Chapter 1 Study Guide

Prehistoric Art

Paleolithic Art

• Hohlenstein-Stadel Statuette, Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany, c. 30,000-28,000 BC
• Venus of Willendorf, Willendorf, Austria, c. 28,000-25,000 BC
• Bison (painted ceiling), Altamira, Spain, c. 13,000-11,000 BC
• Rhinoceros, Wounded Man, and Disemboweled Bison, Lascaux, France, c. 16,000-14,000
• Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux, France, c. 16,000-14,000 BC

Neolithic Art

• Human skull with restored features, Jericho, c. 7200-6700 BC
• Deer hunt, wall painting from level III, Catal Hoyuk, Turkey, c. 5750 BC
• Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England, c. 2550-1600 BC

1. What is meant by the term ‘Prehistory’?

2. What is the most common subject of cave art?

3. The majority of cave paintings are found deep within the cave complexes, often in difficult to reach or difficult to view places. What does this indicate to us about the purpose of cave paintings?

4. Which elements of the paintings in the Chauvet Cave at Vallon Pont-d’Arc make them stylistically more advanced than the paintings in the cave at Lascaux? (list 2)

5. What is the composite view? Why was it so commonly used in prehistoric art?

6. Describe the difference between subtractive sculpture and additive sculpture?

7. What are the attributes that characterise Neolithic society? (list 3)

8. What preconditions made Mesopotamia and Anatolia ideal for the development of sedentary communities? (list 3)

9. Describe the burial practices of the people of Ain Ghazal.

10. What is a megalith? Name an example of a megalithic structure.