000 B.C.E. Paleolithic*, Mesolithic, Neolithic*

Period Dates Paleolithic Art: c. 30,000 BCE- c.8,000 BCE Neolithic Art: c.8,000 BCE-c. 3,000 BCE Apply roughly to methods of gathering food Paleolithic: hunters and gatherers Neolithic: cultivated earth and raised livestock

Makapansgat pebble NOT art. Time, dedication, technique Makapansgat pebble NOT art. Time, dedication, technique. Recognition vs representation Figure 1-2 Waterworn pebble resembling a human face, from Makapansgat, South Africa, ca. 3,000,000 BCE. Reddish brown jasperite, approx. 2 3/8” wide. Figure 1-4 Human with feline head, from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany, ca. 30,000–28,000 BCE. Mammoth ivory, 11 5/8” high. Ulmer Museum, Ulm.

Paleolithic Art Paleo-“old” + Lithos-“stone”= Old Stone Age Stone Age Art not necessarily Cave Art Not just recognition but representation of subjects Variety

Characteristics Usual Subjects Animals-profile view, most informative Humans-usually nude females, males rare Material chosen influenced look of work Dates imprecise due to difficulty in dating Paleolithic work

Why did they make art? Mimetic Representation Decoration Need Possibly to control or appease natural forces Reference Teaching Communication Ritual/Sorcery Mimetic Representation Decoration Need Mimetic=imitation Memory images

Almost always an animal: bison, horse, woolly mammoth and ibex were the most common. Species here uncertain. Figure 1-3 Animal facing left, from the Apollo 11 Cave, Namibia, ca. 25,500 BCE. Charcoal on stone, 5” X 4 1/4”. State Museum of Namibia, Windhoek.

Originality-not a concern Namibian Plaques Portable art Purpose: Create convincing image Pictorial reference Originality-not a concern Found seven plaques. Named for the Apollo 11 spacecraft landing on the moon-discovered the same year 1969

The Earliest Sculpted Forms Majority of these are stylized depictions of nude women. Why women? 2 types of sculpted forms: Sculpture in the round—3D sculpture, can walk around it. Relief sculpture—2D sculpture, projects from a flat surface.

Figure 1-5 Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria, ca. 24,000 BCE. Limestone, 4 1/4” high. Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Venus of Willendorf Most famous “Venus” sculpture 4” Limestone/sculpture in the round Subtractive Anatomical exaggeration Large breasts Pubic triangle Represents female form, not specific woman “Venus” misleading term

Figure 1-6 Woman holding a bison horn, from Laussel, France, ca Figure 1-6 Woman holding a bison horn, from Laussel, France, ca. 25,000–20,000 BCE. Painted limestone, approx. 1’ 6” high. Musée d’Aquitaine, Bordeaux.

Figure 1-7 Two bison, reliefs in cave at Le Tuc d’Audoubert, France, ca. 15,000–10,000 BCE. Clay, each 2’ long.

Figure 1-8 Bison with turned head, fragmentary spearthrower, from La Madeleine, France, ca. 12,000 BCE. Reindeer horn, 4” long.

Cave Painting Paintings deep inside caves Used charcoal, red & yellow ochre to draw and paint Natural materials used for equipment Scaffolding/ledges used Music

Figure 1-9 Bison, detail of a painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain, ca. 12,000–11,000 BCE. Each bison 5’ long.

Bison, Altimira Cave Profile Standing Bison ground level Curled Bison aerial view No use of ground line Not herds, separate bison No location

Figure 1-10 Spotted horses and negative hand imprints, wall painting in the cave at Pech-Merle, France, ca. 22,000 BCE. 11’ 2” long.

Spotted Horses and Negative Hand Imprints Inspiration by rock formation? Need to “make a mark”

Lascaux Caves

White limestone Figure 1-11 Hall of the Bulls (left wall) in the cave at Lascaux, France, ca. 15,000–13,000 BCE. Largest bull 11’ 6” long.

Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux Large cavern inside decorated cave site Methods of drawing/painting suggest they were done at different times Outlines Colored Profile Twisted Perspective-body profile, head frontal Many species shown, not just bulls

First narrative Figure 1-13 Rhinoceros, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, painting in the well of the cave at Lascaux, France ca. 15,000 – 13,000 BCE. Bison 3’ 8” long.

Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine, c.14,000-7000 BCE, bone.

Camelid Sacrum in Shape of Canine From Tequixquiac, Mexico Bone sculpture from a camel-like animal Sacrum is the triangular bone at the base of spine Bone has been worked to create image of a dog or wolf- one natural form takes form of another

Carved to represent a mammal’s skull Mesoamerican idea that a sacrum is a “second skull” Doorway between worlds, fertility

Running Horned Woman, 6,000-4,000 BCE, rock painting, Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria

More than 15,000 drawings and engravings found at this site Some representational, some abstract Depicts livestock, wildlife, humans Dots may reflect body paint applied for ritual At one time the area was grasslands; climate changes have turned it into desert Algeria largest African country. Huge grouping of rock art that record climactic changes, animal migrations and other important evolutionary shifts.

Changes Preceding Neolithic Art 9000 BCE Ice Recession Mesolithic period transition Warmer Climate Humans Settled into dwellings Domesticated animals Grew plants

Focus Shift Food gathering to Food production Wanted more land “Sedentary Societies” led to craft work Weaving Pottery Metalwork

Beaker with Ibex Motifs Neolithic 4200-3500 BCE Made in Susa, located in Southwestern Iran Painted ceramic

Beaker with Ibex Motifs Found near a burial site Used a Potter’s wheel Walls of pot are thin Stylized depictions of aquatic birds, and running dogs with lean, elongated bodies Abstracted stylized motif with oversized horns Contains a clan symbol of family ownership (in middle of horns) -perhaps of deceased family member

Anthropomorphic Stele Neolithic 4000- 3000 BCE Sandstone

Anthropomorphic Stele One of the earliest known pieces from Arabia Found in an area with extensive mercantilism, and thus many trade routes Most likely in relation to religious or burial purposes Contains a belted robe, which has a hanging double bladed knife Anthropomorphic: Resembling Human form, but not itself Human 36” x 8”

Jade Cong Neolithic 3300-2200 BCE Jade

Jade Cong From Liangzhu, China Circular hole placed within a square Abstracted designs: face/deity or spirit Four corners carry mask-like images with a pronounced eyes and a fanged mouth

Material signifies wealth The Chinese believe Jade=durability & beauty Difficulty of material Placed in burial around bodies-some broken, some show signs of intentional burning

Stonehenge Neolithic 2500-1600 BCE Blue stone and sarsen stone

Barrows=burial grounds

Believed to be oriented towards the sunrise on the longest day of the year

Stonehenge Believed to have taken thousands of years to finish, due to each generation redeveloping it Ring of megaliths surrounding a ring of smaller stones surrounding a horseshoe of trilithons. Some stones are over 50 tons (100,000 lbs) Menhirs-large individual stones Henge is a circle of megaliths another theory: stonehenge was center of ceremonies of death and burial. Megaliths cut into rectangular shapes and used in henges.

Surrounding the main portion of Stonehenge lie hundreds of smaller stones, their purpose is unknown Some stones are thought to have been transported from 200 miles away

Post-and-lintel building with each lintel grooved in a place by the mortise-and-tenon system of construction Mortise and tenon, tongue in groove, post and lintel

The Ambum Stone Neolithic 1500 BCE greywacke

Stone age work-used stone to carve stone From Ambum Valley in Papua New Guinea Composite creature Ritual use? Importance of anteater Thought to be a pestle

The Ambum Stone e of Tlatilco Female Figures c. 1200- 900 BCE, ceramic background is greywacke

Tlatilco, Mexico well known for pottery Figures, animals, imaginary creatures, etc. Female figures show elaborate details of hair, clothing and body ornaments Many show deformities First evidence of congenital defects Shamanistic function possibility Recognizable style

Terra Cotta Fragment. Lapita culture, from the Solomon Islands, 1000 BCE, terra cotta.

Lapita known for their pottery Known for curved stamped patterns Outlined forms Shows one of the oldest faces in Oceanic art