1. Moai, Easter Island, ChileA.D. 1000–1100
1.1. Moai are statues of heads carved from
1.1.1. volcanic rock on Easter Island, Chile.
1.1.1.1. The statues are all monolithic, that is, carved in one piece.
1.2. The largest moai erected, "Paro", was almost 10 meters (33 feet) high and weighed 75 tones. One unfinished sculpture has been found that would have been 21 meters (69 ft) tall and would have weighed about 270 tons.
2. The Stone Age lasted roughly 3.4 million years, from 30,000 BCE to about 3,000 BCE, and ended with the advent of metalworking.
3. The Stone Age has been divided into three distinct periods:
3.1. Paleolithic Period or Old Stone Age (30,000 BCE–10,000 BCE)
3.1.1. The Art of the Stone Age: Paleolithic
3.1.2. The Paleolithic era is characterized by the emergence of basic stone tools and stone art in the archaeological record.
3.1.3. For the first time, humans began to create durable products of self expression that served no function for survival.
3.1.4. The diagnostic art of this period appears in two main forms: small sculptures and large paintings and engravings on cave walls.
3.1.4.1. Paleolithic small sculptures are made of clay, bone, ivory, or stone and consist of simple figurines depicting animals and humans.
3.1.4.2. In particular, Venus figurines are the most indicative of this era.
3.1.4.3. They are highly stylized depictions of women with exaggerated female parts representing fertility and sexuality.
3.1.4.4. They typically date to the Gravettian period (26,000–21,000 years ago), but the earliest known Venus figurine (Venus of Hohle Fels) dates to at least 35,000 years ago, and the most recent (Venus of Monruz) dates to roughly 11,000 years ago.
3.1.4.4.1. They are most common in the Mediterranean region, but there are examples from as far as Siberia.
3.1.4.4.2. Archaeologists can only speculate on their meaning, but their ubiquitous nature indicates a universal human attraction to art and possibly religion.
3.1.4.5. Venus of Hohle Fels: Oldest known Venus figurine. Also the oldest known, undisputed depiction of a human being in prehistoric art. Made of mammoth tusk and found in Germany.
3.1.5. The second main form of Paleolithic art consists of monumental cave paintings and engravings.
3.1.5.1. This type of rock art is typically found in European cave shelters, dating to 40,000–14,000 years ago, when the earth was largely covered in glacial ice.
3.1.5.1.1. The images are predominately depictions of animals, human hand prints, and geometric patterns.
3.1.6. There are also various examples of carved bone and ivory flutes in the Paleolithic era, indicating another art form utilized by prehistoric humans.
3.1.6.1. It lasted until about 10,000 years ago. The people used stone tools.
3.1.6.2. The first tool which scientists found was sharpened stone, which were used to process foods.
3.1.6.3. The later tool were axes and spears.
3.1.6.4. The early humans were hunter-gatherers.
3.1.6.5. Hunting: Most hunting was done by men. They worked together.
3.2. Mesolithic Period or Middle Stone Age (10,000 BCE–8,000 BCE)
3.2.1. The Art of the Stone Age: Mesolithic
3.2.2. From the Paleolithic through the Mesolithic, cave paintings and portable art such as figurines, statuettes, and beads predominated, with decorative figured workings also seen on some utilitarian objects.
3.2.2.1. Venus figurines—an umbrella term for a number of prehistoric female statuettes portrayed with similar physical attributes—were very popular at the time. These figurines were carved from soft stone (such as steatite , calcite, or limestone), bone or ivory, or formed of clay and fired.
3.2.2.1.1. All the examples mentioned above fall under the category of portable art: small for easy transport.
3.2.3. Archaeological discoveries across a broad swath of Europe (especially southern France, like those at Lascaux; northern Spain; and Swabia, in Germany) include over two hundred caves with spectacular paintings, drawings, and sculptures that are among the earliest undisputed examples of representational image-making.
3.2.3.1. Paintings and engravings along the caves’ walls and ceilings fall under the category of parietal art.
3.2.4. Period between the LAST GLACIATION (12,000 years ago)
3.2.5. and the beginning of the Neolithic period (7,000years ago)
3.2.6. It was a period of climatic instability.
3.2.7. During the Mesolithic, humans learned to hunt in groups and to fish, and began to learn how to domesticate animals and plants.
3.3. Neolithic Period or New Stone Age (8,000 BCE–3,000 BCE)
3.3.1. The Art of the Stone Age: Neolithic
3.3.1.1. Neolithic-from Greek words neo
3.3.1.1.1. and lithos meaning “new” and "stone”.
3.3.2. The Neolithic saw the transformation of nomad human settlements into agrarian societies in need of permanent shelter.
3.3.2.1. From this period there is evidence of early pottery, as well as sculpture, architecture, and the construction of megaliths .
3.3.2.1.1. Early rock art also first appeared in the Neolithic period.
3.3.2.1.2. Stylized pictographs
3.3.2.2. The Neolithic age represents a spree of hellzapoppin' innovation Humans were settling themselves down into agrarian.
