AP Art History Unit 1: Global Prehistory

Apollo 11 Stones

ROO: Namibia

DOC: 25,000 BCE

Material: Charcoal on stone

- animal like figures w/human legs

- paleolithic

Lascaux Cave (Great Hall of Bulls)

ROO: Lascaux, France

DOC: 15,000-13,000 BCE

Material: Charcoal, ochre

- paleolithic

- series of caves containing horses, deer, bison, etc.

- decorate upper ceiling

f(x):

- may serve as ritual to encourage successful hunt

- scale of work --> intentionally made

Camelid Sacrum in the Shape of a Canine

ROO: Mexico

DOC: 14,000-7,000 BCE

Material: Sacrum bone from a camelid

- paleolithic

- dog or pig head

- carved w/sharp instrument

f(x):

- unknown

- theory that it's divine b/c sacrum is near reproductive organs

- theory is unsupported, no evidence

Running Horned Woman

ROO: Algeria

DOC: 6000-4000 BCE

Material: natural pigment on rock surface

- neolithic

- looks like 1/2 woman, 1/2 bull

- twisted perspective

- horns/dots/clothes/amulet of the woman suggest it was a god/goddess

f(x):

- rituals/ceremonies

Bushel w/Ibex Motifs

ROO: Susa, Iran

DOC: 4200-3500 BCE

M: painted terracotta

- neolithic

- decorative motifs (geometric shapes, lines, mountain goats, birds, dogs)

- likely made as funerary object

Anthropomorphic Stele

ROO: Arabian Peninsula (modern day Saudi Arabia)

DOC: 4,000-3,000 BCE

M: Sandstone

- neolithic

- tall standing stone

f(x):

- think linked to religion/burial

context:

- one of many found along the arabian peninsula, shows ideas and people moved along early even across long dist

- shows long b4 islam ppl made figured pieces + used them in rituals

Jade Cong

ROO: Liangzhu caves, China

DOC: 3300-2200 BCE

M: carved jade

- neolithic

- made by hard, abrasive sand to grind/polish the stone

f(x):

- unknown

- sacred ritual object used in burials

Stonhenge

ROO: England

DOC: 2550-1600 BCE

M: Stone

- neolithic

f(x):

- unknown

- cxn btwn the monument and solar lunar calendar (solstices' sunrise/sunset are framed exactly by the monument)

Ambum Stone

ROO: Ambum Valley, Papua New Guinea

DOC: 1500 BCE

M: Stone

- paleolithic

- made by Enga people

- resembles echidna

- free standing head/neck

- cupped belly

f(x):

- likely for a ritual pestle used for grinding food

Tlatilco Figure

ROO: Central Mexico

DOC: 1200-900 BCE

M: Ceramic + pigment

- neolithic

- emphasis on hair

- exaggerated hips, stumps of arms

- 2 faces

f(x):

- unknown, but thought of as a symbol of fertility b/c of hips

Lapita Terracotta Fragments

ROO: Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands

DOC: 1000 BCE

M: Terracotta

- neolithic

- made by Lapita ppl

- stamped+incised motifs that adhere to a very reg. structure + repeated sets of specific patterns

- pieces found spanning thousands of miles across Pacific