Prehistoric

Prehistoric Period:
The prehistoric era is the witness of the time when there was no record
of human activity or writings. prehistory also refers to the hunter-gather
lifestyle of people in that era/ period. Pre-history is the fact of origin of
human activities and civilization thousands of years ago. In general,
prehistory is divided into 3 ages and hence the name was given ” A 3
Age System”.
The 3 ages are Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. These 3 ages give
pieces of evidence of human activity in ancient times. These ages are
evolutionary ages in humankind.
• Stone Age:
Stone Age is the very first age notice the change in human
civilization. Use of stone and tools made up of stones were
used. The stone age further divides into 3 more sub-parts
and they are as follows:
 Paleolithic Age:
In Paleolithic age or old stone age. Humans were unaware of
methods of cooking, agriculture. the main occupation of those
times was food gathering and hunting. Everything man used
was made up of stone in this time like his shelter, hunting tools.
This period lasted from 5,00,000 BC to 10,000 BC.
 Mesolithic Age:
In Mesolithic age or middle stone age. Humans started using bo and
arrows for hunting of animals. Hunting of small animals like fish begin
using sharp tools which are also known as microliths-pointed. This
period lasted from 10,000 BC to 6,000 BC.
Prehistoric period
 Neolithic Age:
In Neolithic age or the last phase of the stone age. A remarkable change
in the human civilization is marked in this age. Cultivation of plants and
domestic animals led to human civilization. Improvement in tools and
other equipment. Mud bricks houses were made during this period. This
Metal Age:
The metal age marks the end of the stone age. Metal age is
broadly categorized into two ages and they are as follows

• Bronze Age:
Bronze itself is harder and more durable than other metals
available at the time, allowing bronze age civilizations to
gain a technological advantage. This age was the first
witness in Egypt. Most commonly metals in this period
were copper and bronze.
prehistoric period
• Iron Age:
In the 19th century, the use of iron increased and hence rise of Iron
Age. This age is the last age of the ” 3 Age System”. This age brought
an end to the bronze age. Weapons were also made of iron in this era
Prehistoric period
The first Discovery :
In the autumn of 1879, Spanish nobleman and archeologist Marceino
Sanz de Sautuloa and his young daughter, Maria, set out to explore a
cave in the hillside of Altamira, as a gentleman scholar, De Sautuola
took a serious interest in finding out more about the prehistoric past.

Most of the caves are found in France and Spain.

Cave art:
In prehistoric art, the term "cave painting" encompasses any
parietal art which involves the application of color pigments
on the walls, floors or ceilings of ancient rock shelters. A monochrome
cave painting is a picture made with only one color (usually black) -
see, for instance, the monochrome images at Chauvet.
Painting techniques:
The first paintings were cave paintings. Ancient peoples decorated
walls of protected caves with paint made from dirt or charcoal mixed
with spit or animal fat.
The palette
Prehistoric painters used the pigments available in the vicinity. These
pigments were the so-called earth pigments, (minerals limonite and
hematite, red ochre, yellow ochre and umber), charcoal from the fire (carbon
black), burnt bones (bone black) and white from grounded calcite (lime
white).
Subject of Paintings

Images of animal, includes horses, Aurochs- an ancient

bull, fish, goats, hyenas, turtles, people and deer.

Animals are realistic; human are stick figures with little detail.
Many handprints often left
hands.
Why were they made?
Lascaux Cave Hall of Bulls

Lascaux Cave (Dordogne, France)

Wall Drawing (Charcoal & Natural Clay
on Limestone) 14,000 BCE
(Paleolithic)
Bird-Headed Man and
Bison
Narrative (tells a story)

Relationship of Humans with Animals

Mythological figure lying down

Hunting Scene?

