Prehistoric Art Midterm

What is prehistory

The period of time before written records

What were the time units ka and Ma

ka= thousands of years BP

Ma= million of years BP

BP (Before Present)= before AD 1950

BC=BCE

(Before Christ)=(Before Common Era)

AD=CE

(Anno Domini)=(Common Era)

BP (Before Present)=

Before AD 1950

What are hominins

Human-like species, who are more closely related to humans than other apes.

First hominins ~7-4 Ma

Hominins are more closely related because of their bones, size, and they walked on two legs.

Which group was the earliest hominins?

Sahelanthropus tchadensis and ardipithecus ramidus

Which group created the earliest stone tools?

3Ma (million years ago)

Lomekwian- 3.3 Ma

Oldowan- 2.6 Ma

Acheulean- 1.5 Ma

When and who were the earliest homo sapiens?

Earliest homo sapiens 300ka (thousands of years ago)

Morocco- Jebel Irhoud

What is the difference between geological and cultural periods?

Geological Periods: Divided by major geological or environmental changes (e.g., global temperature change)

Cultural periods: Divided by major cultural changes (e.g., tool technology)

What were the geological periods?

Pleistocene (2.6Ma)—> Holocene (11.7ka)

What were the cultural periods?

African “Stone Age”:

Early Stone Age (3.3Ma)—> Middle Stone Age (300ka)—> Later Stone Age (50/25ka)—>Neolithic-(8ka)

Eurasian “Paleolithic”:

Lower Paleolithic (1.8Ma)—> Middle Paleolithic (300ka)—> Upper Paleolithic (50ka)—> Mesolithic (15/10ka)—> Neolithic (12ka)

When does Eurasian “Paleolithic” begin? When does Upper Paleolithic begin?

When people left Africa

Upper Paleolithic- Arrival of humans in Europe

How old are Hominins? How old are Homo sapiens?

Hominins are 7 Ma years old

Homo sapiens are 300 ka years old

What is the definition of art?

The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty of emotional power.

What are some difficulties in defining art?

art is subjective- what one person might consider art is not art to the next

The differences between arts and crafts and how they were defined over the.

Artists- were called skilled geniuses

While artisans- were craftsmens

But, they both still made art- or what we know as art today

Most works of art fall under 3 categories/ definitions, what are they and define them.

Functional- Art is defined by its purpose (e.g., pleasurable experience)

Procedural- Art is defined by its adherence to an institutional formula (e.g., follows conventions, made by artists, in a museum)

Historical- Art is defined by its relationship to prior art (e.g., repetition, reference, amplification, repudiation)

These are not mutually exclusive

What are some issues with the three definitions of art?

Functional- But does all art share the same, universal function

Procedural- But who defines the institution? What about isolated artists operating on the fringes?

Historical- But how can we compare and define art from different historical trajectories? What if history is disrupted.

How do we define art- for the purpose of this class?

Very broad definition

Focus on both art and artists

Archaeological approach

What is Archaeology?

Archaeology is a subfield of anthropology, the study of past people via the things they left behind (material culture).

What is archaeological context?

The location and relationship of artifacts to their archaeological site.

Where did we find it? What was it found with? How old is it?

How do archaeologists study Paleolithic art?

They study their material culture (e.g., art, bones, stones, etc.): What is it? What does it depict? How was it made or used?

The archaeological context: Material culture does not exist in isolation. We can learn more by asking: Where did we find it? What was it found with? How old is it?

Scientific methods: Develop and test research questions, conduct experiments. Utilize scientific techniques (e.g., radiocarbon dating)

Cautious inspirations from other fields: Art history, ethnography, cognitive psychology, etc. Useful for developing and testing hypotheses. Dangerous, because it may assume a direct continuity between prehistoric and present people.

What is material culture?

The physical aspects of a society, the objects made or modified by a human.

• Encompassing anything created or utilized by humans

• tools, buildings, clothing, art and even natural items gathered and used by a group.

What is prehistoric art?

“Art” (subjective, diverse meanings, many forms) made by people (homo sapiens and other hominins) during prehistory (before written language)

Art made by people during prehistory

Examples: Pigments and body ornaments, parietal (wall) art, mobiliary (portable) art, music, dance, etc.

