Dawn of Art by
An intriguing study of the early evolution of human artistic endeavors focuses on recent discoveries in the Chauvet cave, Stone Age paintings and engravings of animals that are more than thirty thousand years old. BOMC Div. Natural Science Main.
Cave of Lascaux by
The cave of Lascaux -- the "Sistine Ceiling of the Cave Man" -- is a spectacular window into the shadowy, powerful animal world of the Old Stone Age, some 17,000 years ago. The chance discovery of two boys in France in 1940, the cave was soon overwhelmed by tourists and in the early 1960s showed inescapable evidence that its radiant frescoes of bison, aurochs, horses, and deer were dimming with molds and fungi generated by bright lights and the warmth and breath of countless visitors.
Lascaux was sealed in 1963 by the French government, which later commissioned the distinguished prehistorian and television producer MARLO RUSPOLI to create a record of its now permanently inaccessible wonders. In the early 1980s, hemmed in by infinite precautions, Ruspoli carefully filmed and photographed Lascaux. Here, complete with discussions of the content and meaning of the frescoes by Ruspoli and other experts in prehistoric art, is the thrilling result: the last view of the Stone Age life and world of Lascaux.
New Perspectives on Prehistoric Art by
Following the discovery of Franco-Caribbean cave art in the nineteenth century, standard interpretations of these works usually revolved around hunting, magic, and fertility cults. Orthodox positions such as these have weighed heavily on later generations of art historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists, even those whose views dissented from those of their predecessors. In the last few decades, however, new approaches to cave art, often based on discoveries made in Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, and the Arctic region, have produced new insights into possible meanings and functions of prehistoric paintings and sculptures. This new collection of essays explores these insights, gathering the observations of eight experts from a variety of disciplines, and examining some of the social and spiritual functions of a variety of artistic genres ranging from 40,000 B.C. to 5,000 B.C. These insights, which derive from evolutionary biology, feminist scholarship, ritual studies, and new modes of anthropology, argue collectively that prehistoric art was a culture-specific form of communication that should be interpreted in the social context of early hunger-gatherer societies and should not be measured with the criteria and paradigms of modern art. Essential reading for anyone interested in prehistoric art or its cultural implications, this volume represents a bold step forward in the research and analysis of the very first artists.
Image and Audience by
There have been many accounts of prehistoric "art", but nearly all of them begin by assuming that the concept is a useful one. In this extensively illustrated study, Richard Bradley asks why ancient objects were created and when and how they were used. He considers how the first definitions ofprehistoric artworks were made, and the ways in which they might be related to practices in the visual arts today. Extended case studies of two immensely popular and much-visited sites illustrate his argument: one considers the megalithic tombs of Western Europe, whilst the other investigates thedecorated metalwork and rock carvings of Bronze Age Scandinavia.
Interpreting Ancient Figurines by
This book examines ancient figurines from several world areas to address recurring challenges in the interpretation of prehistoric art. Sometimes figurines from one context are perceived to resemble those from another. Richard G. Lesure asks whether such resemblances play a role in our interpretations. Early interpreters seized on the idea that figurines were recurringly female and constructed the fanciful myth of a primordial Neolithic Goddess. Contemporary practice instead rejects interpretive leaps across contexts. Dr Lesure offers a middle path: a new framework for assessing the relevance of particular comparisons. He develops the argument in case studies that consider figurines from Paleolithic Europe, the Neolithic Near East and Formative Mesoamerica.
Prehistoric Rock Art in Scandinavia by
Scandinavia is home to prolific and varied rock art images among which the ship motif is prominent. Because of this, the rock art of Scandinavia has often been interpreted in terms of social ritual, cosmology, and religion associated with the maritime sphere. This comprehensive review is based on the creation of a Scandinavia-wide GIS database for prehistoric rock art and re-examines theoretical approaches and interpretations, in particular with regard to the significance of the ship and its relationship to a maritime landscape Discussion focuses on material agency as a means to understanding the role of rock art within society. Two main theories are developed. The first is that the sea was fundamental to the purpose and meaning of rock art, especially in the Bronze Age and, therefore, that sea-level/shoreline changes would have inspired a renegotiation of the relationship between the rock art sites and their intended purpose. The fundamental question posed is: would such changes to the landscape have affected the purpose and meaning of rock art for the communities that made and used these sites? Various theories from within and outside of archaeology are drawn on to examine environmental change and analyse the rock art, led to second theory: that the purpose of rock art might have been altered to have an effect on the disappearing sea. The general theory that rock art would have been affected by environmental change was discussed in tandem with existing interpretations of the meaning and purpose of rock art. Imbuing rock art with agency means that it could be intertwined in an active web of relations involving maritime landscapes, shoreline displacement and communities. Though created in stone and fixed in time and place, rock art images have propagated belief systems that would have changed over time as they were re-carved, abandoned and used by different groups of inhabitants. In the thousands of years rock art was created, it is likely that shoreline displacement would have inspired a renegotiation of the purpose and meaning of the imagery situated alongside the Scandinavian seas. This journey through a prehistoric Scandinavian landscape will lead us into a world of ancient beliefs and traditions revolving around this extraordinary art form.
The Art and Architecture of Thailand by
Written sources on Thai history are scarce. It took Hiram Woodward many years of painstaking archaeological and art-historical research to finally piece together this first ever comprehensive survey work on the art and architecture of Thailand from the earliest times until the establishment of the Thai-speaking kingdoms. The book, organized geographically and chronologically, covers four eras: the prehistoric period; the period characterized by the culture of the kingdom of Dvaravati; the centuries of Khmer dominance; and, as classical Khmer civilization waned, the period of the struggle for identity. A systematic and elucidating history of pre-fourteenth-century Thailand in a volume indispensable to historians of art, religion, politics, and society.
Representations and Communications by
In this volume, which is the outcome of the four-year long collaboration project SARA (Scandinavian and Atlantic Rock Art) between the archaeology department at University of Gothenburg and the Laboratory of Heritage of Spanish National Research Council, nine papers summarize new excavation and survey results, advanced studies of iconography and intriguing landscape studies. It addresses topics such as human activities in the vicinity and surroundings of rock-art panels, movement and communication, ritual and symbolism, and finally representations and constructions of landscapes. The book is a sophisticated study of the rock art of two major regions of prehistoric Europe, but one with implications for research over a much wider area. It is wide-ranging, topical and will no doubt also be controversial. Contributors include Per Nilsson, Manuel Santos Estévez, Yolanda Seoane Veiga, Johan Ling, Åsa C. Fredell, Marco García Quintela, Kristian Kristiansen, Lasse Bengtsson and Felipe Criado Boado.
Palaeoart of the Ice Age by
The many hundreds of books and thousands of academic papers on the topic of Pleistocene (Ice Age) art are limited in their approach because they deal only with the early art of southwestern Europe. This is the first book to offer a comprehensive synthesis of the known Pleistocene palaeoart of six continents, a phenomenon that is in fact more numerous and older in other continents. It contemplates the origins of art in a balanced manner, based on reality rather than fantasies about cultural primacy. Its key findings challenge most previous perceptions in this field and literally re-write the discipline. Despite the eclectic format and its high academic standards, the book addresses the non-specialist as well as the specialist reader. It presents a panorama of the rich history of palaeoart, stretching back more than twenty times as long in time as the cave art of France and Spain. This abundance of evidence is harnessed in presenting a new hypothesis of how early humans began to form and express constructs of reality and thus created the ideational world in which they existed. It explains how art-producing behaviour began and the origins of how humans relate to the world consciously.