Prehistoric Art

Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) 40,000 BCE – 8,000(Near East) or 4,000 (Europe)BCE

Neolithic (New Stone Age)8,000 (Near East) or 4,000 (Europe)BCE – 2,000 (Europe)or 3,000

(Near East) BCE

Prehistoric Culture

Paleolithic • 40,000 BCE – approx. 4,000 BCE• Hunter-gathers• Nomadic

Neolithic• approx. 4,000 BCE – 2,000 BCE• Cultivation/livestock• Organized settlements / division of labor

Paleolithic SculptureWoman of Willendorf (Venus of Willendorf), c. 28,000-21,000 BCE, limestone.

•May have been a fertility symbol•Reproductive organs emphasized •Lack of emphasis on arms and legs•No feet – was not meant to stand•Approx. 4” tall•Portable•No facial features / hair in clumps around head•Traces of paint on head

Paleolithic SculptureLion-Human, Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany, c. 30,000-26,000 BCE, mammoth ivory

Paleolithic SculptureWoman from Ostrava Petrkovice, Czech Republic, c. 23,000 BCE, hematite, 1 ¾”

Neolithic SculptureFigures of a woman and a man, Cernavoda, Romania, 3500 BCE,

ceramic

Paleolithic PaintingCave Paintings of Lascaux, 15,000-13,000 BCE, Dordogne, France

• It is believed that paleolithic people did not live in caves, but may have sought shelter near the mouths of caves

• Charcoal, iron ore and plants mixed with animal fat to make paints

• Overlapping figures• Animal figures painted deep inside

caves• Bodies in profile• Cows, bulls, horses , deer are

common in 650 drawings• Animals were naturalistic, while

humans were mostly stick figures• May have been used ensure a

successful hunt or as ancestral animal worship

Neolithic ArchitectureStonehenge, c.2100 BCE, Wiltshire, England

• Post-and-lintel construction• May have been oriented toward

sunrise on the summer solstice (longest day of the year)

• Might have been used to predict eclipses

• Large megaliths in the center form a horseshoe around a flat stone

• Megaliths (originally topped with lintels) encircle the central horseshow

• Some stones are from 200 miles away

• May have taken 1,000 years to build

Neolithic Domestic ArchitectureHouse Interior, Skara Brae, Orkney Islands, Scotland. C.3100-2600 BCE

Architectural Elements

Important Terminology

• Cromlech• Megalith• Menhir• Mortise-and-tendon• Post-and-lintel• Archaeology