FAS:B:Prehistoric Art In Europe Journal

The Paleolithic period is divided into three main phases: Lower, Middle, and Upper. The division is based on the sophistication of the tools created and used. The Neolithic period came after, and showed a greater degree of sophistication, as well as actual examples of art.

Ideas and opinions will vary, but should be written in paragraph form and address all questions and/or details required by the prompt.

These phases took place before 40,000 BCE. During the Lower Paleolithic period, humans made tools by flaking and chipping flint pebbles into blades and scrapers with sharp edges. The crude tools found during the Lower and Middle phases were not considered art and were intended for practical purposes like hunting.

The age of metals made its appearance in Europe and in the Aegean region around 2300BCE, copper, gold, and tin had been mined, worked and traded even earlier. The metals mined thus far could be worked, however they were too soft to be functional. The introduction of Bronze, an alloy, or mixture of tin and copper, changed the peoples of Europe. Strong weapons could be fashioned and exquisite objects made of bronze were fashioned.

This is called, Spotted Horses and Human Hands. It was made between 25,000 and 24,000 BCE, and was found in Pech-Merle Cave, which is located in Dordogne, France. There is a hand-print as a type of signature created by the artist. The artist created this by chewing-up charcoal in his/her mouth. Then he/she would place a hand on the wall, and blow the chewed-up charcoal over the hand. This would create a negative hand-print on the stone.

The interesting point about pottery vessels like these, is why people in Europe did not produce these much earlier. Even though they understood the process of firing the clay as early as 32,000 BCE, it was not until 7000 BCE that they began making vessels using the same technique. Some historians believed that ceramic vessels were not used because of the time, effort, and expense of using them. Ceramic vessels were also much heavier and more fragile than vessels made out of other materials such as wood or fibers.

These ceramic figures were made during the Neolithic period. Answers may vary, but should be similar to the following: Historians know that these two figures were created with bone ash that was mixed with clay and formed into shapes. The clay would have then been heated in some fashion. The two ceramic bodies are made out of simple cylinders of clay, but posed in ways that are very true to life. There is emotion exhibit on the faces of the figures. We do not know the purpose or artist of these two figures.

Scholars refer to the earliest period in human history as the Stone Age because during this time period humans first began creating tools, weapons, and figures out of stone. The Stone Age is divided into two main time periods: the Paleolithic period and the Neolithic period.

The Upper phase took place between 40,000 and 4,000 BCE. This phase is marked by the fascination of people with creating images. It is the first time in history that people and animals begin to be represented in art form, in a realistic fashion. The people used ochers to paint images in caves.

In the Paleolithic example (left), there images are simply painted, with a bit of color. In the Neolithic example (right), the style is abstract with sharp, clean lines and no color besides black showing. It shows humans and animals interacting together.