Snapshots of unit 2 and 9 art pieces

1. Unit 2 & 9
Snapshot
Ivy Hung

2. Unit 2: Global Prehistory

3. 1. Apollo 11 Stones. Namibia. C.
25,500-25,300 BCE. Charcoal on
Stone
● Paleolithic art of an animal-looking figure
○ Commonplace in this period
● Head, torso, four legs, and tail are visible
○ Similar to the shape of many four-
legged mammals
○ Hind legs are thought to have been
added later
● Barely visible horns on top of its head
● Theorized to be a sort of therianthrope or
supernatural creature signifying its
connection to a possible shamanistic
belief
● Found in a cave on the Hun Mountains

4. 2. Great hall of the Bulls. Lascaux, France. Paleolithic Europe. 15,000-
13,000 BCE. Rock painting with natural materials.
● Twisted
perspective
● various animal,
human, and
abstract forms
○ Cows, bulls,
bison, and
horses are
featured
● Four black bulls
dominate the
mural with few
human figures,
including a man in
a bird mask with
outstretched arms

5. ● Most figures are either outlines or silhouettes
drawn with natural pigments with some etched
into the cave ceiling/wall
● Painted using torch light and thought the cave to
have been continuously used across generations
● Visual representation of the hunt (?)
● The cave can only be entered through narrow
passageways, suggesting that it wasn’t a place
that people lived in
● Caves can symbolize the birth canal, life from
within, and the Lascaux cave was a dark chamber
prime for rituals
● Some theories are that the paintings served as a
connection between the spiritual and real world,
or that painting the animals would allow people to
channel the power of the particular animal
● Perhaps thought painting an animal would
replace the ones killed during hunt
● Cave is nearly 250 meters long and
contains up to 2,000 different
figures
● Earliest paintings of human figures

6. 3. Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine. 14,000-7,000 BCE.
Paleolithic. Teqixquiac. Central Mexico. Bone.
● Camelid belongs to the the camelidae
family- camels, llamas, alpacas, etc.
● Sacrum is located at the base of the
spine
● cut/carved using some sort of sharp
tool
● Mesoamerican cultures thought the
sacrum to be related to sacredness,
resurrections, and fire
○ Also thought to have manifested
doorways between the spiritual
realms and our own world for
deities, spirits, shamans, etc.
● Sacrum could mean something in
relation to fertility, or connection to
ancestry and posterity

7. 4. Running Horned Woman. 6,000-
4,000 BCE. Neolithic, Tassili n’Ajjer, Alergia.
Pigment on rock.
● Pictograph; painted using mineral pigments via fingers or
feather
● Displays the clear outline of a human figure with outstretched
limbs, giving it a sense of movement as if she is running or
dancing
○ Details like dots lining the torso, upper arms, and calves
○ Fine fringes falling from the elbow, hands, knees, and
belt, with each of those areas carrying bands too (ankles
also have bands)
○ Two horns coming from both sides of the head;
composite view
● One of few human paintings during this period
● Painted over a mural of smaller human silhouettes
● Possibly funerary art, could also be some sort of priestess for a
religion or a goddess connected to agriculture due to the horns
and its connection to their main animals for survival
○ Early version of Isis or Ishtar ?

8. 5. Beaker with ibex motifs. 4,200-3,500 BCE.
Neolithic. Susan, Iran. Painted terra cotta
● 28.90 x 16.40 cm
● Twisted perspective, geometric shapes
● Upper register of the beaker is lined with long-neck water birds from the
region, followed by elongated bodies of dogs of the greyhound or saluki
type , which are hunting dogs commonly found in the region
● Centerpiece of the beaker would be the ibex, naitve to the mountains of
Susa, with the horns stretched over to the end of its body to form a circular
shape over its body that resembles two triangles connected together at the
points
● In the middle of the circle created by the horns is a sort of circular symbol,
perhaps a leaf or plant of some sort surrounding by lines, which could
symbolize the ownership of the beaker to a particular family or person
● The rest/other spaces of the beaker consist of large panels divided into
different patterns to serve as a decoration of sorts or to display the
settlement of land by showing the borders of villages and waterways
● The area of Susa has found many secondary burials carrying painted
ceramic vases and some metal objects, signifying that this beaker could be
used for the purpose of a funerary type event or tradition

