September 12, 1940 Four French teenagers accidentally stumbled upon a narrow hole created by the fall of a pine tree, which was struck by lightning. They decided that this was the exit from an underground passage leading to the nearby ruins of a castle, and hoped to find treasure there. But when they got inside and saw huge drawings on the walls, they realized that it was not easy underground passage, and reported their finding to the teacher. This is how the Lascaux cave was discovered. 
All the walls of the cave were completely covered with amazing drawings of animals - bulls, bison, rhinoceroses, horses, deer, even a unicorn, drawn with ocher, soot and marl (a rock like clay) and outlined in dark outlines. Some of the drawings were real size!
The scientist A. Breuil spent several months in this cave, making all kinds of measurements and studying primitive painting. At first, art historians doubted the authenticity of the drawings, but a thorough examination rejected all suspicions of forgery, and the age of the images was estimated at 15 thousand years.
Very soon, many tourists began to come to the Lascaux cave and soon scientists noticed that the drawings were slowly beginning to collapse. This was due to the excess carbon dioxide exhaled by people visiting the caves. Soon tourists were no longer allowed into the Lascaux cave and it was mothballed, and a copy of it was created next to it - Lascaux II. It is a concrete structure, inside which rock paintings of selected parts of Lascaux have been accurately reproduced.
Osya and I really liked that on the official website you can make virtual trip through the cave. In some places you can stop, zoom in on the drawing, look at it and read a short text about it (there is no Russian language on the site, but there is English). Here is the website: http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/#/en/02_00.xml
The figures of animals are drawn mainly in profile, in motion. It is interesting that when several animals accumulate in one scene at once, different sizes And different colors, and at the same time drawn so that one figure overlaps another, then the feeling of a cartoon is created if you move the window on the site. Probably, the same effect will happen if you move next to these drawings with a flashlight in your hands, it’s a pity that we can’t check it :)
On the walls of the cave there is only one image of a person: here you can see four figures combined into one compositional space - a bison pierced by a spear, a lying man, a small bird and a fuzzy silhouette of a retreating rhinoceros. The bison stands in profile, but its head is turned towards the viewer. The person is depicted schematically, as in children's drawings. Everything is drawn with a thick black line and is not filled with color. Scientists are still arguing about what exactly is shown in this picture: did the bison kill the man, and did the horse inflict a mortal wound on the bison? Or is it the other way around?
I showed Osya this picture and told him that the paints were mineral back then. The black paint was based on manganese, and the red paint was based on iron oxide. Pieces of minerals were ground into powder on stone slabs or on animal bones, for example, on the shoulder blade of a bison. This colored powder was stored in hollowed out bones or leather bags that were worn on the belt.
In this picture you can see the image of a huge bull. The figure of the right bull is the largest rock art in the world, its length is 5.2 meters.
To make it clearer what five meters is, we measured this distance in the apartment and estimated how huge the bull was.
Interestingly, in the Lascaux cave there is an image of a mythical animal - a unicorn:
But this big black bull, 3.71 meters long, is interesting because it was painted with paint sprayed through a special tube:
What you can do if your child is interested in these drawings:
- you can take craft paper, crumple it properly (we didn’t figure it out right away, but when we came across a crumpled piece of wrapping paper, Osya himself noticed that it turned out more textured and the surface resembled the surface of a stone) and hang it on the wall to draw memorable memories on it figures in charcoal, sanguine or multi-colored pastels. Or you can use paints if the child doesn’t want to get his hands dirty. The main thing is not to forget to cover the floor around it.
Or you can make natural paints - from clay and berries, and paint animals with them. And then make an outline separately with charcoal.
You can also try painting with homemade brushes. Offer your child a small stick, some grass/flower stems, and some string. Will he guess what can be done with them? And if you cut off the top layer of a dishwashing sponge, you can pretend that it is an animal skin that ancient people used to paint over a large area of the design. Shall we try?
To draw pictures, you can simply sit on a table or on the floor, or you can imagine that we are in a cave and draw on its walls and arches. Once, when we were playing at primitive people, we covered the area under the table with paper, and Osya left rock carvings while lying on his back.
This time we hung the drawings under the desk, then Osya blocked the entrance to the “cave” with pillows from the sofa, and we played as if we ourselves were walking and unexpectedly found such a treasure - a cave with ancient rock paintings. In the evening, when it was already dark, we turned off the light and climbed into the cave with flashlights and candles and looked at the images on the walls.
Man has always been drawn to art. Proof of this is the numerous cave paintings all over the planet, created by our ancestors tens of thousands of years ago. Primitive creativity is evidence that people lived everywhere - from the hot African savannah to the Arctic Circle. America, China, Russia, Europe, Australia – ancient artists left their marks everywhere. One should not think that primitive painting is completely primitive. Found among rock masterpieces and very skillful works, surprising with their beauty and technique, painted with bright colors and carrying deep meaning.
Petroglyphs and rock paintings of ancient people
Cueva de las Manos cave
The cave is located in the south of Argentina. The ancestors of the Indians of Patagonia lived here for a long time. On the walls of the cave, drawings were found depicting a scene of hunting wild animals, as well as many negative images of the hands of teenage boys. Scientists have suggested that drawing the outline of a hand on the wall is part of an initiation rite. In 1999, the cave was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List
Serra da Capivara National Park
After the discovery of many rock art sites, the area, located in the Brazilian state of Piaui, was declared a national park. Even in the days of pre-Columbian America, the Serra da Capivara park was a densely populated area; a large number of communities of the ancestors of modern Indians were concentrated here. The cave paintings, created using charcoal, red hematite and white gypsum, date back to the 12th-9th millennium BC. They belong to the Nordesti culture.
Lascaux Cave
A monument of the Late Paleolithic period, one of the best preserved in Europe. The cave is located in France in the Vézère river valley. In the middle of the 20th century, drawings created 18-15 thousand years ago were discovered in it. They belong to the ancient Solutrean culture. The images are located in several cave halls. The most impressive 5-meter drawings of animals resembling bison are in the “Hall of Bulls”.
Kakadu National Park
The area is located in northern Australia, approximately 170 km from the city of Darwin. Over the past 40 thousand years, in the territory of the present national park Aboriginal people lived. They left behind interesting examples of primitive painting. These are images of hunting scenes, shamanic rituals and scenes of the creation of the world, made using a special “X-ray” technique.
Nine Mile Canyon
A gorge in the USA in the east of Utah is almost 60 km long. It was even nicknamed the longest art gallery due to a series of rock petroglyphs. Some are created using natural dyes, others are carved directly into the rock. Most of the images were created by the Fremont Indians. In addition to the drawings, cave dwellings, well houses and ancient grain storage facilities are of interest.