What is theory?

The framework/paradigm/lens through which we observe and think about the world.

Everything scientists do is informed by theory!

Theory “determines what we see and the way we see it”

What are the levels of archaeological theory?

Low: Who/What? When? Where?= observations

Middle: How?= links observations to human behavior

High: Why?= Big picture questions about behavior

What is low level theory?

Who/What/ Where

Who?- Horses, handprints, dots

What?- Ivory (tusks), bone

• Who made these cave paintings?- Adult versus children. The complexity of the painting, what adults v children depict first. How chaotic or detailed a painting is.

Where?- The choices of where people put art in the cave- front or back, on rocks, etc.

When?- Relative/ Absolute Dating

What is the low level theory when?- Archaeological Dating Methods

Relative Dating: Age relative to other artifacts or layers; imprecise, does not produce a specific date. Ex: stratigraphy

Absolute Dating: Age in discrete time intervals (e.g., calendar years), more precise than relative dating. Ex: radiometric methods (radiocarbon, U-series), trapped charge methods (TL, OSL)

What is stratigraphy?- Relative Dating Methods, What is superposition?

Stratigraphy?- Relative order and position of layers or strata in a geological sequence.

Principle of Superposition?- In an undisturbed sequence, the oldest layers/ strata will lie at the bottom and newest layers/strata will lie on top.

Stratigraphy—> chronology

What is radiocarbon dating?- Steps

1. Neurons created when cosmic rays enter earths atmosphere

2. Nitrogen (14N) atom captures a neuron and loses a proton to become Carbon-14 (C)

3. Carbon-14 combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide

4. Plants absorb Carbon Dioxide during photosynthesis and take in Carbon-14

5. Carbon-14 is taken in by animals and humans through the food chain.

6. When plants and animals die, they stop taking in Carbon-14, and thus the 14C isotope begins to decay. 6

7. ( 6pt. 2) Following death or burial, the unstable Carbon-14 in bones undergo beta decay to form nitrogen-14

What is the date-range for radiocarbon dating? And how can you determine the date?

Carbon-14 undergoes beta decay to form Nitrogen-14. Over time the ratio of Carbon-14 to other Carbon atom decreases. Carbon-14 has a half life of 5,730 years. By measuring the amount of Carbon-14 in a sample and comparing it to a fresh sample, scientists can determine its age.

14C has a half life of 5730± 40 years

Use mass spectrometry to determine how old the object is.

Limitations of radiocarbon dating

1. Must be <60,000 years old

2. Only organic materials- no rocks, no stone tools

3. Requires calibration

   • Ratio of carbon isotopes in atmosphere fluctuates. Calibrate to get an age in calendar years (cal BP)

4. Various complicating factors:

   • Seuss effect

   • Atomic bomb effect

   • Marine reservoir effect

   • Old wood effect

What are the various complicating factors of radiocarbon dating? And define them.

Seuss effect- Burning of fossil fuels releases lots of old carbon (without 14C) into the atmosphere—> organisms relect that low 14C:12C ratio—> appear older than they are.

Atomic bomb effect- Atomic bomb testing in the 1950s-1960s—> released lots of 14C into the atmosphere

Marine reservoir effect- The ocean has a different carbon cycle—> reservoir for old carbon—> dates from marine materials will appear older.

Old wood effect- Wood can produce a range of dates, depending on where the tree is looked at, (middle-older dates, outer-younger dates) —> can affect archaeological interpretations.

U-series dating= definition, datable materials, Limits of U-Series

Abbreviated 238U decay series

U-series dating encompasses a family of radioactive dating methods that utilize the natural decay of uranium isotope to determine the age of samples.

Uranium- 238 (4.5billion years)—> Uranium- 234 (250,000years)—> Thorium- 230 (75,000)—> Radium- 226 (1,600years)—> A series of further decays—> Lead- 206 (stable)

Ex: Datable materials- carbonate crust over paintings, speleothems, shells

Limits of U-series:

1. Must be under 350,000 years old

2. Can only date materials with calcium carbonate (CaCO3)

3. Most methods assume a ‘closed system’ (no additional uptake of isotopes from the environment)

What is trapped charge dating?

