ANCIENT CAVE PAINTINGS

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ANCIENT CAVE PAINTINGS By Will - Grade 4
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The earliest known rock paintings are dated to
the Upper Paleolithic, 40,000 years ago, while
the earliest European cave paintings date to
32,000 years ago. The purpose of the cave
paintings is not known, and may never be.
Evidence suggests that they weren't merely
decorations of living areas, since the caves in
which they've been found don't have signs of
ongoing habitation.
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Also, they are often in areas of caves that
aren't easily accessed. Some theories hold that
they may have been a way of transmitting
information, while other theories ascribe them a
religious or ceremonial purpose.
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The most common themes in cave paintings are
large wild animals, such as bison, horses,
aurochs, and deer, and tracings of human hands.
Drawings of humans are rare and are usually
schematic rather than the more naturalistic
animal subjects.
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Lascaux in southwestern France, contains some of
the most well-known cave art, dating back to
somewhere between 15,000 and 13,000 BC. Altamira
(Spanish for 'high view') in Spain features
drawings and polychrome rock paintings of wild
mammals and human hands. It is located near the
town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria, Spain.
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At Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg, South Africa, now
thought to be some 3,000 years old, the paintings
by the San people who settled in the area some
8,000 years ago depict animals and humans, and
are thought to represent religious beliefs.
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Tibetan Sand Painting By Amanda - Grade 6
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Tibetan Buddhist sand paintings are usually made
of mandalas. In Tibetan, it is called
dul-tson-kyil-khor ("mandala of colored
powders").
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The sand is carefully placed on a large, flat
table. The construction process takes several
days, and the mandala is destroyed shortly after
its completion. This is done as a metaphor for
the impermanence of life.
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The mandala sand painting process begins with an
opening ceremony, during which the lamas, or
Tibetan priests, consecrate the site and call
forth the forces of goodness. This is done by
means of chanting, music, and mantra recitation.
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On the first day, the lamas begin by drawing an
outline of the mandala to be painted on a wooden
platform. The following days see the laying of
the colored sands, which is effected by pouring
the sand from traditional metal funnels called
chak-pur. Each monk holds a chak-pur in one hand,
while running a metal rod on its serrated
surface the vibration causes the sands to flow
like liquid.
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Mandalas are formed of a traditional iconography
that includes geometric shapes and a multitude of
ancient spiritual symbols, seed syllables, and
mantra. Mandalas are seen as sacred places which,
by their very presence in the world, remind a
viewer of the immanence of sanctity in the
Universe. The Buddhist purpose of a mandala is to
put an end to human suffering, attain
enlightenment and to attain a correct view of
reality.
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Native American Dream Catchers By Veronica -
Grade 4
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In Ojibwa (Chippewa) culture, a dreamcatcher
(asabikeshiinh, the inanimate form of the word
for "spider") is a handmade object based on a
willow hoop, on which is woven a loose net or
web. The dream catcher is then decorated with
personal and sacred items such as feathers and
beads.
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While dream catchers originated in the Ojibwa
Nation, they were later adopted a number of
different Nations. They came to be seen by some
as a symbol of unity, and as a general symbol of
identification with Native American cultures.
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One element of Native American dream catcher
relates to the tradition of the hoop, which is
held in the highest esteem, because it symbolized
strength and unity.
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Traditionally, the Ojibwa construct dream
catchers by tying sinew strands in a web around a
small round or tear-shaped frame. The resulting
"dream-catcher", hung above the bed, is then used
as a charm to protect sleeping children from
nightmares.
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Dream catchers are one of the most fascinating
traditions of Native Americans. The traditional
dream catcher was intended to protect the
sleeping individual from negative dreams, while
letting positive dreams through. The positive
dreams would slip through the hole in the center
of the dream catcher, and glide down the feathers
to the sleeping person below. The negative dreams
would get caught up in the web, and expire when
the first rays of the sun struck them.
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African Kente Cloth By Paola Grade 4
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Kente cloth, known locally as nwentoma, is a type
of fabric made of interwoven woven cloth strips
and is native to the country of Ghana, where it
was first developed in the 12th century.
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The "kente cloth" is of the Ashanti people. It is
a royal and sacred cloth worn only in times of
extreme importance. Kente was the cloth of kings.
Over time, the use of Kente became more
widespread, however its importance has remained
and it is held in high esteem in the Akan family
and the entire country of Ghana.
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In Ghana, Kente is made by the Ashanti people and
is the best known of all African textiles. Kente
comes from the word kenten, which means "basket."
The Asante peoples also refer to kente as
nwentoma or "woven cloth."
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The icon of African cultural heritage around the
world, Asante kente is identified by its
dazzling, multicolored patterns of bright colors,
geometric shapes and bold designs. Kente
characterized by weft designs woven into every
available block of plain weave is called
adweneasa. The Asante peoples of Ghana choose
kente cloths as much for their names as their
colors and patterns.
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Although the cloths are identified primarily by
the patterns found in the lengthwise (warp)
threads, there is often little correlation
between appearance and name. Names are derived
from several sources, including proverbs,
historical events, important chiefs, queen
mothers, and plants.
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Ancient Incan City of Machu Picchu By Ana
Grade 4
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Machu Picchu ("Old Peak") is a pre-Columbian Inca
site located at 7,970 ft above sea level on a
mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru.
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Often referred to as "The Lost City of the
Incas", Machu Picchu is probably the most
familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. It was built
around the year 1450 and abandoned a hundred
years later, at the time of the Spanish conquest
of the Inca Empire. Forgotten for centuries, it
was brought to worldwide attention in 1911 by
Hiram Bingham, an American historian.
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Machu Picchu was built in a classic Inca
architectural style of polished dry-stone walls.
The Incas were masters of this technique, called
ashlar, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit
together tightly without mortar. Many junctions
in the central city are so perfect that not even
a knife fits between the stones.
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The Incas never used the wheel in any practical
manner. How they moved and placed enormous blocks
of stones is a mystery, although the general
belief is that they used hundreds of men to push
the stones up inclined planes.
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The space is composed of 140 constructions
including temples, sanctuaries, parks and
residences. There are more than one hundred
flights of stone steps often completely carved
from a single block of granite and a great
number of water fountains, interconnected by
channels and water-drainages perforated in the
rock, designed for the original irrigation system.
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New Zealand Maori Art By Kaitlyn Grade 3
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Maori culture is a distinctive part of New
Zealand culture. With the growth of tourism and
exposure of haka to international audiences on TV
and at sporting competitions, Maori culture that
was previously observed only in social gatherings
with a significant Maori aspect, is increasingly
seen as fundamental to New Zealand culture as a
whole.
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The art of the Maori has its roots in Polynesia,
but the trunk and branches of the tree are in
Aotearoa (New Zealand). Maori art reflects the
environment of land, forest, and mountains.
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Maori art is an expression of the unity of all
things in the world. In the beginning there was
Te Kore (nothingness) out of this came Ranginui
(the sky) and Papatuanuku (the earth). Their
children, the gods were Tane, god of forests
Tangaroa, god of the sea Tawhirimatea, god of
winds Tumatuenga, god of war and men.
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Hei-tiki are usually made of pounamu (greenstone)
and worn around the neck. They are often
incorrectly referred to as tiki, a term that
actually refers to large human figures carved in
wood, and, also, small wooden carvings.
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It is sometimes assumed that every cut in a piece
of Maori carving must have a meaning, but in fact
probably much of it is purely decorative. It is
important to note that the figures in Maori
carving, with very rare exceptions, are not
religious. They do not represent idols, but
rather renowned ancestors of the tribe.