1. Ancient Art History Survey (CSUDH Art 110)—Study Sheet, Week 1
Note: This is NOT homework; there is no need to define these terms or answer these
questions and turn them in. This is a study guide for the first lecture, and you can
download a study guide each week afterward. The sheets are available on Blackboard; I
cannot photocopy them for you due to budget restraints. These sheets are intended to
help you take notes and study for exams. The multiple choice questions on the exams
will be taken from the “Names and terms” on this sheet; the essay questions on exams
will be taken from the “Possible essay questions” here; you will not see any image on a
test which is not listed here.
Also note: Next week there is a holiday, we do not meet
Names and terms: Homo Sapiens, Neanderthal (meanders), (Upper) Paleolithic, sculpture
in the round, relief sculpture, engraving, additive and subtractive sculpture, in situ,
mobilary, cave painting, Saharan rock art (Africa), “X-ray style” painting (Australia,
aborigines), spit painting, Sautolo, Altamira (Spain), Dordogne, Abbe Breuil, “art for
art’s sake,” sympathetic magic, shamanism, Lascaux (France), “Hunting Magic,” sexual
symbolism, fertility magic, “Lunar Calendar Theory” (Marshak), entopics, Mesolithic,
bogs, "bog people," fibulae, Neolithic
Some possible essay questions:
--How is the development of image making an important stage in human development?
Discuss some of the media and techniques of prehistoric image makers. What are some
characteristics of prehistoric cave painting?
--Who was the Abbe Breuil? Explain his “Hunting Magic” theory of prehistoric art.
What are some of the criticisms of it, and what are some alternate theories?
Some images from the book:
Venus of Willendorf, c.25,000 BC, p. 3
Lascaux cave paintings, c.15.000 BC, pp. 7, 9