Based on the time-dependent accumulation of electrons in defects within crystalline materials.

Main premise of trapped charge dating:

• Crystaline materials have small effects in their lattice structure

• Electrons (from radioactive decay) get trapped in these defects.

• These electrons accumulate over time at a -constant rate.

• Electrons are released if the material is exposed to light or heat (AKA bleaching).

How to get a date for trapped charge dating?

If we heat the crystal, it will release its electrons

Measure the amount of energy released—> proxy for time since exposure/burning.

Thermoluminesence (TL)—> time since last burning

Optically Stimulated Luminesence (OSL)—> time since last light exposure

What are the limits of TL/OSL dating

Must be <1,000,000 years old

Materials:

OSL: quartz and feldspar

TL: burnt crystalline materials (e.g., flint, ceramics, sediment)

Can date the wrong event:

TL ex: recent forest fire burns object

OSL ex: recent erosion exposes object to light

How can we date these objects?- Antler harpoon, sediment with quartz grains, unburnt stone tool, burned bone, seed, hominin bones covered by speleothems, ivory figure, burned ceramic

Antler harpoon- 14C

Sediment with quartz grains- OSL

Unburnt stone tool- Stratigraphy

Burned bone- 14C

Seed- 14C

Hominin bones covered by speleothems- 14C or U-Series

Ivory figure- 14C

Burned ceramic- TL

What is middle level/range theory?

How?

Links observations to human behavior

Experimental Archaeology: Testing hypotheses about archaeological materials via experimentation (e.g., replication artifacts)

Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnographic study of people and their material culture to address archaeological research questions.

what are the cautions of Middle level/ range theory?

How?

Links observation (low level) to human behavior (high level)

Ex: How was it made or used?

Often via experimental archaeology and ethnoarchaeology

CAUTION: present people do not equal past people

Does not prove or produce objective facts about the past

Beware overextended analogies.- Could limit the object or cultural practice to a western/ current view point which does not encompass the scope of the material culture.

What is ethnography?

Non-western perceptions of art- allows us to get a better idea of how non-western people perceive art.

What are the differences between how western people view art and how Inuit people view art?

N Western Inuit

Notion of art: Strong, well-defined No notion of art

Raw material: Inanimate, subjects are planned. Alive, full of the subject’s spirit

Artists: Minority of the population All are accomplished carvers

Point of view: Fixed in space No fixed orientation

Size difference: Implies distance relationships. Implies different importance (the bigger the animal the more important).

What is an example of enthography?

Arnhem Land (Australia)

• Ethnoarchaeologists go and visited Arnhem to see what the painters believe that they are painting and representing- they can then make inferences about what prehistoric people’s art represented. 

• Australian Aboriginal artist, Glen Namudia

High level theory

why? (focuses on big picture questions)

Most abstract level of theory

Goal: law-like generalizations

Often difficult/ impossible to answer

Ex: What does art mean? What purpose or function does art serve?

What is the aesthetic function of Paleolithic art?

Concerned with the nature of beauty and taste

Aesthetic explanations:

Art evokes an emotion

• E.g., beauty, awe, sadness

‘Art for art’s sake’

• Instinctual, non-utilitarian

What is the Utilitarian function/ purpose of Paleolithic art?

Utilitarian: designed to be functional/ useful

Utilitarian explanations

Art as communication

• Semiotics: signs and symbols

Art to manipulate the world

• E.g., shamanism

Can Paleolithic art be both aesthetic and utilitarian?

Aesthetic and utilitarian functions can be intertwined

Examples:

• Art’s beauty can improve its ability to communicate

• Stone tools can be appreciated for their symmetry and style

Can we gather a ‘why’ for prehistoric art?- meaning, can we ever know why prehistoric art was created?

We may never know ‘why’.. but there is still plenty to learn: For example we can

• Use middle-range theory to link observations to behavior

• Propose some possible explanations

• Falsify some explanations

What is human antiquity?

The study of the timeline and origins of humans, including their evolution and early development.

What principle did people believe before accepting human antiquity? Define the principle and who created it.

