 Apollo 11 Stones C. ~25,500 - 25300 BCE / Charcoal on Stone Was made 25500-25300 BCE (but only discovered in 1900s) Form - Animal seen in profile, typical of prehistoric painting Materials - Made in charcoal, drawn on stone History - Some of the world’s oldest works of art, were found in the Wonderwerk Cave in Namibia Several of these stone fragments were found, 7 similar stones have been found to date The stones are believed to have been brought to the site of the cave from elsewhere, not made here Buried under layers of sediment and debris, the first piece to be discovered was the left side when a team led by a German archaeologist found it The right side was found more than 3 years later These stones were named after the Apollo 11 moon landing, in 1969, the year the cave was discovered
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 Hall of Bulls - Lascaux Cave c. ~15000 - 13000 BCE / Pigment on Rock / Dordogne, France Form: ~650 Paintings have been found Most common animals are cows, bulls, horses and deer Bodies seen in profile; frontal or diagonal view of horns, eyes, and hooves; some appear pregnant Many overlapping figures (indicating that it has been made over many years) Twisted perspective
Materials: natural products used to make paint - charcoal, iron ore, and plants Walls were scraped to an even surface; paint colors were bound with animal fat; lamps lighted interior of caves Context - Animals were placed deep inside cave - some hundreds of feet from entrance Evidence still visible of scaffolding erected to get to higher areas of caves Negative hand prints (on the background space) used… are those signatures? Caves were not dwellings, as prehistoric people led migratory lives following herds of animals; some evidence exists that people did seek shelter at the mouth of caves History - Discovered in 1940, open to the public after WWII Closed to the public in 1963 because of damage from human contact A new replica cave has been open adjacent to the og Theories: A traditional view is that they were used to ensure a successful hunt Ancestral animal worship Shamanism - a religion based on the idea that the forces of nature can be contacted by intermediaries, called Shamans, who go into trance - like state to reach another state of consciousness
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 Camelid Sacrum in the Shape of a Canine C. 14000 - 7000 BCE / Bone Materials - carved to represent a mammal’s skull Bone sculpture from a camel-like animal Bone has been worked to create the image of a dog or world One natural form used to take the shape of another Sacrum is the triangular bone at the base of the spine Context 0 Mesoamerican idea that a sacrum is a “second skull” The sacrum bone symbolizes the soul in some creatures, and for that reason it may have been chosen for this work History - From Tequixquiac, Mexico Found in 1870 in the Valley of Mexico, where Mexico City is located - An engineer found it at a depth of about 30 feet while working on a drainage project Geography and climate of this region was considerably different during the prehistoric era than it is today
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 Running Horned Woman C. 6000 - 4000 BCE / Rock Painting / Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria Form - Some drawings are naturalistic, some abstract; some Negroid features, some Caucasian features Depicts livestock (cows, sheep, etc.), wildlife (giraffes, lions, etc.), humans (hunting, harvesting, etc.) Composite views (made up of different views) of the body Dots may reflect body paint applied for ritual;white patterns in symmetrical lines may reflect raffia garments Context - More than 15000 drawings and engravings found at site At one time the are was grasslands; climate changes have turned it into a desert The entire site was probably painted by many different group over large expanses of time Female horned figure suggests attendance at a ritual ceremony
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 Beaker with Ibex Motif c. 4200 - 3500 BCE / Terracotta / Louvre, Paris FOrm - Frieze of stylized aquatic birds on top; below stylized running dogs with long narrow bodies Oversized horns, abstract, stylized motif Material - Probably made on a potter’s wheel, a technological advance Thin pottery walls Context - In the idle of the horns is a clan symbol of family ownership Perhaps the image identifies the deceased as belonging to a particular group or family History - Found near a burial site but not with human remains Found with hundreds of baskets, bowls, and metallic items Made in Susa, in south western Iran
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 Anthropomorphic Stele 4th millennium BCE / Sandstone Form - Belted robe from which hangs a double-bladed knife or sword Anthropomorphic: resembling human form but not in itself human Function - Religious or burial purpose, perhaps as a grave marker Context - One of the earliest known works of art from Arabia Found in an area that had extensive ancient trade routes 3 feet tall
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 Jade Cong C. 3300 - 2200 BCE / Jade Form - circular hole placed within a square Abstract designs; main decoration is a face pattern, perhaps of spirits or deities Some have a haunting mask design in each of the four corner - with a bar-shaped mouth, raised oval eyes, sunken round pupils, and two bands that might indicate a head-dress - that resembles the motif seen on Liangzhu jewelry Materials and Context - Jades appear in burials of people of high rank Placed in burials around bodies, some are broken, somehow signs of intentional burning Jade religious objects of various sizes found in tombs; interred with the dead in elaborate rituals Chinese linked jade with virtues - durability, subtlety, and beauty Many of the earliest and most carefully finished examples (the result of months of laborious shaping by hand) are comparatively compact Their rounded shapes suggest the form evolved from bracelets
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 Stonehenge c. 2500 - 1600 BCE / Sandstone / Wilshire, England Form - Post and lintel building; lintels grooved in place by the mortise and tenon system of construction Large megaliths in center are over 20 feet tall and form a horseshoe surrounding a central flat stone Ring of megaliths, originally all united by lintels, surrounds central horseshoe Hundreds of smaller stones of unknown purpose placed around monument Context - Some stones weigh more than 50 tons; size of stone reflects intended permanent of the structure Some stones imported from over 150 miles away, an indication that the stones must have had a special or sacred significance History - Perhaps took a thousand years to build; gradually redeveloped by succeeding generations Theories: Generally thought to be oriented toward sunrise at the summer solstice (longest day of year) and sunset at the winter solstice; may also predict eclipses; a kind of observatory New theory is that Stonehenge was the center of ceremonies concerning death and burial; elite males buried here Alternate theory suggests it was a site used to heal the sick
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 Ambum Stone c. 1500 BCE / Greywacke |
 Tlatilco Female Figure c. 1200 - 900 BCE / Ceramic Form - Style: flipper-like arms, huge thighs, pronounced hips, narrow waists, unclothed except jewelry; arms extending from the body Many shapes and forms on Tlatilco pottery: male and female figures, genre scenes, ball-playing games, animals, imaginary creatures, etc. Female figures show elaborate details of hairstyles, clothing, and body ornaments Function - May have had a shamanistic function Context - Many show deformities, including a female figure with two noses, two mouths, and three eyes Figures take on a full range of human representation, including hunchbacks, dwarfs, contorted acrobats, 2-headed women, and conjoined twins Theories that they show bifacial images, and therefore would show congenital defects Found in graves, and may have had a funerary context History - Tlatilco, Mexico… noted for pottery
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 Lapita Terracotta Fragments c. 10000 BCE / Terracotta / Lapita, from the Solomon Islands Form - Characteristic use of curved stamped patterns: dots, circles, hatching; may have come from use on tattoos One of the oldest human faces in Oceanic art Materials - Lapita culture of the Solomon Islands Known for pottery Outlined forms: used a comb-like tool to stamp designs onto clay, known as dentate stamping
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