1) Paleolithic art dates from 40,000-8,000 BCE and includes cave paintings and portable sculptures. Cave paintings from the Lascaux Caves in France dating to 15,000-13,000 BCE feature realistic images of animals painted using natural pigments. 2) Neolithic art emerged around 8,000 BCE as people transitioned to settled agricultural societies. Neolithic architecture included megaliths and structures like Stonehenge built from large stones without mortar. 3) Theories suggest Paleolithic cave art was used for hunting rituals, animal worship, or shamanism but the true purpose remains unclear.

1. Prehistoric Art Cave Conjecture

2. Paleolithic Art Paleo (Greek) = Old Lithic (Greek) = Stone Paleolithic = Old Stone Age 40,000 BCE – 8,000 BCE in Near East 40,000 BCE – 4,000 BCE in Europe

3. Prehistoric Sculpture All prehistoric sculpture is portable. Why?

4. Shelter or Architecture?

5. Young men gather around a vessel of bright pigment in preparation for body painting in this scene by artist Reeda Peel. In prehistoric times, ocher pigment had many uses, whether for body adornment, massive scenes on cave walls, or small painted pebbles—"portable art.“ Investigators found decorated stones and evidence of pigment production.

6. Woman “Venus” of Willwndorf c. 28,000 – 21, 000 BCE limestone Emphasized reproductive parts 4 3/8” Meant to be held Deemphasized face, arms, legs No feet

9. Prehistoric Painting Characteristics Images of animals dominate with black outlines realistically represented Images Of humans stick figures little detail Handprints negative prints left hand

10. LascauxCaves 15,000-13,000 BCE, Dordogne, France http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/#/fr/00.xml

11. Lascaux Cave Paint is made of natural products Charcoal, iron ore, plants bound with animal fat 650 paintings Cows, bulls, horses, and deer Figures are overlapping Negative handprints: signatures?

12. Negative Handprints

13. Cave Art Caves were not dwellings Prehistoric people lived migratory lives following herds of animals Paintings placed deep inside the cave

14. Cave Art Theories Used to ensure a successful hunt? Ancestral animal worship? Shamanism A religion based on the idea that forces of nature can be controlled by a highly regarded religious figure called a shaman

15. Neolithic Neo (Greek) = New Lith (Greek) = Stone Neolithic = New Stone Age 8,000 BCE – 3,000 BCE in the Near East 4,000 BCE – 2,000 BCE in Europe

16. Neolithic People Cultivated land Raised livestock Live in organized settlements Created occupations = division of labor Built the first homes

17. Neolithic Architecture Shelters were huts built with animal bones Places of worship were built to last!

18. Neolithic Architecture Menhir = large individual stone placed on end alone or in rows

19. Neolithic Architecture Megalith = Menhirs cut into rectangles used for construction by adam.holmquist

20. Neolithic Architecture Post-and-lintel architecture = the most basic Post = two uprights Lintel = horizontal on top

21. Mortise and Tenon

22. Neolithic Architecture Cromlech = A circle of megaliths with lintels placed on top Structures were aligned to important dates: solstices, equinoxes, and lunar. The most well known cromlech?

23. Neolithic Architecture Stonehenge, c. 2100 BCE, Wilshire, England