Creationism: idea that life, including human beings, originated as an act of divine creation by God

Archbishop James Ussher:

• 17th century Irish theologian

• Calculated the date of creation from a literal reading of the Old Testament

• Creation date: October 22nd, 4004 BC @ 6pm

What were the 5 steps to accepting human antiquity?

1. Principle of Superposition and Biostratigraphty

2. Discovery of extinct animals in geological deposits (and Catastrophism)

3. Principle of Association

4. Discovery of artifacts with extinct animals

5. The year 1859- two important events

   • Charles Lyell and others from the Geological Society discover more stone tools associated with extinct animals at Brixham Cave.

   • Charles Darwin publishes “On the Origin of Species”—> established the idea of evolution by natural selection.

What was the Principle of Superposition and Biostratigraphy?- Accepting antiquity step #1

Principle of Superposition: In an undisturbed sequence, the oldest layers/ strata will be on the bottom and the newest layers/strata will lie on top.

Principle of Biostratigraphy: “Each stratum of a group of closely related strata contains its own characteristic set of fossils”.

• Helps to date and correlate strata layers.

• Involves the study of fossil distributions within sedimentary layers to establish relative ages and timelines.

What was step #2 or accepting human antiquity and what does Catastrophism mean?

Discovery of extinct animals in geological deposits

But why aren’t mammoths and other extinct animals still around?- what people thought…

Catastrophism- Idea that rapid, catastrophic events (created by God) shaped the world for the arrival of human. Not via slow, gradual changes over time (uniformitarianism).

What is the principle of association?- accepting human antiquity #3

Things that were found together were likely deposited at the same time.

Burials were a big one- if people were being buried with stone tools or artifacts.

What was the 4th step in accepting human antiquity?

Discovery of artifacts with extinct animals

Discovered extinct animals associated with stone tools— If the stone tools were made by huamsn… and if the extinct animals are very old… Humans must also be old

Excavations at Abbeville (France) by Jacques Boucher de Perthes

Initially discredited, especially by the British

What were the two important events that happened during the year 1859?- 5th step in accepting antiquity

1. Charles Lyell and others from the Geological Society discover more stone tools associated with extinct animals at Brixham Cave (England)— Prompted the reanalysis of Boucher de Perthe’s work at Abbeville

2. Charles Darwin publishes “On the Origins of Species”—> establishes the idea of evolution by natural selection.

What were the steps to accepting that prehistoric humans produced art- early, middle, late

1. Early 1800s: discovery of Paleolithic finds, but no recognition of age

2. Mid 1800s: more finds, better excavations, some recognition of the antiquity of the Paleolithic— Edouard Lartet and Henry Christy

3. Late 1800s: discovery of painted caves, acceptance of their antiquity

   • Altamira (Spain): painted cave discovered by Count Don Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola and his young daughter. Initially rejected by the scientific community, people thought it was a hoax but he did document everything. He died without ever being told he was correct.

   • In 1902, Emile Cartailhac, reversed his former criticsm and authenticated Altamira in Mea culpa d’un sceptique. Cartailhac worked with Henri Breuil to document Altamira and other caves with thousands of drawings/tracings

What did creationists, scientific materialists, and positivists believe about prehistoric art?

Creationists: Art was bestowed by God at a single, simultaneous moment

Scientific Materialists: Art evolved over time, but early humans were too ‘primitive’ to produce true art; strongly against religious explanations.

Positivists: Art evolved over time, but ‘primitive’ people still had religion; less antagonistic towards the status quo, more palatable.

What was the influence of ethnography on prehistoric art?

Ethnography: The scientific study of the customs of other cultures

Particularly influential: San rock art and Australian rock art- both cultures still regularly paint and interact with rock art.

What is Primitivism?- Prehistoric art and ethnography

Movement that celebrated the ‘noble savage’ and proposed that ‘primitive’ people possess a superior morality, since they are untainted by modern society.

What is naturalism and realism? What is Aesthetics?- Prehistoric art and contemporary art

Naturalism and Realism: 19th century movement, emphasized the realistic and faithful depiction of natural forms (as opposed to idealistic depictions).

Aesthetics: Concern with the nature and appreciation of beauty. Percieved as an innate quality of all humans and art, regardless of time.

What is the difference between fine arts versus crafts?

