AP Art History Unit 1: Prehistoric Art Flashcards | Quizlet

What are the form and dimensions of the Apollo 11 Stones?

Stones measuring $4-5''$ with charcoal drawings of animals and geometric designs.

What are the context, date, and naming origins of the Apollo 11 Stones?

Found buried in Apollo 11 caves in Namibia, dated to about $25500\text{ BCE}$ (oldest representational art in Africa), depicting animals as some of the world's oldest works of art; named because they were discovered at the time of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

What materials and perspective technique were used in the Great Hall of the Bulls?

Natural materials including plants, charcoal, and iron ore; human figures are stick figures while animals look realistic, drawn using twisted perspective.

What content and count of paintings characterize the Great Hall of the Bulls?

Contains $650$ paintings depicting animals in motion (cows, bulls, horses, deer) with pictures layered on top of pictures by different artists from many time periods.

What was the function and geographical setting of the Great Hall of the Bulls?

To show an animal ritual (ancestral animal worship); located in situ deep in a cave in Lascaux, France (Paleolithic Europe) as a sacred place, not a dwelling because the creators were nomads.

What are the form and content of the Camelid sacrum?

A triangular carved bone made from a sacrum bone (hip bone) sculpted in the shape of a canine/wolf.

What was the function and context of the Camelid sacrum?

Served as a spiritual mask to house the spiritual essence of a hunted animal, using the sacrum bone as powerful symbolism of Osiris and rebirth; found in a tomb in Mexico (MesoAmerica) dated to $14000-7000\text{ BCE}$.

What is the form of the Running horned woman, and why is carbon dating difficult for it?

A canyon painting depicting motion; carbon dating is difficult because it features layers of painting from different times.

What does the Running horned woman depict, and what is its function?

Depicts a woman with horns running, with dots on her body representing body painting (possibly a deity wearing ceremonial headgear); functions to show this person as holy or a god because of the horns.

Where is the Running horned woman located, and what is its date?

Located in situ on canyon walls in the Sahara, dated to $6000-4000\text{ BCE}$ (Neolithic).

What are the form and composition of the Bushel with ibex motifs?

Painted terra cotta (clay) featuring geometric forms set in registers, utilizing a controlled and repeated planar composition.

What content is depicted on the Bushel with ibex motifs?

Dog figures, a mountain goat, and cranes.

What was the function, location, date, and technological method of the Bushel with ibex motifs?

A funerary object found in Susa, Iran dated to $4200-3500\text{ BCE}$ (Neolithic); made using the new technology of the potter's wheel.

What are the form and content of the Anthropomorphic stele?

Made of sandstone; $3$ of them, all $3\text{ ft}$ tall, depicting a belted robe with a knife hanging from it.

What were the functions and geographical context of the Anthropomorphic stele?

Used in the incense trade and for religious/burial practices; found on trade routes in the Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia dating to the fourth millennium.

What are the form and content of the Jade cong?

Carved jade shaped as a square with a circle inside; decorated with low reliefs and abstract designs that refer to spirits/deities.

What was the function, location, date, and cultural meaning of the Jade cong?

From Liangshzu, China ($3300-2200\text{ BCE}$); appeared in burials of high ranked people, with jade linked in China to virtues like beauty, durability, and subtlety.

What construction technique and arrangement define Stonehenge?

Sandstone arranged in a circle (cromlech) using post and lintel construction (two vertical posts support a horizontal beam) with stones in a centralized plan surrounded by small stones in no specific pattern.

Where is Stonehenge located, what is its date, and what were its probable functions?

Located in Wiltshire, UK dated to $2500-1600\text{ BCE}$; functioned probably for religious ceremonies, burial, and as a marker of the mid-summer solstice.

What is the form and content of The Ambum stone?

Greywacke stone sculpted to look like an anteater with human/animal characteristics (mostly animal).

What was the function and archaeological context of The Ambum stone?

Believed to have supernatural power and used as a spirit stone in rituals; found in the Ambun Valley, Papua New Guinea around $1500\text{ BCE}$.

What are the form and content of the Tlatico female figure?

A ceramic figure with a pinched waist, big hips, two-heads, and no hands or feet; naked except for jewelry (many other figures show deformities like this).

What was the function and geographical origin of the Tlatico female figure?

Created in Central Mexico ($1200-900\text{ BCE}$) to show fertility, with the two heads representing everyday life and death.

What are the form and decorative motifs of the Terra cotta fragment?

Terra cotta with dentate stamping, featuring dentate designs of circles, hatching, and dots.

What are the function and context of the Terra cotta fragment?

Function is unknown; created by the Lapita peoples and found in the Solomon Islands, Reef Islands in $1000\text{ BCE}$.