ART1020  History  of  Art  in  Early  Civilization  

Week  1,  Assignment  4:  Guided  Tour  of  Paleolithic  and  Neolithic  Art  
By Michael Galligan

This guided tour explores artifacts of sculpture beginning with one of the earliest known works
from nearly 30,000 years ago. It culminates at the nadir of the Bronze Age circa 1250 BCE. We
will travel to Prehistoric Europe, two sites in prehistoric Turkey, Ancient Sumer and Ancient
Greece. We will also question what purpose or meaning they may have had to our ancestors. Our
first two stops will be to Prehistoric Europe during the Paleolithic Period or Old Stone Age.

One of the earliest known examples of any work of art is the famous Nude Woman, better known
as the Venus of Willendorf (Kleiner 18). This findspot is located in modern day Austria.

Title: Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf)

Findspot: Willendorf, Austria, ca. 28,000-25,000 BCE (Upper Paleolithic Age)
Media: Limestone, carved, 4 ¼” tall
Current Location: Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna
We can only guess what this sculpture might have meant to our human ancestors 30,000 years
ago. We may relate with the artistic skills at work. The sculpture is in the round and the lower
physical attributes of a woman emphasized through the use of a burin describing the pubic area
(Kleiner 17). The realism of the legs is quite remarkable; notice the curvaceous contour lines and
detail at the knees. Yet, the arms are under developed and the head lacks a face. These areas
seem to be symbolized though it is clear the sculptor had the ability to make it realistic based on
the legs. This may be what leads leading art historians to believe this and other similar finds are
symbolic; perhaps identifying with fertility (Kleiner 17).

Next we will journey through time and space to deep within a cave in present day France. Le Tuc
d’Aubdoubert contains two hand sculpted clay bison’s that closely depict the shape and form
accurate to bison’s of the era (Kleiner 19).

Title:Two Bison, reliefs in the cave

Findspot: Le Tuc d’Audoubert, France, ca. 15,000-10,000 BCE (Upper Paleolithic Age)
Media: Clay, sculpted, 2’ long each
Current Location: Original findspot in cave at Le Tuc d’Audoubert, France

As with the work from Willendorf, the contours are extremely realistic. There is a bull and a cow
bison suggesting the theme of mating, though there is no current evidence to support this
assertion. The tools used here are less refined, hands, fingernails and perhaps a stick to incise
details such as the eyes, ears and nostrils (Kleiner 19).
Now we leave the Upper Paleolithic Era and move over to present day Serbia. During the
Mesolithic Era this area was known as Lepenski Vir (Lepenski Vir). Vir is translates to
“whirlpool” and to this day there is a big whirlpool on the Danube River at Lepenski. Here
Mesolithic artists carved sandstone bounders that stood outside what is now considered to be
burial grounds (Lepenski Vir).

The following drawing shows how these burial buildings were laid out. Only six foundations
remain as succeeding cultures repurposed and built over other ones (Lepenski Vir II). The
Danube River would be just to the bottom of this simple drawing provided by Don’s Maps.
 Title: Danubius
Findspot: Lepenski Vir II, Turkey, ca. 6,700-5,500 BCE
(Mesolithic Era)
Media: Sandstone boulders, carved, 200-600mm tall
Current Location: Natural Museum in Belgrade, Serbia

It is interesting to note that these artists carved symbolically

(Danubius). They seem to focus on the abstract form of
sadness or mourning. They are also placed facing the graves,
so it is possible they were there to protect or keep company
with the deceased. Either way there is a disturbing sense of
unity among the many carvings. They are all simplified,
lacking in realism through exaggerated features such as the frown and eyes.

Nearby in Uruk, an ancient city of Sumer, raised offerings to its patron deity Inanna (Uruk). The
relief sculpture of the Warka Vase is perhaps the earliest known example of narrative sculpture
(The case of the missing vase).

