Prehistoric Art and Early Civilizations Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, visual proofs in art history, and the Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia.

Paleolithic Period

A prehistoric period starting around $30,000\,\text{BCE}$ in which nomadic people survived by hunting wild animals and gathering wild edible plants.

Neolithic Period

A prehistoric period dating from $10,000\,\text{BCE} - 2,000\,\text{BCE}$ when people settled down, practiced agriculture (farming and herding), and achieved stability that allowed for cultural advancements.

Chauvet Cave Artwork

Paleolithic cave art located in France, dated to $30,000\,\text{BCE}$, featuring depictions of aurochs, horses, and rhinos.

Nude Woman from Willendorf

A Paleolithic fertility sculpture from Austria that exaggerates female anatomy, specifically swollen breasts, stomach, and rear, to represent the process of pregnancy.

Fertility

The ability to conceive and carry a pregnancy.

Visual Proofs

Specific and detailed descriptions of relevant parts of an image used in art history to explain, prove key prompts, and convince readers or graders.

Mesopotamia

Meaning "the land between two rivers," this region encompasses modern-day Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, with its southern section serving as the location of the first civilization.

Sumerians

The people who inhabited Sumer in southern Mesopotamia from $3500-2300\,\text{BCE}$ and developed the world's first complex, organized society.

Ziggurats

Monumental structures built by the Sumerians that serve as visual proof of their organized, complex society.

Cuneiform

The earliest written script in the world, created by Sumerians by making impressions on wet clay tablets to record accounting data such as numbers of farm animals and containers of grain.

Inanna

The Sumerian goddess of fertility.

Neolithic Advancements

Innovations made possible by the stability of settled Neolithic life, including weaving (woven cloth), pottery (clay pot containers), and metal smithing (metal swords).