AH Quiz 2

  • Ars (Latin): Means “skill” or “craft” – not just beauty, but the ability to make something well.

  • “What is art?”: Art is human-made expression—visual, emotional, or cultural—that has meaning or purpose.

  • Art: Creative human expression that communicates ideas, emotions, or culture.

  • Artifact: A human-made object, usually historical (like tools, pottery, or weapons).

  • Artist: Someone who creates art mainly for expression or meaning.

  • Artisan: A skilled craftsperson who makes functional objects (like pottery, textiles) with artistic skill.

  • Non-representational: Art that doesn’t look like anything in the real world (pure shapes, colors, patterns).

  • Representational: Art that shows recognizable things (people, animals, landscapes).

  • Shaman / Shamanism: A spiritual healer or guide in early cultures who could connect with spirits, often shown in cave art.

  • Hunting Magic: The idea that drawing animals could help people succeed in real hunts—early symbolic thinking.

  • Relief Sculpture: A sculpture that sticks out from a flat surface (like carvings on a wall).

  • Twisted Perspective: A way of showing the most recognizable parts of a figure (e.g., body from the side, face from the front).

  • Red Ochre: A natural clay pigment (reddish) used for painting or burials.

  • Venus (figurines): Prehistoric female sculptures often showing fertility features. Not actual "Venus" goddesses—just a modern label.

  • Problems with “naming”: Calling these figures “Venus” assumes they were goddesses, but we don’t know their true meaning.

  • Aurignacian: One of the earliest cultures in Europe with advanced tools and cave art 


  • Paleolithic: “Old Stone Age” – early humans lived in caves, hunted, and made early art (before farming).

  • Neolithic: “New Stone Age” – farming began, permanent homes, pottery, and organized society developed.

  • Mobiliary Art: Small, movable art objects (like figurines, carved bones).

  • Parietal Art: Art on walls or ceilings—like cave paintings.

  • Register: A horizontal band used to organize images or stories in art (like comic strip panels).

  • Çatalhöyük: A large Neolithic village in Turkey with wall paintings and early homes.

  • Stonehenge: A prehistoric stone circle in England, likely used for rituals or astronomy.

  • Woman of Willendorf: A famous small figurine of a woman from the Paleolithic, possibly linked to fertility.

  • Lascaux: A cave in France with amazing prehistoric paintings of animals—some of the best-known cave art in the world.