Art History Stone age - ancient Greece

What is 'Prehistoric Art'?

Art created before written records, often deduced from archaeological, geological, and contextual evidence.

What are the three Stone Age periods?

Paleolithic (Old), Mesolithic (Middle), and Neolithic (New).

What marks the Paleolithic era in terms of tools and creativity?

Crude stone tools like choppers and hand axes; limited technical and creative evolution over 2 million years.

What artistic evidence appears in the Mesolithic era?

Ritual behavior, ochre pigment use, jewelry, abstract markings, and symbolic objects.

What is the significance of the Lascaux cave paintings?

17,000-year-old cave paintings depicting animals, showcasing early human symbolic and naturalistic representation.

What are some techniques used in Lascaux cave paintings?

Incision, spray painting, use of natural rock features to complete forms.

What species appear in Chauvet Cave paintings?

Horses, lions, rhinos, aurochs, mammoths—total of 13 species and 447 representations.

What is the Venus of Hohle Fels?

A small female figurine from 35,000–40,000 years ago, among the oldest known sculptures.

What makes the Lion-Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel unique?

It's a figurative sculpture combining human and animal traits, over 35,000 years old.

What is the significance of Altamira cave?

Contains polychrome ceiling paintings from 36,500–13,000 years ago; possibly painted by one master artist.

Where was the limestone mask from the Neolithic era found?

Nahal Hemar Cave, Israel.

What is the suggested function of the limestone mask?

Possibly ritualistic; conveys the intangible, magical, or spiritual.

What is notable about the limestone mask's visual features?

Exaggerated features, continuous staring eyes; not aiming for realism.

What types of impermanent visual culture may have existed in Prehistory?

Body art (tattoos, scarification), performance (dance, storytelling, shamanism), ornamentation.

What defines the Mesolithic 'ochre toolkit'?

Early pigment tools indicating symbolic and artistic behavior.

What animals are depicted in Lascaux Cave?

Aurochs, horses, and deer—matching the Paleolithic fossil record.

What is 'parietal painting'?

Art painted on cave walls.

What does the Chauvet Cave demonstrate about early human art?

High skill in naturalistic depiction, including predators and movement. 36 000 years old

Why is Altamira called the 'Sistine Chapel of Stone'?

Due to its elaborate, colorful ceiling paintings by a skilled prehistoric artist.

What are the clay sculptures at Tuc d'Audoubert?

'Altar of the Bison'—clay bison figures from around 13,000 BCE.

What defines the Neolithic era in art?

More permanent settlements, symbolic ritual objects, and early architecture.

What is significant about the shift from Paleolithic to Neolithic?

Transition from nomadic life to agriculture, leading to complex societies and symbolic art.

What is notable about the construction techniques in Lascaux cave paintings?

Use of reflective white calcite, natural rock contours, and layered pigment techniques.

What technique was used for adding detail to cave art?

Incision and spray painting using hollow bones or mouths.

What role did ochre play in prehistoric art?

Used as pigment in body painting, cave art, and possibly ritual contexts.

How does the fossil record support the cave paintings?

Depictions of animals match species known to exist in the region at that time.

Why are human figures rare in Paleolithic cave art?

Likely due to symbolic or taboo reasons; focus was more on animals and ritual.

What is the importance of Chauvet Cave’s preservation?

Collapsed and sealed off ~21,500 years ago, preserving artwork nearly untouched.

What makes the Lion-Man statue historically significant?

It is the earliest known example of figurative sculpture combining animal and human features.

What does the presence of jewelry and abstract markings in the Mesolithic suggest?

Emergence of symbolic thinking, identity, and early aesthetic values.

What happened in 31 BCE in Egyptian history?

Cleopatra died, marking the end of the Ptolemaic Era; Egypt became a Roman province.

What are the main periods in Ancient Egyptian history?

Pre/Early Dynastic, Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, Ptolemaic Era.

What marks the beginning of Dynastic Egypt?

Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by Narmer around 3100 BCE.

