Prehistory art pieces info and images - AP art history

Prehistory info and images

Art from this period predates written language, so we know very little about the cultures that created it.

Prehistory art

People were largely nomadic and relied heavily on animals for survival.

BCE

Before Common Era

Same as BC, just non-religious wording

Used for dates before year 1 (CE)

Twisted Perspective / Composite View

A way of showing the human body using multiple viewpoints at once

Example: head + legs in profile, torso + eye front-facing

Twisted Perspective / Composite View is common in

Ancient Egyptian Art

Twisted Perspective / Composite View purpose is

To show the most recognizable parts, not realism

Carbon Dating

Scientific method used to determine the age of organic materials

Measures decay of carbon-14

Carbon Dating is used for

things like wood, bones, textiles

Carbon Dating is not used for

stone or metal directly

Abstraction is

art that simplifies or distorts reality

Abstraction does not

try to look fully realistic

Charcoal

Drawing material made from burnt wood

Charcoal usage

Produces soft, dark line

Advantage of using charcoal in art is that

it is easy to smudge and good for shading

Ochre is

natural earth pigment (red, yellow, brown)

What is ochre made from?

iron-rich clay

Ochre is used in what?

prehistoric cave paintings

Megalith are

large stone structure used in prehistoric times

Megalith are often used for

ritual, burial, or ceremonial purposes

Post & Lintel is

2 vertical posts and one horizontal beam on top

Post & Lintel are used in

ancient architecture (Egypt, Greece, Stonehenge)

Trilithon is

a specific type of post & lintel

Stonehenge is a famous example of what

Trilithon

What is this?

Apollo 11 stones

are from where

Namibia

is from what time period?

25,500–25,300 B.C.E

is made from what

Charcoal on stone

Great Hall of the Bulls

Great Hall of the Bulls are from where

Lascaux, France

Great Hall of the Bulls are from what time period?

15,000–13,000 B.C.E.

The Great Hall of the Bulls are what material

Rock Painting

Camelid sacrum

Camelid sacrum comes from where?

Tequixquiac, central Mexico

Camelid sacrum are from what period?

14,000–7000 B.C.E.

Camelid sacrum is made of what?

Bone

Running horned woman

Running horned woman is from where?

Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria

Running horned woman is from what time period?

6000–4000 B.C.E.

Running horned woman is from what culture?

Prehistoric African (Neolithic)

Running horned woman shows what

A female figure running/dancing with large curved horns on her head. Her body is decorated with dots and patterns and there is an emphasis on movement, arms back and legs extended. It is a composite view, not fully naturalistic

Running horned woman represents what

Likely a goddess, ritual figure, or spiritual leader. It suggests religious or ceremonial activity. It shows early human interest in Spirituality, fertility / nature worship. It shows evidence that prehistoric societies had complex belief systems, not just focused on survival.

Running horned woman context is

the region of the people used to be lush and fertile but now it is desert. Art reflects a time when people were transitioning to settled life and early agriculture. Rock art like this often was tied to cultural performances like dance

Bushel with ibex motifs

Bushel with ibex motifs is from where?

Susa, Iran

Bushel with ibex motifs is from what time period?

4200–3500 B.C.E.

Bushel with ibex motifs is what material?

Bushel with ibex motifs is from what time period?

Anthropomorphic stele

Anthropomorphic stele is from where

Arabian Peninsula

Anthropomorphic stele is from what time

Fourth millennium B.C.E.

Anthropomorphic stele is what material

Sandstone

Jade cong

Jade cong is from where

Liangzhu, China

Jade cong is from what time period

3300-2200 B.C.E

Jade Cong is made of what

Carved Jade

What is the Jade cong used for

a ritual object, usually placed in burials

Key features of the Jade cong include

a square exterior and a circular inner tube.

The circular inner tube in the Jade cong represents

heaven

The square exterior in the Jade cong represents what

earth

Key features of the Jade cong include

They were often carved with faces/masks and they were extremely precise and labor intensive carving. To make one showed high skill

Jade cong is important because

It reflects early chinese belief in cosmic order (heaven vs earth)

Jade cong is important because

It shows the importance of ritual and afterlife

Jade represented

status and power (only elites were buried with it)

The Jade cong suggest that

a social hierarchy already existed

The context of the Jade cong is that

it was made before metal tools were common so carving jade required huge effort

Jade congs were found

in tombs

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is from where

Wiltshire, UK

Stonehenge is from what culture

Neolithic Europe

Stonehenge is from what time period

2500–1600 B.C.E.

Stonehenge are what material

Sandstone

The Ambum Stone

The ambum stone is from where

Ambum Valley, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea

The Ambum Stone is from what time period

1500 B.C.E.

Ambum Stone is made of what material?

Greywacke

The Ambum Stone is from what culture?

Prehistoric Oceanic

What are is the ambum stone?

Small stone sculpture of a stylized animal (thought to be an echidna). It has a smooth, rounded form with minimal detail.

Key features of the Ambum Stone

Abstraction, focus on form over detail, polished surface

was likely used in

ritual or spiritual practices linked to fertility, ancestral spirits, and hunting magic

Ambum stones show

early humans who used art for symbolic meaning, not decoration

Context of the Ambum Stone is that

it was found in the highland region (isolated culture), no written records (meaning is interpreted), suggests belief in spiritual power tied to animals

Tlatilco female figurine

Tlatico female figurine is found from where

Central Mexico, site of Tlatilco

Tlatico female figure is from what time period

1200-900 B.C.E.

Tlatico female figure is made of what

ceramic

Tlatilco female figurine depicts what

A small female figure, nude, wide hips/thighs to emphasize fertility

Tlatilco female figurine sometime shave

two-heads (bifacial) and elaborate hairstyles

Tlatilco female figurine dual faces represent

one normal side and one distorted side that represent duality (life/death, beauty/deformity, human/spiritual)

Tlatilco female figurine are used for what

ritual or spiritual use

The context of the Tlatilco female figurine is

early Mesoamerican society

The Tlatilco female figurine suggests

early beliefs about life cycles and transformation

Terra cotta fragment

Terra cotta fragment is from what culture

Lapita culture

Terra cotta fragment is from what location

Solomon islands/ reef islands

Terra cotta fragment are from what date

1000 B.C.E.

Terra cotta fragment are what material

Terracotta/clay

what are the Terra cotta fragments?

fragment of pottery- broken piece of a larger vessel

Terra cotta fragment originally functioned as what

a functional container for storage/cooking

Terra cotta fragment key features include

geometric patterns

Terra cotta fragment are made using

dentate stamping- pressing a toothlike tool into wet clay