Prehistoric Art

William V. Ganis, PhD

Dating Conventions and Abbreviations

B.C.=before Christ

B.C.E.=before the Common Era

A.D.=Anno Domini (the year of our Lord)

C.E.=Common Era

c. or ca.= circa C.=century

Pebble resembling a human face

from Makaspansgat South Africa

ca. 3,000,000 B.C.E.

reddish brown jasperite

approximately 2 3/8 in. wide

Paleolithic Art

Apollo 11 Cave

Namibia

ca. 23,000 B.C.E.

charcoal on stone

5 in x 4 3/4 in.

Human with Feline Head

from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany

ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E.

mammoth ivory

11 5/8 in. high

Human with Feline Head

from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany

ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E.

mammoth ivory

11 5/8 in. high

Venus of Willendorf

from Willendorf, Austria

ca. 28,000-25,000 B.C.E.

limestone

4 1/4 in. high

Woman of Lespugue

from cave of Les Rideaux, France

ca. 20,000 B.C.E.

mammoth ivory

5 3/4 in. high

Various European “Venus” figures

Woman of Laussel

from a cave in

Laussel, Dordogne, France

ca. 25,000-20,000 B.C.E.

painted limestone

approximately 18 in. high

Bison reliefs

from a cave at Le Tuc d’Audoubert,

Ariége, France

ca. 15,000-10,000 B.C.E.

clay

each approximately 2 feet long

19 Figure 1-8 Bison with turned head, fragmentary spearthrower, from La Madeleine, France,

ca. 12,000 BCE. Reindeer horn, 4” long.

Altamira Cave paintings

Santander, Spain

ca. 12,000-11,000 B.C.E.

pigment on stone

23

Figure 1-9 Bison, detail of a

painted ceiling in the cave at

Altamira, Spain, ca. 12,000–11,000

BCE. Each bison 5’ long.

Pech-Merle Cave paintings

Lot, France

ca. 22,000 B.C.E.

pigment on stone

26 Figure 1-10 Spotted horses and negative hand imprints, wall painting in the cave at Pech-Merle, France,

ca. 22,000 BCE. 11’ 2” long.

27

Figure 1-11 Hall of the Bulls (left wall) in the cave at Lascaux, France, ca. 15,000–13,000 BCE. Largest bull 11’

6” long.

Lascaux Cave paintings

Lascaux, Dordogne, France

ca. 15,000-13,000 B.C.E.

pigment on stone

Figure 1-13 Rhinoceros, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, painting in the well of the

cave at Lascaux, France ca. 15,000 – 13,000 BCE. Bison 3’ 8” long.

32

Chauvet Cave paintings

Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, Ardèche, France

ca. 30,000-28,000 B.C.E.

pigment on stone

35 Figure 1-12 Aurochs, horses, and rhinoceroses, wall painting in Chauvet Cave, Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, France, ca. 30,000–28,000 or ca. 15,000–13,000 BCE.

Mammoth bone dwelling

from Ukraine

ca. 16,000-10,000 B.C.E.

Neolithic Art

Great Stone Tower of Settlement

Wall

Jericho, Israel/Gaza

ca. 8,000-7,000 B.C.E.

Human Skulls with

Restored Features

from Jericho, Israel/Gaza

ca. 7,000-6,000 B.C.E.

skulls, plaster, shells

Human figure

From Ain Ghazal, Jordan

ca. 6,750-6,250 B.C.E.

plaster, painted and inlaid with

cowrie shell and bitumen

Figure 1-16 Restored view of a section of Level VI, Çatal Höyük, Turkey, ca. 6000–5900 BCE

(John Swogger).

45

Çatal Höyük

Turkey

ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.

Deer Hunt

detail of a wall painting from

Level III

Çatal Höyük, Turkey

ca. 5,750 B.C.E.

Çatal Höyük

Turkey

ca. 6,000-5,900 B.C.E.

Landscape with Volcanic Eruption

Çatal Höyük, Turkey ca. 6150

watercolor copy of a wall painting

Figures of Man and

Woman

From Cernavoda,

Romania

ca. 4,000-3,500 B.C.E.

ceramic

4 1/2 in. high

Menhir alignments at

Ménec,

Carnac, France

ca. 4,250-3,750 B.C.E.

various Menhirs

Ireland, Scotland, England, France

Dolmens

Ireland, Scotland, England, France

Figure 1-19 Gallery leading to the

main chamber of the passage

grave, Newgrange, Ireland, ca.

3200 – 2500 BCE.

56

Stonehenge

Salisury Plain, Wiltshire, England

ca. 2,550-1,600 B.C.E.

sarsen and bluestone

Figure 1-20 Aerial view of Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England, ca. 2550–1600 BCE. Circle

is 97' in diameter; trilithons 24' high. 59