Prehistoric Art: A Historical Context
Prehistoric Art: Historical Context
Prehistoric art encompasses the artistic expressions of Homo sapiens during the late Stone Age and early Metal Age. Prehistorians have divided this era into three main phases:
Phases of Prehistoric Art
- Upper Paleolithic (32,000-9,000 BC): This period occurred during the glacial environment.
- Mesolithic (9,000-6,000 BC): This era marked a transition period.
- Age of Metals: This phase includes the Copper Age (3,000-2,000 BC) and the Bronze Age (2,000-725 BC).
During these periods, human relationships with the environment underwent significant transformations. The Neolithic Revolution brought about changes in subsistence strategies, leading to settled agriculture and animal domestication. This shift resulted in an urban revolution, where egalitarian tribal societies transitioned into more hierarchical structures. The advent of writing in Mesopotamia and Egypt marked the end of prehistory and the dawn of civilization.
Cave Paintings
Upper Paleolithic Cave Paintings
During the Upper Paleolithic, populations in the Franco-Cantabrian region, while engaging in activities like reindeer hunting, developed a specialization in painting animals on the walls and ceilings of caves. Among the various interpretations of these intricate artworks, two prominent theories stand out, championed by French researchers André Henri Breuil and Leroi-Gourhan.
Features of Upper Paleolithic Cave Paintings:
- Depiction of large animals, often in static poses and without overlapping groups.
- Naturalistic style achieved through meticulous observation of the prey animals.
- Polychrome technique using black, red, and ochre pigments, created by grinding and mixing pulverized rock with binders like animal fat.
- Utilization of wall protrusions to add volume to the animal figures.
- Silhouettes filled using a buffering technique, where the artist would cover their fingers with paint and apply it to the surface.
Emblematic examples of Upper Paleolithic cave art sanctuaries include Altamira (Cantabria, Spain), with paintings dated between 16,000-13,000 BC, and Lascaux (Dordogne region, France), dating back 13,000 years.
Levantine Cave Painting
Levantine cave painting emerged during the Neolithic and Metal Ages. This style features themes of war and conflict, reflecting the changing social dynamics and the emergence of warfare in human societies.
Megaliths
The megalithic phenomenon is characterized by collective burials in monumental tombs constructed from large stone blocks. These structures are found along the Atlantic coast of Europe, from Scandinavia to southern Iberia.
Megalithic Architecture of the Atlantic
Menhirs
The menhir, a Breton word meaning “long stone,” is a key element in megalithic architecture. It consists of a single, upright stone erected on the ground, believed to represent or commemorate the deceased. Grouping menhirs together resulted in various monumental formations, including rows or alignments and circles or cromlechs. A notable example of a menhir alignment is found at Carnac in France, where parallel rows of stones extend for over 1 kilometer.
Dolmens
A more elaborate megalithic structure is the dolmen, a burial chamber consisting of two or more standing stones capped by a large horizontal stone slab. The Iberian Peninsula boasts numerous dolmens, particularly in the Galicia region. As societies grew and developed more complex social structures, the construction of dolmens became more elaborate, leading to the emergence of passage graves and henge monuments.
Passage Graves
Passage graves are characterized by a passageway leading to a burial chamber, often covered by a corbelled dome. These false domes are created by arranging stones in concentric circles, gradually decreasing in diameter and height. The entire structure is then covered with earth to form an artificial mound, protecting the tomb from the elements. Prominent examples of passage graves in Andalusia, Spain, include the Menga Cave (Antequera, Málaga) and the Dolmen de Soto (Trigueros, Huelva).
Henges
Henges are circular enclosures, often surrounding dolmens or other megalithic structures. The most famous example is Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, which is believed to have served as an astronomical calendar. Its northeast entrance aligns with the sunrise on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The exact purpose of Stonehenge remains a subject of debate, but one compelling hypothesis suggests a connection between the sun’s journey and the concept of resurrection.
Cyclopean Architecture of the Balearic Islands
: In the bronze age, is projected in Mallorca and Menorca ciclópea.Sus architecture characteristic monuments are: the talayots, the taulas and shuttles. The talayots: lookout towers were, isolated or integrated circuit in the walled villages in the interior had a warehouse to store and redistribute the meat. The taulas,’ve probably had to be connected with ritual practices. The shuttles, resemblance to an inverted boat, are constructions longitudinal flat facade and apse semicircular.Este access model will be used within a house of the living and the dead. The room naveta were dwellings for family use, with a habitable interior space m 2, chaired by the home and the mill stone. The burial shuttles are collective tombs consist of a hallway ending in 1 or 2 burial chambers superimposed.