Untitled Quiz

Abstract Expressionism

• Artistic movement emphasizing an artist's freedom to convey attitudes and emotions through non-representational means.
• Developed by American painters in the 1940s and 1950s (e.g., Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning).
• Characterized by gestural brushstrokes and mark-making, suggesting spontaneity.
• Two main groups:
  • Action painters: employed expressive brushstrokes.
  • Color field painters: filled canvases with large areas of single colours.

Origins of Art

• Earliest art objects date to the prehistoric period.
• Art wasn't exclusive to one region.
• Examples of early art include stone tools, figures, and cave paintings.

Paleolithic Cave Art Time Tunnel

• Aurignacian Culture (40,000–25,000 BCE): Initial cave paintings included hand stencils and abstract red dots, later followed by stylized depictions of humans and animals.
• Gravettian Culture (25,000–20,000 BCE): More detailed and realistic cave paintings and engravings, depicting large herbivores and predators.
• Solutrean Culture (20,000–15,000 BCE): Engravings and reliefs frequently depicted large herbivores rather than paintings, and were more common than paintings.

Venus of Hohle Fels

• Ivory carving of a female figure.
• Dated between 38,000 and 33,000 BCE.
• Discovered in Southwestern Germany.

Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel

• Ivory anthropomorphic carving
• Estimated 38,000 BCE
• Earliest artwork in Europe depicting a male figure.
• Discovered in the Swabian Alps, Germany

Sulawesi Cave Art

• Hand stenciling
• Dated to at least 37,900 BCE.

El Castillo Cave

• Abstract signs and hand stencils.
• Dated to at least 39,000 BCE

Borneo Cave

• Dated to 40,000 BCE.

La Ferrassie Cave Petroglyphs

• Neanderthal cave displaying "cupules."
• Dates back to approximately 70,000–40,000 BCE.

Diepkloof Eggshell Engravings

• Engravings on ostrich eggshells.
• Dated to approximately 60,000 BCE.

Blombos Cave Engravings

• Geometric abstract signs on ochre rock.
• Dated to approximately 70,000 BCE

Venus of Tan-Tan

• Prehistoric sculpture.
• Dated to 200,000–500,000 BCE.

Venus of Berekhat Ram

• Stone figurine.
• Dated to approximately 230,000–700,000 BCE.

Bhimbetka and Daraki-Chattan Cupules

• Cupules in India's Madhya Pradesh.
• Oldest, dated around 700,000 BC

Rituals and Fertility in Prehistoric Art

• Art potentially connected to rituals.
• Depictions likely had significance in hunting, magic, reproduction and the power of natural forces.
• Animals, depicted with details, were the source of power

Lascaux Caves

• Paleolithic art in southern France , over 600 paintings and over 1500 carvings.
• Predominantly depicted animals, in rich and realistic colors and styles.
• "Twisted perspective" technique used to show movement and depth.
• Tools used to implement the art (bones, moss, etc).

Paleolithic Art and Techniques

• Animal and human depictions
• Handprints
• Pigment composition
• Twisted perspective.

Purpose of Prehistoric Art

• Theories exist on the purposes of prehistoric art.
• Possible interpretations:
  • Rituals and ceremonies
  • Magic, hunting, or fertility
  • Cultural identity
  • Communication

Transition to Neolithic Age

• Theories regarding the transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic age include:
  • Climate change
  • Extinction of large mammals
  • Population growth
  • Agricultural developments.

Çatalhöyük

• Neolithic settlement in Turkey known for densely packed houses.

Stonehenge

• Megalithic monument in England
• Estimated construction period of over 1500 years (c. 3000 BCE).
• Believed to have been used for religious rituals and ceremonies.

Paleolithic Age - Stone Tools

• Hand axes
• Scrapers
• Choppers
• Grinders
• Hammers
• Arrow heads
• Flakes
• Burins

Human Evolution

• Key developments shaping the human lineage.
• Bipedalism, tools, and social interactions are distinguishing characteristics.

Homo genus

• Early human species.
• Defined by classification by Carl von Linné.
• Homo habilis and Homo erectus are examples of early human species.
• Homo neanderthalensis: An extinct species closely related to modern humans, found throughout Eurasia.
• Homo denisova: Another extinct species related to modern humans, primarily present in Asia during a certain time.
• Homo sapiens: modern humans

Other important theories

• Tool evolution and its relation to cognitive development.
• The role of shamans and rituals in Paleolithic art.
• The interpretation of cave paintings and their possible symbolic meanings.
• The transition from hunting to agriculture and the development of settlements and practices.
• The different theories about the transition from Paleolithic to the Neolithic Age, including climate changes and population growth.
• The role of tool-making and the development of early technology
• The impact of the environment on human evolution.