ARTin early

CIVILIZATION
Learning Objective

• Discuss how ART was used by prehistoric

people to depict everyday life
• Phases of Prehistoric Art
• Identify the central themes of Prehistoric
Art
• Techniques used by the 3 Kingdoms of
early Egypt
• Linkage of Art with Religion in early
Egyptian Civilization
PREHISTORIC ART IN EVERYDAY LIFE

During the prehistoric times people use ART not for

appreciation. They apply art in their day to day living

Prehistoric people use art for:

• Shelter
• Necessities
• Geography
• Sense of Continuity / History /Religion
 Shelter
Prehistoric People use
Art to make shelter. It is
amazing that they make
use of creativity to cater
for their needs on
where they will reside
in order for them to
survive
Necessities
Geography
Sense of Continuity / History /Religion
In temples dating from ancient times, structures and
images may be superimposed over one another.
The same happened over periods of thousands of
years with inscriptions and paintings on rocks in the
open air or deep in caves. This may signify a
spiritual need to establish a sense of continuity. In
many sites, there are examples of multiple
superimpositions, dating from prehistory to modern
times. They range from Valcamonica in Italy to sites
in Australia, where ancient compositions are
worshipped to this day and sometimes "freshened
up" for new ceremonies.
PHASES OF PREHISTORIC ART
SAMPLES OF PALEOLITHIC ART
SAMPLES OF MESOLITHIC ART
SAMPLES OF NEOLITHIC ART
CENTRAL THEMES OF PREHISTORIC ART
The three main art forms were cave painting, rock engraving and miniature figurative carvings. During this
period, prehistoric society began to accept ritual and ceremony - of a quasi-religious or shaman-type nature.
Cave paintings are a type
of parietal art (which category
also includes petroglyphs, or
engravings), found on the wall or
ceilings of caves. The term usually
implies prehistoric origin, but
cave paintings can also be of
recent production: In
the Gabarnmung cave of
northern Australia, the oldest
paintings certainly predate
28,000 years ago, while the most
recent ones were made less than
a century ago
Rock Engraving is a rather vague term which denotes
Figurative Carving
prehistoric man-made markings on natural stone. Similar terms
include: "rock carvings", "rock engravings", "rock inscriptions", The earliest undisputed examples of
sculpture belong to the Aurignacian
"rock drawings" and "rock paintings". This type of Stone Age
art is traditionally divided into two main categories: culture, which was located in Europe
(1) Petroglyphs: meaning, rock engravings or carvings; this and southwest Asia and active at the
category also includes works of prehistoric sculpture that are beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. As
part of the rocks themselves (known as parietal art), such as
well as producing some of the earliest
relief sculpture. (2) Pictographs: meaning, paintings or
drawings. While these petroglyphs and pictographs have been known cave art, the people of this
culture developed finely-crafted stone
found on the walls of caves, or on exposed outdoor sections of
rock, in practice, the earliest art of Europe was created in tools, manufacturing pendants,
subterranean caves, while in (say) Northern Africa it is found bracelets, ivory beads, and bone-flutes,
mostly on the surface of the ground. A third, smaller category as well as three-dimensional figurines
of rock art is associated with Megaliths or Petroforms,
involving the arrangement of stones to create a type of
monument (eg. Stonehenge stone circle).
3 Kingdoms of Early Egypt

• OLD KINGDOM

• MIDDLE KINGDOM

• NEW KINGDOM
Art and Religion in Ancient
Egypt
Ancient Egypt and its mysterious pyramids,
mummies, and religious beliefs have long
fascinated people. Ancient Egypt is also a society
known for its tomb paintings, highly ornate
sarcophagi, and jewelry made from gold and
precious gems. Students will learn about the
different gods the Egyptians worshiped, how
changing political systems impacted religion, and
how art was integrally tied into Egyptians' idea of
the afterlife.