The Annotated Mona Lisa: Prehistoric Art: The Beginning

the Neanderthal tool-making mentality gave way to

the Cro-magnon urge to make images

When did the Neanderthal tool-making mentality gave way to the Cro-magnon urge to make images?

Sometime during the last glacial epoch

The first art objects were made

out of an attempt to control or appease natural forces

the oldest surviving art objects are

sculpture made our of bone

the first “paintings” were probably made in caves approximately

15,000 years ago.

these pictures of bison, deer, horses, cattle, mammoth, and boars are located in

the most remote recesses of the caves, far from the inhabited, sunlight entrances

Although de Sautuola was sure that the paintings were prehistoric

skeptical archeologist pronounced them forgeries

When did colossal stone architecture first appear?

Around 5000 BC

What are the three main forms of early megalithic architecture?

Dolmen, Menhir, and Cromlech.

What is a dolmen?

Large vertical stones topped with a flat slab—basically a giant stone table.

What is a menhir?

A single upright stone; the largest measured 164 feet long and weighed 350 tons.

What is a cromlech?

A circular arrangement of stones, like Stonehenge.

What myths surrounded Stonehenge?

People believed it was built by giants or magically moved from Ireland by Merlin.

What was Stonehenge likely used for?

An accurate astronomical calendar.

What are trilithons at Stonehenge?

T-shaped stone structures resembling massive doorways.

What is the heel-stone at Stonehenge?

A stone marking where the sun rises at the summer solstice.