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ART1020 History of Art in Early Civilization

Week 1, Assignment 4: Guided Tour of Paleolithic and Neolithic Art

By Michael Galligan

This guided tour explores artifacts of sculpture beginning with one of the earliest known works

from nearly 30,000 years ago. It culminates at the nadir of the Bronze Age circa 1250 BCE. We

will travel to Prehistoric Europe, two sites in prehistoric Turkey, Ancient Sumer and AncientGreece. We will also question what purpose or meaning they may have had to our ancestors. Our first two stops will be to Prehistoric Europe during the Paleolithic Period or Old Stone Age.

One of the earliest known examples of any work of art is the famous Nude Woman, better known

as the Venus of Willendorf (Kleiner 18). This findspot is located in modern day Austria.

Title: Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf)

Findspot: Willendorf, Austria, ca. 28,000-25,000 BCE (Upper Paleolithic Age)Media: Limestone, carved, 4 ¼” tallCurrent Location: Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna



We can only guess what this sculpture might have meant to our human ancestors 30,000 yearsago. We may relate with the artistic skills at work. The sculpture is in the round and the lower

physical attributes of a woman emphasized through the use of a burin describing the pubic area

(Kleiner 17). The realism of the legs is quite remarkable; notice the curvaceous contour lines anddetail at the knees. Yet, the arms are under developed and the head lacks a face. These areas

seem to be symbolized though it is clear the sculptor had the ability to make it realistic based onthe legs. This may be what leads leading art historians to believe this and other similar finds are

symbolic; perhaps identifying with fertility (Kleiner 17).

Next we will journey through time and space to deep within a cave in present day France. Le Tuc

d’Aubdoubert contains two hand sculpted clay bison’s that closely depict the shape and form

accurate to bison’s of the era (Kleiner 19).

Title:Two Bison, reliefs in the cave

Findspot: Le Tuc d’Audoubert, France, ca. 15,000-10,000 BCE (Upper Paleolithic Age)

Media: Clay, sculpted, 2’ long eachCurrent Location: Original findspot in cave at Le Tuc d’Audoubert, France

As with the work from Willendorf, the contours are extremely realistic. There is a bull and a cow

bison suggesting the theme of mating, though there is no current evidence to support thisassertion. The tools used here are less refined, hands, fingernails and perhaps a stick to incise

details such as the eyes, ears and nostrils (Kleiner 19).



Now we leave the Upper Paleolithic Era and move over to present day Serbia. During theMesolithic Era this area was known as Lepenski Vir (Lepenski Vir). Vir is translates to

“whirlpool” and to this day there is a big whirlpool on the Danube River at Lepenski. Here

Mesolithic artists carved sandstone bounders that stood outside what is now considered to be burial grounds (Lepenski Vir).

The following drawing shows how these burial buildings were laid out. Only six foundationsremain as succeeding cultures repurposed and built over other ones (Lepenski Vir II). The

Danube River would be just to the bottom of this simple drawing provided by Don’s Maps.



Title: DanubiusFindspot: Lepenski Vir II, Turkey, ca. 6,700-5,500 BCE

(Mesolithic Era)

Media: Sandstone boulders, carved, 200-600mm tallCurrent Location: Natural Museum in Belgrade, Serbia

It is interesting to note that these artists carved symbolically

(Danubius). They seem to focus on the abstract form of sadness or mourning. They are also placed facing the graves,

so it is possible they were there to protect or keep company

with the deceased. Either way there is a disturbing sense of

unity among the many carvings. They are all simplified,

lacking in realism through exaggerated features such as the frown and eyes.

Nearby in Uruk, an ancient city of Sumer, raised offerings to its patron deity Inanna (Uruk). The

relief sculpture of the Warka Vase is perhaps the earliest known example of narrative sculpture(The case of the missing vase).

Title: Presentation of offerings to Inanna also known as the Warka Vase

Findspot: Uruk, Sumer, ca. 3200-3000 BCE (Neolithic Era)

Media: Alabaster, carved, 3’¼" tall.

