African Art History

Flashcards for the various periods and styles of African Art History.

What is the time period of the Mesolithic Period?

10 000 - 3 500 BC

List some characteristics of the Mesolithic Period lifestyle.

Simple community lifestyle; clusters of reed & clay dwellings; start of agriculture & domestication of animals; woven cloth produced for clothes & coverings

What is the time period of the Paleolithic Period?

40 000 - 10 000 BC

Describe the lifestyle during the Paleolithic Period.

Man was a nomad - hunted; sheltered in caves; engraved & painted on stone, bone & ivory; simple tools; animal skins used for coverings

What are the three periods historians divide the development of humans into?

The Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age

What was the primary purpose of artifacts and sculptures in Early Cultural groups like African tribes?

Served a religious or votive purpose, considered functional objects

What is Palaeography?

Analysis of styles & types of writing found on objects used to date them.

What is Typology?

A discovered object is compared with another one that has a known date.

What is Stratigraphy?

Dating objects based on the layer of earth in which they are found.

What is Carbon 14 dating?

Measuring the amount of carbon 14 left in a sample portion of the object to calculate its approximate age.

What is an artifact?

An object produced or shaped by human craft, especially a tool, weapon or ornament of archaeological or historical interest.

What do archaeologists do?

Examine the earth's crust and dig up skeletons, tools, building ruins & other objects to establish the history of a place.

What does prehistoric refer to?

A time in the development of humans before there was a written language

What do anthropologists study?

The groups, cultures & behaviour of people. They need to research paintings, engravings, tools, & other objects found in particular environments to understand the way of life of prehistoric people.

What does the antelope-human (therianthrope) function mean to hunters?

Hunters respected their prey. They seem to transform themselves partly into animals & even used the blood of animals like the eland in their paint to bring power to their images.

What are some common scenes found in rock art?

Trance dances, rainmaking rituals, hunting. After settlers arrived - wagons, men on horseback with guns, soldiers, Zulu impis

What are the two techniques of rock art?

Rock engraving - PETROGLYPHS and Rock paintings - PICTOGRAPHS

What materials were used for pigment in rock art?

Clay, rocks, plants, charcoal, guano

What were pigments mixed with in rock art?

Blood, animal fat, or egg white

What is significant about the paintings found in the Lascaux caves in France?

Show similarities to the paintings found in Southern Africa although the artists had no contact with each other.

When was Iron exported to Europe?

700 BC

What were the characteristics of decorations in the Iron Age?

Geometric patterns, birds, animals & fantasy were included in decorations.

What is bronze made of?

COPPER & TIN

How was Bronze used?

Weapons (like swords & arrowheads) & sculptures were created from bronze.

What is Stonehenge?

A CROMLECH (circular stone construction) - 4 concentric circles of stone + a central altar

What is a megalith?

Monumental graves & altars made of large stones

What is the Post and Lintel construction method?

The first construction method developed in the world. It used a lintel (beam) as the horizontal member over a large space supported at its ends by 2 vertical posts.

Name the Paleolithic painting in the cave of Altamira in Spain.

Bison

Name the Paleolithic painting in the cave at Lascaux in France.

Great Hall of Bulls

Describe the Venus of Willendorf.

Arms are reduced to bands over the breasts, no feet are shown, head bears a pattern showing some sort of hairstyle, bracelets carved on arms, strong 3-dimensional feeling

What was the Venus of Willendorf used for?

Is a votive figure - carried in the hand of a pregnant woman to ensure the birth of a healthy baby as a valued member of the tribe

In the Neolithic Period villages developed. What else?

Cultivated fields and large stone structures

What was celebrated in festivals and carved images?

Fertility in women & the earth

What is indicated when a traditional leather crown is placed on a young woman's head during an initiation ceremony?

Signifies that she is marriageable

What happens during the initiation of young boys?

Would take place away from the village in secret bush camps. The older men, often wearing masks, would instruct the boys in tribal lineage histories, moral behaviour, certain practical skills & traditions.

What role did ancestors play?

Played an important role & were worshiped in various ways.

What do we usually refer to with Traditional African Art?

Masks, figures, relief carvings & objects created in Pre-Colonial Africa (ie. Before European countries made advances into Africa.

What are African Tribal Art forms rooted in?

Socio-political & religious belief systems.

What is the meaning behind the rising sun symbol?

Source of light

What is the meaning behind the Protea symbol?

Beauty of the land

What is the meaning behind the Tusks symbol?

Symbolises wisdom and strength

What is the meaning behind the Human Figures symbol?

Symbolises humanity and heritage

What is the meaning behind the //KE : //KE symbol?

Diverse People Unite

What is the meaning behind the Security bird symbol?

Protection of the nation

What is the meaning behind the Knobkierie symbol?

Defence and authority, yet lying face down to show peace

What is the meaning behind the Ears of wheat symbol?