9. 6. Anthropomorphic Stele. 4th millennium
BCE. Neolithic. Arabian Peninsula. Sandstone.
● Tall, measuring about 3 feet high
● Carvings are relatively simple/abstract despite the material being not
difficult to carve, indicating a stylistic choice/artistic skill
● Both sides sculpted, particularly on the face, chest, and waist
○ Trapezoidal head sides on squared shoulders with an
outline/indication of two eyes and a flat nose sitting on the face
○ A circular line draws across the chest/collar bone area with two
straps hanging across the torso diagonally with a small tool
attached (awl)
○ At the waist hangs a belt with a dual blade/dagger attached
(could be unique to the region)
● One of three humanoid figures found in a village near Ha’il in
northeast Saudi Arabia
● Probably associated with religious or burial practices, maybe a grave
marker in an open sanctuary
● Other stelae (60+ figures) with similar traits were found across the
region of around 2,300 km indicating that objects like these were
traded during the Neolithic period

10. 7. Jade Cong. 3,300-2,200 BCE.
Neolithic. Liangzhu, China. Carved jade.
● Neolithic communities in Liangzhu used distinct types
of jade ritual objects: the bi (disc) and cong (tube)
● Cong usually have a circular inner part and a square
outer part with ornate designs that could represent
particular deities
● Both were buried in large numbers; one tomb alone
had 25 bi and 33 cong
○ Signifies the use of these jade carving as a
burial practice (maybe to show wealth in the
after life)
● Carries a face pattern on the square-sectioned pieces
that appear to be a combination of a man-like figure
and a mysterious beast
● Jade is hard to carve, and the detail and lines in
these pieces mean that there was extensive time and
effort put into creating these, as they most likely used
a hard abrasive sand to carve it
○ Means that they held a high purpose since that
much effort was expended to create it

11. 8. Stonehenge. 2,500-1,600 BCE. Neolithic.
Wilshire, UK. Sandstone.
● One of the most recognizable
neolithic works in the Salisbury
plain of England
● Each standing stone is about 13ft
high, 7ft wide, and weighed about
25 tons
● Was created through a process of
phases, over the course of
hundreds of years
○ Phase 1: digging the ditch
6ft deep, 360ft in diameter
with an entrance both north
and south
○ Phase 2: upright wooden
posts in the center and at
the north and south sides
○ Phase 3: moving the stones
into place (post and lintel)
● It is questioned who built the stonehenge, as the only signs of neolithic
villages nearby were small farming towns, all of which had little indication of
differing social statuses, meaning that it might’ve been an project decided by
the entire community (egalitarian; unusual for ancient societies).
● Theorized to be a burial site, as many remains were found around the area
● The shadows of the site appear to have a correlation with the solar and lunar
calendars, with it lining up during the solstices, indicating that it may have
served as a ritual site at certain times of the year
● Maybe a for healing since many bodies near the sight show indication of
sickness or physical trauma
● People likely travelled long distances to visit the site, as they are remains of
animals not native to the area that could’ve been sourced as food for

12. 9. The Ambum Stone. 15,000 BCE. Neolithic.
Ambum Valley, Papua New Guinea. Greywacke.
● There are 12 other recorded artifacts from New Guinea that
resemble the Ambum Stone, all of which are mortars and pestles
● Considering the stone is 8 inches high with an elongated neck/torso
that allow the item to be handheld, as well as the fact that other
ancient pestles from New Guinea were commonly distinguished by
its human or bird-carved heads, there is a chance that the stone
could serve as a pestle
● What sets the Ambum stone apart from the other items is its age,
as it is the oldest pieces of art around the area of Oceania, but also
its detail- from its smooth surface to the lines outlining the snout
and body of the animal depicted
○ Greywacke stone would’ve taken a person weeks or months
to chip away to create this figure, indicating that it held
importance to its creator
● Its elongated nose and face resemble an echidna ( spiny anteater),
which was more commonly used as a food source in ancient times
● Objects like the Ambum stone were called “bones of the ancestors”,
which served as ritual items where ancestors could preside in, but
the exact use of the stone remains largely unknown

