Download
1 / 156
1.57k likes | 1.79k Vues
Unit One The Beginnings of Civilization. Primitive Art/Paleontology. Timeline of Human Events. Hominid Species Timeline
E N D
Primitive Art/Paleontology Timeline of Human Events
Hominid Species Timeline The chronological chart below shows the main Hominid species (apes in blue, human species in red) and their approximate relationships in time, based on currently available evidence. Click timeline for more information.
Venus of Willendorfc. 24,000-22,000 BCE Oolitic limestone 43/8 inches (11.1 cm) high(Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna)
Laugerie Basse Venus, 'Impudique' (Immodest Venus)Discovered in 1864 by the Marquis Paul de Vibraye. It was the first Venus figure found in France. The Marquis was playfully reversing the appellation of "Venus pudica" ("modest Venus") that is used to describe a statue type of the Classical Venus which shows, in many statues the goddess attempting to conceal her breasts and pubic area from view. The inference the Marquis makes is that this prehistoric Venus makes no attempt to hide her sexuality. This ivory venus is 8 cm high, and has lost the head. The stomach is flat, and could be of a young girl.
Femme a la Corne. This low relief venus is from Laussel, Dordogne. 44 cm (17.5 inches) high. Musee d'Aquitane, Bordeaux. The body swells out towards the viewer from this convex block of limestone. It formed one of a set, a frieze which included other female figures and a male figure. It probably dates to 27 000 - 22 000 b.p. Although now detached, it should be classed as parietal (non portable, in place) rock art since it was originally carved on a block of 4 cubic metres (140 cubic feet). The horn and the series of lines on it have often been linked with the moon or menstruation.
23,000-21,000 BC Limestone H 10.2 cm Kostenky settlement This figurine represents the Palaeolithic 'Venus', with overlarge breasts and belly. The faceless head bends towards the chest while the arms are pressed to the body with hands on the belly. Covering the surface of the head are rows of incisions indicating a hair style or cap. Relief work in the form of a tight plait convey a breast ornament tied up at the back. There are bracelets on the arms.
Four small venuses about 15 cm high from the open air Avdeevo site in Russia, dating to 20 000 years B.P.
The western edges of the Massif Central and the northern slopes of the Pyrenees are noted for an exceptional concentration of Palaeolithic caves. In fact, there are no fewer than one hundred and thirty sanctuaries, the most renowned of which is Lascaux. Located on the left bank of the river Vézère, Lascaux is set a little apart from the traditional prehistoric sites further downstream, between Moustier and Bugue. The excellent state of conservation of our prehistoric heritage is due to the numerous rock-shelters and natural caves in limestone, which dot the landscape.
The research carried out during the past decades has placed the iconography of Lascaux at the beginning of the Magdalenian Age, that is, 17,000 years before today. However, certain indications, both thematic and graphic, suggest that certain figures could belong to a more recent period. This is borne out by dating with Carbon 14 (around 15,000 years old)
Cave Paintings at Lascaux, France Map of the cave
Great Hall of the Bulls The wall decorations in the Great Hall of the Bulls are the most impressive of all Palaeolithic art. they extend on both sides of the vaulted walls of a sloping floored rotunda. The vast fresco, covering some twenty metres, is composed of three groups of animals : horses, bulls and stags. In fact these themes recur repeatedly in the different areas of this underground sanctuary...
...This composition is introduced by a strange figure, the ...
... which seems to be chasing a herd of horses linked with a large, partially drawn bull towards the back of the Hall...
...In the opposite direction, a similar illustration made up of three more large aurochs balances this composition...
...The meeting point of these two groupings is a group of small stags painted in ochre...
...The few signs are limited to isolated or grouped dots, often black, and to variously coloured dashes...
...The colour black dominates the figurative works: only the group of stags, three bovines and four horses, of which three are incomplete, are coloured red.
The Painted Gallery The Painted Gallery is justifiably considered to be the pinnacle of Palaeolithic cave art. The figures cover the entire upper reaches of the walls as well as, in the first third of the Gallery, the surface of the vault...
...The iconography of this prehistoric "Sistine Chapel" is based on classical prehistoric animal themes : aurochs, horses, ibexes, a reminder of the stag at the entrance to this gallery and at the back, the bison.
...This is a continuous series of important works among which we note the Chinese Horses...
...Further along, two panels face each other.The one on the left is dominated by the Great Black Bull which partially hides two red cows. At the back a horse seems to be dashing towards the inmost depths of the gallery...
The Lateral Passage This corridor, which is still relatively low, was subsequently lowered during the early development of the site to enable visitors to circulate more easily. Only a few painted or engraved traces of the iconography of this gallery survive today. Of these, the engravings are more numerous...
