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

Other, smaller, carved ivory and bone objects indicate that they were handled frequently, as they would be carried on a person as pendants or charms in pockets. Other items include a bird, a horse’s head, and a figure that is part human and part animal.”

“Laussel’s Mother Goddess” is a sculpture discovered on a rock in Dordogne, France, that is thought to be 19,000–22,000 years old and stands 47 cm (18 1/2 in) tall. It is thought to have symbolised the mother goddess. The sculpture was observed from below eye level in 1911, and it was noted that it appeared almost plastic-like.

Laussel's Mother Godess
Laussel’s Mother Godess

The figure is pregnant, as evidenced by her protruding stomach from within the rock face. It is caved in such a way that it appears as if the sculptor was attempting to free a human form within the rock. Unfortunately, the head has been destroyed over time, but we have a rough idea that she appears to be looking in profile at her right hand, which is raised up and holding a bison’s horn. The left hand is resting on her stomach, indicating a swollen womb.

When we combine all of this, especially the bison’s horn, which is shaped like a crescent moon and has thirteen notches on it, it may imply that this demonstrates the phases of the moon; all of this makes her a much more complex and remarkable figure than the Woman from Willendorf.

Because it is almost certain that hunters were aware of horn growth and its relationship to an animal’s sexual cycle, it is common to see a horn embodied within a sculpture or painting to represent reproductive activities and fertility.

The sculpture appears to be intended to represent a fertile mother or fertility goddess. It is clear from all of these sculptures that they were not conceptualized, but rather visualized. This means that what they created was based on what their eyes saw rather than their imagination.

What is truly fascinating is that conceptual art was being done at the same time. (We’ll go over this in greater detail later.)

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