Term
| when did homo sapiens sapiens appear on earth? where? |
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Definition
| 120,000 BCE in Australia, Africa, & Europe |
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Term
| what were the earliest pieces of art? |
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Definition
| engraved blocks of red ochre |
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Term
| why did homo sapiens sapiens endure while neanderthals died out? |
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Definition
| homo sapiens sapiens had greater cognitive abilities including the ability to think symbolically (which began the evolution of art) |
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Term
| difference between shelter & architecture |
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Definition
shelter is the basic necessities needed for survival;
architecture has an "aesthetic intent" |
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Term
| why can the Ukrainian Mammoth-bone houses be considered architecture? |
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Definition
| they have decorative details including floors colored with powdered ochre, & the artistic placement of the bones in inner & outer design |
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Term
| possible purposes of the woman of willendorf (including theorists) |
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Definition
most accepted: representation of health & fertility, demonstrated in emphasis on large breasts, stomach, and genitals
Clive Gamble: figures symbolized common ground between separate groups, showing that each group was friendly and suitable for mating
Leroy McDermott: made by female, looking down on own body; because of shortened arms & legs, and lack of facial features |
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Term
| why is the woman of willendorf the subject of 'the power of naming'? |
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Definition
| original title, venus of willendorf, suggested a specific meaning that may or may not be accurate (symbol of fertility) |
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Term
| where were 1st cave paintings discovered? |
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Definition
Altamira, Spain
not initially accepted as authentic until others were found throughout europe |
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Term
| possible purposes of cave paintings (including theorists) |
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Definition
Abbé Henri Breuil: places of worship; sites of ceremonies & initiations; sympathetic magic- painting thought to be able to reflect future
Steve Mithen: teaching tools for hunting
David Lewis Williams: shamanism; used in ceremonies involving hallucinations |
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Term
| oldest known cave paintings |
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Definition
Chauvet cave 32,000 BCE
southeastern france |
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Term
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Definition
most well-known (because it was open to tourists)
southern france 15,000 BCE |
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Term
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Definition
used in paintings in Lascaux cave
horns, eyes, hooves drawn facing forward while heads & bodies are drawn in profile |
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Term
| what is the major area of recent debate in the study of ancient americans? |
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Definition
the question of original settlement in the americas
20,000-30,000 BCE from Asia
or earlier from Europe |
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Term
| what native plants are at the core of ancient american diets? |
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Definition
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Term
| main features of the Mississippian period |
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Definition
complex chiefdoms
mound building
Great Serpent Mound |
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Term
| largest city in north america around 1000 CE |
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Definition
Cahokia
population ~15,000
100+ mounds |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| evidence of ancient astronomy in americas |
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Definition
| woodhenges: circle of wooden posts used to determine solstices & equinoxes |
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Term
| key elements of mesoamerican art that carried from olmec to others |
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Definition
monumental stone sculptures commemorating individuals
carved jade
ceramics
architectural features such as pyramids, plazas, ballcourts
heiroglyphic writings |
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Term
| what trade did the olmec participate in? what does it say about them? |
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Definition
traded obsidian, iron ore, and jade
the import of jade showed that they valued their art (jade was only found in one specific area) |
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Definition
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