13. 10. Tlatilco female figurine. 12,000-900 BCE.
Neolithic. Central Mexico, site of Tlatilco. Ceramic.
● Tlatilco is derived from a Nahuatl word meaning “place of hidden
things”; we don’t actually know what the people here called
themselves
● Many of these figurines consisted of women with similar
characteristics: wide hips, spherical thighs, and pinched waists
● Most had no hands or feet, but paid extra detail to the hair and the
elaborate hairstyling
○ Hair could have been important to the culture seeing the
amount of detail expended on it on the figures
● There are quite a few double-faced figures found, but single-headed
ones were more common
○ Theorized that the two faces were used to depict an idea of
duality or perhaps dual consciousness
○ The focus on reproductive areas of the body (wide hips) could
indicate a meaning of fertility
○ One-faced figurines were often buried in fields, perhaps adding
on the idea of fertility and the belief that they would help crops
prosper
○ Cluster site of conjoined twins ???

14. 11. Terra Cotta fragment. 1,000
BCE. Neolithic. Lapita, Solomon Islands,
Reef Islands. Terra Cotta (incised).
● Many designs consisted of geometric shapes and
features anthropomorphic, if not human, faces
● Many tools were used to etch the designs, mostly
natural items found on the islands such as rocks,
shells, coral, finger nails, bones, etc.
○ Dentate stamping; stamped wood, turtle
shells, or bamboo into the clay before it was
dried
● Used fire to harden; displayed a developed
civilization
● Included created a smooth red outer surface, which
was made by creating a liquid clay slip to the unfired
surface, which was often made out of a mixture of
iron oxide and water
● These fragments were found on islands across the
region, indicating that the Lapita people had a
developed sea-travelling system/that they travelled
across the seas often
● Fragments would create pots or plates used for culinary
and storing purposes
● Pottery was a widespread practice in Lapita culture
○ Could have been a form of reverence;
religious/ritualistic use
● Different communities had specific characteristics in their
designs (ie families, social classes)
● Designs are reminiscent of modern polynesian tattoos
and bark cloths

15. Unit 9: The Pacific

16. 213. Nan Madol. Pohnpei,
Micronesia. Saudeleur Dynasty. c. 700-
1600 CE. basalt boulders and prismatic
columns.
● Located in a lagoon adjacent to the eastern
shoreline of Pohnpei
● Was a political and ceremonial center for ruling
chiefs of the Sau Deleur dynasty (1100-1628)
● Consisted of close to 100 artificial islets that
spread across 200 acres and housed up to 1000
people
● Estimated weight of 750,000 metric tons, the
entire site would’ve taken centuries of labor, as
the inhabitants had to move basalt columns from
the other side of Pohnpei to the lagoon, a 25 mile
distance
○ Used ropes and levers to stack everything
in an intersecting formation; relied solely on
weight and positioning to keep it all
together
● Was connected and border by small canals
● Nan Madol means “spaces in between” , in
reference to the canals surrounding the structure;
● Certain islets on Nan Madol were suggested to be allocated
for specific uses due to naming
○ Peinering “place of coconut oil preparation”, Sapenlan
“place of the sky”, etc.
● Different oral histories telling the story of how it was built;
some mention the twin sorcerers (Olosopha and Olosipha)
using their magic to create the site as a place to worship the
gods

17. ● Most nobility and priests resided in the
elite center while the other lived on some
of the other islets as a way to keep watch
on them within the city rather than have
them live in their home cities
● The use of Nan Madol would fade over
time as it lost prestige with the dethroning
of the Sau Deuler chiefs, but would still
remain as a site for occasional ceremonial
purposes in the 1800s
● Other items found at the site would include
stone and shell tools, necklaces, arm
rings, various ornaments, crystals, bead
necklaces, pottery, and large pounders
used to process the root of the kava plant
into a ceremonial drink
● Themes would include: sacred space,
images of power and authority, the natural
world, change over time, innovation, etc

