Prehistoric Art

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Prehistoric Art
Introduction to Art August 31, 2009
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Overview

• There are small stone figurines and
  petroglyphs found all over the world, geoglyphs,
  megaliths, and last but not least, cave
  paintings.
• Humans began expressing themselves artistically
  as early as 40,000 BCE.
• Considering the lack of written records, art,
  then, is widely believed to provide the most
  substantial evidence for what these early humans
  were like.

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TheVenus

• Prehistoric Stone Figurines
• of the Female

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• Venus of
• Dolni Vestonice
• 29,000 - 25,000 BCE
• (Paleolithic)
• Ceramic
• Moravia, Czech Republic
• Worlds oldest ceramic
• piece

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• Venus of Hohl Fels
• 35,000 - 40,000 BCE (early Aurignacian, at the
  very beginning of the Upper Paleolithic)
• Wooly mammoth
• tusk
• Schelklingen,
• Germany
• Oldest example of
• prehistoric figurative
• art

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• Venus of Willendorf
• 24,000 - 22,000 BCE (Paleolithic)
• Oolithic limestone
• Willendorf, Austria
• Earliest discovered Venus figurine (1908)

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What do these figures symbolize?
Questions for consideration
Why a female figure? (Were these societies
matriachies as opposed to the patriarchy in which
we now live?)
What role would these figures have played in
daily life?
Based on these figurines, can we conclude
anything further about the cultures that created
them?
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CAVE PAINTING

• Changing gears to

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Cave of Altamira
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Altamira

• Northern Spain
• Paleolithic/Old Stone Age
• 16,000 - 12,000 BCE
• Charcoal and ochre/hematite

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ALTAMIRA

• Ceiling

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ALTAMIRA
Curled Bison

• Bison Profile

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Cave of Lascaux
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LASCAUX

• Southwestern France
• Paleolithic
• 14,000 BCE
• Various mineral pigments

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LASCAUX
The Great Hall of Bulls
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LASCAUX
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Cave of Chauvet
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Chauvet

• Southern France
• Aurignacian Era
• 30,000 - 28,000 BCE
• Worlds oldest cave paintings

Panel of the Felines, End Chamber
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Chauvet
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Chauvet
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Chauvet
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How has our view of animals shifted over time, if
it has at all?
The Significance of Cave Painting
What value did these animals have for early
humans?

• Questions for consideration

What else can we conclude about early humans
based on these images?
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FINISHED!