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Visual History of the World
(CONTENTS)
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Prehistory
until ca. 4000 B.C.
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When compared to the history of humankind, let alone that of the
Earth, the inquiry into the development, roots and relations of
humans is very young indeed. Up until the 18th century, the biblical
story of human creation—"So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God he created him; male and female he created them."—was
accepted as an incontestable truth in many parts of the world. Then,
however, natural scientists— Charles Darwin the most celebrated
among them—appeared. They doubted the special status attributed to
humans by the Bible and viewed their development within the context
of a theory of evolution. The theory has since been supported and
modified by the discovery of skeletal remains, primitive tools, and
the remnants of ancient settlements. Their classification, dating,
and evaluation using modern technologies has made possible an
increasingly accurate perception of human origins.
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Reconstruction of a hunting scene from the Old Stone
Age, ca. 25,000-30,000 B.C.
For the Cro-Magnon man, the mammoth was a desirable prey as use
could be made of the meat, hide, and teeth.
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see also:
FROM PREHISTORIC TO ROMANESQUE ART
Artists
that Changed the World
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The Stone Age: The Beginning of Mankind
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From the Beginnings to ca. 4000 B.C.
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1.
Evolution from human ape to Homo sapiens |
Paleolithic scraper
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Even today, no definitive answers to the
questions about the origins of mankind have been found. In 1871,
Charles Darwin challenged the answers given by the biblical
story of creation with his theory of evolution. The evolution
theory suggested that man had
1
descended from anthropoids. Africa, site of the earliest
hominoid discoveries, is considered to be "the cradle of
mankind." The evolution of today's Homo sapiens can be traced by
the trail of skeletal remains, tools, and the remnants of
settlements—such as cave paintings—that have been left
throughout the ages.
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It All Began in Africa
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With the development of the theory of evolution and the
corroborating identification and classification of
hominoid finds since the mid-19th century, the hypothesis of an African
origin for humans is generally accepted today.
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The 2 story of man's origins and
evolution was the subject of fierce controversy throughout the 19th
century.
2 Evolution from Australopithecus anamensis (blue)
to Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, Homo erectus and
archaic Homo sapiens to Homo neanderthalensis and
Homo sapiens sapiens.
see also appendix:
Charles Estienne
"De
dissectione partium corporis humani libri tres"
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The Divisions of the Prehistoric Periods
Prehistory is divided into
the Old Stone Age or
Paleolithic period,
the New Stone Age or Neolithic
period,
the Bronze Age,
and the Iron Age:
Early or Lower Paleolithic: ca. 2.5 miIlion-250,000
B.C.
Middle Paleolithic: ca. 250,000-30,000 ex.
Late
or Upper Paleolithic: ca. 30,000-10,000 B.C.
Neolithic Period: ca. 10,000/8000-4000/1800 B.C.
Bronze Age: ca. 4000-700 B.C. (Middle East), ca.
1800-800 B.C. (Europe)
Iron Age: from ca. 1100/800
B.C.
Mankind's prehistory occurred over the
Quaternary period of geologic time:
Early Pleistocene: ca. 1.8 million-800,000 B.C.
Middle Pleistocene: ca. 800,000-127,000 B.C.
Late Pleistocene: ca. 127,000-10,000 B.C.
Holocene (post-Ice Age): ca. 10,000 B.C. to the
present
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There were two schools of thought. According to the creationist
doctrine of the monotheistic religions, man had been created by God,
after which he did not evolve. In opposition to this stood Charles
Darwin's theory of evolution, which stated that life was
3, 4,
5, 6
continually evolving and emphasized the connection between human origins
and the animal kingdom, specifically primates. Darwin's theory proposed
a progressive refining of the intellectual, social, and creative
abilities of early man. He illustrated this theory with reference to the
increasing use of tools and man's lifestyle shift from hunter-gatherer
to farmer and animal breeder.
Simultaneously the 19th century saw the beginning of a systematic
notation and classification of hominoid fossils and stone tools. Of
particular concern was the determination of the age of the fossils;
however, accurately dating the finds only became reliable with the
discovery of the radiocarbon dating method in 1947 by Professor Willard
F. Libby of the University of Chicago.
As the oldest hominoids were found in East Africa, a theory proposing
Africa as the "cradle of mankind" emerged. This hypothesis was
substantiated by the discovery of the "Taung Baby." a
2.2-million-year-old Australopithecus africanus in 1924.
