Time Period 1 - The Old and New Stone Age

	In the Beginning of Recorded Time: 35,000 B.C. - 200 A.D. Old Stone Age: 35,000 - 10,000 B.C. - Paleolithic 10,000 - 8,000 B.C. - Mesolithic New Stone Age: 8,000-3,000 B.C. - Neolithic
Go to the Glossary for The Stone Age.....review and take the matching quiz.

The "Old Stone" Age is the term most commonly used for the earliest and longest period in the development of human culture. In the Paleolithic Age, humans survived on what was "naturally" found, and lived in caves or used overhanging rocks for shelter. What is known about this period comes from the edged or pointed stone tools and weapons found during this time, hence the  name "Stone Age" or Paleolithic, Greek words for "paleo" meaning "ancient" and "lithos" meaning "stone."

There is evidence that shows early human beings as both hunters and artists. As hunter, tools necessary for  survival were made and as the making of these tools required creative thinking, the artist was born. Cultural historians point out that there is no better definition of what makes a human a human than the making of tools. Humans began to utilize various articles as tools, and to fashion them for various purposes. Early humans also standardized certain types of bone and stone as tools. This characterized the first behavior to be considered "cultural," and this practice was handed down from generation to generation.

The first tools were created from pebbles and stones. Early people linked both the "form" and its "function" to assure a successful hunt.  Gradually, as experience at hunting grew, hunters started to chip away at these stones to improve their shape. A new era in human development called the Old Stone Age began about 35,000 years ago.

As the last Ice Age was nearing an end in Europe, the Patheolithic pattern of hunting and food-gathering continued. During this time, however, climatic change brought vegetation and animals to once barren land, and people moved to areas previously covered by glaciers. The Mesolithic Age, a period of transition, started about 10,000 years ago. People hunted bison, deer, bear, and horses, with the help of domesticated dogs. Fish from oceans and rivers were netted or speared from wooden canoes and boats covered with skins. Shelters were built from branches and bark, and stone axes were used to fell trees. Small microlithic flints (small stones) attached to bone or wooden handles were the main tools. They were fashioned into a variety of geometric shapes often decorated with animal designs.

The Mesolithic way of life was eventually absorbed by the development of the farming cultures of the Neolithic, or  New Stone Age, which began about 8,000 B.C. in the Near East. This marked the beginning of a revoluntionary era in human history: man domesticated animals and learned to harvest food grains. New Stone Age cultures could now assure a food supply by producing  food and by domesticating many animals for use.  Permanent communities were built, bringing a new order to daily life. Tools and weapons continued to be designed from stone, but were now polished or ground to a specified shape. This new mode of life brought new crafts and inventions: pottery, spinning, weaving, and basic architectural construction. Reflected in these new creations were changes in how the human viewed a connection to the environment. Humans now had some control in how and where they wanted to live.

You will now explore three Stone Age art forms:

• Sculpture
• Painting
• Architecture

The Beginning of Recorded Time The Old Stone Age Historical & Cultural Sculpture

Much of what was created has been lost over time, but what has been found shows a high degree of excellence revealed only by practice over time. Prehistoric art has been categorized into two groups: the "portable objects," those that could be carried and used; and "cave art," associated with a hunting ritual or invoking a spiritual magic.

Venus of Willendorf - 25,000 B.C. - Austria - Paleolithic

Among the oldest forms of art found in Europe and Western Asia, are round, full-bodied female figures made of stone. These figures suggest abundant fertility and a plentiful supply of food, two important needs for the new society to grow. One figure, the Venus of Willendorf, was found in Austria and dated about 25,000 B.C. It is about 4 1/2 in. high and fits easily into the hand. People of the Old Stone Age are thought to have collected pebbles in whose natural shape they saw resemblances of other images. To those who held these, they offered a special "magic." Carvers used the natural forms of these stones to create these images.

Prehistoric Art of the Pyrenees - 17,000-11,000 B.C.- Pyrenees, France-Paleolithic

In the Pyrenees Mountains, the Magdalenians, the last of the hunter-gatherers, lived for six centuries. During this time the Northern slopes of the Pyrenees were still under the influence of the last glacial period. Eventually, the high valleys were abandoned and people moved to milder climates toward the Cantabric coast. It was here that the first Magdalenian art was found: engravings of horses, bison, ibex, stag, reindeer, bear, and wildcats on bone. Man was seldom represented and when he was, he was either masked or caricaturized.

