Chapter 1 Key Terms/Places/ Names
 Paleolithic
ochre
 Altamira
Pigment
 Lascaux
Dolmen
 Chauvet
Cromlech
 Modeling
Menhir
 Naturalism
 Neolithic
 Megaliths
Paleolithic Art
PREHISTORIC ART
-Greek meaning Paleos“old”
Lithos-Stone
 Outstanding Feature-Development of the human species Homeo
Sapiens
 1.People were generally nomadic; Hunters and gatherers who
sheltered in caves & huts, used fire and fashioned stone tools.
 2. By the upper Paleolithic there is evidence of communal hunting,
constructing of shelters, and belief systems centering on magic &
supernatural
 3.Cave iconography is limited to 3 basic themes:

a. Animals

b. Human representations

c. Signs or Symbols
CHAUVET CAVE
FRANCE
Discovered in 1994-The scenes portrayed from 35,000 years
ago
 1.Earliest known cave art
 2. Scientists at first believed the more primitive the picture the older
it was; Chauvet had very developed drawings so therefore they
thought it was more recent
 3. At first it was thought that it was more recent of the cave art as in
comparison to Altimira or Lescaux caves. Carbon Dating dated it as
oldest of the 3 caves.
 Different animals depicted are rhinoceroses, lions, and bears. Most
of the animals depicted were the animals hunted
The dominant animals throughout the cave are lions, mammoths, and
rhinoceroses. From the archaeological record, it is clear that these animals
were rarely hunted; the images are thus not simple depictions of daily life at
the time they were made.
Along with cave bears (which were larger than grizzly bears), the lions,
mammoths, and rhinos account for 63 percent of the identified animals, a
huge percentage compared to later periods of cave art. Horses, bison, ibex
(goat), reindeer, red deer, aurochs(oxen), musk-oxen, panther, and owl are
also represented.
Lions Hunting Bison- Main Panel at the end of the chamber. Note Panel is scraped repeatedly, artist making his own white canvas. Makes the lions muzzle
stand out more
Injured Bison– Red ochre and black carbon-Naturalistic shape
Mysterious Geometric shapes on rock hanging from the ceiling; could be interpreted as birds or
butterflies
Panel of Panther and Hyena w/dots
Owl drawn with finger-Head is turned 180 degrees-Body shown from the back allows
Bear in red ochre-Note shading on the muzzle and head of the bear
LASCAUX CAVE
FRANCE
Lescaux Cave discovered in 1940
Images are 20,000 years old
 Painted Galleries-figures cover the entire
upper reaches of the walls & surface of the
vault
http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/?lng=en#/en/00.xml
Wounded man and Bison-Perhaps the most perplexing painting in all the Paleolithic caves shows a man, a rhinoceros, and a wounded Bison.
Researchers can be sure of nothing, but if the figures were place besides each other to tell a story, there is evidence for the creation of
complex narrative compositions involving humans and animals at a much earlier date than previously imagined.
Hall of Bulls 15,000-13,000 BCELargest Bull is approx. 11’ 6” long
Altamira Cave
Spain
Altamira Cave located in
Spain was discovered in
1879-17,000 yrs old
Paleolithic Carvings
Statuette carved from mammoth ivory of a human with a feline head
Vogelherd Cave- dates back 30,000-36,000 yrs ago Carved from mammoth ivory
Height 2” small hole located in the front legs suggest it might have been worn as a
pendant
Spearthrower with Interlocking Ibexes- Medium is reindeer antler
Dame a la Capuche (Woman from Brassempouv) Medium Ivory 1 ½” 22,000 BCE
Woman of Willendorf (Venus of Willendorf) 28,ooo-25,000 BCE Limestone Height 4 1/8”
NEOLITHIC ART
Neolithic or New Stone Age- dating from 8000 BCE in the
Near East and about 5,000 BCE in Europe
 1.Neolithic People started to settle down in permanent villages and
began cultivation of regular food sources and the maintenance of
herds of domesticated animals.
 2. Pottery, weaving, spinning as well as architecture of stone, mud
bricks, and timber, contributed to a new mode of life.
Neolithic plastered skull of Jericho- 7,000 BCE Life-size The inhabitants of Jericho buried their dead
