History of Ancient Art and Design: Prehistorical Period Overview

Prehistorical Art Overview

  • Time Period: 50,000 BC−2,000 BC50,000\text{ BC} - 2,000\text{ BC}.

  • A.D.A.D. (Anno Domini): "In the year of the Lord."

  • B.C.B.C. (Before Christ).

  • Stone Ages: Categorized by the use of stone tools and the absence of written language.

Paleolithic: Old Stone Age (50,000 BC−8,000 BC50,000\text{ BC} - 8,000\text{ BC})

  • Lifestyle: Nomadic, focused on survival, with portable, lightweight objects.

  • Venus of Willendorf (25,000−30,000 BC25,000 - 30,000\text{ BC}, Vienna, Austria): A 11cm11\text{cm} sculpture in the round symbolizing fertility via large breasts and abdomen; has no visible face.

  • The Woman of Laussel (20,000−18,000 BC20,000 - 18,000\text{ BC}, Laussel, France): A 40+cm40+\text{cm} relief sculpture symbolizing fertility; the right hand holds a crescent moon representing menstrual cycles/pregnancy.

  • Lascaux Cave (15,000−13,000 BC15,000 - 13,000\text{ BC}, Lascaux, France): Cave paintings for ritual/spiritual power using twisted perspective.

Mesolithic: Middle Stone Age (8,000 BC−6,000 BC8,000\text{ BC} - 6,000\text{ BC})

  • Development: Transition to plant cultivation, animal domestication, and temporary shelters.

  • Beliefs: Awareness of life after death leading to the creation of cemeteries.

  • Rock Painting (10,000 BC10,000\text{ BC}, Bhimbetka, India): Geometric human figures dominated by red ochre.

  • Pithouses (5,000 BC5,000\text{ BC}): Temporary oval pits with timber roofs and stone hearths.

Neolithic: New Stone Age (6,000 BC−2,000 BC6,000\text{ BC} - 2,000\text{ BC})

  • Society: Permanent settlements, specialized roles (weavers, potters, shamans), and organized agriculture.

  • Dancing Hunter (5,800 BC5,800\text{ BC}, Catal Huyuk, Turkey): Cave painting depicting group hunting rituals.

  • Pottery (3,300 BC−2,000 BC3,300\text{ BC} - 2,000\text{ BC}): Abstract-shaped vessels for food/water storage.

  • Gobekli Tepe/Potbelly Hill (9,500 BC−8,000 BC9,500\text{ BC} - 8,000\text{ BC}, Turkey): Earliest evidence of permanent settlement; used for worship and burials.

  • Carnac Stones (4,500 BC4,500\text{ BC}, France): Dense collection of megalithic alignments, stone tombs (dolmens), and burial mounds (tumuli).

  • Cromlech: The Stonehenge (4,000 BC4,000\text{ BC}, Brittany, France): Large stone circles (13’13\text{'} high, 25 tons25\text{ tons} each) serving funerary or ritual purposes and possibly acting as an astronomical calendar aligned with solstices.