Title: Presentation of offerings to Inanna also known as the Warka Vase

Findspot: Uruk, Sumer, ca. 3200-3000 BCE (Neolithic Era)
Media: Alabaster, carved, 3’¼" tall.
Current Location: Baghdad Museum, Iraq

This vase shows great skill at organizing a story starting at the bottom and ending at Inanna as
she receives the offering (Kleiner 25). It has strong rhythm throughout as patterns and shapes of
animals, people, and plants are repeated as they grow, move and toil towards the adulation of
their goddess. This use of pattern to create rhythm is one of the descriptive qualities discussed in
our lectures this week (Principles of Design 1 of 2). Great care and skill in sculpture are in
evidence through the controlled delivery of shapes register to register. The shapes are not wholly
realistic, as the artist seems to want to portray more information about the subjects than would be
typically seen. There is no foreshortening for example and the eyes are shown as whole eyes, not
as seen from the side but as if looking directly at them.

Next we return to Turkey a few thousand years

closer to our present day, to Acemhöyük of
Anatolia in ancient times. Acemhöyük left behind
many fine luxury goods and everyday artifacts
despite its destruction by fire (Acemhöyük).

Title: Acemhöyük, furniture support in the form

of a female sphinx with Hathor-style curls
Findspot: Anatolian, Ankara, ca. 1820-1740 BCE
(Bronze Age)
Media: Hippopotamus ivory and gold foil,
127mm tall
Current Location: The Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York, USA
(Acemhöyük)

This sculpted piece was carved from hippopotamus ivory. It has the face of a female human but
on a lion’s body, similar to an Egyptian sphinx. Once the carving was complete it was covered in
gold leaf, some of which remains on the Hathor-style curls (Acemhöyük). One of the interesting
things about this is the use of rare materials in the form of ivory and gold. This suggests a culture
of wealth with time to create.

Finally we arrive near the end of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece. The tower gate at Mycenae
has a limestone relief sculpture of massive proportions. In fact, later Greeks would fabricate a
mythological race of giants, called Cyclops to account for the massive construction blocks found
at Mycenae and Tiryns (Kleiner 53). Above the main gate of the Citadel of Mycenae is the Lion
Gate relief.
 Title: Lion Gate
Findspot: Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 BCE
(Bronze Age)
Media: Limestone, carved relief panel, 9’6” tall
Current Location: Mycenae, Greece (in situ)

Not only is this sculpture huge it is a precursor to corbel

style arches that would allow the construction of domes
and bridges in later times (Kleiner 53). I find the
repetition of the two lions to be well balanced. Visual
interest is increased through the placement of a single
column between them. The lines lead the focus to the
top, where the two lion heads and column come
together.

I hope you’ve enjoyed a sample of roughly 30,000

years of sculpture on this tour. It is interesting that the
abilities of the artists range from realism to abstract
without much regard for when they created their work. Consider the Venus of Willendorf’s legs.
That kind of realism is challenging to produce today. Their experiences don’t seem to be much
different than artists and artisans who practice in the modern age. We seem to be more akin to
our ancestors than we think.
Work Cited

1. Kleiner, Fred. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Concise Western History. 2nd Edition.
Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2010.

2. Dragoslav Srejović. "Lepenski Vir." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 10 Apr. 2010
<http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T050487>.

3. Hitchcock, Don. “Lepenski Vir II” Don’s Maps. 2009. 10 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.donsmaps.com/lepenski2.html>

4. Unknown Artist. “Danubius”.National Museum of Belgrade. 2010. 10 Apr. 2010

<http://www.narodnimuzej.rs/code/navigate.php?Id=101>

5. James A. Armstrong. "Uruk". The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Brian M. Fagan,

ed., Oxford University Press 1996. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.
Art Institute of Pittsburgh. 7 April
2010 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t13
6.e0472>

6. Schmandt-Besserat, Denise. “The Case of the Missing Vase.” The University of Texas at
Austin. 2003. Apr. 8 2010 <http://www.utexas.edu/features/archive/2003/vase.html>

7. ART1020 History of Art in Early Civilization. “Week One Lecture-Principles of Design

pg. 1 of 2.” Art Institute of Pittsburgh. 2010. 10 Apr. 2010
<http://myeclassonline.com/re/DotNextLaunch.asp?courseid=4055096>

8. Nimet Özgüç. "Acemhöyük." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 10 Apr. 2010
<http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T000326>.