EARLIEST

ART FORMS
Prehistoric painting of rhinoceroses in the Chauvet
Cave, dated circa 35,000 BP. France
Homo Erectus shell with geometric incisions, circa 500,000 BP, has
been claimed as the first known work of art. From Trinil, Java, now in
the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Netherlands.
Claimed "Oldest known drawing by human hands", discovered in
Blombos Cave in South Africa. Estimated to be 73,000 years old.
 ACHEULEAN HAND AXE

Acheulean, from the French acheuléen after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an
archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by distinctive oval
and pear-shaped "hand-axes" associated with Homo erectus and derived species
such as Homo heidelbergensis.
Probably the oldest known painting, from the cave of
Lubang Jeriji Saléh on the Indonesian island of Borneo,
circa 40,000 BC
Aurochs (large wild cattle) on a cave painting in Lascaux, France
The Venus of Willendorf
is an 11.1-centimetre-tall (4.4 in) Venus fi
gurine estimated to have been made 30,000 BCE
. It was found on August 7, 1908 by a workman
named Johann Veran or Josef
Veram
during excavations conducted by archaeologist
s Josef
Szombathy, Hugo Obermaier
and Josef Bayer at a paleolithic site near
Willendorf
, a village in Lower Austria near the town of
Krems. It is carved from an oolitic
limestone that is not local to the area, and tint
ed with red ochre. The figurine is now in the
Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.
A possible representation of
a "yogi" (yoga practitioner)
or "proto-Shiva“ (one of the
principal deities of
Hinduism), shows the art of
the Indian sub-continent in
2600-1900 BCE
The "Dancing Girl of Mohenjo Daro",
Indus Valley civilization
Two bronze heads
from Sanxingdui,
Central China,
covered with gold leafs
A statue of the Jōmon
(people in ancient Japan
who were believed to be
among the first to develop
pottery)
A Korean Neolithic pot found in Busan, 3500 BCE
 Large Middle Mumun (c. 800 BCE) storage vessel
unearthed from a pit-house in or near Daepyeong, Korea
 GOGURYEO TOMB MURAL

