Prehistoric Art

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Apollo 11 stones

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Form:
quartzite stones with charcoal drawings of flat animals
geometric designs
dark animals contrast light stone
4x5"
Time period:
Mesolithic Africa (Middle Stone Age) 25,000 years ago
animals = usual subject
hunter/gatherer society
shamanism
Function:
Ritual purpose: shamans draw bravery/ trait of supernatural animal to use
some of world's oldest works of art
Content:
animal figures with human legs added on probably later
Context:
found in Apollo 11 caves in Namibia @ time of Apollo 11 moon landing
probably were made about 25500 BCE (oldest representational art in Africa) and buried in these caves

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Terms in this set (10)

Apollo 11 stones

Camelid Sacrum in the shape of a canine

Form:
Symmetry
Natural patterns in bone → texture
Natural proportions and scale
carved bone
Nostrils carved from hip bone (sacrum) of camelid (abt= camel)
Function:
spiritual mask
house spiritual essence of a hunted animal
sacrum bone = soul? Reproduction?
Animism: animal spirit to empower artist w/ shaman for a good hunt
Content:
sacrum bone (hip bone) carved in shape of a canine/wolf
Context:
found in a tomb in Tequixquiac, Central Mexico (MesoAmerica)
14000-7000 BCE

Running Horned Woman

Characteristics
White paint used
Ground ochre + casein from cow/ acacia gum
Tools: pigment crayons, chewed sticks (bolder lines)
Loose pigment through hollow stones= larger areas
Human figures
Goddess = white paint (hard to come by)
Superimposed
No facial features
Humans = red ochre clay
Time Period
Neolithic (6000-4000 BCE)
Context
Hard to access (cave) in Algeria, N Afr
Content
Horned woman = goddess?
Ceremonial headgear?
Head's white pieces = wheat field w/ wheat falling (goddess is helping w harvest?), or rain, or clouds?
White dots on breasts, shoulders, and belly = body paint for ritual?
Goddess = Egyptian goddess Isis? (algeria = near egypt)
Characteristics
Profile view w/ twisted perspective
Vitality, broad thick outlines around softer color
Diff directions → Superimposed? Engravings = before painted and outlined
Techniques
Paint bound w/ animal fat
Stones→ pigment and applied to damp limestone
No brushes
Pads of moss/ hair
Blow through hollow bone (tube)
feathers/ fingers
Large flat bones ≈ palettes
Outlined w. Charcoal
Oil lamp burned w/ animal fat
Use of natural rock characteristics
Time Period
Paleolithic
hunters/ gatherers
animals
Context
1940: discovered, 1963: closed bc tracked in fungus/ CO2, 1983: Lascaux II (exact copy opened)
Negative handprints = signatures?
Content
Theories
Ensure good hunting?
Animal worship?
Narrative elements in stories?
Shamanism?
Cave ≠ shelter
Ceremonial purposes
Initiation rituals
Hunting ceremony

Beaker with Ibex Motifs

Form:
12''
painted terra cotta clay
Abstraction → geometric forms
Symmetry
Regular patterns
Stylized animals w/ most characteristic part of each animal exaggerated (e.g. bull's horn)
Handmade, very slow potter's wheel
Thin walls
Handpainted
Registers
Time Period:
Susa, Iran in 4200-3500 BCE
Neolithic
Agricultural herding
Both wild/ domesticated animals of an agricultural society
Settlements
Right before cities/ writing
Function:
funerary object (buried w/ someone of high status)
Content:
Cranes
dog
Ibex w/ family crest in the center

Anthropomorphic Stele

Characteristics
Abstraction into bold, linear lines
Geometric shapes
Headdress, double bladed dagger, belted robe
Carved sandstone
Time Period
Arabian Península, 4000 BCE
Herding, caravan trails, trade
Context
Grave marker
Destroyed post-Muslim (don't show human figure in religious context)