3.3.2.2.1. Pottery
3.3.2.3. societies and began to explore some key concepts of civilization, namely, religion, measurement, the rudiments of architecture and writing and, yes, ART
3.3.2.3.1. Stonehenge tells us that the Neolithic people knew a lot about architecture, mathematics and astrology.
3.3.2.3.2. Stonehenge is believed to have religious significance
3.3.2.4. Statuary
3.3.2.4.1. Their theme dwelt primarily on the female/fertility, or "Mother Goddess" imagery.
3.3.3. Stone tools
3.3.3.1. They invented many new tools, including the Tranchet adze which was meant to be re-sharpened.
3.3.3.1.1. They also began to use the hafted picks more regularly.
3.3.4. After the ice melted, humans began to visit new hunting grounds.
3.3.5. Weaving
3.3.5.1. Clothes, textiles and straw mats held a prominent place in the daily life of Neolithic
3.3.5.1.1. The main weaving fibres were flax and wool.
3.3.6. The End of the Stone Age
3.3.6.1. The advent of metalworking in the Bronze Age brought additional media available for use in making art, an increase in stylistic diversity, and the creation of objects that did not have any obvious function other than art.
3.3.6.1.1. It also saw the development in some areas of artisans, a class of people specializing in the production of art, as well as in early writing systems.
3.3.7. By the Iron Age, civilizations with writing had arisen from Ancient Egypt to Ancient China.
3.4. The Art of Mesopotamia and Egypt
3.4.1. Mesopotamia
3.4.1.1. "between the rivers” 3500 BCE
3.4.2. Pictographs – simple pictures that represent a thing or concept
3.4.2.1. Carved Vase
3.4.2.1.1. From Uruk. c. 3500-3000 BCE. Alabaster, height 91 cm. Iraq Museum, Baghdad. Design shows the ritual marriage between the goddess and a human.
3.4.2.2. Anu Ziggurat and White Temple
3.4.2.2.1. The Anu Ziggurat, Uruk (modern Warka, Iraq). c. 3100 BC. This was built up in stages over centuries, rising to a height of about 40 feet. (reconstruction drawing
3.4.2.3. Cone Mosaics
3.4.2.3.1. A decoration invented at Uruk. This decorates the courtyards and interior walls of the Inanna and the Anu Compounds.
3.4.2.4. Votive Statues
3.4.2.4.1. From the Square Temple Eshunna (modern Tell Amar, Iraq), c. 2900-2600 BCE. Limestone alabaster, and gypsum, height of largest figure approx. 76.3 cm.
3.4.3. Phonograms – representations of the sounds of syllables
3.4.3.1. Bull Lyre
3.4.3.1.1. From the tomb of Queen Pu-abi, Ur (modern Muqaiyar, Iraq), c. 2680 BCE. Wood with gold, lapis lazuli, and shell, reassembled in modern wood support.
3.4.3.2. Mythological Figures
3.4.3.2.1. Detail of the sound box of the bull lyre from the tomb of Queen Pu-abi, Ur (modern Muqaiyir, Iraq), c. 2680 BCE. Wood with shell inlay, 31.1x11cm.
3.4.4. Cuneiform – Latin “wedge-shaped;” named after the shape of the marks made by the stylus
3.4.4.1. Cuneiform
3.4.4.2. Symbols evolved from pictures into phonograms thus becoming a true writing system
3.4.4.3. Stela of Hammurabi
3.4.4.3.1. In the introductory section of the stela’s long cuneiform inscription, Hammurabi declared that with this code of law he intended “to cause justice to prevail in the land and to destroy the wicked and the evil, that the strong might not oppress the weak nor the weak the strong.”
3.4.5. Egypt
3.4.5.1. Stepped Pyramid of Djoser
3.4.5.1.1. Saqqara, Limestone, height 62m. This is the earliest truly monumental architecture in Egypt.
3.4.5.2. EGYPT Predynastic period – 4500-3300 BCE
3.4.5.2.1. Khafre
3.4.5.2.2. iMenkaure and His Wife, Queen Khamerernebty
3.4.6. Hieroglyphs – earliest Egyptian writing system which employed symbols
3.4.6.1. Hieroglyphs
3.4.6.1.1. Used in combinations, such phonogramic hieroglyphs were especially useful in rendering foreign names.
3.4.7. Hieratic writing – shorthand version of hieroglyphs
3.4.7.1. Palette of Narmer
3.4.7.1.1. From Hierakonpolis Dynasty 1, c. 3150-3125 BCE. Slate, height 63.5cm. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. This may have been a votive offering.
3.4.8. Demotic writing – 18th C; from demos, “the people;” less formal and easy to master
3.4.8.1. The Red Pyramid
3.4.8.1.1. Dahshur, height 104m. This is the first true pyramid and was built by Pharaoh Sneferu. This is believed to be the final resting place of “Sneferu the Great Pyramid Builder.”
3.4.8.2. Great Pyramids
3.4.8.2.1. Giza. Dynasty 4, c. 2601-2515 BCE. Erected by Menkaure, Khafre (Chephren) and Khufu (Cheops). Granite and limestone, height of pyramid of Khufu 137m
3.4.8.3. Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt
3.4.8.3.1. Tomb of Ti, Saqqara. Dynasty 5, c. 2510-2460 BCE. Painted limestone relief, height approx. 114.3cm.