Global Prehistory 1.2

Global Prehistory

30,000- 500 BCE

Theme:  “Cave Conjecture”

This theme addresses the “site” caves of much Paleolithic Art as well as the lack of documentation.  Therefore, much of this chapter is comprised of conjecture.

1.2 Materials, Process and Techniques in Prehistoric Art

The Influence of Africa and Asia

The first instances of important artistic media, approaches, and values occurred on different continents, with Africa and Asia preceding and influencing other areas as the human population spread.

People established many kinds of artistic media. Some of these were the first fired ceramics and painting, as well as incised graphic designs, primarily on rock surfaces. Sculpture featured female forms and animal figurines. Architecture included stone megalithic installations.

The First Art

 Beginning approximately 77,000 years ago, the first “art” was created in the form of rock paintings and carved natural materials.  These were two-dimensional creations of geometric patterns and human and animal lifeforms. Three-dimensional forms included sculpture, large scale objects, and monuments. Environments were assembled and/or constructed.

West, Central and South East Asian Communities

 Humans established Paleolithic communities in West, Central, South East Asia, and East Asia between 70,000 and 40, 000 BCE.  In prehistoric China, the ritual of making jade objects, started a 5000-year tradition of working with this precious medium.  The semi-precious stone is soft but durable. These works had a spiritual symbolism, as they were often buried with the people who owned them.

Ritual, tomb, and memorializing arts are found across Neolithic Asia, including impressive funerary steles from Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Asia’s greatest contribution to early world art is in ceramic technology, with some of the earliest pieces dating to 10,500 BCE produced by the Jomon culture in Japan.  Even earlier pottery continues to be found, particularly in China. Ceramics were also produced in Iran beginning in the eighth millennium BCE, and refined vessel forms arose from the adoption of the potter’s wheel in the fourth millennium BCE.

The Migration from Asia

 In the Pacific region, migrations from Asia, approximately  45,000 years ago, were possible because of lowered sea levels and the existence of land bridges. The earliest created objects have been dated to about 8000 years ago. The Lapita peoples, who moved eastward from Melanesia to Polynesia beginning about 4000 years ago, created pottery with incised geometric designs that appear across the region in multiple media today.

Artistic Statements

 Paleolithic and Neolithic Europe’s artistic statements were made in small human figural sculptures (central Europe), cave paintings (France and Spain), and outdoor-monumental stone assemblages (British Isles). These provide glimpses into the beginnings of ritual life in 15,000 BCE.

People tried to influence and integrate with the natural cycles of the cosmos and promote both  human and animal fertility. These works establish the dynamic interplay of naturalism and abstraction found throughout art’s history.

American Continent Art

On the American continent, from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, indigenous peoples who had recently migrated from Asia, before 10,000 BCE, made sculptural works, with animals and sacred humans, as main subject matter.  These were made from animal bone and later from clay.

Similar to European- expressions, ancient American art adapts animal images to the natural contours of the chosen materials and also features fertile females. Many female figurines may also display unusual or supernatural characteristics. This  suggests the importance of shamanic religion, brought from Asia, very early in human history.

(1) 3. Camelid sacrum

Prehistoric American (Mexico). 14,000 – 7000 BCE. Prehistoric.

Learning Objective: Prehistoric Mesoamerican fertility object

Themes:

Animals
Ritual
Fertility
Cycle of life
Materials with significance
 

This work of art, Camelid sacrum resembling the face of a canine dog is carved bone from the sacrum of a camelid. It was discovered in Tequixquiac, central Mexico.

What is a Camelid?

A camelid or palaeloma was a type of horse during prehistoric times that is now extinct.

What is a Sacrum?

A sacrum in the triangular bone in the lower back. The bone sits between the two hips of the pelvis. In Latin, sacrum means sacred bone.

Why this was Made?

This bone was later associated with sacred rituals such as fertility, the cycle of life and burials. Men carried this bone with them when travelling and hunting.

In Detail

The symmetry of the bone was used to create a canine work with a three-dimensional impression. The roughness of the bone provides natural texture. Notice the details of the nostrils, mouth, and ears.