What is the Palette of Narmer?

A ceremonial stone palette (ca. 3200–3000 BCE) commemorating Egypt’s unification; features Narmer in composite view, smiting enemies, and wearing the crowns of both Upper and Lower Egypt. Shows hierarchic scale, divine authority, registers, and symbolic animals like intertwined serpopards.

What is hierarchic scale in Egyptian art?

The size of a figure denotes its importance.

What is composite view?

Figures shown in profile with frontal shoulders and eyes, also called twisted perspective.

What are registers in Egyptian art?

Horizontal bands used to organize scenes.

What was a major development of the Old Kingdom (ca. 2600–2100 BCE)?

The construction of pyramids including the Step Pyramid and the Great Pyramid of Giza; central role of divine kingship and ka.

What defines Middle Kingdom art (ca. 2040–1640 BCE)?

A shift toward realism in sculpture; emotionally expressive royal portraits, as seen in the fragment of King Sesostris III.

What characterizes the New Kingdom (ca. 1550–1070 BCE)?

Egypt’s most powerful era; monumental temples (e.g., Abu Simbel), powerful pharaohs like Thutmose III, and wealth from conquest and trade.

Who was Thutmose III?

A warrior pharaoh of the New Kingdom known for expanding Egypt’s empire to its greatest extent; often called the "Napoleon of Egypt."

What was the Amarna Period (1351–1344 BCE)?

A brief era under Akhenaten featuring a radical shift in style: fluid forms, movement, crowded compositions, and worship of the sun disc Aten.

What artistic changes appeared in the Amarna Period?

Overlapping figures, dynamic movement, more naturalistic (yet stylized) human forms, and scenes of the royal family in informal poses.

Who introduced Atenism?

Pharaoh Akhenaten during the Amarna Period, promoting worship of the sun disc Aten over traditional gods.

What is significant about Tutankhamun’s tomb?

Discovered intact in 1922, it held golden artifacts, a famous death mask, and insight into New Kingdom funerary practices.

What does the Seated Scribe sculpture represent?

A naturalistic, lifelike painted limestone sculpture of a scribe from the 4th/5th Dynasty, showing realism in a non-royal figure. 3000 BCE

What was the purpose of mastabas?

Early tombs with sloped sides, chapels, and hidden burial chambers—precursors to pyramids.

How did pyramid design evolve?

From stacked mastabas (step pyramids) to smooth-sided pyramids, culminating in the Great Pyramid.

Why is the Great Pyramid at Giza important?

Built for Pharaoh Khufu (~2560 BCE), it is the largest pyramid and only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World.

What symbolic meanings did colors hold in Egyptian art?

Red=Power, Green=Life, Blue=Sacred, Yellow=Royalty, White=Purity, Black=Death and Resurrection.

What is a continuous narrative in Egyptian art?

Sequential scenes shown within a single composition to tell a story.

How is death viewed in Egyptian religion?

As a transition to the afterlife; the ka (spirit) must reunite with the preserved body for eternal life.

What materials were used for pyramid construction?

Sandstone and granite core with white limestone casing stones for a smooth, brilliant finish.

What are the main periods of Ancient Greek art?

Geometric, Orientalizing, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic.

What characterizes the Archaic period of Greek sculpture?

Rigid posture, archaic smile, stylized anatomy, and use of kouros (male) and kore (female) statues.

What is a kouros?

A free-standing statue of a nude youthful male from the Archaic period, e.g., New York Kouros.

What is a kore?

A clothed female statue from the Archaic period, e.g., Peplos Kore.

What is contrapposto?

A stance in Classical sculpture where weight is shifted onto one leg, creating a sense of naturalism and movement.

What is the Kritios Boy known for?

Early Classical sculpture demonstrating contrapposto and organic realism.

What is the Artemision Bronze?

A Classical sculpture (Poseidon or Zeus) in dynamic pose, showing Greek interest in movement and anatomy.

What is lost-wax casting?

