Chapter 1 Study Guide

Prehistoric Art

Paleolithic Art

• Venus of Willendorf, c. 28,000-25,000 BCE
• Altamira Bison, c. 13,000-11,000 BCE
• Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux, c. 16,000-14,000 BCE

Neolithic Art

• Human Figure from Ain Ghazal, c. 6750-6250 BCE
• Deer hunt, wall painting from level III, Catal Hoyuk, Turkey, c. 5750 BCE
• Stonehenge, c. 2550-1600 BCE

1. What is meant by the term ‘Prehistory’?

2. What is the most common subject of cave art?

3. Which elements of the paintings in the Chauvet Cave at Vallon Pont-d’Arc make them stylistically more advanced than the paintings in the cave at Lascaux? (list 2)

4. What is the composite view? Why was it so commonly used in prehistoric art?

5. Why do most researchers believe that cave paintings were not mere decoration?

6. What are the attributes that characterise Neolithic society? (list 3)

7. What preconditions made Mesopotamia and Anatolia ideal for the development of sedentary communities? (list 3)

8. Describe the burial practices of the people of Jericho.

9. What is a megalith? Name an example of a megalithic structure.