AP Art History Unit 1 Prehistoric Arts

AP Art History Course Study Guide Unit One: Prehistoric Arts 1. Apollo 11 Stone (Namibia. 25000 B.C.E Charcoal on stone) a. Context: i. Found in the Hun's mountains of Namibia ii. It was founded along with 7 other tablets that contained animal figures iii. Founded during the Apollo 11 moon landings hence the name b. Content: i. Cave stones with animal-like figures with human legs ii. Thought to be a Therianthrope. Animals resembles a feline body and human hind legs c. Form: i. Made out of charcoal on cave stone ii. Maybe used mineral based pigment bc they found ostrich egg painted d. Function: i. Unknown but it is small enough to be carried in one’s hand 2. Great Hall of the Bulls (Lascaux, France. Paleolithic Europe. 15000-13000 B.C.E. Rock painting) a. Context i. Stone Age ii. Dordogne, France , Cave- 250 meters long, Hunter and gatherer lifestyle iii. In 1963 original was closed but a replica was built to preserve the artwork b. Content i. Animals that were of importance (bulls, horses, cattle, deer) ii. Human vs animals c. Form i. Charcoal and ochre on nonporous rock ii. Hierarchical scale iii. Patterns were prominent (could tell us about our past) iv. Only one human painting d. Function i. Shows the importance of survival ii. Used for religious rituals, storytelling and preserving the history 3. Camelid Sacrum in the Shape of a Canine (Tequixquiac, central Mexico. 14000-7000 B.C.E. Bone) AP Art History Course Study Guide a. Context: i. Prehistoric-no written record ii. Lost to scholars for about 60 years. It was privately owned iii. Spiritual significance of sacrum. Pelvic bone is the fulcrum of the body & central to internal organs. iv. Could be a symbol of fertility or connection to ancestry and posterity b. Content: i. Head of Canine, natural shape of sacrum bone probably suggested image of canine to the carver ii. Nostrils, mouth c. Form: i. Made from the now fossilized remains of the sacrum-triangular pelvic bone of a camelid (now extinct) d. Function: i. Unknown but prehistoric artisans drew/painted/carved sculpted what they saw in their everyday life, so choice to render image of a canine makes sense 4. Running Horned Woman (Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria. 6000-4000 B.C.E. Pigment on Rock) a. Context: i. Found in an area with high elevation & unique topography ii. Hunter & gatherer society iii. Thousands of paintings were found in the area iv. Found in Algeria, Africa b. Content: i. White dots- body paint ii. A horned woman running with arm and shin guards iii. People running along with the horned woman c. Form: i. Hierarchical scale ii. Pigment on rock iii. Illusion of movement iv. Profile perspective d. Function: i. Emphasized importance of survival ii. Recognition of the importance animal and human relationship 5. Beaker with Ibex Motifs (Susa, Iran. 4200-3500 B.C.E. Painted terra cotta) AP Art History Course Study Guide a. Context: i. Found in Iran ii. Belong to the susa people b. Content: i. Central ibex (mountain goat) ii. Running greyhound like animals iii. Diamond shapes at the top of the beaker iv. Birds encircling the top of the beaker c. Form: i. Painted terra cotta ii. Geometric lines & shapes d. Function: i. For funerary practices 6. Anthropomorphic Steele (Arabian Peninsula. 4th millennium B.C.E. Sandstone) a. Context: i. Pre-Islamic Northern Saudi Arabia ii. Found with 60 other steeles iii. Fertile ground and area b. Content: i. Represent a human ii. Trapezoid head with a horizontal necklace along with an awl iii. The waist has a belt with two daggers c. Form: i. Made from sandstone ii. Carvings are not intricate iii. Bas-relief carving d. Function: i. Steele - a vertical stone monument or marker often inscribed text or relief carving ii. Shows the importance of human figure 7. Jade Cong (Liangzhu, China. 3300-2200 B.C.E. Carved Jade) a. Context: i. Developed in Yangzi delta (Neolithic era) ii. Farming society b. Content: i. Square hollow tube ii. Represents dead ancestors iii. Lines and circles = animals, humans, and monsters AP Art History Course Study Guide c. Form: i. Made from jade ii. Precise engravings (created from sanding the jade) iii. Bas relief d. Function: i. Show power and wealth ii. Protect in afterlife, Found in graves, Connections to nature, rectangle= earth, circle= heavens of the sky 8. Stonehenge (Wiltshire, UK. Neolithic Europe. 2500-1600 B.C.E. Sandstone) a. Context: i. Founded in Salisbury Plain England ii. 1st phrase started around 3100 B.C.E. (this would be be concurrent w/ first dynasties of ancient Egypt) iii. Construction continued the next 500 years. Building the structure would require precise planning and massive amount of labor iv. Used machinery to get the lintel stones on top of the post stones v. Long term communal effort, shows that they are sophisticated b. Content: i. 3 Phases (Constructions), Before pyramids ii. Concentric circles of huge stones- lintel stones are carved to create the curved lines of a circle iii. Huge pits dugged which allows stones to stay upright c. Form: i. Made mainly of bluestone which is very durable ii. Post and lintel construction iii. Monolithic Stones d. Function: i. Evident that the 2nd stage of construction, Stonehenge was used as a burial site (all Burials were males aged 20-50 important figures) ii. Horseshoes of trilithons frames mark both mid-summer solstice and midwinter sunset (longest/shortest day of the year) 9. The Ambum Stone (Ambum Valley, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea. 1500 B.C.E. Greywacke) AP Art History Course Study Guide a. Context: i. Neolithic ii. Settled communities which allowed more time for sculpture iii. Greywacke: Really hard to carve long lasting and durable; valuable b. Content: i. Most likely a depiction of an Echidna, which is an egg-laying mammal that’s native to the New Guinea region ii. The Ambum stone’s rounded belly provides balance and allows it to be a freestanding sculpture c. Form: i. Used substances carving techniques which means they subtracted a certain amount of greywacke stone to create they floaty neck d. Function: i. Unknown. But easy to pass around. Perhaps some religious purpose, buried w/ dead people 10. Tlatilco Female Figurine (Central Mexico, sites of Tlatilco. 1200-900 B.C.E. Ceramic) a. Context: i. Founded with many others by brick makers who were getting clay ii. Appears to have come from graves b. Content: i. Figure of female form ii. Elaborate style hair and lively expression iii. Deformities: lack of defined hands and feet, 2 faces (may symbolize duality: yin/yang or evil/good) c. Form: i. Balanced through symmetry textured hair, heavy bottom ii. Rarely depicted males but when they are they are often wearing masks/costumes d. Function: i. May have been part of a burial process 11. Terra Cotta Fragments (Lapita. Solomon Islands, Reef Islands. 1000 B.C.E. incised) a. Context: i. Created by the artisans in the Lapita culture ii. Was discovered in New Caledonia islands ~about 85,000 indigenous people lived on these islands b. Content: i. Clear anthropomorphic figure depicted ii. faces=highly geometric, large, iii. Different groups have specific designs in their pottery. AP Art History Course Study Guide c. Form: i. Made from molded terra cotta , a reddish, brown, unglazed type of clay ii. Used method called dentate stamping involves carving designs into existing natural materials d. Function: i. Fragments are from a pot used to store food ii. Could have been a form of reverence for ritualistic/religious usage since pottery was a large part of Lapita Culture iii. Pottery was exchanged within this group: this shows trade and communication