Barron's: Chapter 1 - Prehistoric Art

Question 1

Paleolithic Art (the Old Stone Age)

Answer 1

• 30,000 B.C.E. - 8000 B.C.E.

- in the Near East; later in the rest of the world

Question 2

Neolithic Art (the New Stone Age)

Answer 2

• 8000 B.C.E.-3,000 B.C.E.

- in the Near East, later in the rest of the world

Question 3

Prehistoric Art

Answer 3

• existed before writing
• affected by climate change
• can be seen in practical and ritual objects
• concerned with cosmic phenomena as well as down-to-earth concerns
• best understood as an interdisciplinary activity
• archaeology increases our understanding of art

Question 4

Essential Knowledge

Answer 4

• human behavior charted in earliest works
• ceramics first produced in Asia
• oldest objects are African or Asian
• people of the Pacific are migrants form Asia, who bring ceramic making techniques with them
• European cave paintings indicate a strong tradition of rituals
• Early American objects use natural materials, like bone or clay, to create ritual objects
• scientific dating of objects has shed light on the use of prehistoric objects
• basic art historical methods can be used to understand prehistoric art, but our knowledge increases with findings made in other fields

Question 5

Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canin

Answer 5

• 14,000-7,000 B.C.E
• Tequixquiac, Mexico
• Bone
• National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico
• Cross-Cultural Comparisons: The Depiction of Animals
  
  • Tuffrey, Pisupo Lua Afe (Corned Beef 2000)
  • Muybridge, The Horse in Motion
  • Cotsiogo (also known as Cadzi Cody), Hide Painting of a Sun Dance

Question 6

Anthropomorphic stele

Answer 6

• fourth millennium B.C.E.
• 4000–3000 B.C.E.
• sandstone
• Pergamon Museum, Berlin
• found in 1870
• Cross-Cultural Antrhopomorphic Images
  
  • Mutu, Preying Mantra
  • Female Deity from Nukoro
  • Braque, Portugese

Question 7

Jade cong

Answer 7

• from Liangzhu, China
• 3,300-2,200 B.C.E
• jade
• Zheijang Institue of Archaeology, Hangzhou
• Neolithic era in China
• Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Geometric Designs
  
  • Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow
  • Relief Sculpture from Chavin de Huantar
  • Martinez, Black-on-clack ceramic vessel

Question 8

The Ambum Stone

Answer 8

• from Papua New Guinea
• 1500 B.C.E.
• greywacke
• National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
• Stone Age work
• Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Animal Forms
  
  • Detail from the Lakshamana Temple
  • Tuffery, Pisupo Lua Afe (Corned Beef 2000)
  • Buk Mask

Question 9

Tlatico Female Figures

Answer 9

• 1200-900 B.C.E.
• ceramic
• Princenton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey
• Tlatico, Mexico
• Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Human Figure
  
  • Veranda post
  • Power Figure
  • Reliquary of Sainte-Foy

Question 10

Terra-cotta fragment

Answer 10

• Lapita, from the Solomon Islands
• 1000 B.C.E.
• terra cotta
• University of Aukland, New Zealand
• Oceanic Art
• Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Motifs in Pacific Art
  
  • Hiapo
  • Malagan mask
  • Lindauer, Tamati Waka Nene

Question 11

Apollo 11 stones

Answer 11

• 25,500-25,300 B.C.E.
• charcoal on stone
• State Museum of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
• named after the Apollo 11 moon landing; cave was discovered at the time of moon landing

Question 12

Lascaux Caves

Answer 12

• 15,000-13,000 B.C.E.
• pigment on rock
• Dordogne, France
• 650 paintings: most common are cows, bulls, horses, and deer
• Cross-Cultural Comparisons: mural paintings
  
  • Tomb of the Triclimium
  • Leonardo DaVinci, Last Supper
  • Walker, Darkytown Rebellion

Question 13

Running Horned Woman

Answer 13

• 6,000-4,000 B.C.E.
• rock painting
• Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria
• Depicts livestock (cows, sheep, etc.); wildlife (giraffes, lions, etc.); humans (hunting, harvesting, etc.)
• Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Masks and Headdresses
  
  • Aka Elephant Mask
  • Ikenga
  • Malagan mask

Question 14

Beaker with ibex motifs

Answer 14

• 4,200-3,500 B.C.E.
• terra-cotta
• Louvre, Paris
• Made in Susa, in Southwestern Iran
• Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Ceramics
  
  • Martinez, black-on,black ceramic vessel
  • The David Vases
  • Koons, Pink Panther

Question 15

Stonehenge

Answer 15

• 2,500-1600 B.C.E
• sandstone
• Wiltshire, England
• One of many henges in southern England; the most recently discovered in July 2009 is called Bluehenge
• Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Ritual Centers
  
  • Chavin de Huantar
  • Pantheon
  • Great Mosque of Djenne

Question 16

anthropomorphic

Answer 16

• having characteristics of the human form, although the form itself is not human

Question 17

archaeology

Answer 17

• the scientific study of ancient people and cultures principally revealed through excavation

Question 18

cong

Answer 18

• a tubular object with a circular hole cut into a square-like cross section

Question 19

henge

Answer 19

• a Neolithic monument, characterized by a circular ground plan
• used for rituals and marking astronomical events

Question 20

lintel

Answer 20

• a horizontal beam over an opening

Question 21

megalith

Answer 21

• a stone of great size used in the construction of a prehistoric structure

Question 22

menhir

Answer 22

• a large uncut stone erected as a monument in the prehistoric era; a standing stone

Question 23

mortise-and-tenon

Answer 23

• a groove cut into stone or wood, called a mortise, that is shaped to receive a tenon, or projection, of the same dimensions

Question 24

post-and-lintel

Answer 24

• a method of construction in which two posts support a horizontal beam, called a lintel

Question 25

shamanism

Answer 25

• a religion in which good and evil are brought about by spirits which can be influenced by shamans, who have access to these spirits

Question 26

stele (plural: stelae)

Answer 26

• an upright stone slab uysed to mark a grave or site

Question 27

stylized

Answer 27

• a schematic, rationalistic manner of representing the visible world and its contents, abstracted form the way they appear in nature