Goguryeo tombs, officially known as the

Complex of Koguryo Tombs, are tombs in
North Korea. In July 2004, they became the first
UNESCO World Heritage site in the country.
Late 7th-century Scythian (Central Eurasia)
plaque of a leopard
Pillar from Göbekli Tepe (an
archaeological site in the
Southeastern Anatolia Region of
Turkey) with low reliefs of what
are believed to be a bull, fox,
and crane, 9600 to 8800 BCE
Hand stencil, Cosquer Cave,
France, c. 27,000 years old
Gold lunula from
Blessington,
Ireland, Late Neolithic/
Early Bronze Age,
c. 2400–2000 BC. The
Gold lunula is a distinctive
type of late Neolithic,
Chalcolithic or (most often)
early Bronze Age necklace
or collar shaped like a
crescent moon.
Entrance stone with megalithic art
at Newgrange, Ireland
 Rock art, showing scenes from the religious rituals
have been found in many areas, such as this picture of
three men performing a ritual, in Bohuslän, Sweden
Gold shoe plaques from the Iron Age Hochdorf
Chieftain's Grave, Germany, c. 530 BC.
A 1st century BCE mirror
found in Desborough,
England, showing the
spiral and trumpet motif
San rock painting of the San, or Bushmen (an indigenous people
in Southern Africa whose ancient rock paintings and carvings
are found in caves and on rock shelters) of an eland (large
antelope) at Drakensberg, South Africa
Long-horned cattle and other rock art in the
Laas Geel complex in Somaliland
A petroglyphic Saharan rock carving from southern
Algeria depicting an antelope or gazelle.
 Rock carving of an elephant at Tadrart Acacus,
a mountain range in the desert of the Ghat District
.
in western Libya, part of the Sahara
Great Serpent Mound, a 411-meter long
(1,348 ft) effigy mound in
Adams County, Ohio, USA ca. 1070 CE
An Olmec stone head. The Olmecs were the earliest known
major civilization in Mesoamerica who lived in the tropical
lowlands of south-central Mexico.
 Stirrup handled
Cupinisque ceramic
vase of South America
1250 BCE from
the Larco Museum
An image of the Lanzón deity on the great wall
at Chavín de Huantar, Peru, a First Horizon site
A Paracas (Central Peru) Mantle dating from 200 CE
The Nazca (southern Peru) line figure known as The Dog
Gold Moche headdress from Peru representing a condor
Ponce monolith in the
sunken courtyard of the
Tiwanaku's Kalasasaya
temple on the border
between Peru and
Bolivia
The ruins of Pikillacta, a Wari site
in the southern highlands of Peru
Sicán (northern Peru) funerary mask, Metropolitan Museum
An 1860 map of Cusco
The Inca laid the city of
Cusco in the shape of a
puma, with the head of the
puma at Sacsayhuaman,
a shape that is still
discernible in aerial
photographs of the city
today.
 The twelve angle stone, in the Hatum Rumiyoc street of
Cusco in southeastern Peru, is an example of Inca masonry.
An Inca period tunic
Aboriginal rock painting at Namadgi National Park, Australia
Bradshaw rock paintings found in the north-
Angono Petroglyphs is considered as the oldest form of art in
the Philippines dated during the late Neolithic period .
 A closeup of the rock carvings of the Angono Petroglyphs.
There are 127 drawings in the form of animate and static figures of
circular or dome-likehead on top of a 'V' shaped torso distributed on a
horizontal plane onthe rock wall area measuring 25 meters by 3.
Only 51 of the total 127 drawings are distinct.
The “Yawning” Jarlet This jarlet, declared a National
of Leta-Leta Cave Cultural Treasure, is the earliest pot
recovered in the country. It has a
distinct rim that resembles a
shouting or yawning person, hence
the name. Discovered by Dr. Robert
Fox in Leta-Leta Cave, northern
Palawan in 1965, this jarlet is
associated to the Late Neolithic
period (approximately 1000 to
1500 BC).
 The Laguna Copper Plate Inscription (LCI)

Accidentally discovered in 1986 near the mouth of Lumbang River, the Laguna Copper Plate Inscription or LCI
is the earliest historical document in the country and also the only pre-Spanish document discovered so far.
Now a National Cultural Treasure, the LCI measures 7 x 12 inches when unrolled. It was later found out that
the LCI was written in Kavi (Old Javanese writing system) and the language used was a combination of Old
Tagalog, Old Javanese, Old Malay, and Sanskrit. The Philippines’ oldest document was neither a poem nor a
song but a legal document called suddhapattra which, in today’s context, is a receipt for payment of debt.
This blue-and-white
dish with flying
elephant design is one
of only two pieces ever
recovered in the world.
It was retrieved from
the Lena Shoal wreck
site in Palawan in 1997.
The Flying Elephant of Lena Shoal
The Manunggul Jar
The Manunggul jar was only one of several
stunning artifacts discovered in Chamber A,
Manunggul Cave in Lipuun Point, Palawan.
Measuring 66.5 x 51.5 cms, the Manungggul jar
is actually a secondary burial jar used to store
the bones of someone who was previously
buried. The lid features a “spirit boat” or “ship
of the dead” carrying two souls on a journey to
the afterlife. The body of the jar, is covered with
a unique curvilinear design made of hematite
or natural iron. The Manunggul jar – dated to
the Late Neolithic period (890-710 BC) – has a
very intricate design that, in the words of
“Queen of archaeologist Robert B. Fox, “is perhaps 
Philippine Artifacts” unrivaled in Southeast Asia, the work of an 
artist and a master potter.”
 The gold death mask of Oton, another
Oton Death Mask National Cultural Treasure, was
discovered in the 1960s by Alfredo
Evangelista and F. Landa Jocano. It
consists of a gold nose-disc and eye-
mask, both of which were found in a
grave site in San Antonio, Oton, Iloilo.
The gold mask – dated from the late
14th to the early 15th century A.D. – is
the first of its kind recovered in the
Philippines. It was part of an ancient
burial practice, with the gold mask
serving as an amulet against evil spirits.
Maitum Anthropomorphic Burial Jar