Global Prehistory Content Area One

Guiding Questions Why make art when, in the prehistoric world, there are so many more important things to do? What aspects of prehistoric art have continued through the ages? What possible meanings might prehistoric art have had for its original audience, and how do those contrast with the meanings prehistoric works have for audiences today?

The Ancients portray the world around them How are groups of people shaped by their relationships with the natural world? How is that expressed through art? How have artists adapted human and animal forms to depict both natural and supernatural beings?

1. Apollo 11 Stones. Namibia. C. 25,500-25300 BCE 1. Apollo 11 Stones. Namibia. C. 25,500-25300 BCE. Charcoal on stone, 4 ½” x 5”

9. The Ambum Stone. Ambum Valley, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea. C 9. The Ambum Stone. Ambum Valley, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea. C. 1500 BCE. Greywacke. 10”

1. Apollo 11 Stones. Namibia. C. 25,500-25300 BCE. Charcoal on stone

2. Great Hall of the Bulls. Lascaux, France. Paleolithic Europe 2. Great Hall of the Bulls. Lascaux, France. Paleolithic Europe. 15,000–13,000 B.C.E. Rock painting. Largest bull is 11’6” long

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.

Figure 1-12 Aurochs, horses, and rhinoceroses, wall painting in Chauvet Cave, Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, France, ca. 30,000–28,000 or ca. 15,000–13,000 BCE.

Figure 1-12 horses, wall painting in Chauvet Cave, Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, France, ca. 30,000–28,000 or ca. 15,000–13,000 BCE.

3. Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine. Tequixquiac, central Mexico. 14,000–7000 B.C.E. Bone.

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.

Swimming Reindeer, Ivory, 11,000 BCE. British Museum

5. Bushel with ibex motifs. Susa, Iran. 4200–3500 B. C. E 5. Bushel with ibex motifs. Susa, Iran. 4200–3500 B.C.E. Painted terra cotta, 11 ½”high.

The Ancients portray themselves Or, do they?

4. Running horned woman. Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria. 6000–4000 B. C. E 4. Running horned woman. Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria. 6000–4000 B.C.E. Pigment on rock.

6. Anthropomorphic stele. Arabian Peninsula. Fourth millennium B. C. E 6. Anthropomorphic stele. Arabian Peninsula. Fourth millennium B.C.E. Sandstone.

6. Anthropomorphic stele. Arabian Peninsula. Fourth millennium B. C. E 6. Anthropomorphic stele. Arabian Peninsula. Fourth millennium B.C.E. Sandstone.

7. Jade cong. Liangzhu, China. 3300–2200 B. C. E 7. Jade cong. Liangzhu, China. 3300–2200 B.C.E. Carved jade, 1 1/3” high x 5 ½” wide.

10. Tlatilco female figurine. Central Mexico, site of Tlatilco 10. Tlatilco female figurine. Central Mexico, site of Tlatilco. 1200–900 B.C.E. Ceramic.

11. Terra cotta fragment. Lapita. Solomon Islands, Reef Islands. 1000 B.C.E. Terra cotta (incised).

The ancients build http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/stonehenge/index.php

8. Stonehenge. Wiltshire, UK. Neolithic Europe. c. 2500–1600 B. C. E 8. Stonehenge. Wiltshire, UK. Neolithic Europe. c. 2500–1600 B.C.E. Sandstone.

Standing with Stones preview 1:53 http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/stonehenge/construction.php Standing with Stones preview 1:53 “Secrets of Stonehenge” 1:34

Stonehenge