Prehistoric art

In the history of art,

prehistoric art is all
art produced in
preliterate,
prehistorical cultures
beginning somewhere
in very late geological
history, and generally
continuing until that
culture either develops
writing or other
methods
The very earliest human artifacts showing evidence
of workmanship with an artistic purpose are a subject
of some debate; it is clear that such workmanship
existed by 40,000 years ago in the Upper Paleolithic
era.
 Prehistoric Culture
The basic timeline of Prehistory is dominated by the
so-called Old Stone Age or Paleolithic era, which
lasted (roughly) from 1,600,000 until 10,000 BCE. It
spans three periods:
(1) Lower Paleolithic (2,500,000-200,000 BCE)
(2) Middle Paleolithic (200,000-30,000 BCE)
(3) Upper Paleolithic (40,000-10,000 BCE).
After this comes a transitional phase called the
Mesolithic period (sometimes known as
epipaleolithic), ending with the spread of agriculture,
followed by the Neolithic period (the New Stone Age)
which witnessed the establishment of permanent
settlements.
The Stone Age ends as stone tools become
superseded by the new products of bronze and iron
metallurgy, and is followed by the Bronze and Iron
ages.
Lower Paleolithic or Early Stone Age
The Lower Paleolithic period, roughly
between 1.5 million and 250,000 years ago,
is when our hominine ancestors Homo
erectus and Australopithecus lived on the
earth.

The Lower Paleolithic period (2.7 million

to 200,000 years ago) is the first
archaeology, that is to say, that period
when the first evidence of what scientists
consider human behaviors occurred.
The Middle Paleolithic period (ca 200,000 to 45,000
years ago or so) is the period during which Archaic
humans including Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
appeared and flourished all over the world. Hand axes
continued in use, but a new kind of stone tool kit was
created--called the Mousterian, it included purposefully
prepared cores and specialized flake tools.
The living method in the Middle Paleolithic for both
Homo sapiens and our Neanderthal cousins included
scavenging, but there is also clear evidence of hunting
and gathering activities.
The Upper Paleolithic Revolution
Anatomically modern humans first emerged around
100,000 years ago. However, thereafter there
seems to have followed a period of around 60,000
years when the lifestyle of the modern humans
changed little from that of their predecessors. It was
not till around 40,000 years ago that the
archaeological record reveals the emergence of
technical and social advances which a modern
human can understand as fundamentally like our
own. This dramatic change is known as the Upper
Paleolithic Revolution. The revolution comprised
new technologies, hunting techniques, human
burials and an artistic tradition of astonishing
competency.
 The Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric
period during which humans widely used
stone for tool making. Stone tools were
made from a variety of different sorts of
stone. For example, flint and The Stone
Age is a broad prehistoric period during
which humans widely used stone for tool
making. Stone tools were made from a
variety of different sorts of stone. For
example, flint and chert were shaped (or
chipped) for use as cutting tools and
weapons, while basalt and sandstone were
used for ground stone tools, such as
quern-stones.
The megalithic ruin known as Stonehenge stands on
the open down land of Salisbury Plain two miles
(three kilometers) west of the town of Amesbury,
Wiltshire, in southern England. It consists of a series
of earth, timber, and stone structures that were built,
revised and re-modeled over a period of more than
1400 years.
The Venus of Willendorf, also known
as the Woman of Willendorf, is an 11.1
cm (4 3/8 inches) high statuette of a
female figure. It was discovered in 1908
by archaeologist Josef Szombathely at a
Paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village
in Lower Austria near the city of Krems.
It is carved from an oolitic limestone that
is not local to the area, and tinted with
red ochre.
Cave Paintings
The largest part of the cave
paintings was found in Europe
(from Spain up to the Ural).
Naturally, on the walls of
neglected caves with the entrances
firmly blocked up thousands years
ago, the paintings are in a good
condition. During centuries the
same temperature and humidity
have been kept up in them. That is
why, together with the cave
paintings, other numerous
evidences of the human activity
are perfectly preserved, among
them - distinct footprints of adults
and, what is more impressive, of
children on the wet floor of some
caves.
Mesolithic Art
Otherwise known as "Middle Stone Age",
the Mesolithic period covered a brief
span of around 2,000 years. While it
served as an important bridge between
the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic ages,
the art of this period was, From this
distance, it's not nearly as fascinating as
the discovery of (and innovations in) the
art of the preceding era. And the art of
the subsequent Neolithic era is
exponentially diverse, besides being
more well-preserved and offering us
thousands of examples of itself, instead
of a "handful". Still, let's briefly cover the
artistic events of the Mesolithic because,
after all, it's a distinct era from any other.
 Thiswas a period when humans developed new
techniques of stone working. At that time, people stayed
longer in one place and gave increased attention to the
domestication. There is a gap in the artistic activity of
people of that epoch. Most of what has survived from the
Mesolithic era is small statuette size works and paintings
in shallow shelter caves.

   The rich art of the Paleolithic is replaced by a Mesolithic

art that is quite different. There are many changes in style
as well as meaning. Upper Paleolithic cave art depicts
colored drawings and expressive features of animals. A
full range of color is used. Mesolithic art in contrast is
schematic; no realistic figures are present and only the
color red is used. This form is also found in North Africa
and the northern Mediterranean.
 Neolithic Art

After the rather ho-hum art of the

Mesolithic era, art in the Neolithic
(literally: "new stone") age represents a
spree of hellzapoppin' innovation.
Humans were settling themselves down
into agrarian societies, which left them
enough spare time to explore some key
concepts of civilization - namely,
religion, measurement, the rudiments of
architecture and writing and, yes, art.
The "new" arts to emerge from this era were weaving,
architecture, the construction of megaliths and
increasingly stylized pictographs that were well on
their way to becoming writing.
The earlier arts of statuary, painting and pottery
stuck with (and still remain with) us. The Neolithic era
saw many refinements to each.
Statuary (primarily statuettes), made a big comeback
after having been largely absent during the Mesolithic
age. Its Neolithic theme dwelt primarily on the
female/fertility, or "Mother Goddess" imagery (quite in
keeping with agriculture, this). There were still animal
statuettes, however these weren't lavished with the
detail the goddesses enjoyed. They are often found
broken into bits - perhaps indicating that they were
used symbolically in hunting rituals.
The Neolithic art created 5,000 years ago bears a series
of mysterious shapes, including concentric circles,
interlocking rings and hollowed cups.
The finds, around Northumberland and Durham, are
particularly exciting as many of the nation's prehistoric
carvings have been lost to natural erosion and human
activities such as quarrying and field clearance.
Although they are not in caves, many of the sites are
barely accessible, accounting for their having lain
undiscovered for thousands of years.
Iron Age
In archaeology, the Iron Age is the
prehistoric period in any area
during which cutting tools and
weapons were mainly made of iron
or steel. The adoption of this
material coincided with other
changes in society, including
differing agricultural practices,
religious beliefs and artistic styles.
The Iron Age is the last principal period in the
three-age system for classifying prehistoric
societies, preceded by the Bronze Age and the
Stone Age. Its dates and context vary depending
on the geographical region. The Iron Age in each
area ends with the beginning of the historical
period, i.e. the local production of ample written
sources. Thus, for instance, the British Iron Age
ends with the Roman Conquest.
The term "Iron Age" was originally derived
from the "Ages of Man", i.e. the ages of
human existence on the Earth according
to Classical mythology. While the earlier
ages in this scheme are entirely mythical
("The Golden Age" and the "Silver Age"),
the later Bronze Age and Iron Age of
classical mythology preserve the memory
of actual periods when the metals
mentioned dominated human life.