AP Art History
Unit 1: c. 30,000 - 500 BCE
Global Prehistory
Images 1-11
Paleolithic Art
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Mostly concerned hunting-related scenes since Paleolithic peoples hunted for food​
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Used simple tools rather than complex carving tools
Image 1: Apollo 11 Stones
Name
Apollo 11 Stones
Location
Namibia
Date
25,500 - 25,300 BCE
Material
Charcoal on Stone
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Human legs + Animal body → Suggests divinity & belief in the supernatural because this creature doesn't exist
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Meant to be carried in the hand → Could be an amulet for harmony between humans and nature since they hunted wild animals for food
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Prominent utter → Strong belief in fertility
Image 2: Great Hall of the Bulls
Name
Great Hall of the Bulls
Location
Lascaux, France
Date
15,000-13,000 BCE
Material
Rock Painting
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Drawing of the animals → Meant to capture their spirit to ensure a more successful hunt (ritual purpose)
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2nd photo shows a large bison (much larger than the human next to it) → Sought to warn people about the dangers of hunting big animals​
Image 3: Camelid Sacrum in the Shape of a Canine
Name
Camelid Sacrum in the Shape of a Canine
Location
Tequixquiac, Central Mexico
Date
14,000-7,000 BCE
Material
Bone
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Sacrum bone is sacred as it's besides the pelvis → Represents fertility​
Image 4: Running Horned Woman
Name
Running Horned Woman
Location
Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria
Date
6,000-4,000 BCE
Material
Pigment on Rock
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Very difficult to reach this isolated rock painting → It's very sacred and meant for ritual purposes
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The large woman with bull heads running → Represents relationship between humans & animals for survival​
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Cloud at top could represent rain or grain, and people around her are dancing → Ritual to encourage Agricultural fertility
Neolithic Art
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Used more complex metal tools → Allowed for more intricate carvings​
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Societies now had a sedentary lifestyle → Gave them more time, energy, and resources to make intricate carvings
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Many objects were placed in burials as burials for the dead were only popular in sedentary (non-nomadic) societies
Image 5: Beaker with Ibex Motifs
Name
Beaker with Ibex Motifs
Location
Susa, Iran
Date
4,200 - 3,500 BCE
Material
Painted terra cotta
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Animal motifs + Geometric shapes → Represent the abstraction of naturalism and the ritual purpose of nature
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Grain in the center symbolizes agricultural fertility (encouraging agriculture to flourish in the person's death)​
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This was buried with the dead → Its naturalistic motifs have ritual purposes
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The designs are elongated and circular → Represent the cylindrical nature of the pot itself
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Birds' elongated necks at the top of the pot (represent the pot's height)​
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Ibex (Goat)'s horns are round (counterclockwise) → Represent the circular base of the cylinder
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Image 6: Anthropomorphic Stele
Name
Anthropomorphic Stele
Location
Arabian Peninsula
Date
Fourth millennium BCE
Material
Sandstone
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Emphasis on abstraction of the human body (anthropomorphism) → Elicits a degree of sadness due to the weird structure of body
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Use of perfect geometry and proportional figures (trapezoidal face, flat nose, etc.) → Makes the figures look a bit strange
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Some figures appear slightly asymmetrical → Adds to the feeling of sadness/discomfort
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Emphasis on human body (and not animal or divine figures) → Represents idea of anthropomorphism
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Used as a grave marker → Protects the dead in their afterlife
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Dagger may signify protection (could be the stele of a warrior)
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Similar stelae have been found throughout the Arabian peninsula (across 2300km) → Represents communication of ideas and materials
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Many of the materials used in similar stelae are nonnative (exogenous) → Represents circulation of materials throughout Arabian peninsula
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Image 7: Jade Cong
Name
Jade Cong
Location
Liangzhu, China
Date
3300 - 2200 BCE
Material
Carved Jade
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Buried with people's graves and serves as a link to the afterlife
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Sometimes these jade congs represent people's faces (to honor the dead in the graves that they mark)
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The circular hole in the center represents heaven & the square outline represents Earth → Serves as a bridge between Earth & heaven/afterlife
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Carved using sand as an abrasive material to chip the jade → Represents the complexity of sedentary societies
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Only after the neolithic revolution could more complex works be made since they required specialists to work for months on one project; this would be difficult in nomadic societies​
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Image 8: Stonehenge
Name
Stonehenge
Location
Wiltshire, UK
Date
c. 2500 - 1600 BCE
Material
Sandstone
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Used as a burial & ritual center as its composition has astronomical significance
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Located far from where people lived → People likely only came here for rituals
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On summer and winter solstice, the sun aligns perfectly with the Heel Stone (a special stone outside the main circle)→ Suggests divine significance of the sun
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Was a burial site for the upper classes
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Uses very heavy stones and lots of perfect geometry → Represents a complex sedentary society
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Heavy stones were fashioned from a local quarry and hauled by laborers to this site​
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Some stones have cuts in them so that multiple stones can perfectly fit together → Represents complex engineering skills
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Image 9: The Ambum Stone
Name
The Ambum Stone
Location
Ambum Valley, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea
Date
c.1500 BCE
Material
Greywacke
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Appears to be in a fetal position → Suggests emphasis on fertility/birth
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Could be shaped like an echidna, which represents the idea of food and fertility
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Could be a ritual object meant to promote fertility
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Required lots of time & energy to carve this (greywacke is very hard) → Suggests its importance across generations
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The stone was initially very rough, and carving it into this smooth stone required lots of effort → Represents characteristics of a sedentary society
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Was very well-handled and passed down across generations (instead of buried in the ground) → Showcases this stone's value
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This stone's high value could suggest its ritualistic importance (especially in promoting fertility)
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Image 10: Tlatilco Female Figurine
Name
Tlatilco Female Figurine
Location
Central Mexico, Site of Tlatilco
Date
1200 - 900 BCE
Material
Ceramic
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Showcases a female figurine with an emphasis on the hip area → Emphasis on fertility
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These figurines were located in burials, likely to promote the fertility of the next generation
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Showcases two faces with a shared eye → Promotes the duality and connection between life and death
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Located in a burial to encourage the dead person in the burial to have a prosperous afterlife
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Image 11: Terra Cotta Fragment
Name
Terra Cotta Fragment
Culture
Lapita
Location
Soloman Islands, Reef Islands
Date
1000 BCE
Material
Terracotta (incised)
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These designs often contain human (anthropomorphic) faces → Represent supernatural beliefs​​
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These stones found on different Polynesian islands often share similar patterns → Represent influence across the various islands
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However, as we move eastward from the Solomon Islands, the designs get simpler → Shows that the remote Oceanian islands lacked pottery-making resources
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These islands had a common language → Made it easier for the instructions to make the specific patterns to spread across the islands → This is why the islands have similar patterns
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