- Woman from Willendorf
- circa 24,000BCE
- Limestone, 4 3/8"
- Fertility representation, perhaps used as a gift to show marriage readiness
- small, easy to travel with (Ice Age era), nude
- Woman from Brassempouy
- circa 30,000BCE
- Ivory, 1 1/4"
- possibly representing fertility because woman, travel sized
- Woman from Dolni Vestonice
- 23,000BCE
- Fired clay, 4 1/4" x 2"
- small, possibly fertility because of her shape
- Female Figure from Hohle Fels
- c 38,000BCE
- Mammoth ivory
- Lion Human. Hohlenstein-Stadel
- c 30,000-26,000BCE
- Mammoth ivory, 1' tall
- about 2 months/400 hours of work to create it, created in round
- composite creature, possibly a mask or religious symbol
- Altamira Bison Cave Painting
- 13,000-11,000BCE Spain
- Pigment on stone, ocher pigment on ceiling
- in profile view
- Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux Caves France
- 15,000BCE
- Pigment on stone
- all profile, no groundline, positive+negative space, twisted view, proportions are off
- ritual, religion, message to other groups
- Bird Headed Man with Bison, Lascaux Caves France
- c 15,000BCE
- possibly first narrative work of art
- possibly remembrance portrait
- Two Bison Relief, France Cave
- 13,000BCE
- clay
- profile view
- Wall Painting w/ Horses, rhinos, and aurochs
- 32,000BCE
- suggested people chose to make simple stuff instead of detailed artwork
Why was this period controversial?
Much more complex art was created earlier in time, art progress was not linear growth
What happened around 9,000 BCE that changed life for humans? How did they live before? After?
The Ice Age ended around 9,000 BCE, people were nomadic beforehand but began to settle down. Fertile Crescent
- Decorated Ocher, Blombos Caves, South Africa
- 77,000BCE, oldest work of art
- Paints like a crayon if ground down and mixed with binder