Comprehensive Study Notes on Prehistoric Art and Architecture

Prehistory covers the period from the earliest traces of human artistic labor until the emergence of writing.
Paleolithic: Known as the Old Stone Age, this period occurred before the appearance of pottery.
Mesolithic: A transitional period leading into the New Stone Age.
Neolithic: The New Stone Age, distinguished by human residence in plains and the use of pottery.
Metal Age: Characterized by the use of metals and the emergence of the first organized cultures.

Prehistoric art is categorized into two main styles:
- Figurative: Representations of humans and animals.
- Non-figurative: Use of abstract shapes, signs, and symbols.
Pigments were derived from minerals, animal organs, and plants. Animal fat served as the primary binding agent for paint.
Common subjects include hunting scenes and animals in motion. It was believed that these drawings possessed magical powers.

Chauvet Cave:
- Located in southern France and discovered in $1994$ .
- Contains the oldest and best-preserved prehistoric paintings, dated to approximately $35,000$ years ago.
- Handprints are featured, which signify ownership or hold specific magical meanings.
- Fine layers of color were applied using a technique of blowing colored powder through a small tube.
Lascaux Cave:
- Located in France and discovered in $1940$ by four boys playing during World War II.
- The drawings are approximately $18,000$ years old (around $14,000\,BCE$ ).
Altamira Cave:
- Located in Spain and discovered in $1879$ .
- The paintings date back approximately $15,000$ to $10,000$ years (around $12,000\,BCE$ ).
Other notable sites from regional maps:
- Cosquer Cave: Discovered in $1991$ , dating to $25,000\,BCE$ .
- Gargas Cave: Located in the French Pyrenees region.

Architecture is divided into residential and sacral (cult) categories.
There are more surviving remains of sacral architecture because temples and altars, used for magic and religious cults, were built from durable materials.
Human habitation evolved over time:
- Paleolithic humans lived primarily in caves.
- During the Mesolithic and early Neolithic, warming at the end of the Ice Age led humans to settle in plains and on riverbanks, creating the first known settlements.

This settlement site was excavated between $1965$ and $1970$ under the leadership of Professor Dragoslav Srejović.
Seven successive settlements were found at the site, spanning from $9,500\,BCE$ to $5,500\,BCE$ (Early Mesolithic to Middle Neolithic).
Following excavations, the settlement was moved $30\,m$ higher to prevent it from being flooded by the construction of the Đerdap hydroelectric plant.
Architecture featured specific house reconstructions based on trapezoidal foundations.

Jericho is the oldest extant settlement, dating to approximately $8,000\,BCE$ .
Residential structures in Jericho were constructed from mud and wicker, and the city was protected by a dug-out moat.

The term "Megalith" comes from the Greek words for "large stone."
These structures were primarily of a magical character. Types include:
- Menhir: A single upright standing stone.
- Trilithon (Trilit): Two vertical stones supporting one horizontal stone.
- Cromlech: A circular temple base composed of trilithons and menhirs, believed to be dedicated to the sun cult.
Stonehenge: Built in southern England around $1,500\,BCE$ as a ritual site. It includes a circular ditch and a path leading to a gray megalith known as the prayer stone. The largest trilithon within the circle stands $8\,m$ high.
Maltese Temples:
- Hagar Qim: Built around $3,500\,BCE$ .
- Mnajdra: Built around $4,000\,BCE$ .

Man with a Lion (Cat) Head: A figure with a feline head and human body dating to $40,000-28,000\,BCE$ .
Horse: Carved from a mammoth tusk, dating to approximately $28,000\,BCE$ .
Two Goats: Dated to approximately $13,000\,BCE$ .
Two Bisons: Clay relief dated to approximately $13,000\,BCE$ .
Woman from Brassempouy: A small head fragment found in France, dated to approximately $22,000\,BCE$ .
Venus of Willendorf: A prominent female figurine dated between $28,000$ and $25,000\,BCE$ .

Sculpture in Lepenski Vir developed between $7,000$ and $4,500\,BCE$ .
Key pieces include "Adam" ( $7,000\,BCE$ ), "Water Fairy" ( $4,500\,BCE$ ), and figures representing ancestors (Progenitor and Progenitress).
In Jericho, a Neolithic head covered in plaster was discovered, dating to $7,000\,BCE$ .

The Neolithic period saw the introduction of clay as a primary material for sculpture.
Ain Ghazal (Amman): Plaster figures dating back to $7,000\,BCE$ .
Seated Goddess: From the museum in Ankara, dating to $6,000\,BCE$ .
Red-haired Goddess: Found in Deronje (Vojvodina), dated to $5,000\,BCE$ .
Hamangia Figures: Representing a man and a woman, found in Romania and dated to $4,500\,BCE$ .
Vinča Culture: Developed on the plains of the Balkans and Romania between $4,500$ and $3,800\,BCE$ .
- Two-headed statuette ( $4,500\,BCE$ ) located in the Museum of Vojvodina.
- Vidovdanka ( $4,000\,BCE$ ).
- Vinča Lady ( $4,000\,BCE$ ).
- Prosopomorphic lids for burial urns (shaped like human or animal forms), dating from $5,000-4,500\,BCE$ .

Dupljaja Chariots: Dating to approximately $1,500\,BCE$ , these ritual objects found in the village of Dupljaja near Bela Crkva are associated with the cult of fertility and vegetation.
Idol of Kličevac: A female figure created around $1,600\,BCE$ , found near Kostolac inside a burial urn with the cremated remains of the deceased.