Prehistory of Art

and Design
Lecture 1
 Prehistoric
IMPORTANT NOTE
The very term, ‘prehistoric art,’ is difficult to
A.D. (instead of A.C.) means Anno define. Technically speaking, it refers to the
‘art’ made by prehistoric peoples; that is, by
Domini, or years “After Christ“ people in those societies without, and
B.C. is years "before Christ". usually before the development of, written
texts.
Definition
– Prehistoric art was more like ethnographic art as it
was representing living of the beings at that time.

– Prehistoric period may used art as a way of

communication, at least in what we believe.

– Prehistoric art shows us a brief picture on how early

human beings live their everyday lives.

– It was the basis and pattern of life during their ages.

 3 Million Years to 3000 BC
PALEOLITHIC MESOLITHIC NEOLITHIC

2.5 million – 10,000 BCE 10,000 – 8,000 BCE 8,000 – 2,000 BCE
The Paleolithic or The Mesolithic or Middle The Neolithic period, or
Palaeolithic, also called the Stone Age is the period New Stone Age, is
Old Stone Age between the Upper characterized by the
Paleolithic and the beginning of a settled
Neolithic. human lifestyle.
 Paleolithic Period
The oldest known representational imagery comes from the Aurignacian (AW - RIG - NAY - SHUN) culture of the
Upper period (Paleolithic means old stone age). Majority of the discoveries has been done all across Europe
especially (Southern France, Northern Spain and Swabie in Germany.

The oldest of these is a 2.4-inch tall female figure carved out of mammoth ivory that was found in six fragments in
the Hohle Fels cave near Schelklingen (SHA - LI - AGE) in southern Germany

A typical Paleolithic society followed a hunter-gatherer economy.

Humans hunted wild animals for meat and gathered food, firewood, and materials for their tools, clothes, or
shelters.

The adoption of both technologies—clothing and shelter—can not be dated exactly, but they were key to humanity’s
progress.
 CAVE ART

, Ronny Reader . .
Paleolithic cave paintings The oldest examples of Early humans chose The most common themes
demonstrate early humans' Paleolithic exist in caves, locations that could be in cave paintings are large
capacity to give meaning to followed by houses of defended against predators wild animals, such as bison,
their surroundings and wood, straw, and rock. and rivals and that were horses, aurochs, and deer.
communicate with others. . shielded from inclement
weather
 The term Venus Figurine is used to describe
the more than 200 small statuettes of

Portable art curvaceous female figures that have been

found at Upper Paleolithic sites across
Europe and some parts of Asia.
Portable art refers to the small examples They are generally quite small with sizes
of Prehistoric art that could be carried typically ranging from 2.5 cm to 10.2 cm
though a few examples as large as 24 cm
from place to place, which is especially have been found.
characteristic of the Art of the Upper
The most common material used to carve
Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras. these statuettes is mammoth tusk, but
teeth, antlers, bone, and stone were also
used.
Woolly Mammoth Venus figurine
The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus) is an extinct A Venus figurine is any Upper Palaeolithic statue
species of mammoth that lived during the era. portraying a woman, usually carved in the round.
 Tools and Implements
The Paleolithic era is characterized by the use of stone tools, although at the
time humans also used wood and bone tools.
 Mesolithic Period
The Paleolithic was an age of purely hunting and gathering, but toward the Mesolithic period, the development of
agriculture contributed to the rise of permanent settlements.

Mesolithic people likely continued the art from upper Paleolithic Era.

This period included Cave painting and engraving small sculptures and early megalithic agriculture.

Most Extensive collection of rocks had been discovered on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.

This age is known as the period of Transition in which Paleolithic age was changing into Neolithic age.
 Changes in the Artistic Expressions

, Ronny Reader . .
While Upper Paleolithic art The humans figures which The paintings become more Paleolithic cave art depicts
mainly depicts animals (and were draws shows various styled and less naturalized. colored drawings and
a tiny number of human human activities such as The human figures would expressive features of
figures) the Mesolithic dancing, hunting or other resemble matchsticks. animals. A full range of
artists mainly focused on everyday activities color is used in Mesolithic.
human beings itself.
Rock Carving Ceramic Art
First, due to the warmer climate, Mesolithic As the number and size of Mesolithic
rock art moves from caves to outdoor sites settlements began to grow, so did the
such as vertical cliffs or sheer faces of demand for personal and domestic
natural rock, often protected from the decorative art, including adornments like
elements by outcroppings or overhangs. bracelets and necklaces, as well as
decorative engravings on functional objects
These Mesolithic rock paintings have been like paddles and weapons.
discovered in numerous locations across
Spain, Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Their clay vessels were decorated with
Americas. patterns made by impressing the wet clay
body with cord and sticks.
The largest grouping of this ancient art can
be found in eastern Spain, while other It is also fair to assume that both face
famous examples will be shown in coming painting and body painting continued to be
slides. practiced.
 Neolithic Period
The Neolithic, or "New stone," Age was a period that ran from approximately 8,000 BCE to 2,000 BCE that brought
great changes to the way human beings lived

In the prior period, the Mesolithic, or "middle stone," Age, human beings were primarily hunter-gatherers who lived
a nomadic lifestyle.

The Neolithic period brought a shift to the development of settlements in fixed places and a reliance on agriculture
for sustenance.

This switch was called the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution.

Agricultural Age and its effect
The Neolithic Agricultural Revolution was a transition
from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one based on
agriculture. At its best, agriculture is known for its
ability to produce food surpluses and larger
populations, allowing for the division of labor.

This allowed for greater specialization, which led to the

development of better technology, which led to greater
food production in a positive feedback loop.

Hunter-gatherers, however, may have been healthier

than farming communities, because the hunter-
gatherers had a more diverse diet than did agricultural
communities.
 Architecture

Stonehenge
From England
Their homes, also called longhouses, were
often rectangular in shape featuring a
hearth, which is a fireplace constructed of
stones or bricks, in the center to heat the
home and provide a cooking fire. Neolithic
peoples also constructed monuments like
passage tombs. Examples like Stonehenge
and Jericho

Jericho
From Palestine
Pottery and decorative arts
By the Neolithic Age, clay modelling in the form of
pottery had taken on a life of its own. This pottery was
used for religious rituals, for cooking, and for the
bearing of water and foodstuffs. Pottery could also be
used when eating, as in the creation of bowls. Delve
into the symbolic language embedded in decorative
elements, where ornamental designs and motifs carry
cultural significance..