beneath the floors of their homes with the skulls reconstructed with tinted plaster, displayed above the
ground. This practice suggests a respect for the dead and possible ancestor worship
Jericho was heavily fortified with walls 5 feet thick and over 13 feet high, and surrounded by a wide ditch.
Several towers were constructed in the wall, measuring 28 feet tall and 33 feet in diameter at the base with
a staircase to the summit of the tower
Human figures Ain Ghazal Jordan 6750 BCE-6250BCE Height of larger figure 33” 1st known large-scale sculptures Plaster
around tightly tied reeds. Probably added wigs and clothing later…thought they might represent ancestors
Female Ceramic figure Cernavoda Romania 3500BCE Very linear form , found in a tomb may represent the man or woman
or perhaps they were gifts that had a separate purpose before burial
Male figure, Cernavoda, Romania “The Thinker”
Artist
Auguste
Rodin
Year
1902
Menhirs, dolmens, and cromlechs appear in the
Neolithic period. While Menhirs and dolmens were
used to mark burial sites, cromlechs often
suggested
a ritual function. The most famous
 1.
cromlech in Britain is Stonehenge
Menhir alignments at Menec, Carnac, France 4250-3750 BCE Menhir from Breton words meaning
“long stone” Menhirs are always placed in horizontal alignments; There are 2,935 menhirs
Dolmens
Dolmens is a type of single chamber, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of 3 or more
upright stones, supporting a large flat horizontal flat stone. Dolmens were usually covered
w/ earth or smaller stones to form a barrow though in many cases they have weathered
away.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7322444.stm
Timeline Stonehenge
First the Henge was dug- Construction of the Henge In its day, the construction of Stonehenge
was an impressive engineering feat, requiring commitment, time and vast amounts of manual
labor. In its first phase, Stonehenge was a large earthwork; a bank and ditch arrangement called
a henge, constructed approximately 5,000 years ago. It is believed that the ditch was dug with
tools made from the antlers of red deer and, possibly, wood. The underlying chalk was loosened
with picks and shoveled with the shoulder blades of cattle. It was then loaded into baskets and
carried away.
The Bluestones- About 2,000 BC, the first stone circle (which is now the inner circle),
comprised of small bluestones, was set up, but abandoned before completion. The stones
used in that first circle are believed to be from the Prescelly Mountains, located roughly 240
miles away, at the southwestern tip of Wales. The bluestones weigh up to 4 tons each and
about 80 stones were used, in all. Given the distance they had to travel, this presented quite a
transportation problem.
Sarsen Circle: 30 stones (made of Sarsen sandstone), 13 feet high, 26 tons each. Circle = 97.5
feet in diameter..
Within the Sarsen Circle are 15 large stones in five groups called Trilithons, arranged in a
horseshoe shape that opens toward the Heel Stone. Each Trilithon is composed of three 50-ton
stones about 20-25 feet high; two positioned vertically, with the other lying horizontally across the
top. Many have fallen, and several other sets of small stones (not shown) were added later.
Cromlech- 4 phases of construction -Stonehenge 2100BCE Wiltshire, England
Diagram of original arrangements of stones at Stonehenge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQG6IWNUAms
Moving the stones
Catal Huyuk
Catal Hayuk-Turkey Turkish for “fork” Mound
 Discovered in 1958 Entire settlement is composed of
domestic buildings. Buildings were crammed together;
no footpaths or streets. Most houses accessed by holes in
the ceiling which were accessed by ladders or stairs.
Roofs were “streets” No walls for protection needed
since the houses were so close together
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Chapter 2 Terms
Mesopotamia
Cuneiform
Ziggurat
Orthostats
Hieratic scale
Cylinder seals
Frontality
Buttresses
Lamassu
Ground line
Stele
Registers
Rhyton