Prehistoric and Ancient Cultures Note

Prehistoric and Ancient Cultures

  • 'Prehistoric' refers to communities without writing to record their past.
  • Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) communities existed from about 30,000 to 8000 BCE.
  • Neolithic (New Stone Age) communities, around 8000 BCE, developed advanced stone tools and farming techniques.
  • Neolithic farming originated in Anatolia (Modern Turkey).
  • Key terms: Palaeolithic, Neolithic, pigments, ochre, charcoal, clay, incised, low relief, ritual, fertility figures, shaman, archaeologist, anthropologist, aesthetic.

Venus of Willendorf

  • Key Symbols: Represents all women, exaggerated breasts, stomach, and genital region, small scale, undefined extremities, hair in 7 braids with ritual significance.

Features of Prehistoric Cave and Rock Art

  • Forms of animals, men, and women were drawn, painted, or incised on rock surfaces.
  • Subjects were drawn from nature to convey the spirit or character of the animal.
  • Pigments used were charcoal, soot, and colored ochre.

Mesopotamian Art

  • Art was stylized with a strong sense of line, transmitting ideas through symbolism.
  • Themes were drawn from mythology, religious ritual, empire, and propaganda.
  • Animals featured prominently.

Victory Reliefs

  • Key Symbols: Propaganda, head of the King with a headdress of Nobility, militaristic style, hairstyle of the time, cuneiform.

Winged Bull

  • Fabulous creature with a bull/ox body, wings of a bird, and head of a man.

Ancient Egypt

  • Periods: Prehistory (before writing), Dynastic Period (Pharaohs), Greco-Roman Period (Greek Kings and Roman Emperors), Archaic Islamic Period (after Arab Invasion), Colonial Period (European rule).
  • Key terms: Afterlife (Field of Rushes or Field of Offerings), Pharaoh (ruler), Tomb (mastaba, crypt), Mummification, Immortality, Fresco, Frontalism.
  • Frontalism: Head in profile, body seen from the front, eye drawn in full.

Life of the Average Ancient Egyptian

  • Life was short and difficult with high infant and childbirth mortality rates.
  • Boys from wealthy families went to school, while poor boys helped with men's jobs.
  • Girls learned domestic chores from their mothers and were expected to marry young.

Egyptian Beliefs

  • Pharaoh transforms into Osiris, the king of the dead, upon death.
  • The new pharaoh becomes Horus, the god of the heavens.
  • The spirit known as \"ka\" remains with the pharaoh's body, thus necessitating mummification and grave goods.

Egyptian painting Conventions

  • Frontalism: Head in profile, body seen from the front, eye drawn in full.
  • Figures were formal, stiff, and rigid.
  • Slaves and animals were painted more naturally and smaller.
  • Color was applied in flat tones with strict rules for specific purposes (e.g., men's skin red, women's yellow).

Features of Ancient Egyptian Art

  • Supported religious ritual and the pharaoh's mystique.
  • Content was determined by priests.
  • Subjects were taken from mythology and daily life.
  • Statues and figurines of gods and goddesses were important.
  • Painting was two-dimensional, conventional and schematic.
  • Figures were idealized and their size related to status.
  • Writing (hieroglyphics) conveyed the narrative.

Ancient Greece

  • Early cultures: Crete (Minoan), Mycenae (Mycenaean).
  • Key locations: Knossos (King Minos' Palace), Cyclades.
  • Historical Periods: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic.
  • Key terms: Parthenon, Acropolis, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Contrapposto, Kore & Kouros, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian.

Ancient Greek Everyday Life

  • Men attended theatre and discussed politics.
  • Women were confined to domestic work.
  • Children played games.
  • Most made their living from farming that was difficult.

Ancient Greek Architecture

  • Orders: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian.
  • Acropolis in Athens: Major construction periods.
  • Parthenon: Temple dedicated to Athena.

Sculpture in the Archaic Period

  • Kouros (male) and Kore (female) statues: Frontal pose, rigid, mysterious smile, influenced by ancient Egypt.

Sculpture in the Classical Period

  • Joyous freedom of movement, freedom of expression, celebrates mankind as an independent entity.

Sculpture in the Hellenistic Period

  • Dramatic transformations, sweeping lines, high contrast of light, shadow and emotions.
  • Emphasis shifted to human expression, psychological and spiritual preoccupation, and theatrical settings.
  • Key work: Winged Nike of Samothrace.

Features of Ancient Greek Art

  • Geometric: Geometric patterns and stylized motifs.
  • Archaic: Oriental influence, statues of youths (kouroi).
  • Classical: Idealization of the human figure, naturalism, harmony.
  • Hellenistic: Overly sophisticated, relaxed forms, emotional appeal.

The Roman Empire

  • Absorbed elements from older cultures, transmitted Greco-Roman culture to Western Europe and Northern Africa.

Life in Ancient Roman

  • Revolved around the city of Rome and its monumental structures.
  • Social structure: Family (Pater familias), slaves, plebeians.

Roman Art

  • Propaganda.

Roman Architecture

  • Arch, vault, dome, concrete.
  • Around 700 BCE the Etruscans learned West Asian ideas about architecture.
  • Innovations allowed covering immense interior spaces without inner support.

Colosseum

  • Main structures: Doric, Corinthian, Ionic.

Roman Sculpture

  • Developed its own style over time.
  • Greek artists settled in Rome and began making copies of Greek sculptures.

Roman Painting

  • Wide variety of themes: animals, still life, and scenes from everyday life.
  • Development of landscapes, in particular incorporating techniques of perspective.

Roman Painting Styles

  • Examples: Villa of the Mysteries, Herakles and Telephos, Aldobrandini Wedding.

Mosaics

  • Tile, creates the illusion of 3-dimensionality.