Kapova Cave
An archaeological site located in Bashkortostan on the territory of the Shulgan-Tash nature reserve. The length of the cave is more than 3 km, the entrance in the form of an arch is 20 meters high and 40 meters wide. In the 1950s, in four halls of the grotto were discovered primitive drawings Paleolithic era - about 200 images of animals, anthropomorphic figures and abstract symbols. Most of them are created using red ocher.
Valley of Miracles
Mercantour National Park, which is called the "Valley of Miracles", is located near the Cote d'Azur. In addition to its natural beauty, tourists are attracted by Mount Bego, a real archaeological site where tens of thousands of ancient paintings from the Bronze Age were discovered. These are geometric figures of unknown purpose, religious symbols and other mysterious signs.
Altamira Cave
The cave is located in northern Spain in the autonomous community of Cantabria. She became famous for her rock paintings, which were made using polychrome technique using a variety of natural dyes: ocher, hematite, coal. The images belong to the Magdalenian culture, which existed 15-8 thousand years BC. Ancient artists were so skillful that they were able to give images of bison, horses and wild boars a three-dimensional appearance, using the natural irregularities of the wall.
Chauvet Cave
A historical monument of France, located in the Ardèche River valley. About 40 thousand years ago, the cave was inhabited by ancient people, who left behind more than 400 drawings. The oldest images are over 35 thousand years old. The paintings were perfectly preserved due to the fact that for a long time they could not reach Chauvet; they were discovered only in the 1990s. Unfortunately, tourist access to the cave is prohibited.
Tadrart-Akakus
Once upon a time, in the hot and practically barren Sahara there was a fertile and green area. There is a lot of evidence of this, including rock paintings discovered in Libya on the territory of the Tadrart-Akakus mountain range. Using these images, you can study the evolution of climate in this part of Africa, and trace the transformation of a flowering valley into a desert.
Wadi Methandush
Another masterpiece of rock art in Libya, located in the southwest of the country. The paintings of Wadi Methandush depict scenes with animals: elephants, cats, giraffes, crocodiles, bulls, antelopes. It is believed that the most ancient ones were created 12 thousand years ago. Most famous picture and the unofficial symbol of the area - two large cats locked in a duel.
Laas Gaal
A cave complex in the unrecognized state of Somaliland with perfectly preserved ancient drawings. These paintings are considered the best surviving of all on the African continent, they date back to 9-3 millennia BC. Basically, they are dedicated to the sacred cow - a cult animal that was worshiped in these places. The images were discovered in the early 2000s by a French expedition.
Bhimbetka cliff dwellings
Located in India, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is believed that the immediate ancestors of Homo erectus lived in the Bhimbetka cave complex modern people. The drawings discovered by Indian archaeologists date back to the Mesolithic era. Interestingly, many of the rituals of the inhabitants of the surrounding villages are similar to the scenes depicted by ancient people. There are about 700 caves in Bhimbetka, of which more than 300 are well studied.
White Sea petroglyphs
The drawings of primitive people are located on the territory of the White Sea Petroglyphs archaeological complex, which includes several dozen sites of ancient people. The images are located in a place called Zalavruga on the shores of the White Sea. In total, the collection consists of 2000 grouped illustrations depicting people, animals, battles, rituals, hunting scenes, and there is also an interesting picture of a man on skis.
Petroglyphs of Tassil-Adjer
A mountain plateau in Algeria, on the territory of which the largest drawings of ancient people discovered in northern Africa are located. Petroglyphs began to appear here from the 7th millennium BC. The main plot is hunting scenes and figures of animals of the African savannah. Illustrations made in different techniques, which indicates their belonging to different historical eras.
Tsodilo
The Tsodilo mountain range is located in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. Here, over an area of more than 10 km², thousands of images created by ancient people were discovered. The researchers claim that they cover a time period of 100 thousand years. The most ancient creations are primitive contour images, while later ones represent an attempt by artists to give the drawings a three-dimensional effect.
Tomsk pisanitsa
A natural museum-reserve in the Kemerovo region, created in the late 1980s with the aim of preserving rock art. On its territory there are about 300 images, many of them created approximately 4 thousand years ago. The earliest date back to the 10th century BC. In addition to the creativity of ancient man, tourists will be interested in seeing the ethnographic exhibition and museum collections, included in the Tomsk Pisanitsa.
Magura Cave
The natural site is located in northwestern Bulgaria near the city of Belogradchik. During archaeological excavations in the 1920s, the first evidence of the presence of ancient man was found here: tools, ceramics, jewelry. More than 700 examples of rock paintings, presumably created 100-40 thousand years ago, were also discovered. In addition to figures of animals and people, they depict stars and the sun.
Gobustan Nature Reserve
The protected area includes mud volcanoes and ancient rock art. More than 6 thousand images were created by people who lived on this land from the primitive era to the Middle Ages. The subjects are quite simple - scenes of hunting, religious rituals, figures of people and animals. Gobustan is located in Azerbaijan, approximately 50 km from Baku.
Onega petroglyphs
Petroglyphs were discovered on the eastern shore of Lake Onega in the Pudozh region of Karelia. Drawings dating back to 4-3 millennia BC are placed on the rocks of several capes. Some illustrations are quite impressive 4 meters in size. In addition to standard images of people and animals, there are also mystical symbols of unknown purpose, which always frightened the monks of the nearby Murom Holy Dormition Monastery.
Rock reliefs at Tanum
A group of petroglyphs discovered in the 1970s on the territory of the Swedish commune of Tanum. They are located along a 25-kilometer line that is believed to have been the shore of a fjord in the Bronze Age. In total, archaeologists discovered approximately 3 thousand drawings, collected in groups. Unfortunately, under the influence of unfavorable natural conditions, petroglyphs are in danger of extinction. Gradually it becomes more and more difficult to distinguish their outlines.
Rock paintings in Alta
Primitive people lived not only in a comfortable warm climate, but also around Arctic Circle. In the 1970s, in northern Norway near the city of Alta, scientists discovered a large group prehistoric drawings, consisting of 5 thousand fragments. These paintings depict human life in harsh weather conditions. Some illustrations contain ornaments and signs that scientists have not been able to decipher.
Coa Valley Archaeological Park
An archaeological complex created at the site of the discovery of prehistoric paintings that date back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods (the so-called Solutrean culture). There are not only ancient images here, some elements were created in the Middle Ages. The drawings are located on rocks stretching for 17 km along the Koa River. There is also a Museum of Art and Archeology in the park, dedicated to the history of the area.
Newspaper Rock
Translated, the name of the archaeological site means “Newspaper Stone”. Indeed, the petroglyphs covering the rock resemble a characteristic typographical seal. The mountain is located in the American state of Utah. It has not been established for certain when these signs were created. It is believed that the Indians applied them to the cliff both before the European conquerors arrived on the continent and after that.
