art unit one!!! Flashcards
Art
When do anthropologists believe homo sapiens appeared?
250,000 years ago
Where did homo sapiens spread?
Africa across Asia, reaching Europe only 35,000 years ago
When did the study of prehistory begin?
The study of prehistory began when stone tools, weapons, and figures were found at ancient sites.
What are the two ages of the Stone Age?
Paleolithic and Neolithic
What does the Paleolithic age refer to?
Paleolithic refers to the Old Stone Age period from 250,000 to 10,000 years ago. During this period, many sculptures and cave paintings were created, and evidence points to a nomadic lifestyle.
What does the Neolithic age refer to?
Neolithic refers to the New Stone Age period from 10,000 to 3,000 years ago. Artifacts from the Neolithic period show advances in technology and a trend toward a more settled life.
What were early humans?
Early humans were hunter-gatherers.
What did hunter-gatherers gather?
They fished and gathered wild fruits and nuts. They hunted wild birds and animals and were hunted by them. Not surprisingly, most of the art created in these times represented animals.
What did early humans participate in?
early humans participated in rituals such as marriage ceremonies and funerals.
What did humans use to build shelter in the beginning of the Paleolithic period?
In the beginning of the Paleolithic period, humans used animal hides, bones, and tusks, along with branches, to build shelter.
Were sculptures created much earlier than paintings?
Well… yes!
What are fertility figures?
Fertility figures are statues of women with exaggerated feminine features.
What did art take the form of in the prehistoric period?
art took the form of shared artifacts and representations used in the culture and during rituals.
What do scholars think of caves in the prehistoric period?
This fact has led scholars to conclude that the caves might have been a sacred place where people worshipped or held religious ceremonies.
When did the transition between the Paleolithic to the Neolithic era occur?
The transition from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic period occurred in the Middle East between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago.
What did archeologists look for to determine whether they were in the Paleolithic or Neolithic era?
To identify the period, archaeologists looked for evidence of three conditions: domestication of animals, agricultural systems, and permanent settlements.
What gradual changes occurred during the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras?
People gradually changed from the nomadic hunting and gathering way of life to farming. As large numbers of people became farmers, they started living in villages and learned new techniques to produce enough food to sustain themselves. By the end of the period, villages were larger, trading had developed among regions, and advanced building technology resulted in architecture.
What did people of the Neolithic era do when they settled down?
Once humans began to settle down, they built structures in which to live and store their possessions. They built shelters for their animals. They made buildings of wood, stone, and plant materials. They used two building methods, the post-and-lintel method (also called post-and-beam) and the corbel method.
What is post-and-lintel construction?
Rows of large stones structuring horizontal stones
What else did the people of the Neolithic period build?
Besides houses, the people of the Neolithic period built ceremonial sites and tombs using huge stones.
What were dwellings made of?
Dwellings were made of large rocks and wood
How was the Nile important to the survival and growth of Egypt’s ancient culture?
Egyptians depended on the river for food and water.
What roles did the Nile play for Egypt? What was the most important?
The most important role the Nile played in the ancient Egyptian world was that it flooded the nearby arid land every year, creating fertile fields for agriculture.
Egyptians also used mud collected from the banks of the Nile to make brick for their houses.
The Nile served not only as a transportation route for Egyptians but protected them from foreign intruders.