Fine arts: Overemphasized, paralleled to classical masterpieces, required greater skill and cognition

Artist= creative genius

Crafts: Underemphasized, seen as uncomplicated decorations that required little technical skill

Artisan= skilled craftsperson

Initial explanations- Unilinear Evolution- definition and pros & cons

Art, like humans, evolved from simple beginnings and became increasingly complex over time.

Key assumptions: (now disproven)

1. All cultures evolved in the same general pattern

2. Western society is the most ‘evolved’ culture

Pros and Cons

Pros: early comparative method, deductive reasoning

Cons: oversimplification, racists

Initial explanations- Art for Art’s Sake- definition and pros & cons

Coined in the early 19t century (l’art pour l’art)

All art has a passive aesthetic quality that requires no function, justification, or meaning beyond the viewer’s pleasure

Pros and Cons

Pros: freedom of expression, emphasis on aesthetics

Cons: Potential for elitism, limited societal impact

Criticsm of art for art’s sake—

• The “most harmless and also the poorest” explanation for the origins of art

• Arose in a speicifc context that doesn’t apply to prehistoric art

• Western artistic ideals (aesthetics) should not be projected into the past

• False assumptions about prehistoric cognition

• Too indifferent- if art means nothing, does anything mean anything?

Initial explanations of prehistoric art- Magico-religious explanations

Art has a specific function—> to influence ones’ surroundings (e.g., fertility, hunting success)

Realism—> complexity (not immaturity): Conscious attempt to mimic and alter the world

Argued that Paleolithic people had religion—> shamanism. Ex: Lascaux “bird shaman”

Evidence drawn from parietal art (abstract signs, pregnant figures) and the use of caves

caves—> dark, magical, mysterious, sometimes

Hypoxic—> great place to conduct shamanistic activites

What is Structuralism?

Cave art is not random, but rather purposeful

The content and location can reveal underlying structures of prehistoric culture

If prehistoric people “consciously- or even unconsiously- introduced order into the way their pcitrues are positioned, then the analysis of where various animal paintings are located… should reveal what general scheme, if any, the artists had in mind”

• Ex: location of animal figures in lascaux

Functionalism

Art has a function and, thus, an adaptive value

“Art for adaptation’s sake”- Associated with processual and sometimes post-processual archaeology

Art has to have a function because it takes time away from working, gathering, and eating.

Ex: personal ornaments—> signal and reinforce social identity—> strengthen group cohesion—> strong cohesion helped hunter-gatherers to adapt to stress.

Notation systems—> formal set of symbols, arrangement: timing of behavioral information . Luner calendar- need to know for fertility reasons

What are post-processual critiques?

Highly functional interpretations are too deterministic- not everything is adaptive, especially in culture

What are the post-processualism= landscape archaeology and gender archaeology

Landscape archaeology: Archaeology of place: “people, places, and features are considered integral, and the landscape is seen as shaping and being shaped by human experience”

Gender archaeology: Venus—> female figurine. Call them female figures. Gendered division of labor, correcting the myth of ‘Man the Hunter’. Women were also hunters- ex- female Andean hunter

Geological Periods and Cultural Periods

Geological periods: Are divided by major geological or environmental changes (e.g., global temperature changes)

• Holocene (2.58Ma) and Pleistocene (11.7ka)

Cultural Periods: Are divided by major cultural changes (e.g., tool technology).

• African “Stone Age” and Eurasian “Paleolithic”

Early Stone Age (ESA) and Lower Paleolithic (LP)- general timing, associated hominins, main events

Dates: 3.3/1.8 Ma- 300ka

Australopithecus (4.2-2.0 Ma) and Paranthropus (2.7-0.9 Ma)

Homo habilis (2.8-1.5 Ma)

Homo erectus (1.9-300ka)

As hominins evolved, so did their tools, becoming smaller, easier to grip and more complex. Technology: Lomekwian, Oldowan, Acheulean

Australopithecus and Paranthropus

4.2-2.0 Ma- Austrarlopithecus

2.7-0.9 Ma- Paranthropus

Many different species, likely adapted to a range of envrionments. Mostly bipedal, but still able to swing from trees. Probably made stone tools to butcher animals.