Edakkal Caves
One of the archaeological treasures of India and all humanity is the Edakkal caves in the state of Kerala. During the Neolithic era, prehistoric petroglyphs were painted on the walls of the grottoes. These characters have not yet been deciphered. The area is a popular tourist attraction; visiting the caves is only possible as part of an excursion. Self-entrance is prohibited.
Petroglyphs of the archaeological landscape of Tamgaly
The Tamgaly tract is located approximately 170 km from Almaty. In the 1950s, about 2 thousand rock paintings were discovered on its territory. Most of the images were created in the Bronze Age, but there are also modern creations that appeared in the Middle Ages. Based on the nature of the drawings, scientists have suggested that an ancient sanctuary was located in Tamgaly.
Petroglyphs of the Mongolian Altai
The complex of rock signs, located in Northern Mongolia, covers an area of 25 km² and stretches 40 km in length. The images were created in the Neolithic era more than 3 thousand years ago, there are drawings even older, 5 thousand years old. Most of them depict deer with chariots; there are also figures of hunters and fairy-tale animals reminiscent of dragons.
Rock art in Hua Mountains
Chinese rock art was discovered in the south of the country in the Hua Mountains. They represent figures of people, animals, ships, celestial bodies, weapons, painted in rich ocher. In total there are about 2 thousand images, which are divided into 100 groups. Some pictures develop into full-fledged scenes, where you can see a solemn ceremony, ritual or procession.
Cave of Swimmers
The grotto is located in the Libyan Desert on the border of Egypt and Libya. In the 1990s, ancient petroglyphs were discovered there, their age exceeding 10 thousand years (Neolithic era). They depict people swimming in the sea or other body of water. That's why the cave was named modern name. After people began to visit the grotto en masse, many of the drawings began to deteriorate.
Horseshoe Canyon
The gorge is part of Canyonlands National Park, which is located in the US state of Utah. Horseshoe Canyon became famous because ancient paintings created by nomadic hunter-gatherers were discovered there in the 1970s. The images are depicted on panels about 5 meters high and 60 meters wide, they represent 2-meter humanoid figures.
Petroglyphs of Val Camonica
In the first half of the 20th century, in the Italian Val Camonica valley (Lombardy region), the largest collection of rock art in the world was discovered - more than 300 thousand drawings. Most of them were created in the Iron Age, the latest ones belong to the Camun culture, which is written about in ancient Roman sources. It is curious that when B. Mussolini was in power in Italy, these petroglyphs were considered evidence of the emergence of the superior Aryan race.
Twyfelfontein Valley
The most ancient settlements appeared in the Namibian Twyfelfontein Valley more than 5 thousand years ago. Around this time, rock paintings were created depicting the typical life of hunters and nomads. In total, scientists counted more than 2.5 thousand fragments, most of them are about 3 thousand years old, the youngest are about 500 years old. In the middle of the 20th century, someone stole an impressive part of the slabs with petroglyphs.
Chumash Painted Cave
A national park in the state of California, on the territory of which there is a small sandstone grotto with wall paintings of the Chumash Indians. The subjects of the paintings reflect the ideas of the aborigines about the world order. By different estimates, the paintings were created between 1 thousand and 200 years ago, making them quite modern compared to prehistoric cave paintings elsewhere in the world.
Petroglyphs of Toro Muerto
A group of petroglyphs in the Peruvian province of Castilla, which were created in the 6th-12th centuries during the Huari culture. Some scientists suggest that the Incas had a hand in them. The drawings depict animals, birds, celestial bodies, geometric patterns, as well as people dancing, probably performing some kind of ritual. In total, about 3 thousand painted stones of volcanic origin were discovered.
Petroglyphs of Easter Island
One of the most mysterious places planet, Easter Island can surprise not only with giant stone heads. Ancient petroglyphs painted on rocks, boulders, and cave walls are of no less interest and are considered an important archaeological heritage. They are either schematic images of a technical process, or non-existent animals and plants - scientists have yet to understand this issue.
For many years, modern civilization had no idea about any objects of ancient painting, but in 1879, the Spanish amateur archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, together with his 9-year-old daughter, during a walk, accidentally came across the Altamira cave, the vaults of which were decorated with many drawings of ancient people - a find that had no analogues greatly shocked the researcher and prompted him to study it closely.
1. White Shaman's Rock
This 4,000-year-old ancient rock art is located in the lower Peco River in Texas. The giant image (3.5 m) shows the central figure surrounded by other people performing some kind of rituals. It is assumed that the figure of a shaman is depicted in the center, and the picture itself depicts the cult of some forgotten ancient religion.
2. Kakadu Park
Kakadu National Park is one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in Australia. It is especially valued by its rich cultural heritage— the park contains an impressive collection of local Aboriginal art. Some of the rock art at Kakadu (which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is almost 20,000 years old.
3. Chauvet Cave
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site is located in the south of France. More than 1000 different images can be found in the Chauvet Cave, most of them are animals and anthropomorphic figures. These are some of the most ancient images known to man: their age dates back to 30,000 - 32,000 years. About 20,000 years ago, the cave was filled with stones and has remained in excellent condition to this day.
4. Cueva de El Castillo
In Spain, the “Castle Cave” or Cueva de El Castillo was recently discovered, on the walls of which the oldest cave paintings in Europe were found, their age is 4,000 years older than all the rock paintings that were previously found in the Old World. Most of the images feature handprints and simple geometric shapes, although there are also images of strange animals. One of the drawings, a simple red disk, was made 40,800 years ago. It is assumed that these paintings were made by Neanderthals.
5. Laas Gaal
Some of the oldest and best-preserved rock paintings on the African continent can be found in Somalia, at the Laas Gaal (Camel Well) cave complex. Despite the fact that their age is “only” 5,000 - 12,000 years, these rock paintings are perfectly preserved. They depict mainly animals and people in ceremonial clothing and various decorations. Unfortunately, this wonderful cultural site cannot receive World Heritage status because it is located in an area constantly at war.
6. Bhimbetka Cliff Dwellings
The cliff dwellings at Bhimbetka represent some of the earliest traces of human life on the Indian subcontinent. In natural rock shelters on the walls there are drawings that are about 30,000 years old. These paintings represent the period of development of civilization from the Mesolithic to the end of prehistoric times. The drawings depict animals and people engaged in daily activities such as hunting, religious ceremonies and, interestingly, dancing.
7. Magura
In Bulgaria, the rock paintings found in the Magura cave are not very old - they are between 4,000 and 8,000 years old. They are interesting because of the material that was used to apply the images - bat guano (droppings). In addition, the cave itself was formed millions of years ago and other archaeological artifacts have been found in it, such as the bones of extinct animals (for example, the cave bear).
8. Cueva de las Manos
The "Cave of Hands" in Argentina is famous for its extensive collection of prints and images of human hands. This rock painting dates back to 9,000 - 13,000 years. The cave itself (more precisely, the cave system) was used by ancient people 1,500 years ago. Also in Cueva de las Manos you can find various geometric shapes and images of hunting.
