Prehistoric Art

INTRODUCTION TO THE PALEOLITHIC PERIOD

This study of art begins in the prehistoric period. Generally divided into three sub-periods (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) this course will focus only on the art and architecture of the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.

This section examines the people and art of the Paleolithic period (the period between about 2.7 million and 10,000 years ago). Although some artworks date early in the Paleolithic period, art only appears consistently around 40,000 years ago in what is considered the Upper Paleolithic (ca. 40,000-10,000 BCE) period.

 

Depiction of extinct deer species Megaloceros from Lascaux Cave, France. Painted c. 15,000 B.C.E. Megaloceros became extinct around 8,000 years ago.

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Survey of Western Art History I Copyright © 2022 by Amy Morris is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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