18. 214. Maoi on a platform (ahu). Rapa
Nui (Easter Island). c. 1100-1600 CE. Volcanic
tuff figures on basalt base.
● Around 887 carved and erected moai
○ 14 made from basalt, others made from softer volcanic tuff
● Heights range from 8-70ft, thought most were around 13ft high
● Most moai shared similar features of heavy eyebrow ridges,
elongated ears, oval nostrils, strong jaws, straight noses, emphasized
clavicles, protruding nipples, thin arms that lie against the body, and
thin lips turned downwards (gives a stern impression)
● They also had eyes made of red stone and coral, which was thought
to bring them back to life and then they were removed again to put
them back to rest as they are theorized to represent the spirits of
ancestral figures and chiefs
● Most of them were also turned to face in land, suggesting that they
faced the communities on the island to provide a form of protection
● The moai began being torn down in 1600 CE, with the last ones torn
down in 1838 as a result of colonization
● Some statues had carvings at the back of them that were thought to
have been added later and are thought to be an earlier reference to
the island’s birdman cult in 1400CE
● Themes include: sacred spaces, spirituality, ancestors, religion

19. 215. ‘Ahu ‘ula (feather cape).
Hawaiian. Late 18th century CE. Feathers
and fiber.
● Was crafted using feathers and olona fiber and coconut
fiber as a base; feathers attached via the netting in
overlapping rows
● The red feathers came from the i’iwi bird while the yellow
came from the ‘o’o bird
● Red was associated with gods and chiefs across
Polynesia, while yellow was used more for its scarcity in
the region
● Size was about 162.6cm x 39.4cm
● Consisted of 500,000 feathers, all of which took extensive
time to gather and collect as some birds only gave 7
useable feathers
● Only high-ranking chiefs or warriors of great ability were
entitled to wear these cloaks and were normally worn for
ceremonies and battle
● The neckline is create to suit each wearer accordingly;
were also called “red garments”
● They were also given as gifts to sea captains and their
crew
● The crafters would chant the wearer’s ancestors to imbue
power onto the garment, as they were believe to protect
the wearer from harm through the power of the gods

20. 216. Staff god. Rarotonga, Cook Islands, central
Polynesia. Late 18th to early 19th CE. wood, tapa, fiber,
and feathers.
● Called akua rakau by the people of
Rarotonga, the staff god is created
with the thought of combining the god
with its human descendents
● 12ft long, the staff god has an
elongated body topped with a carved
head featuring stylized large eyes, a
pointed chin, and a closed mouth
● The head would be followed by a
number of smaller figures below it
(along the spine) that alternate
between male and female
○ Female figures were shown in
the front and were shown to be
in the act of childbirth, while
male figures were seen at the
side as important ancestors
○ There would also be a phallus
at the bottom but missionaries
cut most of them off of these
figures
● They were commonly wrapped in bark cloth,
as a way to protect the deity’s spiritual force
or mana
○ Red feathers and pearls on the side
also acted as a symbol of mana
○ Believed that if the wrapping came
off, the god would leave
○ Also provided the deity with clothing
as seeing it naked was thought to be
innapropriate
● Representative of Taragoa, who is seen as
the very first god after he was born from an
egg and found that no one else was there
○ He then became dedicated to
creating his own family of gods
○ Was seen as the god of fertility and
responsible for creation (hence the
imagery of birthing women and the
phallus)
● Themes include: fertility, colonization, the
natural world, creation, lineage, ritualistic,
gender roles, sacred, etc.

21. 217. Female Deity. Nukuoro, Micronesia. c. 18th to 19th
century CE. Wood.
● Most of these types of sculptures
has a small hand-held size
● Made from the breadfruit tree using
an adze with clamshell blades or
traditional European tools
● All the figures had similar features
of oval heads and discrete or
missing facial features; has an
abstract style
● Served religious purposes; each
statue represented a deity and had
their name labeled on each figures
● Used for special annual harvest
ritual, which included fruits like
coconuts, arrowroot, taro, banana,
sugarcane, etc. and would be
presented food and sacrifices
● Themes include: ritualistic,
colonization, authority, etc.
● Nukuoro deities were believed to inhibit
animals, pieces of wood, and wooden
figures called tino aitu, hence the lack of
detail and facial features with each figure
as they provided a “blank canvas” ready
for the god to reside in
● They would also adorn the figures with
feathers, paint, and loom-woven
decoration that would also add to the
deity’s individual identities
● Many of these statues were traded off
when the Europeans colonized the areas,
as many of the island residents had to
give up their religion for Protestantism
● This particular statue in the picture is
thought to be the goddess Kawe, who
some believe to be an evil goddess that
would control weather and take control of
the island when Igaigausema was upset