9. Altamira Cave
Paintings found in the Altamira cave in Spain are considered a masterpiece ancient culture. The stone painting from the Upper Paleolithic period (14,000 - 20,000 years old) is in exceptional condition. As in Chauvet Cave, a landslide sealed the entrance to this cave about 13,000 years ago, so the images remained intact. In fact, these drawings are so well preserved that when they were first discovered in the 19th century, scientists thought they were fakes. It took a long time until technology made it possible to confirm the authenticity of rock art. Since then, the cave has proven so popular with tourists that it had to be closed in the late 1970s because large amounts of carbon dioxide from visitors' breath began to destroy the paintings.
10. Lascaux Cave
It is by far the best known and most significant collection of rock art in the world. Some of the most beautiful 17,000-year-old paintings in the world can be found in this cave system in France. They are very complex, very carefully made and at the same time perfectly preserved. Unfortunately, the cave was closed more than 50 years ago due to the fact that, under the influence of carbon dioxide exhaled by visitors, the unique images began to collapse. In 1983, a reproduction of part of the cave called Lascaux 2 was discovered.
Human civilization has come a long way and achieved impressive results. Modern Art- one of them. But everything has its beginning. How did painting arise and who were they - the first artists of the world?
The beginning of prehistoric art - types and forms
In the Paleolithic, primitive art first appeared. It had different shapes. These were rituals, music, dances and songs, as well as drawing images on various surfaces - rock paintings of primitive people. The creation of the first man-made structures - megaliths, dolmens and menhirs, the purpose of which is still unknown, dates back to this period. The most famous of them is Stonehenge in Salisbury, consisting of cromlechs (vertical stones).
Household items, such as jewelry, children's toys, also belong to the art of primitive people.
Periodization
Scientists have no doubts about the time of the birth of primitive art. It began to form in the middle of the Paleolithic era, during the period of the late Neanderthals. The culture of that time is called Mousterian.
Neanderthals knew how to process stone, creating tools. On some objects, scientists found indentations and notches in the form of crosses, forming a primitive ornament. In that era they could not yet paint, but ocher was already in use. Pieces of it were found ground down, like a pencil that had been used.
Primitive rock art - definition
This is one of the types. It is an image painted on the surface of a cave wall by an ancient man. Most of such objects were found in Europe, but drawings of ancient people are also found in Asia. The main area of distribution of rock art is the territory of modern Spain and France.
Doubts of scientists
For a long time modern science it was not known that art primitive man has reached this high level. Drawings were not found in caves until the 19th century. Therefore, when they were first discovered, they were mistaken for fraud.
The story of one discovery
The ancient cave painting was discovered by an amateur archaeologist, Spanish lawyer Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola.
This discovery is associated with dramatic events. In the Spanish province of Cantabria in 1868, a hunter discovered a cave. The entrance to it was littered with fragments of crumbled rock. In 1875 she was examined by de Sautuola. That time he found only tools. The find was the most ordinary. Four years later, the amateur archaeologist again visited the Altamira cave. He was accompanied on the trip by his 9-year-old daughter, who discovered the drawings. Together with his friend, archaeologist Juan Vilanova y Piera, de Sautuola began excavating the cave. Not long before, at an exhibition of Stone Age objects, he had seen images of bison, surprisingly reminiscent of the cave painting of an ancient man that his daughter Maria had seen. Sautuola suggested that the animal images found in the Altamira cave belong to the Paleolithic. Vilanov-i-Pierre supported him in this.
Scientists have published the shocking results of their excavations. And they were immediately accused by the scientific world of falsification. Leading experts in the field of archeology categorically rejected the possibility of finding paintings from Paleolithic times. Marcelino de Sautuola was accused that the drawings of ancient people, allegedly found by him, were drawn by a friend of the archaeologist, who was visiting him in those days.
Only 15 years later, after the death of the man who had revealed to the world beautiful examples of painting by ancient people, his opponents admitted that Marcelino de Sautuola was right. By that time, similar drawings in the caves of ancient people had been found in Font-de-Gaume, Trois-Freres, Combarel and Rouffignac in France, Tuc d'Auduber in the Pyrenees and other regions. All of them were attributed to the Paleolithic era. Thus, good name Spanish scientist, who made one of the notable discoveries in archeology, has been restored.
The skill of ancient artists
The rock art, photos of which are presented below, consists of many images of different animals. Among them, bison figurines predominate. Those who first saw the drawings of ancient people found in are amazed at how professionally they were made. This magnificent skill of ancient artists made scientists at one time doubt their authenticity.
Ancient people did not immediately learn to create accurate images of animals. Drawings have been found in which the outlines are barely outlined, so it is almost impossible to find out who the artist wanted to depict. Gradually, the drawing skill became better and better, and it was already possible to quite accurately convey the appearance of the animal.
The first drawings of ancient people can also include handprints found in many caves.
A hand smeared with paint was applied to the wall, the resulting print was outlined in a different color and enclosed in a circle. According to researchers, this action had important ritual significance for ancient man.
Themes of painting by the first artists
The rock painting of an ancient man reflected the reality that surrounded him. It reflected what worried him most. In the Paleolithic, the main occupation and method of obtaining food was hunting. Therefore, animals are the main motif of the drawings of that period. As already mentioned, numerous images of bison, deer, horses, goats, and bears were discovered in Europe. They are conveyed not statically, but in motion. Animals run, jump, frolic and die, pierced by a hunter's spear.
Located in France, there is the largest ancient image bull Its size is more than five meters. In other countries, ancient artists also painted those animals that lived next to them. In Somalia, images of giraffes were found, in India - tigers and crocodiles, in the caves of the Sahara there are drawings of ostriches and elephants. In addition to animals, the first artists painted scenes of hunting and people, but extremely rarely.
Purpose of rock paintings
For what ancient man depicted animals and people on the walls of caves and other objects, the exact details are unknown. Since by that time a religion had already begun to take shape, they most likely had deep ritual significance. The “Hunting” drawing of ancient people, according to some researchers, symbolized the successful outcome of the fight against the beast. Others believe that they were created by tribal shamans who went into a trance and tried to gain special power through the image. Ancient artists lived a very long time ago, and therefore the motives for creating their drawings are unknown to modern scientists.
Paints and tools
To create drawings, primitive artists used a special technique. First, they scratched an image of an animal on the surface of a rock or stone with a chisel, and then applied paint to it. It was made from natural materials - ocher of different colors and black pigment, which was extracted from charcoal. Animal organic matter (blood, fat, brain matter) and water were used to fix the paint. Ancient artists had few colors at their disposal: yellow, red, black, brown.
