apah 1

GLOBAL PREHISTORY NOTES

UNIT 1 Overview

Works in Art from Content Area 1

  • Apollo 11 stones

    • Location: Namibia
    • Date: c. 25,500–25,300 B.C.E.
    • Material: Charcoal on stone

  • Great Hall of the Bulls

    • Location: Lascaux, France
    • Date: 15,000–13,000 B.C.E.
    • Material: Rock painting

  • Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine

    • Location: Tequixquiac, central Mexico
    • Date: 14,000–7000 B.C.E.
    • Material: Bone

  • Running horned woman

    • Location: Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria
    • Date: 6000–4000 B.C.E.
    • Material: Pigment on rock

  • Beaker with ibex motifs

    • Location: Susa, Iran
    • Date: 4200–3500 B.C.E.
    • Material: Painted terra cotta

  • Anthropomorphic stele

    • Location: Arabian Peninsula
    • Date: Fourth millennium B.C.E.
    • Material: Sandstone

  • Jade cong

    • Location: Liangzhu, China
    • Date: 3300–2200 B.C.E.
    • Material: Carved jade

  • Stonehenge

    • Location: Wiltshire, UK
    • Date: c. 2500–1600 B.C.E.
    • Material: Sandstone

  • The Ambum Stone

    • Location: Ambum Valley, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea
    • Date: c. 1500 B.C.E.
    • Material: Greywacke

  • Tlatilco female figurine

    • Location: Central Mexico, site of Tlatilco
    • Date: 1200–900 B.C.E.
    • Material: Ceramic

  • Terra cotta fragment

    • Location: Lapita, Solomon Islands, Reef Islands
    • Date: 1000 B.C.E.
    • Material: Terra cotta (incised)

Migration of Homo Sapiens

  • Homo migrations primarily facilitated by climate change
  • H. sapiens were not the first to migrate:
    • H. erectus began to migrate about 2 million years ago.
    • Multiple migrations of H. sapiens occurred over tens of thousands of years (~120,000 - 50,000 BCE)
  • Extinction Events:
    • H. erectus and H. neanderthalensis eventually died out, but H. sapiens continued to migrate outward.
  • Seafaring technology and land bridges played a significant role in migration.

Understanding Prehistory

  • Prehistory Definition: an age before written records.
    • Understanding this period is primarily based on scientific evidence: carbon dating, stratigraphic dating, and contextual evidence.
    • Disciplines required: Anthropology, archaeology, biology, chemistry, etc.
    • Lack of writing does not equate to lack of intelligence; prehistoric art often served one or more functions.

Dating Techniques in Archaeology

  • Stratigraphy:

    • Technique for deducing information about an object or site using its relative position in a stratigraphic profile.
    • Oldest artifacts at the bottom, newest at the top.

  • Radiocarbon Dating:

    • Measures the amount of non-decayed carbon-14, allowing for time since an organism's death to be determined.
    • Useful for organic materials like bone, antler, and shell.

  • Contextual Evidence:

    • An object's function and purpose are informed by evidence found in proximity to it.

Migration Timeline of Homo Sapiens

  • Between 120,000 BCE and 50,000 BCE, Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa to populate other regions of the world.

The Stone Age Overview

  • Paleolithic: ~40,000 - 9,000 BCE

    • Characterized by cold climate.
    • First consciously crafted pictorial images in human history.
    • Predominantly hunter-gatherer societies.
    • Art subjects primarily featured animals and representations of women.

  • Mesolithic: ~9,000 - 8,000 BCE

    • Transitional period.

  • Neolithic: ~8,000 - 2,300 BCE

    • Climate became significantly warmer.
    • Domestication of plants and animals; beginnings of agriculture.
    • Permanent settlements emerged, particularly in the Fertile Crescent.

Paleolithic Period

  • Art Characteristics:

    • Sculptures: Mostly small and portable; materials included stone, ivory, or bone.
    • Many relief sculptures carved into cave walls; some painted, though the paint has eroded over time.
    • Animism: Belief that all things have a spiritual essence.

  • Paintings:

    • Varied sizes on cave walls, often superimposed over time by multiple artists.
    • Human figures are stylized, while animals are portrayed with some realism.

Neolithic Period

  • Climate Changes:

    • Warmer conditions led to extinction of wooly mammoths and reindeer migrations.
    • Sea levels rose more than 300 feet in 1,000 years.

  • Neolithic Revolution:

    • Introduction of agriculture; shift to settled life.
    • Increased complexity in structures and sculptures, including monumental architecture (e.g., menhirs, megaliths).

  • Sculpture:

    • Larger and more monumental due to fixed settlements; introduction of diverse materials.

  • Monolithic Architecture:

    • Includes properties like menhirs (large stones) and post-and-lintel structures.

Notable Artworks in Prehistory

  • Running Horned Woman:
    • Unique depiction from the Neolithic period involving hybrid human and animal features.
  • Tlatilco Female Figurine:
    • Characterized by stylized forms and intricate details, highlighting cultural significance.

Themes and Cultural Connections

  • Significant comparisons exist between artworks across cultures, specifically with female representations in Tlatilco and Venus figurines.
    • Hall of Bulls: Examined for visual connection to human forms in prehistoric art.
    • Composite View: Presence of multiple viewpoints in a single image, significant in visually representing figures.

Enduring Understandings and Knowledge from Global Prehistory

  • Human Expression: Existed globally before written records, with early art from various regions exhibiting a focus on the natural world.
  • Artistic Media Development: Variances evolved over time, influenced by local resources and environmental shifts, leading to widespread ritual practices.
  • Interdisciplinary Approach: Ongoing research and archaeological methods contribute to a deeper understanding of prehistoric expressions and their significance in human history.