Current Location: Baghdad Museum, Iraq

This vase shows great skill at organizing a story starting at the bottom and ending at Inanna as

she receives the offering (Kleiner 25). It has strong rhythm throughout as patterns and shapes of



animals, people, and plants are repeated as they grow, move and toil towards the adulation of

their goddess. This use of pattern to create rhythm is one of the descriptive qualities discussed in

our lectures this week (Principles of Design 1 of 2). Great care and skill in sculpture are inevidence through the controlled delivery of shapes register to register. The shapes are not wholly

realistic, as the artist seems to want to portray more information about the subjects than would be

typically seen. There is no foreshortening for example and the eyes are shown as whole eyes, not

as seen from the side but as if looking directly at them.

Next we return to Turkey a few thousand yearscloser to our present day, to Acemhöyük of

Anatolia in ancient times. Acemhöyük left behind

many fine luxury goods and everyday artifactsdespite its destruction by fire (Acemhöyük).

Title: Acemhöyük, furniture support in the formof a female sphinx with Hathor-style curls

Findspot: Anatolian, Ankara, ca. 1820-1740 BCE

(Bronze Age)

Media: Hippopotamus ivory and gold foil,127mm tall

Current Location: The Metropolitan Museum of

Art, New York, USA(Acemhöyük)

This sculpted piece was carved from hippopotamus ivory. It has the face of a female human buton a lion’s body, similar to an Egyptian sphinx. Once the carving was complete it was covered in

gold leaf, some of which remains on the Hathor-style curls (Acemhöyük). One of the interestingthings about this is the use of rare materials in the form of ivory and gold. This suggests a cultureof wealth with time to create.

Finally we arrive near the end of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece. The tower gate at Mycenaehas a limestone relief sculpture of massive proportions. In fact, later Greeks would fabricate amythological race of giants, called Cyclops to account for the massive construction blocks foundat Mycenae and Tiryns (Kleiner 53). Above the main gate of the Citadel of Mycenae is the LionGate relief.



Title: Lion Gate

Findspot: Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 BCE(Bronze Age)

Media: Limestone, carved relief panel, 9’6” tallCurrent Location: Mycenae, Greece (in situ)

Not only is this sculpture huge it is a precursor to corbel

style arches that would allow the construction of domesand bridges in later times (Kleiner 53). I find the

repetition of the two lions to be well balanced. Visual

interest is increased through the placement of a single

column between them. The lines lead the focus to the

top, where the two lion heads and column come

together.

I hope you’ve enjoyed a sample of roughly 30,000

years of sculpture on this tour. It is interesting that the

abilities of the artists range from realism to abstractwithout much regard for when they created their work. Consider the Venus of Willendorf’s legs.

That kind of realism is challenging to produce today. Their experiences don’t seem to be much

different than artists and artisans who practice in the modern age. We seem to be more akin toour ancestors than we think.



Work Cited

1. Kleiner, Fred. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Concise Western History. 2nd Edition.Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2010.

2. Dragoslav Srejović. "Lepenski Vir." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 10 Apr. 2010

<http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T050487>.

3. Hitchcock, Don. “Lepenski Vir II” Don’s Maps. 2009. 10 Apr. 2010.<http://www.donsmaps.com/lepenski2.html>

4. Unknown Artist. “Danubius”.National Museum of Belgrade. 2010. 10 Apr. 2010<http://www.narodnimuzej.rs/code/navigate.php?Id=101>

5. James A. Armstrong. "Uruk". The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Brian M. Fagan,ed., Oxford University Press 1996. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.

Art Institute of Pittsburgh. 7 April2010 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t136.e0472>

6. Schmandt-Besserat, Denise. “The Case of the Missing Vase.” The University of Texas atAustin. 2003. Apr. 8 2010 <http://www.utexas.edu/features/archive/2003/vase.html>

7. ART1020 History of Art in Early Civilization. “Week One Lecture-Principles of Design

pg. 1 of 2.” Art Institute of Pittsburgh. 2010. 10 Apr. 2010<http://myeclassonline.com/re/DotNextLaunch.asp?courseid=4055096>

8. Nimet Özgüç. "Acemhöyük." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 10 Apr. 2010<http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T000326>.

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