Prehistoric Art

Paleolithic

Paleolithic

Warty Pig (Period)

Warty Pig

Paleolithic

Chauvet Cave Wall Paintings (Period)

Chauvet Cave Wall Paintings

Paleolithic

Nude Female Figurine (Period)

Nude Female Figurine

Neolithic

Catal Hoyuk (Period)

Catal Hoyuk

Neolithic

Landscape Mural of Catal Hoyuk (Period)

Landscape Mural of Catal Hoyuk

Neolithic

Stonehenge (Period)

Stonehenge

Prehistoric

Relating to or denoting the period before written records

Paleolithic / Old Stone Age

Relating to or denoting the early phases of the Stone Age when primitive stone implements were used

Ocher

An earthly usually red or yellow and often impure iron ore used as coloring matter

Figurine

Small statue representing one or more people or animals or sometimes a religious deity

Mobility Art

Small, movable objects found at Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites were carved, engraved, painted, or perforated.

Parietal Art

Cave art; ceremonial purposes rather than as shelter because no remnants of other items

Composite Creature

Figure that is made up of multiple parts from different animals, humans, or other beings.

Incising

Mark or decorate with a cut or a series of cuts

Megaliths

Very large usually rough stone used in prehistoric cultures as a monument or building block

Relief

Figurines are raised from a flat background, usually a wall.

Sculpture in the Round

Three-dimensional sculpture that is freestanding and can be viewed from all sides

Henge

Prehistoric monument consisting of a circle of stone or wooden uprights

Neolithic / New Stone Age

Relating to or denoting the later part of the Stone Age, when ground or polished stone weapons and implements prevailed; beginning of a settled human lifestyle

Twisted Perspective

Drawing technique that depicts a figure in mostly profile but with a portion of the body facing the viewer

Sympathetic Magic

Prehistoric people believed their artistic representations could directly influence real-world events

Fertility

The ability to conceive children or young

Ideal

A standard of perfection, beauty, or excellence.

Ritual

A religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order

Hunter-gatherer

A member of a nomadic people who live chiefly by hunting, fishing, and harvesting wild food.

Nomadic

Anything that involves moving around a lot

Animal Husbandry

Controlled cultivation, management, and production of domestic animals, including improvement of the qualities considered desirable by humans using breeding.

Agriculture

The science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.

Visual Analysis

Method of understand art by examining its visual elements

Post and Lintel

Building a system that used vertical posts to support horizontal elements to create building