The Middle Magdalenian era, from 14,500-13,000 B.C., saw a development of territorial conquest. Weapons called "spearthrowers" were created.

The end of an Ice Age brought the Late Magdalenian era, from 13,000-11,000 B.C. As the climate gradually grew warmer, bringing forest and vegetation, the great art of the Magdalenian hunters ended about 11,000 B.C.

This resource brings a view of how artifacts changed as early man changed from hunter/gatherers to a life of cultural unity and territorial claims.

Although Stone Age man was a hunter-gatherer, research has suggested that he was very much aware of aesthetic appreciation. The symmetry and form of many tools and weapons appears to have gone beyond what was required just for use. For example, fossil shells were deliberately preserved in tools found in England.

Artifacts that have been found have represented many types of animals: horses, bison, ibex, stags and reindeer. Some were used for tools, while others seem to have been for ritual or of a spiritual nature. Many show how the carver took advantage of fitting the image to the natural form. The exact purpose of many pieces is unknown. The Bison is an excellent example of how the carver took advantage of fitting the image to the natural form of the antler by turning back the head of the animal. The exact purpose of this piece is unknown because it is broken.

Go to this traveling destination to complete the Comparing Paelolithic and Monolithic Exam

• Open destination and select Continue.
• Select Introduction to the Statues.
• View the statues at the top and read the text.
• Scroll down to the "Images" picture and select. You will see each statue individually.
• Then minimize this Ain Ghazal Web site.
• Open Comparing Paleolithic and Monolithic Exam
• Describe each statue by restoring the Ain Ghazal Web site.

Comparing Paelolithic and Monolithic Exam

The Beginning of Recorded Time The Old Stone Age Historical & Cultural Paintings

Visual records, showing ceremony or the preparation for the hunt, were discovered on rock walls in Spain, France, England, and Turkey. These discoveries were divided into groups, named after the sites in which they were found. Some of the finest works of this Old Stone Age art are those of the Aurignacians and Magdalenians. The best-protected examples are found on the cave walls in Lascaux, France, and Altamira, Spain.

Altamira Cave Paintings - Early Magdalenian 17,000-14,500 Altamira, Spain - Paleolithic

Imagine... climbing along a cliff... you discover an opening, a cavern. Cool breezes whisk past your face, and it's dark. You look in... There's just enough light to show a path in... and so you step in. The dark closes in around you. Suddenly, markings become visible to you on the cave walls around you, animals in flight, herds of horses, of bison...

This is how the Altamira cave paintings were discovered in 1869 by Marcelino de Santuola, as he was exploring a cliff. The ceiling was covered with bison, deer, horses, and cattle. The natural light illuminated the images, brightly colored with materials from the earth. Some of the images show detail contours and lines drawn from bits of charcoal. Smooth and delicate in appearance, they were probably applied to the cave walls with moss and hair and sprayed through hollow bones.

Early Stone Age artists seemed to have had a keen observation and a skill for describing the natural form. In the image of the Wounded Bison, there is a feeling of dignity and a power. It intricately shows a dying animal, collapsed, its head lowered in self-defense, not yet ready to give up the fight.

Lascaux Cave Paintings - 15,000 B.C. - Lascaux, France-Paleolithic

...take your flashlight and explore the cave... If you get lost in the caves, click on Lessons on the side Menu.

In 1940, a group of young boys discovered a cave in central France quite by accident. They were rescuing their dog, which had fallen into a hole that led to an underground chamber. On the walls of this chamber were painted herds of cattle and horses, many drawn over one another.

Why were these magnificent images drawn on cave walls, hidden within the depths of the earth? One explanation points to the purpose of "ritual," a ritual thought to either insure fertility or a ritual to insure a successful hunt, or both? It is thought that by drawing many images, the continuation of the herd would be kept protected. Deep within the caves, close to the womb of Mother Earth, cave artists may have thought that by capturing intricate realism, the actual animal could be "called" to the hunt. Many of the natural cracks of the cave walls were used for creating the form and contour of the animal body.

Some of the lines drawn seem to represent spears being pointed at the animals, and it is thought that these early hunters blended image and reality together. By making a picture of an animal to be hunted, they "captured its spirit," a belief that is still reflected in many of today's cultures. The overlapping of animal images may have suggested that only one image could be used as magic for one hunt.

The other explanation for the creating of images was to insure fertility. With known climatic changes, herds would have been migrating to cooler weather. Food may have been very scarce in certain areas.

Stone Age existence seems to have had a close connection to its environment, as man struggled to survive.