The drawings of ancient people had several features. Sometimes they overlapped each other. Artists often depicted a large number of animals. In this case, the figures in the foreground were depicted carefully, and the rest - schematically. Primitive people did not create compositions; the vast majority of their drawings were a chaotic jumble of images. To date, only a few “paintings” have been found that have a single composition.
During the Paleolithic period, the first painting tools were already created. These were sticks and primitive brushes made from animal fur. Ancient artists also took care of lighting their “canvases.” Lamps were discovered that were made in the form of stone bowls. Fat was poured into them and a wick was placed.
Chauvet Cave
She was found in 1994 in France, and her collection of paintings is recognized as the oldest. Laboratory studies helped determine the age of the drawings - the very first of them were made 36 thousand years ago. Here were found images of animals that lived in glacial period. This woolly rhinoceros, bison, panther, tarpan (ancestor of the modern horse). The drawings are perfectly preserved due to the fact that thousands of years ago the entrance to the cave was blocked.
It is now closed to the public. The microclimate in which the images are located may disturb human presence. Only its researchers can spend several hours in it. It was decided to open a replica of the cave nearby for visiting spectators.
Lascaux Cave
This is another one famous place, where drawings of ancient people were found. The cave was discovered by four teenagers in 1940. Now her collection of paintings by ancient Paleolithic artists includes 1,900 images.
The place has become very popular with visitors. The huge influx of tourists led to damage to the drawings. This happened due to an excess of carbon dioxide exhaled by people. In 1963, it was decided to close the cave to visitors. But problems with the preservation of ancient images still exist today. The microclimate of Lascaux has been irreversibly disrupted, and the drawings are now under constant control.
Conclusion
The drawings of ancient people delight us with their realism and skillful execution. Artists of that time were able to convey not only the authentic appearance of the animal, but also its movement and habits. In addition to aesthetic and artistic value, the paintings of primitive artists are important material for studying the animal world of that period. Thanks to the drawings found in the Chauvet Grotto, scientists made an astonishing discovery: it turned out that lions and rhinoceroses, the original inhabitants of hot southern countries, lived in Europe during the Stone Age.
Primitive (or, in other words, primitive) art geographically covers all continents except Antarctica, and in time - the entire era of human existence, preserved by some peoples living in remote corners of the planet to this day.
Most ancient paintings were found in Europe (from Spain to the Urals).
Well preserved on the walls of the caves - the entrances turned out to be tightly blocked thousands of years ago, the same temperature and humidity were maintained there.
Not only wall paintings have been preserved, but also other evidence of human activity - clear traces of the bare feet of adults and children on the damp floor of some caves.
Causes of origin creative activity and functions of primitive art. Human need for beauty and creativity.
Beliefs of the time. The man portrayed those whom he revered. People of that time believed in magic: they believed that with the help of paintings and other images they could influence nature or the outcome of the hunt. It was believed, for example, that it was necessary to hit a drawn animal with an arrow or spear in order to ensure the success of a real hunt.
Periodization
Now science is changing its opinion about the age of the earth and the time frames are changing, but we will study according to the generally accepted names of periods.1. Stone Age
1.1 Ancient stone Age– Paleolithic. ... up to 10 thousand BC
1.2 Middle Stone Age - Mesolithic. 10 – 6 thousand BC
1.3 New Stone Age - Neolithic. From 6th to 2nd thousand BC
2. Bronze Age. 2 thousand BC
3. Age of Iron. 1 thousand BC
Paleolithic
Tools were made of stone; hence the name of the era - the Stone Age.1. Ancient or Lower Paleolithic. up to 150 thousand BC
2. Middle Paleolithic. 150 – 35 thousand BC
3. Upper or Late Paleolithic. 35 – 10 thousand BC
3.1 Aurignac-Solutrean period. 35 – 20 thousand BC
3.2. Madeleine period. 20 – 10 thousand BC The period received this name from the name of the La Madeleine cave, where paintings dating back to this time were found.
The earliest works of primitive art date back to the Late Paleolithic. 35 – 10 thousand BC
Scientists are inclined to believe that naturalistic art and the depiction of schematic signs and geometric shapes arose simultaneously.
Pasta drawings. Human handprints and random weaves wavy lines, pressed into damp clay with the fingers of the same hand.
The first drawings from the Paleolithic period (ancient Stone Age, 35–10 thousand BC) were discovered at the end of the 19th century. Spanish amateur archaeologist Count Marcelino de Sautuola three kilometers from his family estate, in the Altamira cave.
It happened like this:
“The archaeologist decided to explore a cave in Spain and took his little daughter with him. Suddenly she shouted: “Bulls, bulls!” The father laughed, but when he raised his head, he saw huge painted figures of bison on the ceiling of the cave. Some of the bison were depicted standing still, others rushing at the enemy with inclined horns. At first, scientists did not believe that primitive people could create such works of art. It was only 20 years later that numerous works of primitive art were discovered in other places and the authenticity of cave paintings was recognized.”
Paleolithic painting
Altamira Cave. Spain.Late Paleolithic (Madeleine era 20 - 10 thousand years BC).
On the vault of the Altamira cave chamber there is a whole herd of large bison located close to each other.
Bison panel. Located on the ceiling of the cave. Wonderful polychrome images contain black and all shades of ocher, rich colors, applied somewhere densely and monochromatically, and somewhere with halftones and transitions from one color to another. A thick paint layer up to several cm. In total, 23 figures are depicted on the vault, if you do not take into account those of which only outlines have been preserved.
Fragment. Buffalo. Altamira Cave. Spain. Late Paleolithic. The caves were illuminated with lamps and reproduced from memory. Not primitivism, but the highest degree of stylization. When the cave was opened, it was believed that this was an imitation of hunting - the magical meaning of the image. But today there are versions that the goal was art. The beast was necessary for man, but he was terrible and difficult to catch.
Fragment. Bull. Altamira. Spain. Late Paleolithic.
Beautiful brown shades. Tense stop of the beast. They used the natural relief of the stone and depicted it on the convexity of the wall.
Fragment. Bison. Altamira. Spain. Late Paleolithic.
Transition to polychrome art, darker strokes.
Cave of Font de Gaume. France
Late Paleolithic.Silhouette images, deliberate distortion, and exaggeration of proportions are typical. On the walls and vaults of the small halls of the Font-de-Gaume cave there are at least about 80 drawings, mostly bison, two undisputed figures of mammoths and even a wolf.
Grazing deer. Font de Gaume. France. Late Paleolithic.
Perspective image of horns. Deer at this time (the end of the Madeleine era) replaced other animals.
Fragment. Buffalo. Font de Gaume. France. Late Paleolithic.
The hump and crest on the head are emphasized. The overlap of one image with another is a polypsest. Detailed study. Decorative solution for the tail. Picture of houses.
Wolf. Font de Gaume. France. Late Paleolithic.