Homo habilis

2.8-1.5 Ma

Made and used stone tools to butcher animals

Homo erectus

1.9 Ma- 300ka

First hominin to disperse out of Africa

Made and used stone tools to butcher animals

Started making stone tools to access resources they didn’t have before

First hominin to use fire. Increased meat eating, probably hunting rather than scavenging. Possible art/ symbolism

• maybe the first artists?- They exhibited possible art and symbolism

Middle Paleolithic (MP)

300-50 ka

Technology: Mousterian

Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis)- Neanderthals only lived in Eurasia

Denisovans (Homo)- Indentified from mtDNA, very few fossils

Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis)

300-50 ka

Neanderthals only lived in Eurasia

Neanderthals are broadly similar in appearance and behavior to humans.

• Morphology reflect adaptations for cold climates and hunting large game (but also ate small game, plants, and shellfish)

interacted with other hominins

• Up to 4% of living human DNA

Some evidence for art

• Personal ornaments and engravings, possible burials and cave paintings (debated)

Went extinct- 40ka

• Some possible reasons: resource competition, small population size, climate change

Denisovans

Middle Paleolithic

Recently discovered- Identified from mtDNA, very few fossils. Most fossils from Denisova Cave (Russia)

Interacted with other hominins

• Up to 6% of living human DNA

Middle Stone Age (MSA)

Dates: 300-50/25 ka

Technology: Aterian, Howiesons Poort, Still Bay, Modern Humans (Homo sapiens)

Clear evidence for art

• Personal ornaments amde from ostrich egg and marine shells, engravings, possible paintings

• Humans begin to disperse out of Africa by -100ka (maybe much earlier)

Upper Paleolithic

Dates: 50-10ka

Technology: Inital/ Early UP (-50ka), Aurignacian (-42ka), Gravettian (-30ka), Magdalenian (-17ka)

Modern humans (Homo sapeins)

More and new types of art: Elaborate cave painitings, personal ornaments, figurines, instruments, burials

Increasing population size and dispersal into new regions

Early Stone Age and Lower Paleolithic

Australopithecus, homo habilis, homo erectus:

Modified Objects— ‘Aesthetic’ tools early engravings, proto-figrines, cupules, etc.

Ex: Engraved elephant bones from Bilzingzleben (Germany)

Growing appreciation for symmetry (e.g., handaxes)

Homo neanderthalensis

Natural curios- more frequently collected, some were modified

Use of pigments- more frequent, new types (e.g., manganese)

Engravings- mostly linear, not figurative, somewhat ambiguous

Personal ornaments- made from shells, animal teeth, and bones; mostly made by Late neanderthals

Symbolic burials?- Evidence of deliberate burials, but clear evidence of symbolic behavior is rare (e.g., grave goods)

Parietal art?- Neanderthals made parietal art in Spain >65ka, before huamsn arrived in the region.

Neanderthals were capable of symbolic thought, likely created some types of art

Homo sapiens

Use of pigments- frequent use, more diverse forms, clearer association with art/symbolism

Linear marks- more frequent, on diverse materials

Ornaments- more frequent, more diverse forms, abundant in North and South Africa and the Levant

Ex: Marine shell ornaments, ostrich eggshell beads

Figurines- shaped into animals, people, and other figures appear -40ka in Europe

Ex: -40ka lion figurine (Hohle Fels, Germany)

Parietal art- Paintings appear -50-40ka, associated with the dispersal of humans out of Africa

Burials- some early examples from 120-80ka, most after -30ka

Which materials preserve best/worst? What does this mean for our interpretation of the archaeological record?

Non perishable: Rock art, especially engravings, preserves best—> can provide information on the past distribution of art, even in areas where perishable art has degraded.

Semi-perishable: figurines, parietal art, ornaments

Perishable: art created from materials that naturally decompose, wood carvings, hides

What are pigments?

Naturally occuring coloring materials, usually made from minerals, used by prehistoric people as early as 500-300ka

What are the types of prehistoric pigments?

Red/Yellow/Orange pigments: mostly iron oxides, often called ochre

• The color of ochre varies according to the relative amount of goethite, haematite, and other pigments—> yellow, red, brown, purple

Black pigments: manganese, burned material (e.g., charcoal, bone)

Why use pigments?