The Importance of Dogs

 As the first domesticated animal in prehistoric society, dogs played an important role in life.

Discovery

Camelid Sacrum was discovered completely by accident in 1870, in the Tequixquiac, in the Valley of Mexico. Today this area is part of Mexico city.  This area once held several lakes. The engineer draining the lakes, to build the community found the artwork 40 feet below.

(1)4. Running Horned Woman

Prehistoric African (Algerian). 6,000- 4000 BCE. Prehistoric

Learning Objective: Prehistoric African Rock Painting

Theme:

Ritual
Deities
Masks
Stylized bodies
Ceremony
Fertility

Initially named The Horned Goddess, this work of art entitled, Running Horned Woman, using pigment on rock. Measuring 20 by 9 feet it is located in the Sahara desert, in the region of Tassili A’Ajjer, Algeria.

The Hidden Works

The landscape of high pillared, smooth rocks, and thin passageways, created the perfect backdrop for both painting and securely storing this work.

The Details

The focus is on the large running woman in the foreground, drawn in a naturalistic way. Some of the smaller figures behind her are painted in abstract. She is clearly the subject matter. The careful composition of the woman’s body is in full view.

Not Your Average Woman

What makes her image especially notable is the way she is adorned. Armlets encircle her forearms and guarder wrap her thighs. All are delicately fringed. Her face is in profile. She is wearing horns on her head, which are outward facing. Look closely and you will see she is also decorated in body paint.

All of this suggests the scene represents ceremony, ritual, or rites of passage. Yet scholars agree, this is not an ordinary woman, depicted in this prehistoric African rock painting.

Symbolism

Between the horns, you can view the grains falling from wheat in the distance. What do you think this symbolizes?

Discovery

The Prehistoric African rock painting was discovered high in the canyons by a camel corps officer named Lieutenant Brenans of the French Foreign Legion.  Between 1933 and 1940, he made numerous sketches and notes to detail what he found. These were donated to the Bardo Museum, in Algiers.

Soon French born archaeologist Henri Lhote went to the region and by 1956 assembled a team to study and map the art.  The rock art found here remain the richest concentration of this medium worldwide.

(1)5. Beaker with Ibex Motif

Prehistoric Middle Eastern (Iran). 4200- 3500 BCE. Prehistoric.

Learning Objective: Prehistoric Middle Eastern utilitarian object

Themes:

Animals
Utilitarian
Funerary
Ceramics
Status
 

Beaker with Ibex Motif is a prehistoric Middle Eastern vessel, found in Susa, which today is Iran. The beaker measures 1 foot in height and is made of terra cotta that has been painted.

Animals and motifs were popular design elements. This beaker is one such beautiful example.

The animals here are all stylized and viewed in profile.

The Painted Elements

In the centre is a bearded ibex, or mountain goat, composed of two elongated rectangles. This animal symbolized prosperity. The horns dramatically reach back and encircle a symbol that looks like a modern-day baseball.

Above this a series of dogs, with stretched bodies that suggest movement. This accentuates the cylindrical shape of the vessel. Dogs were a symbol of protection against threat. Along the entire rim are depictions of wading birds, or cranes, with necks as long a giraffe. In opposition, the birds draw attention to the verticality of the vessel.

Craftmanship and Importance

 During the Neolithic period, the crafts people of this area were known for their kiln-fired yellow ceramics painted with a flat brown glaze. It is thought that a slow potter’s wheel was used in creating these works.

It was unearthed near burial tombs, built by the people of Susa. It is important to note that this was not unearthed with human remain, but in an area hundreds of baskets, bowls, and metallic items. Why do you think the people of Susa buried these objects near their burial tombs?

(1) 7. Jade cong

Prehistoric Chinese. 3300-2200 BCE. Prehistoric

Learning Objective: Prehistoric Chinese funerary object

Themes:

Funerary
Materials with significance
Ritual
Status
Duality
Deities
Ancestors

Jade cong was found in Liangzhu, China. Archaeologists have unearthed supreme examples of congs, created by the Liangzhu people, in royal tombs, palaces, and workshops.  Due to its varied colors and textures,  jade is the material most highly prized throughout Chinese history.