A method of casting bronze sculptures by creating a wax model, encasing it in a mold, then melting the wax and pouring in metal.

What defines Hellenistic sculpture?

Emotional expression, dynamic movement, realistic anatomy, and depictions of pain and drama.

What is the Laocoön Group?

A Hellenistic sculpture showing Laocoön and his sons being attacked by sea serpents, full of tension and agony.

What themes were depicted in Greek narrative art?

Mythological scenes focused on pain, suffering, and drama; viewers could sense the story even without knowing the myth.

What defines the Geometric style in Greek pottery (1000–700 BCE)?

Decorative bands, repeated motifs, abstract human and animal forms, and funerary scenes, e.g., Dipylon Amphora.

What defines the Orientalizing style (700–600 BCE)?

Influence from Near Eastern motifs, use of animals like sphinxes and griffins, more complex compositions and curved forms.

What is black-figure pottery and when did it appear?

Appeared ~600 BCE; black figures painted with slip on red clay, with details incised and occasional white/red paint added.

What is red-figure pottery and when did it appear?

Developed ~530 BCE; figures left red on black background, with painted details allowing greater realism and flexibility.

What is a bilingual amphora?

A transitional vase style featuring one side in black-figure and the other in red-figure technique.

What were common themes on Greek vases?

Mythology (e.g., Medusa, Dionysus, Ajax & Achilles), daily life, symbols of Athens (owls, olive branches), and epic narratives like the Fall of Troy.

What is peripteral design in Greek temples?

A building surrounded by a single row of columns on all sides (peristyle), e.g., Temple of Apollo at Corinth.

What are the basic parts of a Greek column?

Base (if present), shaft (fluted or plain), capital (top element), including echinus and abacus.

What defines the Doric order?

No base, fluted shaft, simple capital with echinus and square abacus; plain entablature with triglyphs and metopes.

What defines the Ionic order?

Has a base, slender fluted shaft, capital with volutes (scrolls); often more decorative and graceful.

What defines the Corinthian order?

Similar to Ionic but with an elaborate capital decorated with acanthus leaves; popular in later architecture.

What is entasis?

A slight outward curve in the shaft of a column to correct the illusion of concavity when viewed from a distance.

What is the significance of the Alexander Mosaic?

A Roman floor mosaic from Pompeii showing the Battle of Issos; notable for its dynamic realism and foreshortening.

What is a krater used for?

A large mixing bowl used to combine wine and water.

What is an amphora used for?

A two-handled jar used to store or transport oil, wine, or grain.

What is a kylix?

A shallow, wide-mouthed drinking cup.

What is a lekythos?

A narrow flask used for storing oil, often used in funerary rituals.

What is a hydria?

A three-handled jar used for carrying and pouring water.

What is an oinochoe?

A jug used for pouring wine.

Paleolithic Caves (approx. 40,000–10,000 BCE) period and features

Lascaux Cave (France) – 17,000 years old; known for Hall of the Bulls; painted aurochs, deer, and horses; used spray paint, incision, and natural rock contours

Chauvet Cave (France) – 30,000–32,000 years old; shows lions, rhinos, mammoths; realistic shading and movement; well preserved due to collapse

Altamira Cave (Spain) – 36,500–13,000 years old; colorful ceiling bison scenes; possibly painted by a single master; called the Sistine Chapel of Prehistoric Art

Tuc d’Audoubert (France) – around 13,000 BCE; features clay sculptures of bison; a rare example of Paleolithic 3D modeling

Cueva de las Manos (Argentina) – famous for stenciled handprints and hunting scenes; important symbolic use of negative space

Transitional / Neolithic Site

Nahal Hemar Cave (Israel) – about 10,000–4,500 BCE; contains limestone ritual masks with exaggerated features; suggests magical or symbolic use

Summary by Period of the caves

Paleolithic – deep cave interiors, naturalistic animals, ritual function, use of pigment and carving

Neolithic – ritual objects, early sculpture, abstraction, and portable symbolism