AP Art History - Content 1 prehistoric art 1-11

Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine

Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine

14,000-7,000 B.C.E., bone, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico. This is one of the earliest cultural artifacts to have been discovered in Mesoamerica. Its original function remains unknown, although the sacrum bone was of significant cultural importance in Mesoamerica, believed in many cultures to be a portal to an otherworld, and house the spiritual essence of some hunted animals. Objects such as these may have also been used in shamanistic rituals to connect to the spiritual world.

Anthromorphic stele

fourth millennium B.C.E., sandstone, Pergamon Museum, Berlin Among the earliest known works of art from the Arabian Peninsula, this stele was probably associated with religious or funereal practices. The figure's stylization and geometric organization is seen in the simplified shapes of the head and linear outlines of the distinctive belted robe and double-bladed sword.

Jade cong

from Liangzhu, China - c. 3,300-2,200 B.C.E., jade, Zhejiang Institute of Archaeology, Hangzhou. A cong is a tube with a square-cross section and circular hole, produced during the Neolithic and early historic periods of southeast China. The meaning and function of these artifacts in ancient Chinese society remain unknown. The main decorative element on cong is the face pattern, with faces that appear to be a combination of anthromorphic and bestial figures, that appear to be a combination of anthromoprphic and bestial figures that may refer to deities or spirits connected to animalistic beliefs of the Liangzhu culture. These patterns are often placed across corners or in square panels on the side.

The Ambum Stone

from Papua New Guinea c. 1500 B.C.E., greywacke, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. It is not known exactly what this statue is supposed to represent.

Tlatico Female Figurine

- c. 1200-900 B.C.E., ceramic, Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey. Although little is known about the function of these objects in Pre-Columbian society, it has been postulated that they are related to women's roles in regards to nature, particularly fertility and maternity. The figures are small in size, pocessing small breasts and stumped arms with narrow waists and large thighs. Body fat could reflect a preoccupation with procreation. The dual face might indicate the object's role in communication to the spirit world - including past and present. The figures were found in burials under residences.

Terra-cotta fragment

- Lapita, from the Solomon Islands, 1000 B.C.E., terra-cotta, University of Auckland, New Zealand. The Lapita were an ancient Pacific seafaring people, living in coastal regions of what is now Polynesia. Lapita ceramics such as this terra cotta fragment contained intricate zoomorphic and geometric patterns and occasional anthromorphic figures incisesd into the pot before firing. The patterns may be related to modern Polynesian tattoos and bark cloth. Pots such as these vessels used for cooking, serving, and storing food.

Apollo 11 stone

c. 25,500-25,300 B.C.E., charcoal on stone, State Museum of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia. As in almost all paintings for thousands of years, in this very early example from Africa, the painter represented the animal in strict profile so that the head, body, tail, and all four legs are clearly visible.

great hall of bulls

15,000-13,000 B.C.E., pigment on rock, Dordogne, France. Left wall of the Hall of the Bulls in the cave at Lascaux, France, ca. 16,000-14,000 B.C.E. Largest bull 11'6" long. The species of animals in the cave paintings of France and Spain qare not among those the Paleolithic humans typically consumed as food. The meaning of these paintings remain a mystery. The Lascaux animals are inconsistent in size and move in many different directions. Some are colored silhouettes others are outline drawings. They were probably painted at different times by different painters. Prehistoric painters consistently represented animals in strict profile, the only view showing the head, body, tail, and all four legs. But at Lascaux, both horms are included to give a complete picture of the bull.

Running Horned Woman

ca. 6,000-4,000 B.C.E., rock painting, Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria Prehistoric rock paintings are difficult to date and interpret. This Algerian example represents a woman with a painted body wearing a raffia skirt and horned headgear, apparently in a ritual context.

Beaker with ibex motifs

4,200-3,500 B.C.E., terra-cotta, Louvre, Paris. This cylindrical earthenware pot was found in a cemetary at the foot of the Susa acropolis. Susa was one of the most prosperous communities in prehistoric Iran, as evidenced by the city's monumental architecture and ornate burial objects, of which this bushel is a leading example. The upper portion pf the bushel contains friezes of aquatic birds and running dogs, animals that were indigenous to the Susa area. The central portion of the bushel contains an image of a goast, depicted in a stylized and geometric manner with elongated horns. Within these horns lies a symbol that may identify the family of the vase's owner. It is unknown of these pots were used in everyday life or if they were specifically funerary in purpose.

Stonehenge

c. 2500-16000 B.C.E., Sandstone, Wiltshire, England Stonehenge's circles of trilithons probably functioned as an astronomical observatory and solar calender. The sun rises over its "heel stone" at the summer solstice. Some of the megaliths weigh 50 tons.