What is a Cong?

A cong is a tubular object with a circular hole cut into it in the middle like a cross section.

A Closer Look

At each corner of the Jade cong, there is a face patterned, with circular eyes and a slit-like mouth. These images could be deities or ancestral spirits.   The faces are rather abstract, but suggestive indicating a man-like figure or a personified beast.

The viewer focuses on the cylindrical void circular shape within the prism. The visual effect creates equilibrium. It is achieved by the symmetry of the corner face carvings, the concentric circles pattern, the perfect balance given by its equal top and base, by the rather uniform whitish jade color and its polished smoothness.

The theme of this artwork might be Individual and Society because the congs were a status symbol for the deceased. It could also represent Knowledge and Belief due to the symbolism of the carved faces. It might also have as sub-theme of Life Cycles because the height of the cong might measure the generations of the clan and it might be the predecessor of the ancestral tablet.

What was the Function of a Cong?

Congs had funeral functions, but what specifically is not known. Congs were placed in the tombs of the wealthy and sometimes they were the only artifact placed there. Surely this means it was an important piece.

One existing theory is that it represented details about the clan.  The layers of the cong could have signified the age and number of generations of the clan.

In this case, a tall cong would mean an old clan, while a short one would be a new clan. More congs in a grave, might mean the deceased was the head of more than one clan. The cong might be the predecessor of the ancestral tablet. This was placed in the ancestral temple, representing thus the spirit of the ancestors and a cosmic pillar connecting earth and heavens.

Background

The cong belongs to the Neolithic Period 2500 B.C.E Liangzhu culture, Jiangsu province of China, located south of the Yangzi River. The Liangzhu culture was characterized by a series of prosperous city-states, cultivated rice, and domesticated pigs. With a stable food supply the society could afford the high specialization of its jade carvers.

The Liangzhu society was hierarchal as the jade congs could only be found in elite tombs. The periods of relative calm between floodings must have been long because the cong is a large piece of jade. Jade’s particularity is that it can only be sanded out. It cannot be simply cut. It must be polished, so the artisans needed time and resources to produce it.

The cong associates jade with divinity and power.  This association continued until the late Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) during which a deity was called the Jade Emperor.

 

(1)6.  Anthropomorphic stele

Prehistoric Middle Eastern. 4,000 BCE. Prehistoric

Learning objective: Prehistoric Middle Eastern funerary object

Themes:

Funerary
Stylized bodies
Deities
Guardian
Ancestors
 

Anthropomorphic stele measuring 3 feet tall, found in the Arabian Peninsula is made of sandstone. Both sides of this piece are sculpted.

What is a Stele?

A stele is a stone marker or monument that is often inscribed with relief or text. The plural word for stele is stelae.

A Closer Look

The focus is on the front of the work and its anthropomorphic, or human like qualities.  The head rests squarely on the shoulders. The eyes are created in relief, with a flattened nose. There are two cords around the body, and a dagger is attached to a belt. A decorative necklace hangs at the neck.

What makes this funerary object so extraordinary is that the minimalistic style manages to be very expressive.

(1) 11. Terra Cotta Fragments

Prehistoric Oceania (Lapita). 1000 BCE. Prehistoric

Learning Objective: Prehistoric Oceanic utilitarian object

Themes:

Utilitarian
Status

These Terra Cotta Fragments were found at Solomon Islands. The Lapita people who created these works were travellers, as can be concluded by the various locations that the pottery pieces were found.  beyond Oceania. This also includes South East Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, central Pacific, and Polynesia.

 Form and Function

Historians have determined that these pieces were shaped by hand. Then, incised or even stamped with repeating geometric patterns. What is also interesting to note is that the clay was mixed with sand from a specific region, ensuring that the materials were brought in from different locations, probably in the form of trade. The sand strengthened the vessels during the firing stage, keeping the objects from expanding and cracking when fired.

Most objects were bowls. This means they had a utilitarian function. Some had flat bottoms. While others were presented on raised feet.

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Global Prehistoric History 

30,000- 500 BCE

Topic 1.3  Theories and Interpretations of Prehistoric Art