1. Paleolithic and Neolithic Art Warm up-Think, Pair, Share…What do you think the subject of the first EVER paintings were?

2. Paleolithic art (Old Stone Age) (Paleo =old + lithic =stone) (35,000-10,000 B.C.) There is much that is still unknown about the purposes of these paintings but most scholars believe they were used as part of ceremonies and rituals before hunting and/or in initiation rites for young men. It seems clear from their locations deep in the caves--often in areas difficult to access--that they were not intended as art for art's sake. 1-4. Hall of Bulls, Lescaux, France, 15, 000 –13,000 B.C. http://departments.ozarks.edu/hfa/slgorman/HIstudyaids.htm#chap1paleo

3. Subjects: primarily animals (rhinos, felines, bison, horses, bear, ibex, reindeer, auroch, mammoths; signs human representation is rare--negative and positive hand prints, half animal/half human figures Techniques: dirt pigments combined with animal fat sprayed or brushed on figures outlined or modeled with pigment; perspective (twisted or composite) and frontal views; no ground line or landscape. http://www.rose.edu/faculty/nmiller/Svy1/Svy1wk1.html 1-2 Dead Bison, Altimira, Spain. 14,000 –12,000 B.C. 1-7 Rhinocerous, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, Lscaux, 15000- 13,000 B.C.

4. Many of them make artistic use of color and texture, using the natural contours of the rocks to suggest the shapes and curves of the animal's body and create surprisingly “naturalistic” drawings There is a close relationship between animal and man in these early cultures and killing an animal would have been a ritual act. It is a relationship of reverence that is far different from our relationship with animals today. Killing, then, becomes not simply slaughter but a recognition of your dependency on the voluntary giving of this food to you by the animal who has given its life. The hunt is a ritual. Central focus was on the hunt, with the clan moving from place to place (nomadic) with changing climate, seasons, and availability of animals and food sources. 1-1 Bison ceiling, Altimira, Spain 1-4. Hall of Bulls, Lescaux, France, 15, 000 –13,000 B.C. http://departments.ozarks.edu/hfa/slgorman/HIstudyaids.htm#chap1prehist

5. 1-5 Chinese Horse c. 15,000-10,000 BC Lascaux, France http://www.rose.edu/faculty/nmiller/TV1103/TVwk1.html The caves were discovered in 1940 by teenagers whose dog fell into a small opening They had been sealed for 15,000 years Once they were opened to the public, the humidity and breath from humans caused deterioration of the paintings The caves began to be harmed by carbon dioxide in 1955 and were closed to the public in 1963. Now they are monitored Daily. Lascaux II has a replica of two of the cave halls- the Great Hall of the Bulls and the Painted Gallery – was opened in 1983 http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/a rcnat/lascaux/en/

6. Sculpture found is in relief and in-the-round. It was small enough to carry in a pouch or your hand. Possibility the animals functioned as totems, while the female figures (no male figures have been found) were fertility symbols. They are called "venus" figures, but their symbolism was different from the Greek goddess of love. They are considered to be an expression of sexual power and childbirth (mother-earth symbol). 1-8 Venus of Willendorf, c. 28,000-23,000 B.C. The Lady of Brassempouy Carved in ivory. Size: 1 1/2 inches Brassempouy, France, 22,000-20,000 B.C. http://www.rose.edu/faculty/nmiller/TV1103/TVwk1.html 3-4 inches = meant to be portable

7. Neolithic art (New Stone Age--(6,000-1,500 B.C.) Human beings learned to manipulate nature, they invented agriculture, which allowed production of a food surplus which allowed human to begin to live in such fixed village settlements.

8. http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/m/megaliths.html Post and lintel construction Passage graves have corridors built with Series of “dolmens” made of large stone slabs. These constructions were covered with earth to create a mound

10. It took mathematical calculations to align the major heel stone with the rising of the sun on Mid-Summer's Eve (Summer Solstice), and setting of the sun on Mid-Winter's Eve. We can understand how important it would be to Neolithic man to have an awareness of natural phenomena's like eclipses, and the cycle of the seasons. Stonehenge (Salisbury Plain), c. 2000 B.C. Purpose? calendar? astronomical computer? ceremonial center? 1-21 Stonehenge http://www.rose.edu/faculty/nmiller/art1103_nmiller/course/CDlec1.html

11. References: http://departments.ozarks.edu/hfa/slgorman/HIstudyaids.htm#chap1prehist http://www.rose.edu/faculty/nmiller/art1103_nmiller/course/CDlec1.html http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/m/megaliths.html http://www.unm.edu/~artdept/lecture3.html