Nio's Cave. France
Late Paleolithic.Round hall with drawings. There are no images of mammoths or other animals of glacial fauna in the cave.
Horse. Nio. France. Late Paleolithic.
Depicted already with 4 legs. The silhouette is outlined with black paint, and the inside is retouched with yellow. The character of a pony-type horse.
Stone ram. Nio. France. Late Paleolithic. Partially contoured image, the skin is drawn on top.
Deer. Nio. France. Late Paleolithic.
Buffalo. Nio. Nio. France. Late Paleolithic.
Most of the images include bison. Some of them are shown wounded, with black and red arrows.
Buffalo. Nio. France. Late Paleolithic.
Lascaux Cave
It so happened that it was the children, and quite accidentally, who found the most interesting cave paintings in Europe:“In September 1940, near the town of Montignac, in the southwest of France, four high school students set off on an archaeological expedition they had planned. In place of a tree that had long been uprooted, there was a hole in the ground that aroused their curiosity. There were rumors that this was the entrance to a dungeon leading to a nearby medieval castle.
There was another smaller hole inside. One of the guys threw a stone at it and, judging by the sound of the fall, concluded that it was quite deep. He widened the hole, crawled inside, almost fell, lit a flashlight, gasped and called others. From the walls of the cave in which they found themselves, some huge animals were looking at them, breathing with such confident power, sometimes seeming ready to turn into rage, that they felt terrified. And at the same time, the power of these animal images was so majestic and convincing that they felt as if they were in some kind of magical kingdom.”
Lascaux Cave. France.
Late Paleolithic (Madeleine era, 18 - 15 thousand years BC).
Called the primitive Sistine Chapel. Consists of several large rooms: rotunda; main gallery; passage; apse.
Colorful images on the calcareous white surface of the cave.
The proportions are greatly exaggerated: large necks and bellies.
Contour and silhouette drawings. Clear images without aliasing. A large number of male and female signs (rectangle and many dots).
Hunting scene. Lasko. France. Late Paleolithic.
Genre image. A bull killed by a spear gored a man with a bird's head. There’s a bird on a stick nearby—maybe his soul.
Buffalo. Lasko. France. Late Paleolithic.
Horse. Lasko. France. Late Paleolithic.
Mammoths and horses. Kapova cave. Ural.
Late Paleolithic.
KAPOVA CAVE- to the South. m Ural, on the river. White. Formed in limestones and dolomites. The corridors and grottoes are located on two floors. The total length is over 2 km. On the walls are Late Paleolithic paintings of mammoths and rhinoceroses
Paleolithic sculpture
Art of small forms or mobile art (small plastic art)An integral part of the art of the Paleolithic era consists of objects that are commonly called “small plastic”.
These are three types of objects:
1. Figurines and other three-dimensional products carved from soft stone or other materials (horn, mammoth tusk).
2. Flattened objects with engravings and paintings.
3. Reliefs in caves, grottoes and under natural canopies.
The relief was embossed with a deep outline or the background around the image was cramped.
Relief
One of the first finds, called small plastic, was a bone plate from the Chaffo grotto with images of two fallow deer:
Deer crossing the river. Fragment. Bone carving. France. Late Paleolithic (Magdalenian period).
Everyone knows the wonderful French writer Prosper Merimee, the author of the fascinating novel “The Chronicle of the Reign of Charles IX,” “Carmen” and other romantic stories, but few people know that he served as an inspector for the protection of historical monuments. It was he who handed over this record in 1833 to the historical museum of Cluny, which was just being organized in the center of Paris. It is now kept in the Museum of National Antiquities (Saint-Germain en Lay).
Later, a cultural layer of the Upper Paleolithic era was discovered in the Chaffo Grotto. But then, just as it was with the painting of the Altamira cave, and with other visual monuments of the Paleolithic era, no one could believe that this art was older than ancient Egyptian. Therefore, such engravings were considered examples of Celtic art (V-IV centuries BC). Only at the end of the 19th century, again, like cave paintings, were they recognized as the most ancient after they were found in the Paleolithic cultural layer.
The figurines of women are very interesting. Most of these figurines are small in size: from 4 to 17 cm. They were made from stone or mammoth tusks. Their most noticeable distinguishing feature is their exaggerated “plumpiness”; they depict women with overweight figures.
"Venus with a Cup" Bas-relief. France. Upper (Late) Paleolithic.
Goddess of the Ice Age. The canon of the image is that the figure is inscribed in a rhombus, and the stomach and chest are in a circle.
Sculpture- mobile art.
Almost everyone who has studied Paleolithic female figurines, with varying degrees of detail, explains them as cult objects, amulets, idols, etc., reflecting the idea of motherhood and fertility.
"Venus of Willendorf". Limestone. Willendorf, Lower Austria. Late Paleolithic.
Compact composition, no facial features.
"The Hooded Lady from Brassempouy." France. Late Paleolithic. Mammoth bone.
Facial features and hairstyle have been worked out.
In Siberia, in the Baikal region, a whole series of original figurines of a completely different stylistic appearance was found. Along with the same overweight figures of naked women as in Europe, there are figurines of slender, elongated proportions and, unlike European ones, they are depicted dressed in thick, most likely fur clothes, similar to “overalls”.
These are finds from the Buret sites on the Angara and Malta rivers.
conclusions
Rock painting. Peculiarities pictorial art Paleolithic – realism, expression, plasticity, rhythm.
Small plastic.
The depiction of animals has the same features as in painting (realism, expression, plasticity, rhythm).
Paleolithic female figurines are cult objects, amulets, idols, etc., they reflect the idea of motherhood and fertility.
Mesolithic
(Middle Stone Age) 10 - 6 thousand BCAfter the glaciers melted, the familiar fauna disappeared. Nature becomes more pliable to humans. People become nomads.
With a change in lifestyle, a person’s view of the world becomes broader. He is not interested in an individual animal or a random discovery of cereals, but in the active activity of people, thanks to which they find entire herds of animals and fields or forests rich in fruits.
This is how the art of multi-figure composition arose in the Mesolithic, in which it was no longer the beast, but man, who played the dominant role.
Changes in the field of art:
The main characters of the image are not an individual animal, but people in some action.
The task is not in a believable, accurate depiction of individual figures, but in conveying action and movement.
Multi-figure hunts are often depicted, scenes of honey collection, and cult dances appear.
The character of the image changes - instead of realistic and polychrome, it becomes schematic and silhouetted. Local colors are used - red or black.
A honey collector from a hive, surrounded by a swarm of bees. Spain. Mesolithic.
Almost everywhere where planar or three-dimensional images of the Upper Paleolithic era were discovered, in artistic activity people of the subsequent Mesolithic era seemed to be experiencing a pause. Perhaps this period is still poorly studied, perhaps the images made not in caves, but in the open air, were washed away by rain and snow over time. Perhaps among the petroglyphs, which are very difficult to date accurately, there are those dating back to this time, but we do not yet know how to recognize them. It is significant that small plastic objects are extremely rare during excavations of Mesolithic settlements.
