Prehistoric Art and Culture

  • Archaeologists have discovered cultural artifacts that predate Tutankhamen by thousands of years, indicating that Homo sapiens existed at least 150 millennia before him and engaged in activities like mixing paint.

  • The Stone Age is divided into Paleolithic (Old Stone Age, ca. 2,500,000-ca. 10,000 BCE), Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age, ca. 10,000-ca. 8000 BCE), and Neolithic (New Stone Age, ca. 8000-ca. 2500 BCE).

  • Archaeological finds include cave paintings, carvings, figurines, jewelry, and musical instruments, featuring stenciled hand prints, geometric symbols, animals, and human figures.

  • Early humans sought shelter in natural formations like caves and under ledges, later constructing shelters using materials like mammoth bones, as noted by Howard Bloom's quip, "First came the mammoth, then came architecture" (Fig. 1.2).

  • Structures from the Stone Age are scarce, but the early ritual burying of the dead, Neanderthals making jewelry, Homo sapiens creating cave paintings, and humans carving figurines have been identified.

  • The transition to settled communities, agriculture, pottery, and eventually the use of bronze for tools and weaponry mark the Neolithic period. \textbf{Developments in the Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age)}

  • Neanderthals existed between 300,000 to 500,000 years ago, populating parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Homo sapiens spread northward into Europe around 43,000 to 45,000 years ago, coexisting with Neanderthals for 10,000 to 15,000 years.

  • The Neanderthal species went extinct around 30,000 BCE, potentially due to Homo sapiens, although interbreeding ensured some genetic legacy survived.

  • Recent discoveries debunk notions of Neanderthals lacking artistic expression, with rock art found in Gibraltar and necklaces/bracelets made from eagle talons in Croatia (Fig. 1.3) indicating interest in body adornment for ritual or luxury.

  • The Paleolithic period is marked by toolmaking, with Homo sapiens using flint rock to create hammerstones, chisels, knives, and weapons for cutting plants and hunting. The discovery of fire was a significant technological advancement. Stone Age humans created paints from earth pigments, grinding and liquefying them, and the evidence of this "chemistry" was found in a South African cave (Fig 1.4). (100,000 years ago).

  • Cave paintings, such as those in El Castillo Cave in Spain (ca. 35,000 BCE), include handprints, reddish disks, club-like symbols, and geometric designs (Fig. 1.5). Animal depictions came later.

  • The great cave paintings were discovered accidentally in northern Spain and southwestern France. In Lascaux, teenagers found vibrant paintings of bison, horses, and cattle estimated to be more than 15,000 years old.

  • The Hall of the Bulls at Lascaux (Fig 1.6) features lively animals drawn with bold black lines and filled in with shades of ground ochre and red pigments, using techniques like dragging raw pigment and "spray-painting" with ground pigments blown through hollowed-out bones.

  • Early humans created these paintings in deep cave recesses, suggesting they were not merely decorative but may have served a religious or ritual purpose related to hunting and capturing prey.

  • Archaeological evidence suggests a relationship between music and art, with ancient flutes (Fig. 1.7) found in caves near wall paintings, possibly indicating Paleolithic concert halls with acoustics enhancing ritual ceremonies.

  • Prehistoric artists created small figurines, called Venuses, representing earth mothers or fertility goddesses, with exaggerated features associated with fertility and childbirth.

  • During the Neolithic period, life became more stable with the domestication of plants and animals, leading to food production replacing food gathering. Pottery was invented around 5000 BCE, and metal began to replace stone for tools and weapons.

  • The use of bronze became widespread, giving its name to the Bronze Age (3000 BCE to the introduction of iron around 1000 BCE). Writing appeared, and people moved into towns and cities, erecting significant architectural monuments.

  • Jericho was built around an oasis in the Jordan Valley, featuring stone defenses, including walls and a circular tower, to protect from roaming nomads (Fig. 1.9). Skulls with facial features restored in plaster were found buried beneath the floors of Jericho's houses, suggesting rudimentary portraits of ancestors.

  • Stonehenge (Fig. 1.10) in southern England consists of concentric rings of colossal stones, weighing several tons, speculated to have served as a solar calendar or observatory. Julian Spalding suggests it may have supported a circular wooden platform for ceremonies.

  • The Neolithic period in Europe overlaps with the beginning of civilization in the Middle East (ca. 8000 BCE). Civilized societies generally possess urban life, government, distinct social classes, manufacturing/trade, written communication, and a shared religious belief system.

  • Civilization is no guarantee of civilized behavior, as demonstrated by the atrocities of the 20th century. The wellsprings of our civilization trace back to ancient cultures across the globe, including Mesopotamia and along the Nile River in Egypt.

  • Mesopotamia, located in present-day Iraq, was made fertile by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The history of ancient civilization in Mesopotamia is the story of successive ruling peoples, each with their own language, religion, customs, and art.

  • Sumerians developed irrigation, temples, and were overseen by priests. In cities such as Uruk (ca. 3400 cm of the Temple) Kings were representatives of Gods. They guarded Temples building irrigation systems to better their chance of good harvest.

  • The White Temple at Uruk (1.15) was whitewashed with mud brick 3500-3000BCE. Votive figures 2700 BCE (1.16) were gypsum with shell and limestone - cylinder, hand-clasped for absent religious members.

  • Sumerian subject matter consisted of music making and composite man-beasts. The Sumerians, however, assimilated the Sumerian culture.

  • The most important invention of the time was cuneiform (writing). It evolved into wedge shapes in clay, being quicker and easier in the process (1.17 The forms of early writing - Tablet cuneiform Uruk).

  • Musical texts in cuneiform writing were found, suggesting that Mesopotamians had a ritual tradition of music theory and practice that was on heptatonic scales per pitches (1.18).

  • The Epic of Gilgamesh, Mesopotamia (Gilgamesh ruled between 2800 and 2500 BCE) who has heroic ties to the bible. The flood tablet was created for those who were literate. Tablet XI 700 BC was found in Nineveh Iraq. It was written with various languages. It speaks the tale of Gilgamesh his life (

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