Introduction of prehistoric art

1. Introduction of Prehistoric Art
In the history of art, prehistoric art is the span of time before recorded history or the
invention of writing systems and it means "before history", or "before knowledge acquired
by investigation". Prehistoric art refers to the period of humans had not yet developed a
written language. Therefore, the very earliest human artefacts shown evidence of
workmanship with an artistic purpose are the subject of some debate. In spite of that, art
historian are able to develop an understanding of the possible functions and meanings of
prehistoric art with new technologies, research methods, and archaeological discoveries.
Therefore, we are able to view the history of human artistic achievement in a greater focus
than ever before.
Archaeologists have identified 4 basic types of Stone Age art which are petroglyphs;
pictographs, cave painting and drawing; and prehistoric sculpture, and megalithic art
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram
images created by removing part of a rock
surface by incising, picking, carving, and
abrading.
Pictographs also called a pictograms, pictograph, or simply
picto, and also an 'icon', is an ideogram that conveys its
meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical
object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic
systems in which the characters are to a considerable extent
pictorial in appearance.
Cave paintings are paintings found on cave walls and
ceilings, and especially refer to those of prehistoric
origin.
Prehistoric sculpture is dominated by
parietal rock art.
Megalithic art refers to the use of large stones as an
artistic medium.