3 Australopithecus anamensis (ca. 4.2 million
B.C.), 4 Australopithecus afarensis (ca. 4-3 million B.C.), 5
Australopithecus,
6 Homo erectus (ca. 1.9 million— 200,000 B.C.), reconstructions.
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Early Hominoids
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According to the most recent discoveries, man's beginnings can be
traced back more than six million years.
Through a succession of progressive stages, the earliest hominoids
developed increasingly greater skills.
Slowly man began to leave his African "cradle."
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Following Darwin's theory, paleontologists looked for a "missing
link" between man and his nearest relative in the animal world, the
chimpanzee. Since then, many hominoid species have been discovered, not
all of which are direct ancestors of the modern Homo sapiens.
For a long time, the Ardipithecus ramidus, which lived 5.5—4 million
years ago in present-day Ethiopia, was considered the earliest hominoid.
In 2000, however, Orrorin tugenensis ("millennium man") was found. It
lived about six million years ago in Kenya.
The next stage after the Ardipithecus was the 7,
8 Australopithecus, which lived
3.7-1.3 million years ago and was already using primitive pebble tools.
The Australopithecus afarensis became famous through "Lucy,"
whose skeletal remains were found in 1974.
7 Skulls of Australopithecus africanus and
Australopithecus boisei
8 Skull of an Australopithecus with added lower jaw
The next stage of development was the Homo genus. Homo habilis,
which lived 1.5-2.3 million vears ago, had a larger brain and ate a
broader diet than did previous hominoids. The new diet included meat and
animal fats— until then the hominoid diet had been purely vegetarian.
Homo habilis was the first hominoid to leave the forest and
11 hunt in the savannas. He is
credited with the earliest hewn stone tools, which were probably used to
break open bones to get at the marrow.
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Homo ergaster (Homo erectus), which lived
approximately 1.8-1 million B.C., settled throughout the
African continent and was the first hominoid that resembled
modern man in size and proportions. He walked erect only,
stored food supplies, and made stone artifacts. About 1.6
million years ago, he made the first completely reworked
9,
10 hand axe that also functioned as a pick.
Homo ergastcr was also the first hominid to travel beyond
Africa, gradually populating the nearer parts of Asia and
Europe.
9,10. Flint hand axes, worked tools, Paleolithic
period
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"Lucy"
No hominoid discovery has elicited such a sensation as the
almost complete, 43-inch-high skeleton of a female
Australopithecus afarensis found in the Afar region of
northeastern Ethiopia in 1974. She was named "Lucy" after a
Beatles song that had been playing in the research camp. The
press promptly named her the "missing link." She belongs to
man's plniogenetic line and possesses all the anatomical
prerequisites for walking erect. Her bones and teeth provided
valuable information about her lifestyle.
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11 Australopitheanes hunting on the plains, Paleolithic
period
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Territorial Expansion
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Spreading out of Africa, early man initially settled in Asia and
Europe, and then in Australia and the Americas.
Due to the climate, it was primarily the robust Ice Age
hunters—represented by the Neanderthal and the
Cro-Magnon man—who were able to establish themselves in Europe.
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It was long believed that early man did not leave his
African homeland until ca. 1.4 million years ago. However,
in the 1990s, a 1.7-1.8 million-year-old hominoid skull was
found in Georgia in western Asia.
The oldest Homo erectus fossils have been found in
Asia; "Java man," named after the island where the first
example was discovered, is today dated to 1.7 million years
B.C., while 2 "Peking
man," found in China, is dated to 600,000-200,000 B.C. By
that time, Homo erectus was probably already using
fire and possibly a form of human speech. Homo erectus
was also the first hominid to live in Europe, which was at
that time characterized by extreme ice ages. The European
form of Homo erectus is named 3
Homo heidelbergensis after a find near Heidelberg in
1907. They are thought to have lived 400,000-800,000 years
ago.
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2 Skull of "Peking man,"
Middle Pleistocene period |
3 Homo heidelbergensis
hunting
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The Late Pleistocene era (127,000-10,000 B.C.) was the age of the
Neanderthal. This new hominid, considered to be cither a side branch of
Homo sapiens or a separate subspecies, came about through a
series of evolutionary stages and died out about 30,000 years ago. Since
the first finding of a Neanderthal skullcap in 1856, this has become the
best known example of primitive man. 1,
4 Neanderthals were stocky Ice Age
hunters with the greatest skull volume of all hominoids known to date.