22. 218. Buk (mask). Torres Strait. Mid- to late 19th century CE.
turtle shell, wood, fibers, feathers, and shell.
● Had a time-consuming
creation process that
included:
○ heating the turtle
shells so that they
could bend into the
right shape
○ Piercing each plate so
that the crafter could
use fiber to thread
them together
● final product would form a
three dimensional
appearance accentuated with
the feathers, hair, and shells
● Used in many different types
of ceremonies: male
initiation, funerary rites,
warfare and hunting
rituals,possibly honor
● Thought to enhance the
effects of rites performed
to produce plentiful
harvests, as well as to
display the connection
between animals and
humans in rituals
● Ceremonies including
senior male dancers
wearing grass costumes
paired with the masks
surrounding a campfire
dancing to the beat of
drums
● Believed to help the
wearer have access to
supernatural spirits
(invoking both mana and
tapu)
● Themes include: ritualistic, images of identity,
the natural world, colonization, sacred
● When europeans arrived in the area they
ordered many of these masks to be burned
so only few survive today

23. 219. Hiapo (tapa). Niue. c. 1850-1900 CE.
tapa or bark cloth, freehand painting.
● Made by a process of pounding the soaked bark
(oftentimes mulberry or fig) with a wooden tool (felting)
that is performed entirely by women
● The bark is stuck together by paste from plants, such as
arrowroot, and the collection of details (fine lines,
geometric designs such as spirals, concentric circles,
squares, triangles, diminishing motifs, etc) is made using
a carved beating tool, smoking, or by rubbing over a
stencil with natural pigments from plants
● The edges of the cloth carry representations of native
plants
● Were used for clothing, bedding, wall hangings, a type of
currency (could be traded away for other foods/goods),
ceremonies, and to designate status
○ Worn during rituals, exchanged in marriage or
other events, used to wrap babies and sacred
objects
○ Used to wrap up sacred objects like the staff god
and also royal corpses
○ No tapa to give away = poor
● Still used for burial/funerary events
● Even more valuable if donated by a chief or person of
nobility
● Themes include: social status, trade, funerary traditions,
etc.

24. 220. Tamati Waka Nene. Gottfried
Lindauer. 1890 CE. oil on canvas.
● The subject of the painting, Tamati Waka Nene, was the Māori
(indigenous people of New Zealand) Rangatira (chief) Ngāti Hao
people in Hokianga and was born during the years of 1780-1871,
around the time Europeans began arriving in the area
○ Was a war and peace-time leader; active participator in the
Musket War (1818-1820) and worked with the British to
promote peace and colonization
○ Took on the Wesleyan faith and got baptised, then chose to
adopt the name Tamati Waka after Thomas Walker
● After receiving multiple patrons commissioning for paintings of Māori
figures from both European and Māori buyers, Gottfried Lindauer
approached the two types differently
○ For europeans, he usually painted well-known Māori people
in traditional and cultural attire to give it an “exotic” feel
○ For Māori people, he painted them in regular European
attire, as that is what most of them usually wore during that
period
● This painting was most likely intended for a European audience,
seeing how the subject was a well-known chief, along with his attire
of a feather clock, which was made of kiwi bird feathers (thought to
imbue mana for the wearer) and his hand weapon known as a
tewhatewha, which has feathers adorning its blade
○ Also the attention to detail with the face tattoo
● Themes include: images of authority, identity, history/memory,

