Paleolithic & Neolithic Flashcards
- What does Paleolithic mean?
- Where was it generally located and why?
- Why was the Lascaux cave the most important cave finding at the time?
- Old Stone Age
- Generally in France and Spain – where the rivers ran and created caves.
- Because it was the first cave to show indisputable proof of their antiquity.
PALEOLITHIC
What evidence suggests that the cave paintings in Lascaux and Avignon, France are examples of non-contextual (non-narrative) representation?
They were not just located in the Hall of the Bulls, where they mainly inhabited. They were farther back in the cave where people rarely went.
PALEOLITHIC
What materials were used to create these paintings? What method was used to apply the pigment?
Outlined using charcoal. Painted using ochres. Applied by blowing into a leaf tube.
PALEOLITHIC
No one really knows why humans began to paint images or what role they played, but what are some reasons that have been speculated regarding why these paintings exist?
- Leaving mementos of their visit
- Representing the food supply of the tribe — Unlikely since mostly painted horses.
- Showing how they hunted animals
- Serving as a form of entertainment
- Pre-hunt rituals
PALEOLITHIC
What is three-dimensional in terms of art?
An object that is shown from all sides
PALEOLITHIC
Stylistically, how are the animals of the Lascaux depicted (hint: are they depicted as idealized for realistically)?
What is twisted perspective?
They are shown in an idealized perspective because they paint the animal to best show all of its features.
Twisted Perspective — Changing the perspective of a certain part of the object.
PALEOLITHIC
Art that is not depicted naturalistically would be depicted as abstract.
Explain the statement: “all art is abstract.”
It is portraying three-dimensional objects in two-dimensional form.
Art that is high in abstract is low in naturalism (realism).
PALEOLITHIC
What subject matter is not readily represented in the cave paintings?
How is the only representation of that subject matter depicted?
Human paintings; especially of man.
It is a man and a bison. Not sure what the scene is displaying though. It is in the Lascaux cave.
PALEOLITHIC
What are the representations of human activity in the Peche Merle Caves?
Imprints of their hands.
PALEOLITHIC
What type of figure is the Venus of Willendorf known as?
What is a suggested function for the Venus of Willendorf?
It is a female figurine — steatopygate aka “fat butt”
That it was to show an idealized female state — image of fertility.
PALEOLITHIC
What does Neolithic mean?
Why does the Neolithic begin at a later time in the north than in the Near East?
New stone age.
Because the north was still being slowly inhabited as the ice was melting.
NEOLITHIC
Stonehenge (2,000 BCE), an example of Neolithic architecture, is what general shape? What is the term for this shape?
What is the basic architectural construction of Stonehenge?
What is the function of Stonehenge?
Cromlech — Meaning a “stone circle”
Lintel and Post construction — Lintel is horizontal held up by two vertical posts.
Functioned as burial site and a astronomical observatory. Showed where the sun would rise during the summer solstice.
NEOLITHIC
What major change occurs in the life style of man that defines the Neolithic period?
The moved from being hunter-gatherers to farmers and townspeople.
Also started to build with stone.
NEOLITHIC
