Prehistoric

Question 1

Answer 1

Paleolithic, Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf),

ca. 28,000-25,000 BCE (Willendorf, Austria- found in 1908)

Most figures from Upper Paleolithic are female/”type”

Found throughout Europe from last Ice Age

Limestone, red ochre paint- 4 1/2”

Exaggerated female attributes/no specific features, careful rendering of hair or reed hat- fertility image- meant to be held?

McDermott- no feet-carved from female perspective?

Gamble- signal that group friendly, shared values, acceptable for interaction, mating

Question 2

Answer 2

Paleolithic, Hall of the Bulls

ca. 15,000-13,000 BCE

Lascaux cave painting, Dordogne, France-

Paint (charcoal, ochre) on limestone- cows, bulls, horses, deer- at different times, one at a time

Characteristic features emphasized

Composite pose: horns, eyes, hooves shown from front, heads and bodies in profile- legibility over naturalism

Teaching tool? Ritual? Hunting magic? Narrative? Control?- not primary food source

Question 3

Answer 3

Neolithic, Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England

ca. 2550-1600 BCE

Henge= circular megalithic stone arrangement surrounded by ditch, begun as cemetary, human remains of elite in ditch

post and lintel construction

solar calendar/marks point of sunrise at solstice

human wood settlement of wood, cross river to land of dead

permanent settlements= organized religion/burial rites