The Beginning of Recorded Time The New Stone Age Historical & Cultural Architecture Neolithic Jordan - Jericho: 8000 - 7500 B.C. Stonehenge - Salisbury Plain, England - 2000 B.C

Stonehenge - Salisbury Plain, England - 2000 B.C.

As humans began to group together, outside of caves, communities were formed. Group hunts were organized, cattle were herded, and simple crops were raised. Shelters from the elements and from enemies were made from reed, mud-bricks, and stone. Excavations in southern Israel, Neolithic Jordan, uncovered a mud-brick town. This community, dated 8000 B.C., had dwellings with smooth plaster floors. A stone wall, dated 7500 B.C., surrounded the dwellings and was probably the first attempt at creating a barrier for protection. The stone walls are 12 ft. high and a tower reaches 30 ft. at one end. Walls of this height showed strong masonry skills, although no other examples for uses of clay or pottery were found at this site.

On the Salisbury Plain in Southern England stands a gigantic Cromlech - a round grouping of rocks weighing between twenty-five to fifty tons each. The rough rock was transported from 20 miles away and trimmed on site into tall, rectangular supporting shapes. Lintels were carved in a slightly curved shape to fit the circular form and lifted on top of the supporting shapes. Originally, four circular, horseshoe shapes of stone were erected.

The innermost shape consisted of nineteen evenly spaced, bluestone uprights encircling a flat, center altar stone. Today, eight are standing. Flanking these were five, huge trilithons (three-stoned) and two closely spaced upright slabs called sarsens. These were also capped with a lintel stone. It is estimated that each of these uprights weighed forty-five to fifty tons, and faced to the northeast. Enclosing the bluestones and trilithons was a complete circle of sixty, upright bluestones. The outer stone circle measured one-hundred feet, and was made of thirty uprights joined by lintels. Two inner circles surrounded a flat center stone, of which eighteen stand today. The outermost feature of Stonehenge was a ditch and earthwork about three-hundred fifty ft. in diameter.

You have a new job - Archeology Guide at Stonehenge.... Complete Travel as an Archaeology Guide.

Stonehenge is thought to be a ritual site designed to indicate the solstices and equinoxes of the calendar for planting, harvesting, and ceremonies. The entire structure is oriented toward the exact point where the sun rises on the longest day of the year.

Let's discuss as a class.................
What do you think about Venus and cave paintings ??

Extensions: Links for further reference and exploration in the Old and New Stone Age. Browse if you choose.

This Encyclopædia Britannica Web site gives you new research studies in prehistoric archeology. Use these keywords and type into the Internet Guide search box at the top: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic

Aesthetics and Art Criticism

Explore further with a Sculptural Focus.... Complete Choose and Compare Two Statues

Destination #1
Destination #2
Destination #3

Create a Souvenir

Make your own reproduction of cave art. E-mail or snail mail it to your instructor.

When submitting digital work, upload this to your student folder by going to "My Tools," and then click on "Folders." Choose the file you want to upload. After uploading, scroll to the bottom of the page to make sure that it's associated with a specific assignment and MOST IMPORTANTLY, that you "submit for grading." This triggers an e-mail to me that I have work to grade :)

Examples of projects are provided below:

Resource #1 Resource #2 Project: Make some cave art of your own! Materials Needed: paper bag natural materials pencil glue

Criteria You'll Be Graded On:

1. Three animals

2. Used natural materials to paint them with

3. Outlined with black

4. Looks like cave art.

5. Craftsmanship (looks like you took your time and put in lots of effort)

Step 1: Grab a grocery bag or any other paper bag.

Step 2: Tear (don't cut) a piece of paper about 10 inches long and 5 inches wide.

Step 3: Crumple the piece of paper bag up as well as you can with your hands. It should start to feel soft in about 5 minutes.

Step 4: To add more wrinkles and to make it really soft, you're going to rub it against an edge (kitchen counter, table, etc.) Do this for another 5 minutes or until paper is as soft as leather.

Step 5: Draw lightly with PENCIL three animals that you'd like to make into cave art (man, horse, antelope, bison, mammoth, bear, deer, etc.).

Step 6: Apply natural paints (paints made out of berries, coal, leaves, grass, flowers, etc.) and outline in black.

Step 7: Paint on a glaze of glue to make it shiny and to keep natural materials in place. By making the cracks show more, it will further the illusion of leather.

Next Destination: Time Period 2, The Ancient Near East - Mesopotamia - 4000 - 330 B.C.