The Chamber of Engravings The Chamber of Engravings, a rotunda which is smaller than the Great Hall of the Bulls, stands out because of the extremely high number of painted and, especially, engraved figures, more than 600 in all...
...They cover the walls and ceiling and are in three, tiered, sections each with its own specific theme: aurochs in the lower frieze, then deer, then, covering the entire dome, the horses...
...Here there is maximum overlapping of subjects. Superimposition, scraping, and obliteration, the many traces of activities make it particularly difficult to interpret the figures.
Main Gallery Adjacent to the Chamber of Engravings, the Main Gallery is larger. It is made up of a series of adjoining chambers which gradually become smaller. The walls on either side of the axis are perfectly symmetrical. Five panels, each with its own characteristics, and unequally distributed on either side distinguish this space...
...The Panel of the Imprint is composed of horses, bison and quadrangular signs...
...The Black Cow Panel, more fragmented than the Panel of the Imprint which is composed of horses, bison and quadrangular signs, is placed after the linear composition of seven ibexes...
...This hieratic figure, whose lines have been redrawn a great many times is looking towards the back of the cave and seems to be dominating a group of horses most of which are facing in the opposite direction...
...We note, at the base of the centre of this panel, three polychromatic quadrangular signs, or "blazons" each divided into geometric units...
...The panel of the Back-to Back Bison completes the panels on the left wall. It is certainly the most typical example of the rendering of three dimensions in this sanctuary. Reserves around the limbs in the background, distortion of shapes, choice of surface, symmetrical composition, are all used to create a three dimensional effect...
...The opposite wall features only one group of figures, made up of stags' heads and shoulders reflecting the preceding iconography. They have been described by some as five stags crossing a river, whence the name, the "Swimming Stags" for this panel.Nevertheless, this type of composition is not unique to the stags, several other groups with different themes, ibex or bulls, are similarly constructed without a similar interpretation being proposed.
The Chamber of Felines At the far end of the Main Gallery a long, straight corridor which is at times very narrow, opens up. This is the Chamber of Felines, the furthest recess of this site. Here, in comparison to the big compositions in the preceding galleries, the graphic treatment on walls which were more difficult to access, is more modestly proportioned...
...The animals here are somewhat different from what has already been described, we see horses and bison side by side, but we also note on the one hand the presence of six felines, and, on the other hand, the absence of aurochs...
...Due to the extreme fragility of the rock face the figures are poorly preserved. As in the Chamber of Engravings and the Main Gallery, engraving has been used effectively for most of the works, however, some are also painted. As in the rest of the sanctuary, horses are the dominant feature...
... The decorative work ends in a double line consisting of three sets of two red dots. On seeing this motif we cannot help but remember the one in black in the Scene of the Dead Man. This graphic analogy suggests a topographical boundary marking the extremities of the sanctuary.
The Shaft of the Dead Man At the back of the Chamber of Engravings the ground falls away, giving access to the Shaft of the Dead Man on the lower level. A descent of a few metres is enough to reach the foot of one of the most outstanding works of cave art : The Scene of the Dead Man. This panel's originality lies in its narrative possibilities, expressed just as much by the liveliness of the different players as by the distribution of the figures and principal themes expressed: man bison, rhinoceros...
...This triptych centred on anthropomorphic representation portrays the confrontation between the man and the bison with a fleeing rhinoceros on the left...
...We should note the stick crowned with the profile of a bird whose head resembles the human silhouette: a strange comparison. There are several other secondary elements in this composition, in particular, the hook sign, which perhaps represents a spear-thrower, as well as a long spear, drawn obliquely and situated level with what has been identified as the entrails of the disembowelled bison...
...This animal's aggressiveness is portrayed by the lowered head, as if it were ready to gore its adversary, and the stiff tail.
Summary of Egyptian Gods Gods of Sun, Sky, Earth, and Procreation Gods of Life, Death, and Resurrection (Other Egyptian Gods)
Ankh seated with hands claspedThird Dynasty, reign of DjoserGray porphyroid graniteHeight: 62.5 cm (24 5/8 in)Width: 20.5 cm (8 1/8 in)Depth: 32.5 cm (12 7/8 in)Musee du Louvre, Paris
Relief of Hesi-reThird Dynasty, reign of DjoserAcacia woodHeight: 86 cm (33 7/8 in)Width: 41 cm (16 1/8 in)Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Stela of King QahedjetThird DynastyFine-grained limestoneHeight: 50.5 cm (19 7/8 in)Width: 31 cm (12 1/4 in)Depth: 2.8 cm (1 1/8 in)Musee du Louvre, Paris
