Prehistoric Art in Africa and Europe Notes

Prehistoric Art in Africa and Europe

Origins of Art

  • Genetic and fossil evidence suggests that Homo Sapiens developed in Africa over 100,000 years ago.

  • By around 40,000 BCE, Homo sapiens became the only hominid species.

  • The oldest artifacts date back to this period, suggesting art is as old as the Homo sapiens species.

Apollo 11 Cave Stones

  • Location: Namibia.

  • Date: ca. 25,500-25,300 BCE.

  • Material: Quartzite.

  • Period: Paleolithic.

Human with Feline Head

  • Date: ca. 40,000-35,000 BCE.

  • Material: Woolly mammoth ivory.

  • Size: 11 5/8 inches (ca. 1 foot).

  • Period: Paleolithic.

  • Location: Southern Germany.

  • Complex sculpture that would have taken 2-3 months to complete.

  • Function unknown.

  • Evidence of prehistoric people’s imagination, combining observed elements.

Venus of Willendorf

  • Date: ca. 28,000 – 25,000 BCE.

  • Material: Limestone.

  • Size: 4 ¼ inches.

  • Period: Paleolithic.

  • Function: Possibly a fertility image or a goddess.

  • Focus is on fertility, not an individual portrait.

Cave Paintings: Lascaux, France

  • Date: ca. 16,000–14,000 BCE.

  • Period: Paleolithic.

  • Paleolithic period characteristics: hunter-gatherer societies, nomadic lifestyle.

  • Art includes:

    • Small, portable objects.

    • Cave paintings in frequently visited caves.

Cave Paintings: Chauvet Cave, France

  • Date: ca. 30,000-28,000 BCE and 15,000-13,000 BCE.

  • Period: Paleolithic.

  • Variety of animals depicted, including both hunted animals and feared predators.

  • No evidence of specialized art tools.

Purpose of Prehistoric Cave Paintings

  • Possible functions:

    • Didactic: Teaching or informational purposes.

    • Ritualistic: Improving hunting luck.

    • Ensuring herd survival.

    • Religious: Ancestor worship.

    • Varying reasons depending on the location.

Jericho

  • Date: ca. 8000–7000 BCE.

  • Period: Neolithic.

  • Represents the transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic periods.

  • Shift from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural societies with settled locations.

Human Skulls from Jericho

  • Date: ca. 7200-6700 BCE.

  • Period: Neolithic.

  • Skulls were removed from bodies, which were buried under entrances; skulls displayed inside.

  • Possible interpretations:

    • Veneration of dead ancestors.

    • Protection against the dead.

Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain

  • Date: ca. 2550–1600 BCE.

  • Period: Neolithic.

  • Agricultural societies produce large-scale art and architecture.