10/12/2018 What are the characteristics of prehistoric art? What was the purpose of prehistoric art?

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Prehistoric Humans Prehistory Contemporary Art The Arts Fine Art What was the purpose of Prehistoric art?

What are the characteristics of prehistoric art? What Why is prehistoric art important to history?

was the purpose of prehistoric art? When did the symbol of the circle first appear in
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5 Answers animals (including dinosaurs)?

What is prehistoric art?

Kate Less-Madsen, lives in O Brien, FL (2016-present)
Answered Jul 23 What is the purpose of making art?

The characteristics of prehistoric art would vary acccouding to culture, beliefs, What are the characteristics of modern art?
and the individual artist. The characteristics would be in the materials used, it
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being charcoal, ash, pigment, or carvings in stone or wood. How the ancient
artists applied the materials to create the art. And of course, the age of the art is
what makes it prehistoric.

The purpose of the art? Expression. Expression of beliefs, of story, of religion (if
they had any). Maybe celebration, or discovery. Or communication. They may
have made such drawings in the open, but they were washed away, so they took
it to the caves so to preserve the art. We wil never know what the reason, unless
you can time travel and go ask the artist.

Put it this way, imagine a far distant human discovering a later Picasso
painting…what would they think of it? Or a Dali?
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What was the purpose of Prehistoric art?

Why is prehistoric art important to history?

When did the symbol of the circle first appear in prehistoric cave art?

What is the function of prehistoric art?

What are some examples of prehistoric art?

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Heidi Rabbit, Artist, Philosopher bipedal monkey (1970-present)

Answered Feb 6

The prevailing theory on paleolithic art, like most art created up the modern era
was based mostly on religion and ritual. The most common representations are
animals rendered in a naturalist style. Both prey and predators are represented.
The prey animals such as antelope and deer were probably ritually depicted to
honor the food they represented and asking the gods for successful hunts. The
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predators are a bit more abstract. Representing the qualities that the hunters
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wanted. Such as speed, strength etc. The Venus figures, female images and
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10/12/2018 What are the characteristics of prehistoric art? What was the purpose of prehistoric art? - Quora

fettish figures with exaggerated female attributes such as wide hips and large
breasts, represent the hope for fertility and enough abundance to support a
healthy mother and child. There are also less often depictions of human figures.
Shamanic trance, dancing and other rituals are depicted. Interestingly the Related Questions

people are generally very abstractly depicted as opposed to the realistic animals.
What was the purpose of Prehistoric art?
There are also geometric patterns which baffled anthropologists for years. A
Why is prehistoric art important to history?
recent theory proposes that they represent the patterns that the mind generates
when long periods of time spent in total darkness. When did the symbol of the circle first appear in
prehistoric cave art?
Lastly there are decorative designs added to utilitarian items and jewelry. These What is the function of prehistoric art?
may have had some ritual purpose but also display the human need for aesthetic
What are some examples of prehistoric art?
beauty and or signs of social status.
What characteristics define prehistoric art?
Just as it is today, paleolithic people had a sense of beauty and wanted their
What are the coolest and most unusual prehistoric
everyday objects to be visually pleasing. The urge to create or alter things to fit animals (including dinosaurs)?
one's aesthetic hasn't changed over the millennia.
What is prehistoric art?
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What is the purpose of making art?

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Karen Fulk, B.A. Fine Art & Biology, University of California, Davis
Answered Sep 24

One thing I read recently was it appeared the drawings in caves might have been
for storytelling. They seem to be animated. Another fascinating theory in the
Hall of the Bulls, is the dots all over the wall coincide with the constellations
from Scorpio to Taurus, so possibly this one was a calendar of sorts.. One of the
characteristics is they are spectacular and no less “prehistoric” in the sense of
“less evolved” than we are today. In fact we get a lot of inspiration from them
because they are spontaneous and not contrived. Like a child is spontaneous. Or
a handicapped person. Raw. Down in there. I don’t believe we evolved from
lower primates anyway, so from my world view, man was created perfect and
we’ve only “devolved” since the Fall.
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Meg Hansen, Survivor at At Overthinkers Inc

Answered Jul 9

I don't have my Master's in Art History. From what I recall prehistoric is pre
history, or before language. Prehistoric art was generally used for
communication. Cave paintings tell stories in picture. Sculpture that remain are
mostly stone or clay. No man made materials. Abstract figures used for
ritualistic purposes. Fertility Goddesses etc. That's all I have off the top of my
tired brain.
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Cindy Kaplan, Artist. Observer. Making some decent pots on the wheel.
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have aJul 28 · Author
question? Askhasyour
1.1kown!
answers and 515.6k answer views

I went went to the Lascaux Cave of southern France. It is magnificent. I call it the
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Cave version of Michaelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling. You can almost hear the

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10/12/2018 What are the characteristics of prehistoric art? What was the purpose of prehistoric art? - Quora

thunder of the buffaloes stampeding.

No one can answer your question. I listened carefully to the guide. Everything
attributed to the images are guessed at. The guesses could be right but we'll
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never know.
What was the purpose of Prehistoric art?
One thing that is true us that in that place, it was no accident the the art got
Why is prehistoric art important to history?
made. It was a mission.
When did the symbol of the circle first appear in
There had to be lighting, (fire), staging to reach the heights, Materials to make prehistoric cave art?

the images. They did it in groups of people. Cave paintings. Not cavemen What is the function of prehistoric art?
paintings. That would be early man. And yes, prehistoric.
What are some examples of prehistoric art?

This is pretty mind boggling? There are different kinds of symbols, everyday What characteristics define prehistoric art?
animals and big hunt amimals. Magnificent and powerful.
What are the coolest and most unusual prehistoric
animals (including dinosaurs)?
The cave itself is a replica of the original which is near by. It us computer copied
What is prehistoric art?
and rendered as to be 100% visually identical to the real cave. The breath of
humans alone was found to deteriorate the cave wall surface. I was not What is the purpose of making art?

disappointed by that fact. What are the characteristics of modern art?

The theories of what things stood for rang between, religious, to revery for and  Ask New Question
honoring animals, to hoping for sustanence in the hunt. Look these images up.
They are worth imagining. The quality of draughtsmenship is second to none in
historical art.

There is a theory that they mixed saliva and water in their mouths with ground
charcoal (from the fire)and pressure spit it out at their hands. Fingers splayed to
the walls of the cave to make the hand prints which were there.

CK
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