Of the Mesolithic monuments, literally a few can be named: Stone Tomb in Ukraine, Kobystan in Azerbaijan, Zaraut-Sai in Uzbekistan, Shakhty in Tajikistan and Bhimpetka in India.
In addition to rock paintings, petroglyphs appeared in the Mesolithic era.
Petroglyphs are carved, carved or scratched rock images.
When carving a design, ancient artists used a sharp tool to knock down the upper, darker part of the rock, and therefore the images stand out noticeably against the background of the rock.
In the south of Ukraine, in the steppe there is a rocky hill made of sandstone rocks. As a result of severe weathering, several grottoes and canopies were formed on its slopes. In these grottoes and on other planes of the hill, numerous carved and scratched images have been known for a long time. In most cases they are difficult to read. Sometimes images of animals are guessed - bulls, goats. Scientists attribute these images of bulls to the Mesolithic era.
Stone grave. South of Ukraine. General view and petroglyphs. Mesolithic.
South of Baku, between the southeastern slope of the Greater Caucasus Range and the Caspian coast, there is a small Gobustan plain (country of ravines) with hills in the form of table mountains composed of limestone and other sedimentary rocks. On the rocks of these mountains there are many petroglyphs of different times. Most of them were discovered in 1939. Large (more than 1 m) images of female and male figures made with deep carved lines received the greatest interest and fame.
There are many images of animals: bulls, predators and even reptiles and insects.
Kobystan (Gobustan). Azerbaijan (territory of the former USSR). Mesolithic.
Grotto Zaraout-Qamar
In the mountains of Uzbekistan, at an altitude of about 2000 m above sea level, there is a monument widely known not only among archaeological specialists - the Zaraut-Kamar grotto. The painted images were discovered in 1939 by local hunter I.F. Lamaev.
The painting in the grotto is made with ocher of different shades (from red-brown to lilac) and consists of four groups of images, which include anthropomorphic figures and bulls. 
Here is the group in which most researchers see bull hunting. Among the anthropomorphic figures surrounding the bull, i.e. There are two types of “hunters”: figures in clothes that flare out at the bottom, without bows, and “tailed” figures with raised and drawn bows. This scene can be interpreted as a real hunt by disguised hunters, and as a kind of myth.
The painting in the Shakhty grotto is probably the oldest in Central Asia.
“I don’t know what the word Shakhty means,” writes V.A. Ranov. “Perhaps it comes from the Pamir word “shakht,” which means rock.”
In the northern part of Central India, huge cliffs with many caves, grottoes and canopies stretch along river valleys. A lot of rock carvings have been preserved in these natural shelters. Among them, the location of Bhimbetka (Bhimpetka) stands out. Apparently these picturesque images date back to the Mesolithic. True, we should not forget about the unevenness in the development of cultures in different regions. The Mesolithic of India may be 2-3 millennia older than in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Some scenes of driven hunts with archers in the paintings of the Spanish and African cycles are, as it were, the embodiment of the movement itself, taken to the limit, concentrated in a stormy whirlwind.
Neolithic
(New Stone Age) from 6 to 2 thousand BC.Neolithic- New Stone Age, the last stage of the Stone Age.
Periodization. The entry into the Neolithic coincides with the transition of culture from an appropriating (hunters and gatherers) to a producing (farming and/or cattle breeding) type of economy. This transition called the Neolithic Revolution. The end of the Neolithic dates back to the time of the appearance of metal tools and weapons, that is, the beginning of the Copper, Bronze or Iron Age.
Different cultures entered this period of development at different times. In the Middle East, the Neolithic began around 9.5 thousand years ago. BC e. In Denmark, the Neolithic dates back to the 18th century. BC, and among the indigenous population of New Zealand - the Maori - the Neolithic existed back in the 18th century. AD: Before the arrival of Europeans, Maori used polished stone axes. Some peoples of America and Oceania have still not completely transitioned from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.
The Neolithic, like other periods of the primitive era, is not certain chronological period in the history of mankind as a whole, but characterizes only the cultural characteristics of certain peoples.
Achievements and activities
1.
New features of people's social life:
- The transition from matriarchy to patriarchy.
- At the end of the era, in some places (Foreign Asia, Egypt, India), a new formation of class society emerged, that is, social stratification began, the transition from a tribal-communal system to a class society.
- At this time, cities begin to be built. Jericho is considered one of the most ancient cities.
- Some cities were well fortified, which indicates the existence of organized wars at that time.
- Armies and professional warriors began to appear.
- We can quite say that the beginning of the formation of ancient civilizations is associated with the Neolithic era.
2.
The division of labor and the formation of technologies began:
- The main thing is that simple gathering and hunting as the main sources of food are gradually being replaced by agriculture and cattle breeding.
The Neolithic is called the “age of polished stone.” In this era, stone tools were not just chipped, but already sawed, ground, drilled, and sharpened.
- Among the most important tools in the Neolithic is the ax, previously unknown.
spinning and weaving developed.
Images of animals begin to appear in the design of household utensils.
Ax in the shape of a moose head. Polished stone. Neolithic. Historical Museum. Stockholm.
A wooden ladle from the Gorbunovsky peat bog near Nizhny Tagil. Neolithic. State Historical Museum.
For the Neolithic forest zone, fishing became one of the leading types of economy. Active fishing contributed to the creation of certain reserves, which, combined with hunting animals, made it possible to live in one place all year round.
The transition to a sedentary lifestyle led to the appearance of ceramics.
The appearance of ceramics is one of the main signs of the Neolithic era.
The village of Catal Huyuk (Eastern Turkey) is one of the places where the most ancient examples of ceramics were found.
Cup from Ledce (Czech Republic). Clay. Bell Beaker culture. Chalcolithic (Copper-Stone Age).
Monuments of Neolithic painting and petroglyphs are extremely numerous and scattered over vast territories.
Clusters of them are found almost everywhere in Africa, eastern Spain, in the territory former USSR- in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, on Lake Onega, near the White Sea and in Siberia.
Neolithic rock art is similar to Mesolithic, but the subject matter becomes more varied.
"Hunters". Rock painting. Neolithic (?). Southern Rhodesia.
For approximately three hundred years, the attention of scientists has been captivated by a rock known as the Tomsk Pisanitsa.
“Pisanitsa” are images painted with mineral paint or carved on the smooth surface of walls in Siberia.
Back in 1675, one of the brave Russian travelers, whose name, unfortunately, remained unknown, wrote down:
“Before reaching the fortress (Verkhnetomsk fortress), on the edges of the Tom River there lies a large and high stone, and on it are written animals, and cattle, and birds, and all sorts of similar things...”
