ART HISTORY: “Art is the signature of civilizations”

SL Class Date: Wednesday 10.5.216
SL Class Section: The Beginnings of Western Culture (Part 1)


A.     Introduction to Pre-History (Paleolithic through Neolithic Periods)

The Paleolithic period (or Old Stone Age) is approximately 2.4 million years to about 10,500 years ago. It corresponds to the geological Pleistocene era – otherwise known as the Ice Age.  During this era, glaciers moved over the European and Asian continents, forcing peoples to move to areas around the Mediterranean and into Africa.




The Paleolithic people were nomadic hunters, gatherers, and fishers; they did not produce their own food and they lived precariously as peoples completely dependent on their natural environment. The earliest people were nomadic hunter-gatherers, following herds of bison, deer, horses and mammoths – depending on these animals for survival.






The Mesolithic Period (or Middle Stone Age), lasted about 500 years. This period was a transitional phase between the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages du ring which people emphasized fishing and developed new tools, particularly for use in woodworking.







The Mesolithic era was very different from the Paleolithic. Because the glaciers were gone, the northern and southern regions suddenly had a bountiful food supply. Forested regions were for the first time being cut down in small numbers. Flint was worked into small tools, which were used for many different things. Fishing tackle and stone axes have been found and could have been used for fishing and shaping wood. Canoes and bows have also been found.

With food more plentiful and the development of better tools and weapons to kill and make use of animals, it's not surprising that the human population boomed. With animals and environments more diverse than they had been for hundreds of thousands of years, it also seems only natural that cultures that were more and more different from each other would develop.



The Neolithic Age (or New Stone Age), began about 11,000 years ago. By 9500 B.C.E during this period, humans began to grow crops, domesticate certain animals (wild pigs, goats, sheep and cattle). Groups of human beings started to live in villages.


Note:

The Bronze and Iron Ages (Metal Ages) began about 7,000 years ago. The Bronze Age (2300–700 bce) and the Iron Age (700–1 bce), which followed a less distinctly defined Copper Age (c. 3200–2300 bce). At this time, societies in Europe began consciously to produce metals. Simultaneous with these technological innovations were changes in settlement organization, ritual life, and the interaction between the different societies in Europe. These developments and their remarkable reflections in the material culture make the period appear as a series of dramatic changes.


B.      In-Class Activity Videos:  Introducing Paleolithic Art  






C.  Prehistoric Cultural Developments: 

It is believed that prehistoric art, religion, and ritual were all bound together, with images, language, and physical movement combined to improve the chance of achieving success in the hunt.  Religion and rituals were important to the prehistoric peoples, seeking to provide some kind of control over nature. The use prayer, art, and ritual enactments of the hunt were extremely important to aid in survival.

Some examples to note:





1)  Mammoth Bone Hut, Teeth Tusks, and Tar Pits, ca. 15,000 bce. Exhibit, The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois.
This house was built of hundreds of mammoth bones by hunters on windswept, treeless plains in Ukraine. Working as a team, hut builders needed only a few days to haul together hundreds of massive bones and stack them into a snug abode.




2)  Hall of the Bulls, ca. 15,000–13,000 bce.
Cave paintings like these were probably associated with prehistoric rituals that may have included music. Some researchers believe that the caves may have been chosen for their acoustical properties and that the paintings had some sort of magical significance connected to game hunts during the hunter-gatherer phase of Paleolithic culture.




3)  Venus of Willendorf, ca. 28,000–23,000 bce Willendorf, Austria. Limestone, 41 ⁄4" (10.8 cm) high. Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.
This figurine is one of numberless representations of earth mother goddesses from the Paleolithic period. Original color indicates it was painted red. Parts of the body associated with fertility and childbearing have been emphasized.


That's it for this week!

Next week, we will be delving closer into the various art styles and expressions of our early ancestors!




HOMEWORK:  

      1.  Please watch the documentary "History of Humanity".

•          How do people express ideas through art?
•          What can we learn about people who lived long ago by looking at a picture?
•          Why do people use images to tell stories and to communicate?
•         What did people use to record important events in their lives or history long ago?
•         How has art been used throughout history to tell stories or to show us what people in other times and places considered important?