Stone Age Art
Visual Arts Guide

Stone Age Art

Paleolithic Era (c.2,000,000–10,000 BCE)

The earliest known ancient art, created during the Paleolithic period are allegedly the "Venus of Tan-Tan", a tiny stone sculpture in the form of a human figure bearing signs of human tools and primitive paint, which was found in Morocco, and the "Venus of Berekhat Ram" a similar artifact discovered in Israel. Both objects have been dated to before 250,000 BCE. However, much controversy exists as to whether they were created by human hand or by natural geological wear and tear.

One unresolved issue in the debate about what constitutes the earliest example of human art, is whether Homo Errectus (lived 1,600,000-250,000 BCE) was mentally capable of producing artistic works, or whether only Homo Sapiens (emerged 400,000 BCE) could achieve this. The current consensus favours the idea that neither Homo Errectus nor the early sub-species of Homo Sapiens (Neanderthal man, who died out 35,000 BCE) were able to perform artistically.

The Blombos Cave

Another controversial example of prehistoric art is the series of stone engravings which were uncovered at the Blombos Cave in South Africa, in 2002. Dated to 70,000 BCE, these abstract grid-like engravings pre-date previous finds of ancient rock painting (eg. those in the Lascaux Caves) by about 40,000 years, and for this reason have not yet been accepted by most archeologists as the earliest example of human art. In particular, doubt exists as to whether the drawings/engravings are actual representations of homo sapiens thought.

Earliest Prehistoric Human Art

At present, most experts consider that the history of art begins during the Upper Paleolithic period from 35,000-10,000 BCE, when people lived in nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers before the advent of agriculture. This is evidenced by a series of artworks discovered in various locations around the globe.

The best examples of human art from the Paleolithic era include the cave paintings from the Grotte Chauvet in Ardeche (France) (32,000 years old), the Lascaux caves (France) (15,000 years old), and the Spanish caves at Altamira. Artifacts of human subjects, such as the the Venus of Willendorf - a sculpture of a pregnant woman unique for its realistic roundness - are also fine examples, as are mammoth ivory bracelets from central and eastern Europe.

Lascaux Caves

Located in southwestern France near the village of Montignac, in the Dordogne, the caves contain nearly 2,000 figures, of which about 900 are animals. Of these, over 350 are horses and nearly 100 are stags. Also depicted are oxen, buffalo, cats, a bird, a bear, a rhinoceros, and a human. Four of the most famous drawings are huge, black bulls in the Hall of the Bulls. One of the bulls is 17 feet in length - the largest animal picture yet discovered in prehistoric cave art. In 1979, the Caves of Lascaux became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cave Paintings

This early type of drawing and painting is usually done in charcoal, or engraved then painted using red ochre and black pigment. It encompasses primitive figure painting and figure drawing of humans, hunting scenes, as well as a variety of animals like horses, rhinoceros, big cats, and mammoth. The exact purpose of these prehistoric images remains unclear. Apart from Altamira and the Chauvet and Lascaux caves, Paleolithic cave paintings have been discovered in Portugal, China, Australia, and many other places around the world. Pigments used for this public art in caves and such like, would almost certainly have been used for face painting and body painting.

Mesolithic Era (c.10,000-5,500 BCE)

Artworks created during the Mesolithic period reflect the arrival of new living conditions and hunting practices caused by the disappearance of the great herds of animals from Spain and France, at the end of the Ice Age. Forests now cloaked the landscape, necessitating more careful and cooperative hunting arrangements. European Mesolithic rock art gives more space to human figures, and is characterized by keener observation, and greater narrative in the paintings.

As well as these stylized cave paintings, Mesolithic art include sculptures, body adornments like bracelets and painted pebbles, together with decorative drawings on functional objects like paddles and weapons. These types of Mesolithic art have been located in many different areas around the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia.

For example, in Africa, a number of bushman rock paintings were found in the Waterberg area which date from about 8,000 BCE. In India, the paintings known as petroglyphs, located (eg.) in the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, derive from Mesolithic artists. Aboriginal art in Australia (eg. from Arnhem Land) also dates from both the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods. Most of the Aborigines' ancient artwork is stylized rock painting, often executed in a symbolic or abstract manner as many were created from a 'bird's eye view'. In addition, in Western Australia, archeologists have found a series of precisely drawn human figures, called "Bradshaws" after the European pastoralist, Joseph Bradshaw, who discovered them in 1891. These rock paintings date from 17,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE.

Neolithic Era (c.5500–2500 BCE)

The Neolithic period is characterized by the development of agriculture, and animal husbandry, leading to a more settled way of life. In general, the more settled and better-resourced the region, the more art it produces. In any event, Western art tends to lag behind its Eastern counterpart.

With greater settlement in villages and other small communities, rock painting begins to be replaced by more portable art. These artworks become progressively enhanced by the use of precious metals (eg. copper is first used in Mesopotamia, while metallurgy is discovered in South-East Europe), and the design of new tools. Free standing sculpture, in stone and wood begins to be seen, as well as statues, ceramics, primitive jewellery and decorative designs on a variety of artifacts.

Other important art-related trends which surface during the Neolithic art include writing and religion. The appearance of early hieroglyphic writing systems in Sumer heralds the arrival of pictorial methods of communication, while increased prosperity and security permits greater attention to religious formalities of (eg) worship (in temples) and burial, in megalithic tombs.

The emergence of the first city state (Uruk, in Mesopotamia) predicts the establishment of more secure communities around the world, many of which will compete to establish their own independent cultural and artistic identity, creating permanent large scale artworks in the process. Meanwhile, the Neolithic age also saw the emergence of monumental public art in the form of the Egyptian pyramids, and other religious complexes such as Newgrange in Ireland and Stonehenge in England. (For facts about the development of Celtic visual arts in Ireland during this period, see the history of Irish art.)

The Thinker From Cernavoda

One extraordinary example of Neolithic art is the sculpture known as the "Thinker From Cernavoda," discovered in the lower Danube in Romania. Its uniqueness stems from the fact that the figure is neither a hunting or fertility idol, but simply sits in deep thought. A near-perfect illustration of a 'thinking' Neolithic man.

• For other pre-historic civilizations, see: Ancient Art.
• For the main index, see: Irish Art: Guide to Visual Arts in Ireland

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