Real scientific interest in this monument arose already in the 18th century, when, by order of Peter I, an expedition was sent to Siberia to study its history and geography. The result of the expedition was the first images of Tomsk writing published in Europe by the Swedish captain Stralenberg, who participated in the trip. These images were not an exact copy of the Tomsk writing, but conveyed only the most general outline rocks and placing drawings on it, but their value lies in the fact that on them you can see drawings that have not survived to this day.
Images of Tomsk writing made by the Swedish boy K. Shulman, who traveled with Stralenberg across Siberia.
For hunters, the main source of subsistence was deer and elk. Gradually, these animals began to acquire mythical features - the elk was the “master of the taiga” along with the bear.
The image of a moose belongs to the Tomsk Pisanitsa the main role: Shapes are repeated many times.
The proportions and shapes of the animal’s body are absolutely faithfully conveyed: its long massive body, a hump on the back, a heavy large head, a characteristic protrusion on the forehead, a swollen upper lip, bulging nostrils, thin legs with cloven hooves.
Some drawings show transverse stripes on the neck and body of moose.
On the border between the Sahara and Fezzan, on the territory of Algeria, in a mountainous area called Tassili-Ajjer, bare rocks rise in rows. Now this region is dried up by the desert wind, scorched by the sun and almost nothing grows in it. However, the Sahara used to have green meadows...
- Sharpness and precision of drawing, grace and elegance.
- Harmonic combination of shapes and tones, the beauty of people and animals depicted with a good knowledge of anatomy.
- Swiftness of gestures and movements.
The small plastic arts of the Neolithic, like painting, acquire new subjects.
"The Man Playing the Lute." Marble (from Keros, Cyclades, Greece). Neolithic. National Archaeological Museum. Athens.
The schematism inherent in Neolithic painting, which replaced Paleolithic realism, also penetrated into small plastic art.
Schematic image of a woman. Cave relief. Neolithic. Croisard. Department of the Marne. France.
Relief with a symbolic image from Castelluccio (Sicily). Limestone. OK. 1800-1400 BC National Archaeological Museum. Syracuse.
conclusions
Mesolithic and Neolithic rock paintingsIt is not always possible to draw a precise line between them.
But this art is very different from typically Paleolithic:
- Realism, accurately capturing the image of the beast as a target, as a cherished goal, is replaced by a broader view of the world, the image of multi-figure compositions.
- There appears a desire for harmonious generalization, stylization and, most importantly, for the transmission of movement, for dynamism.
- In the Paleolithic there was monumentality and inviolability of the image. Here there is liveliness, free imagination.
- In human images, a desire for grace appears (for example, if you compare the Paleolithic “Venuses” and the Mesolithic image of a woman collecting honey, or Neolithic Bushman dancers).
Small plastic:
- New stories appear.
- Greater mastery of execution and mastery of craft and material.
Achievements
Paleolithic- Lower Paleolithic
> > taming fire, stone tools
- Middle Paleolithic
>> exit from Africa
- Upper Paleolithic
> > sling
Mesolithic
- microliths, bow, canoe
Neolithic
- Early Neolithic
> > Agriculture, cattle breeding
- Late Neolithic
>> ceramics
Chalcolithic (Copper Age)
- metallurgy, horse, wheel
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is characterized by the leading role of bronze products, which was associated with improved processing of metals such as copper and tin obtained from ore deposits, and the subsequent production of bronze from them.The Bronze Age replaced the Copper Age and preceded the Iron Age. Generally, chronological framework Bronze Age: 35/33 - 13/11 centuries. BC e., but they differ among different cultures.
Art is becoming more diverse and spreading geographically.
Bronze was much easier to process than stone; it could be cast into molds and polished. Therefore, in the Bronze Age, all kinds of household items were made, richly decorated with ornaments and of high artistic value. Ornamental decorations consisted mostly of circles, spirals, wavy lines and similar motifs. Special attention paid attention to jewelry - they were large in size and immediately caught the eye.
Megalithic architecture
In 3 - 2 thousand BC. unique, huge structures made of stone blocks appeared. This ancient architecture called megalithic.The term “megalith” comes from the Greek words “megas” - “large”; and "lithos" - "stone".
Megalithic architecture owes its appearance to primitive beliefs. Megalithic architecture is usually divided into several types:
1.
A menhir is a single vertical stone, more than two meters high.
On the Brittany Peninsula in France, the so-called fields stretch for kilometers. menhirov. In the language of the Celts, the later inhabitants of the peninsula, the name of these stone pillars several meters high means “long stone”.
2.
Trilith is a structure consisting of two stones placed vertically and covered with a third.
3.
A dolmen is a structure whose walls are made of huge stone slabs and covered with a roof made of the same monolithic stone block.
Initially, dolmens served for burials.
Trilith can be called the simplest dolmen.
Numerous menhirs, trilithons and dolmens were located in places that were considered sacred.
4.
Cromlech is a group of menhirs and trilithes.
Stone grave. South of Ukraine. Anthropomorphic menhirs. Bronze Age.
Stonehenge. Cromlech. England. Bronze Age. 3 – 2 thousand BC Its diameter is 90 m, it consists of stone blocks, each of which weighs approx. 25 tons. It is curious that the mountains from where these stones were delivered are located 280 km from Stonehenge.
It consists of trilithons arranged in a circle, inside a horseshoe of trilithons, in the middle there are blue stones, and in the very center there is a heel stone (on the day of the summer solstice the luminary is exactly above it). It is assumed that Stonehenge was a temple dedicated to the sun.
Age of Iron (Iron Age)
1 thousand BCIn the steppes of Eastern Europe and Asia, pastoral tribes created the so-called animal style at the end of the Bronze and beginning of the Iron Age.
"Deer" plaque. 6th century BC Gold. Hermitage Museum. 35.1x22.5 cm. From the mound in the Kuban region. The relief plate was found attached to a round iron shield in the chief's burial. An example of zoomorphic art (“animal style”). The deer's hooves are made in the form of a "big-beaked bird."
There is nothing accidental or superfluous - a complete, thoughtful composition. Everything in the figure is conditional and extremely truthful and realistic.
The feeling of monumentality is achieved not by size, but by the generality of the form.
Panther. Badge, decoration of a shield. From a mound near the village of Kelermesskaya. Gold. Hermitage Museum.
Age of Iron.
Served as a decoration for the shield. The tail and paws are decorated with figures of curled up predators.
Iron Age
Age of Iron. The balance between realism and stylization is broken in favor of stylization.
Cultural connections with Ancient Greece, the countries of the ancient East and China contributed to the emergence of new subjects, images and visual means in artistic culture tribes of southern Eurasia.
Scenes of a battle between barbarians and Greeks are depicted. Found in the Chertomlyk mound, near Nikopol.
Zaporozhye region Hermitage Museum.