Prehistory: Paleolithic Art and History PDF

Pre history “History begins with the bodies and artifacts: living brains, fossils, texts, buildings” History is nota single truth, it is a collectivity of remembrance and memories there is no single answer. it depends on the individual and collective memory for what an artwork means...

Pre history “History begins with the bodies and artifacts: living brains, fossils, texts, buildings” History is nota single truth, it is a collectivity of remembrance and memories there is no single answer. it depends on the individual and collective memory for what an artwork means what is considered art? a physical trace (carving, painting, etc) that shows intentionality but has no obvious utilitarian (designed to be useful or practical rather than attractive.) purpose. a physical trace that is not designed to be useful but more so attractive purpose. People tend to apply their own values and beliefs (western beliefs) Formed by Europeans that have a lot of authority that stripped the context of the original piece (learn to question – there is no right answer to what an art piece represents) Paleolithic art A time when cave people start the use of tools to create art Movement from recognition to depiction (i.e intentional representation of certain things) Pareidolia - a tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual patter. the human ability to see shapes or make pictures out of randomness (seeing a picture from clouds) Paleolithic female figurines (3.3 million years ago to 11,00 BCE)  exaggerated body parts inscribed lines some with nubs (pendent?) some with heads + hair facial features generalized more female figures than male figures local materials - stone complex mix of naturalism and abstraction it is said that the females made these figurines as a way to inspect one self due to the fact that mirrors weren't a thin yet before, and they have to use their cone of vision to see what they look like and to sculpt it to learn more about what they see. The reason why they look fat is because they have to look down. and because of our vision from up, they see their bodies as fat and sculpted it that way. They have no way of knowing to authenticate their appearance, but because we have mirrors now we can authenticate our appearances. Characteristic of Paleolithic Art drawn with solid minerals or charcoal, painted in powder in suspension of water/ saliva or fat. usually depict animals” Bison, Ibex, mammoth, horse ○ can be seen from the distance and easilt studied ○ could be something symbolic to their culture that we will never know humans rarely depicted, women more commonly than men paintings located as far as possible from mouth of cave, in dark recesses, often quite inaccessible Speculative “reasons”/”functions” ○ basically uncomfirmed/unfinished information as is based on the knowledge known for now Humans go to dark claustrophobic spaces to either hide, get resources and materials, and or paint for some reason. ○ Drawn to probably warn or document. Curious I guess like a library. symbolic meaning aesthetic sense - sheer love of beauty social function  sympathetic magic - “They think that drawing the animals will make them appear when they go hunting” ○ transferring fiction into reality - manifesting your imagination heuristic device - teaching the later generations on what to hunt and what creatures to be aware of. pre history is called that because it hasn’t been recorded or written down In description as the people before haven’t written but drawn to know about the creators of these paintings can be hard as the art is made only 500 years ago. Its a risk to assert meaning for the art of people who share our anatomy but They havent developed the cultures or linguistic structures that shaped who we have become. Our views have changed so much over the years and has been impacted from colonialism we cannot simply pinpoint what the people from 500 years ago are saying. Oral + visual Histories to be pictures or it is written Petroglyph - an image carved, incised or scratched into stone. Pictograph - a painting on stone using natural pigments Sacred places + Spaces Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia. Wikipedia.org. a place sacred to the Pitjantjatjara, the aboriginal people of the area, known as the Anangu. filled with springs, ancient paintings, waterholes, and rock caves. One of Australias most recognizable natural landmarks and one of the most important indigenous sites. if you treat this place with respect, it will treat you with respect Cultural contexts: “country” Terra Nullius “Territory without a master” ○ a space that can be inhabited but that does not belong by anyone Language groups - seperated based on language  Rituals and ceremonies - traditional and cultural series of actions performed in a fixed order. ○ worked with the land instead of on the land Healing + restoring healthy relationships Orderly system of reciprocity (the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit, especially privileges granted by one country or organization to another.) Land + Stories Land – intergenerational, nourishing, transforming, evolving ○ acknowledge the fact that the land will change - whether it is a natural or a human change Allochronism - viewing another culture as different from one's own and as not existing in the same time as one's own. ○ time coexists different (How two timelines co-existing ○ Like how natives and colonists are like living in different times ○ Colonists see natives as like them, but sees them as unsophisticated. They believe they managed to move out of that timeline an think they are more privileged. because they think natives are wasting a land with so much potential and thinks its their duty to enlighten them, “Land is intertwined with natives” Aboriginal song lines/Song spirals A vast spial of color and line contain meaning that those of the group will be able to understand - like a language Songlines carry law and stories that first nations people live by because songlines are intertwined with first nations cultures, it is difficult to translate what they are for non-Indigenous people. songlines trace astronomy and geographical elements from ancient stories, and describe how these things jave helped shape the landscape as it is now. They were first used by first nations people as a form of communication across the continent and a way of mapping country. songlines do chart the landscape of australia, but they are complex and not always follow a linear direction. songlines are the story of these lands. songlines are passed from elder to elder over thousands of years. An example of a songline is the seven sisters story. some Vocab “Dreaming”: songs are narrative of crucial forms of knowledge about the dreaming, and about relationship between people with country (where transformation occurs (I forgot the other word she said) Bawaka Country: they are recognizing bawaka is important for their research. Researching that land. Giving the land the country bawaka. Land is not static not inanimate but living and it has a connection to the people in the land. And they feel the need to protect the land Functions, Significances Spirals loop around forever. just like the indigenous songs. it lets you talk about the contemporary, the new, and also brings together the old songs. the spiral is good because it shows how it can all keep going Rock panels of upper cingati of busingatha valley Collecting, scarring scattering, vandalising, graffitiing, removing Wintjes used unpublished materials to find the missing rock art - drawings by Maria Weyersberg and photographs by uncredited women working on archeological expedition between 1904-1935 Scarred seperated and isolated Physical connections between people and the spiritual realms are broken because of the removal and damage of the rock sites. “each copy that is drawn, photograph taken, or piece chiselled out is a discrimatory act of framing” Neolithic People think fo the Stonehenge when thinking of the Neolithic era. Stonehenge is an example of the cultural advances brought about by the Neolithic revolution - the most important development in human history. The Neolithic revolution has impacted on how we live today, settled in homes, close to other people in towns and cities, protected by laws, eating food grown on farms and with leisure time to learn, explore and invent. the revolution which led to our way of life was the development of the technology needed to plant and harvest crops and to domesticate animals Before Neolithic was alot of temporary luxuries as people have to move alot and couldnt own what they want permanently. neolithic art the massive changes in the way they lived changed the way art is made. Neolithic sculptures became bigger, because people didnt have to carry it around anymore. pottery became more widespread and was used to store food Alcohol was first produced and architecture as well as interior and exterior decoration in short, people settled down nd began to live in one place, year after year. it is also when we found first evidence for religious practice, a perpetual inspiration for the fine arts. people were often buried under the floors of the homes, and in some cases their skulls were removed and covered with plaster in order to create life life faces. the traditional interpertation of these skulls has been that they offere a means of preserving and worshipping male ancestors. however, recent research has shown that among them some are women and children. Perhaps the skulls are not so much religious objects but a powerful image made to aid in mourning loved ones. they didnt have a written langauge, so we may never know what their creators intended.