AP Art History – UNIT ONE
Prehistory - “The Birth of Art”
“Cave Conjecture”
-Site of “caves” of much Paleolithic Art as well as the lack of documentation, and thus
“conjecture.”
Key Concepts:
-Nonverbal history; Nomadic lifestyle and its effects on making art; Accessible tools and
materials; Western vs. non-Western Paleolithic/Mesolithic/Neolithic artworks;
Agriculture’s effect on art; women of prehistory.
Date
Wed. 8/6
Topic
Prehistoric Art
(Paleolithic, Mesolithic,
Neolithic)
Thurs. 8/7
Works of Art
Paintings
 Hall of Bulls (Lascaux, France)
 Bison (Altimira, Spain)
Sculpture
 Venus of Willendorf (Austria)
 Woman from Brassempouy (France)
Architecture
 Stonehenge (England)
 Skara Brae (Scotland)
Practice Essays
Vocabulary: (14)
Archaeology; Cairn; Capstones; Corbeling; Cromlech; Dolmen; Henge; Megalith;
Menhir; Mortise-and-tenon; Passage Grave; Prehistory; Post-and-lintel construction;
Relative dating
Additional Resources:
 http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/s/stoneage.html
 www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/index.html (Hall of Bulls)
 witcombe.sbc.edu/willendorfdiscovery.html (Woman from Willendorf)
Other things to consider:
 What changes occurred between the Paleolithic (‘Old Stone Age’) to the Neolithic
(‘New Stone Age’) period?
 Explain why calling a prehistoric figure a “woman” instead of “Venus” frees us to
think about the object in a new and different ways.
 What evidence is there that some megalithic monuments, such as Stonehenge,
may have had a relationship to celestial events in the calendar?