Lascaux Cave (Dordogne, France)

Wall Drawing (Charcoal on
Limestone) 14,000 BCE (Paleolithic)
Altamira Caves Bison
First Paleolithic cave discovered
Discovered by accident in 1868 by a local
hunter, then visited in 1876 by a nobleman
Not accepted as authentic until 1902
Relief (bison image raised from the
background – created by carving around the
bison)

Altamira Cave (Altamira, Spain) Charcoal and Clay

on Limestone Relief 12,000 BCE (Paleolithic)
 Prehistoric
subjects.
Sculpture
Animals and female figures are the main
Materials Used in Prehistoric
Sculpture:
The materials used in this prehistoric
sculpture are quite diverse, as they varied
by region and locality. Most commonly,
prehistoric sculptors used mammoth bone
and ivory in carvings, as well as perishable
wood. Artist sometimes carved in softer
varieties of stone like limestone and
sandstone. Harder varieties included
quartzite and serpentine. Clay and
terracotta were widely used in figures of the
Stone Age. In the Mesolithic and Neolithic
periods, tools became stronger, which
 Woman from
Found in Willendorf,
Willendorf
Austria

Other similar statues of

female nudes have been
found in the region

Fertility symbol?
Cultural differences of
“beauty” originally named
“Venus from Willendorf”
(but Venus title limits the
interpretation since it is
unknown what she 28,000 – 25,000 BCE (Paleolithic) Carved
represents) Limestone
11.1 cm tall
 Prehistoric
1. The “invention” of
architecture:
A Paleolithic
Architecture
village was successfully
excavated in Mezhirich in the Ukraine
dating back to approximately 15,000
BCE. The village revealed a cluster of
huts made of woolly mammoth bones
which provided an intricate framework for structures. These huts
ranged in diameter from 13 to 33 feet,
some with ashes and charred bones
suggesting the presence of a hearth
inside.
Architectural anthropologist argue that Paleolithic humans may not have
“invented” architecture, rather they were the first to gradually define and
structure their surroundings in order to create spaces that allowed them to
better understand the world and their place in it
 2. Prehistoric housing
materials
As humans began to form settlements during the
Mesolithic to the Neolithic era, architecture began
to branch out into more distinct architectural forms.
As human settlements grew, and communal tasks
were divided up, cooperation and collaboration
meant that more sturdy structures could be
constructed. Most of the structures discovered that
date back to this period were made of timber with a
post-and-lintel system. Structures would typically
also have a flat timber roof supported by posts that
could then be filled with woven branches and
covered with mud to create a sturdy wall structure. However, in areas of northern Europe,
many structures were made with stone, and as such are still fairly intact to this day. One
particularly impressive Neolithic village is Skara Brae, located in the Orkney archipelago of
Scotland. Skara Brae consists of eight clustered houses and is believed to have been
inhabited from 3180 BCE to 2500 BCE.
Structures like Skara Brae were built up of layers of flat stones. Stacked up without mortar,
the stones were layered to slope inward and form a corbelled structural system. A small
open roof would likely have been covered with wood and turf, with the interiors consisting
3. Prehistoric stone structures:
Dating back to around 3700 BCE,
stone ceremonial structures began
to appear across Europe. Circular
stone structures known as
cromlechs had a ceremonial
function, often serving as
permanent tombs.
Newgrange in Ireland consists of
an elaborate system of passage graves that dates back to 3000 BCE, with
a series of burial chambers throughout. The burial chambers are made of
large rocks that were placed vertically and then covered with smaller
rocks and dirt to create a mound, with many of the construction rocks
engraved with abstract geometric designs of circles and spirals.
4. Geometric forms and designs in
prehistoric architecture:
Though there was little in the way of
interior design 5,000 years ago, the very
earliest design elements centered on
simple geometric forms. This has been
seen in the previously mentioned
engravings, but also in the arrangement
of large stone megalithic structures, the
most famous of which is Stonehenge in
England.
Neolithic structures like Stonehenge
were likely inspired by circular shapes such as the sun and the moon or
are possibly a reference to the cyclical nature of prehistoric life. The
passing of the seasons and the godlike appearance of the sun and moon
each day and night were likely to be central to the religious beliefs of
Neolithic people.
 REFFERENCES:
• http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric/cave-painting.ht
m#:~:text=In%20prehistoric%20art%2C%20the%20term,the%20monoc
hrome%20images%20at%20Chauvet
.
• https://www.toppr.com/guides/general-knowledge/ancient-indian-histor
y/pre-historic-period/
• http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/intro/early.html#:~:text=Pa
inting%20techniques,with%20spit%20or%20animal%20fat
.
• https://www.unitedunderarts.org/blog/prehistoric-sculpture#:~
:text=Most%20commonly%2C%20prehistoric%20sculptors%20used,fig
ures%20of%20the%20Stone%20Age
.
• https://architecturecompetitions.com/4-simple-concepts-of-prehistori
c-architecture