25. 221. Navigation Chart.
Marshall Islands, Micronesia. 19th
to early 20th century CE. wood
and fiber.
● Composed of wooden stickers bound by
palm leavers with shells representing each
individual island
○ horizontal and vertical sticks acted
as supports and the diagonal and
curved ones represented wave
swells
● Used for navigation between the Marshall
Islands in Micronesia
● Most maps usually displayed smaller
regions of the islands, rather than the one in
the photo, which is an example of a rebbelib
(showing a large portion or all of the
Marshall Islands.
● Ri-metos (meaning ‘person of the sea’)
religiously guarded their charts and treated
them as prized social items
● These charts were usually passed down through generations
● However, sailors didn’t typically bring these charts out with them
since they already memorized the routes and patterns
● Each of these charts are stylized in a way where only the person it
belongs to, or the family it belongs to, could read it
● Themes include: domestic life, history/memory, etc.

26. 222. Malagan display and mask Tatanua.
New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea. c. 2oth
century CE. wood, pigment, fiber, shell, lime, and
feathers
● Malagan is a cycle of rituals of the people in the northeastern coast
of New Ireland
● Primarily used for funerary purposes and send-offs, but has also
acted as an affirmation of identity for specific clan groups and also
serves as a tool to negotiate the transmission of rights to land
○ Would be used to bid farewell to the dead and then celebrate
the living
● They were made to be used on a single occasion and then
destroyed, usually by fire, as it was thought that the souls of the
deceased would be transferred to these sculptures/masks
○ Each one represents a specific individual and their
relationships with ancestors, family members, and clan totems
○ Once the soul left the sculpture, it would be burnt
○ Could also be representative of the various bush spirits
associated with the area
● Themes include: funerary traditions, family, ritualistic, sacred, etc

27. ● Symbolic of many subjects such as:
identity, kinship, gender, death, and
the spirit world
○ Often included symbols of
fish and birds and other
animals to allude to myths
● These rituals were costly, especially
when including the costs from the
feast, so it wasn’t uncommon for
them to take place a month after the
person/people had already
deceased
● The production of these masks had
a concept similar to that of
copyright, where when a the style of
a particular piece, the form of which
its made, and even its
accompanying rites would be
relinquished to the buyer
○ Would stimulate more
production of different
varieties for the masks and
sculptures

28. 223. Processional of Fijian mats and tapa cloths to Queen Elizabeth
II. Fiji, Polynesia. 1953 CE. Multimedia performance (costume; cosmetics, including
scent; chant; movement; and pandanus fiber/hibiscus ciber mats), photographic
documentation.
● December 17, 1953, Queen Elizabeth II and
her husband, Prince Philip, arrived on the
island of Fiji, then an English colony, and
stayed for three days before continuing to their
tour of commonwealth nations in the Pacific
Islands
● As a part of a welcoming ceremony, the
people presented bark cloths to her, also
known as masi, which is made by soaking
mulberry bark and beating it into strips that are
glued together with paste from plants
○ Usually presented as gifts in funerals,
weddings, or to commemorate special
events (sometimes worn too)
● Also presented mats, which are made in a
similar process as masi
○ Thought that the more simple the

29. ● While in Fiji the Queen visited hospitals , schools, and met
with various Fijian politicians
● She also participated in the java ceremony, an important
aspect still apart of Fijian culture
○ In the ceremony, people would drink the kava drink
(made from pounding kava root) from the same cup
in order of importance
○ Queen drank first
○ By the end of the ceremony, when everyone takes a
sip, it was thought that it would put everyone on the
same level before the beginning of the event,
meeting, or ceremony
● After the three days, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
departed for the Kingdom of Tonga where they stayed for
two days before leaving for extending stays in Australia and
New Zealand
● On Tonga, they were greeted warmly by Queen Sälote and
other members of the royal family, and were presented with
a barkcloth commissioned in Queen Elizabeth’s honor that
had her initials, ERII, painted onto rare pieces of ngatu
● Referred to as ngatu launima in Tongan, it is just shy of 75
feet in length s
● Also significant because it was placed under the
coffin of Queen Sälote when her body was flown
back to Tonga in 1960 after an extended stay in a
New Zealand hospital
● Themes include: authority, history/memory,
colonizations, converging cultures, etc.