C.1 Keywords

Prehistoric - cont area 1

Bitumen

A black tarlike substance used in Prehistoric and Ancient Works of Art.

Nomad

People of a tribe who move from place to place, usually following a food supply.

Shaman

A person who acts as an intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds, using magic to cure illness, tell the future, or control spiritual forces.

Relief

In sculpture, figures project from the background of which they are a part; the degree of relief is high or low (bas relief).

Fertile Crescent

A very fertile agricultural area in Iraq, located between the Tigris and Euphrates and extending out to the Levant.

Neolithic

Relating to the time period of the last years of the stone age, marked by the domestication of animals, the development of agriculture, and the manufacture of pottery (8,000 BCE).

Venus Figure

Female figures made by Prehistoric peoples, often carved from pebbles and stones, exhibiting exaggerated female characteristics to emphasize fertility.

Narrative

Visual imagery that tells a story.

Incising

Marks or designs made by cutting into a surface.

Ivory

A hard white substance composing the tusks of animals, including the elephant and rhino.

Charcoal

A carbon-based drawing material created by heating wood in the absence of air.

Carbon-14 Dating

Also known as radiocarbon dating, it determines the age of materials based on measurement of radioactivity in their carbon content.

Mesolithic

A transitional period of the stone age, between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, characterized by adaptation to hunting and fishing.

Post-and-Lintel

A system of architectural construction where two posts support a horizontal lintel.

Trilithon

A pair of monoliths topped with a lintel; found in megalithic structures.

Landscape

A picture of a natural setting, without any narrative content.

Composite View

A convention of representation in which part of a figure is shown in profile and another part of the same figure is shown frontally.

Portable

Able to be carried.

Dry Masonry

Stones laid without mortar.

Mural

A large-scale wall painting.

Megalithic

"A great stone," large and roughly cut, used in the construction of monumental prehistoric structures.