Course Content
What is Prehistoric Art?
When we talk about Prehistoric, we can think of it as the "Old Stone Age," which is also known as "Prehistoric Times." Because this era is before the invention of writing, documentation, and civilisation, it's also known as "Prehistory" which is the more common choice of phrasing within art history (you will hear both variations throughout this course, but rest assured they both refer to the exact same thing). Google defines Prehistory as "Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins c. 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems." If you look up "art," Google says it's "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power." So, when we think of what these people made, such as cave paintings and sculptures, as art, it is safe to call this the earliest form of art. Cave paintings are the most common form of art that people know about from the Paleolithic era. But few people know that they left behind more than just paintings. A lot of art that dates back to the Paleolithic era has sculptures in it, too.
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How do We Date Prehistoric Art?
Where did it All Begin?
Paleolithic Era
The Paleolithic period, which is also called the "Old Stone Age" lasted between two and a half to three million years. For art history, "Paleolithic Art" refers to the Late Upper Paleolithic period, which is when people lived. Approximately 40,000 years ago. Right through to the end of the last ice age, roughly 8,000 years ago. At which point marks the more dominant rise of Homo sapiens and the ability to create not only tools, but art as well.
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Paleolithic Sculptures Pt. 1
Paleolithic Sculptures Pt. 2
Paleolithic Cave Paintings Pt. 1
Paleolithic Cave Paintings Pt. 2
Paleolithic Cave Paintings Pt. 3
Paleolithic Hand Paintings
Mesolithic Era
The Mesolithic era was between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic period (this is when humans lived about 10,000 years ago to about 8,000 years ago). The Mesolithic is the time in the history of the Old World when people used tools. The term Epipaleolithic is often used to refer to the same time period outside of northern Europe. Mesolithic people used small stone tools that were polished and sometimes made with points. They attached them to antlers, bone, or wood to use as spears or arrows.
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Mesolithic Art
Neolithic Era
More people necessitated a shift away from hunting and gathering to the domestication of livestock and farming, sparking what is known as the Neolithic Revolution. The introduction of agriculture, which led to land ownership, and the formation of cities, is undeniably one of the most significant turning points in the history of human civilization. This is known also as the final division of the Stone Age period. A great many myths and folktales contain references to it. However, this happened over time and in different parts of the world at different times. Agriculture began in Palestine and western Iran in the middle of the eighth millennium, later in Egypt; in about the sixth millennium in Greece and the Balkans, early in the fifth millennium in China and also in Central America, but not for another one or two thousand years in northern Europe. To this day, some tribes in Australia and central South America have been able to sustain themselves through hunting and gathering without the need for agriculture. Consequently, the term "Neolithic" is sometimes misused by referring to both the time period and the culture. Even if homesteads were frequently relocated as soon as the land was exhausted by primitive farming methods, more permanent settlements followed the adoption of agriculture.
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Catal Huyuk Pt. 1
Catal Huyuk Pt. 2
Catal Huyuk Pt. 3
Catal Huyuk Pt. 4
Neolithic Architecture
All About Prehistoric Art
About Lesson

“Woman from Willendorf” is a small sculpture made of limestone that stands 11.5cm (4 1/4in) tall. This sculpture was discovered in Willendorf, Austria, and dates back between 25,000 and 30,000 years. Because of the level of detail involved, this small sculpture is undoubtedly the most famous of the works discovered from that time period, demonstrating a high level of sophistication and knowledge of the human form.

Woman from Willendorf
Woman from Willendorf

The sculpture depicts a woman with her hands resting on her breasts, curls of hair covering her entire head and face, and sketchy marks indicating the legs and arms, implying that the woman has no face.

This sculpture is famous not only for its age or level of detail for its time, but also because there is no doubt that the woman was carved as the ideal image of fertility, and is likely thought to be held as an enchantment, or magical charm (demonstrating that these people had another level of thought and a higher belief).”

“Man from Brno” was discovered and is thought to be from the same time period as the “Woman from Willendorf.” Unfortunately, the sculpture has been severely damaged, and it is estimated that it once stood at a height of 43 cm (17 in).

Man from Brno
Man from Brno

The sculpture was discovered in the grave of a man who clearly held some sort of status within a group, as he was found wearing a necklace of cut and polished mammoth tooth beads, as well as 600 pieces of shell and bone roundels.

When we examined the statue with modern technology, we discovered that the carvers focused their attention primarily on the statues head rather than the body, with deeply sunk eyes and closely cropped hair. It can be seen that the sculpture’s body was only created as a schematical representation.

We don’t know whether this was intended to be a symbol of the supernatural or simply a portrait of the man; it could even have been a symbol used to indicate importance within a tribe. We simply don’t know.

What we do know is that it was used in a burial ritual, demonstrating religious beliefs among the people of the time.

We know that the objects discovered with the Man from Brno were used for personal decoration, which is, of course, very closely related to the human impulse for the visual arts. Unfortunately, we do not know whether the objects were chosen because of the religious properties that the people believed they embodied or represented, or because of their aesthetic design. For all we know, it could be a combination of the two.

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