Symbol of fruitfulness and growth

What is the meaning behind the Shield symbol?

Shows identity and spiritual

What are Symbols of Life feel like?

An African fabric print

What is emphasised in Symbols of Life?

The general overallness of composition combined with the repeated shapes

What is river a symbol of in Symbols of Life?

Center of life, & lifeblood of the people & land.

What had a major influence on Walter Battiss' work throughout his life?

San Rock Art

What did Walter Battiss combine with the influences from western artists?

Rock Art in his environment

What is rock art an inspiration for?

Modern artists

What are energy lines connecting man and animal a symbol of?

Could have been a technique used in a hunt or the transformation between man & animal.

How is a Trance state induced?

Music, rhythmic dancing, or narcotic plants.

What is a Shaman?

A religious specialist whose main task in the tribe are healing & divination

What served what purpose during the tribal times?

Early art in Benin was not merely art for art's sake, but it served a purpose: depicting religious, social, cultural, & historical purposes.

What materials were used during the tribal times?

Used materials around them: wood, ivory, clay, terracotta, bronze, brass.

What is the Lost wax method?

The figure is constructed in wax. A clay mould is made and then when dry it is heated to get rid of the wax. MOLTEN METAL is then poured into the mould.

What does headpiece and jewellery indicate?

Royalty

What does Head being enlarged signify in African sculpture?

Intelligence and leadership

What are the pierced nostrils and mouth used for?

Used as vents during firing (baking the clay form in an earth oven).

What could the Nok Head have been made to do?

To honour ancestors.

Where was the Nok culture named?

After the village near which it was found.

What are the Lydenberg heads?

Found in South Africa in Southern Africa.

What evidence was indicated at Mapungubwe?

Indicates a thriving community between 1200 and 1300 AD.

What is evidence of Central Africa Developed around

Developed around the Congo River. Continuous anthropological research.

When did Benin developed in the same region as the Ife & Nok?

From about the 11th-16th century

When did Ife coincide with the Middle ages in Europe?

7th-11th centuries AD.

When did Nok develop in the Ancient Egyptian civilisation?

Approximately 2500 years old. 500 BC - 2nd century AD.

Name some sub-Saharan civilizations.

Nok, Ife, Benin, Central Africa, Southern Africa (eg. Lydenberg heads), Zimbabwe, Mapungubwe

Where were histories told from the African Civilizations?

Histories were told in story form orally.

What is being asked when talking about, The ZIMBABWE RUINS?

(13th-15th centuries)

Why were Lydenberg Heads used?

Used in some special ceremony.

What is Woodcuts?

Wood panel cut into relief design and inked

What inspiration did PICASSO do when beginning in the 20th century?

African masks became art

What inspiration Changed figures and faces?

Multi faceted, stylised, simplified. Monochromatic tones - natural browns, blues, greens

What does the Ideal image of woman - height of power represent?

Goodness & light; the joy of living

What does, Dance - encourages women do?

Bare children and raise them to adulthood

Whom is worn the D'mba headdress mostly?

Worn by male - on heads & shoulders - 4 supports

What Baga people of the Republic of Guinea do?

D'mba headdress

Whom is the prominent forehead represent?

Represents ancestor - empower initiation ceremony

What decorations are used made out of wood?

Engraving, Burning, Oiling, beads, Shells, Horns Fibres

What is the purpose during tribes multi-media display?

Sounds, Scents, Movement, Costumes

How do person's transforms when wearing the the mask?

PERSON IS COMPLETELY COVERED

Where African masks created play an important role?

Rituals or ceremonies.

What does NKISI serves for the entire community?

TO PROMOTE A GENERAL STATE OF WELL BEING

What SPECIFIC ISSUES are created to ADDRESS SPECIFIC ISSUES?

Healing, Divination, Protection, Oath taking. HORNS - Added to intensify strength

What is spiritual power given?

SPIRITUAL POWER by a ritual specialist (MUST BE BLESSED)

Why many of these civilisations were isolated & so those areas were continuing with a tribal lifestyle?

Rest of the world was developing rapidly

What type of objects would NOT last for centuries?

Wood, clay and woven objects

Name some of the various instruments:

CALABASH SHAKERS, DRUMS, THUMB PIANO

Different types of dwellings

BEEHIVE ZULU HUT, NDEBELE RECTANGULAR HUT, RONDAVEL XHOSA HUT

What did a developed culture produce?

Both functional & aesthetic (use - everyday life)

What objects tribes made in Africa?

Functional objects

What material was Mapungubwe gold rhino?

Carved in wood - covered with GOLD FOIL

What graves were bodies buried with Mapungubwe?

bodies buried upright (associated with ROYALTY)

How Stones are cut & shaped?

dry stone construction (kept in place by ARRANGEMENT & WEIGHT without MORTAR)

What shape were stones arranged?

Herringbone shape

What hard rock were Curved walls and towers built with?

Granite