Ingredient in adhesives

As a mechanical abrasive

To preserve (tanning) and waterproof animal hides

Medicine- sunscreen, insect repellant, antiseptic, wound/burn treatment, deodorizer, etc.

Not exclusive to humans: Animals like bearded vultures are known to bathe in ochre-rich puddles

Raw material for art and symbolic activities—> paintings

Raw material for art and symbolic activities—> coloring agent

Raw material for art and symbolic activities—> burials

What are body ornaments?

Body ornaments refer to decorations or accessories worn on the body to enhance beauty, express identity, or indicate social status.

Permanent: Tattoos, scarification, piercings, amputations

Non-permanent: Body paint, haristyles, clothing ornament

What was the an old preserved tattoo?- Otzi “The Iceman”

Otzi “The Iceman”

Found in the Austrian- Italian alps in 1991, well-preserved

Probably a victim of interpersonal violence, shot with an arrow

Oldest preserved tattoos (-5000 years old), perhaps medicinal (to treat arthritis and other pain)

what was an old preserved tattoo?- Siberian “Ice Princess”

Siberian “Ice princess”

Found in Siberia (Russia) in 1993, naturally mummified

Member of the Pazyryk culture, buried in a kurgan (burial mound) with many grave goods

Deer tattoo on the shoulder, also tattoos on wrist and thumb

What were the tattooing tools?

Paleolithic bone needles

Pigments- were likely used for tattooing (tattooing kit)

What were cranial vault modifications?

Began as early as 10ka in Australia, globla practice (e.g., Maya, Inca, Choctaw, Huns, parts of Austronesia)

The intential reshapping of the skull, particuarliy in infants, through tecniques like wrapping, strapping, or applying pressure.

What were tooth modifications?

Removal, modification, or decoration of teeth

Ohaguro- is the Japanese tradition of dyeing one’s teeth black. Why- indicated a girl had come of age, signified a married woman, prevented tooth decay, symbolized fidelity, to look attractive.

Ritual finger amputations

The Dani (Indonesia) amputate fingers as part of their mourning rituals

Shown on wall caves— Grotte de Gargas (France) and Cosquer Cave (France)

Missing fingers… Amputated? If so, was it ritually vs. medically vs. accidentally?

What were personal ornaments?

Decorative items worn by people

Often sewn into clothing/goods or worn as jewelry

Associated with aesthetics, social identity, gender, etc.

Ex: modern and fossil shell, ostrich eggshell beads, osseous materials (bone, tooth, ivory), Stone and other hard materials, Facsimiles (reproductions) of specific natural forms

What are facsimiles and their significance?

Facsimiles (reproductions) of specific natural forms

A facsimile is an exact copy or replication of an original.

Facsimiles are significant because they allow for the preservation and study of delicate or rare originals without risking damage.

What is Chaine operatoire?

“Operational sequence” from raw material acquistion to manufacture to discard

Production methods

Why study ornaments?

Ornaments tell us about social identity

Ornaments tell us about ethnolinguistic diversity

• Some bead types are distinct to specific regions—> proxies for ethnolinguistic groups. Some evidence of trade and exchange of ideas between these groups. Suggests Paleolithic hunter-gatherer groups were distinct but interconnected.

Ornaments tell us.. that people were very invested in art

• How long to make one bead?- 45mins. How long did it take to make all of the beads found at Sungir?- >2000hrs.

What is parietal art?

“Rock art” that is produced on walls, ceilings, or floors; non-portable; can include paintings, engravings, petroglyphs, finger flutings

Ex:Art in caves- Chauvet

Ex: Art in open air contexts- Foz Coa

Parietal art is global- but some types of rock art are more common in certain regions

How to make a cave painting?

1. Step 1: Find a cave, decide what to paint

2. Prepare the surface

3. Prepare the pigments

4. Apply the paint

What was the earliest example of Parietal art?

Earliest parietal art: Sulawesi, Indonesia— 45ka depiction of a Sulawesi warty pig from leang Bulu Sipong 4

Earliest parietal art: Sulawesi Indonesia— 50ka narrative scene from Leang Bulu Sipong 4

Ex: A famous parietal art- Tuc D’aubdobert (France)