Their wide nose and large nasal cavity were well suited to the cold
climate.
Around 40,000 years ago, modern Homo sapiens, in the form of the
Cro-Magnon man, finally migrated out of Africa to Europe. This direct
ancestor of today's man inhabited modern-day Israel as early as 100,000
â.ñ. ("Proto-Cro-Magnon"). They were taller, more slender and had more
stamina than the Neanderthals, but the two coexisted in parallel in
Europe for about 10,000 years. Many theories concerning their
coexistence and the causes of the Neanderthal's displacement have been
suggested. It is generally assumed that there was interaction and a
mutual influence between the two hominid genera, but interbreeding of
the two is considered highly unlikely.
At least 60,000 years ago, although possibly much earlier, early man
settled the Australian subcontinent by way of New Guinea. The first
hominids did not reach the Americas, however, until just 11,500 years
ago. Ice Age hunters came to the continent via Siberia and Alaska. The
oldest finds discovered in America arc worked stone arrowheads and spear
points. These, known as "Clovis points." are thought to stem from the
Clovis culture.
1 Homo neanderthalensis
(ca. 150,000-30,000 B.C.),
sculpted reconstruction of a Neanderthal |
4 Neanderthals hunting cave-bears |
Skull found at Kalpe
Neanderthal fossils
Following the classification in 1863 of a partial
skull found in a cave in the Xeander Valley near Dusseldorf in
1856, one of man's early relatives became known as the
Seanderthal. Researchers later determined that previouslv
unclassifiable bones discovered in Engis, Belgium, in 1829-1830
and again at Kalpe (Gibraltar) in 1848 belonged to this hominid.
The Kalpe skull is much better preserved than the skullcap that
was finally identified, and the Neanderthal should perhaps have
been named the "Kalpe." |
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Campsites and the Use of Tools
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The extent of man's development can be gauged by the tools and
hunting weapons he used.
Another important indicator of this progress is the evidence of dwelling
places that housed ever
larger groups in increasingly permanent shelter.
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Alongside skeletal remains, stone artifacts are the best preserved
witnesses of the early period of man's existence. The hominids of the
Lower Paleolithic made use of materials readily available to them. The
first 6 stone tools were fashioned
by striking one stone with another or with a stick to chip flakes off
it, shaping the stone into a tool such as a 5
hand axe. Alternatively, flakes were used to scrape or
8 chisel the stone into shape. In
the Middle Paleolithic, the demands of the hunt necessitated
improvements in hand weapons and precisely worked blade points. This
resulted in the "thin blade technology"—long, narrow blades of stone or
horn used as spear points or harpoons.
Early man used caves for shelter, though possibly not before the
discovery of fire in the Lower Paleolithic period, as the caves were
often inhabited by cave bears and wild cats. Initially the caves were
probably used only in the cold seasons, but some
7, 9 larger caves
might have been lived i n year-round as early as the end of the Lower
Paleolithic period. During the Paleolithic, early people first made
their homes in the open—often near rivers or lakes—where they probably
built mud huts with leaf roofs. Later dwellings were dug out of the
ground. Tent-like constructions made with skins stretched over wooden
posts or mammoth tusks began to appear during the Upper Paleolithic
period. The dwelling sites of the groups probably changed with the
seasons as the groups migrated, but there were also long-term habitation
sites such as that uncovered at Willendorf, Austria. The living area was
lined with stone slabs and animal skins. Evidence of houses and
permanent settlements first appears during the Neolithic period.
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7
Cave life in the Paleolithic period
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8
Animal herds depicted in cave painting, France; Lower Paleolithic
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Fire and the Hunt
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The transition from forager to hunter broadened man's diet. In addition,
it demanded teamwork;
it required an evolution of man's social abilities
to enable coordination within an effective hunting group.
With the
taming of fire, man learned to harness a force of nature.
This and
associated social changes are considered to be decisive in the
development of modern man.
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1 Flintstone found at the Messei excavation site, Kalkriese, Germany
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The earliest hominoids were
probably vegetarians who gathered plants and fruits and
unearthed roots and tubers with digging instruments. The
expansion of the diet to include meat, which accompanied the
move to hunting—although the early 4
hunters were definitely scavengers as well—was paralleled by a
huge development in social intelligence. The hunt required collective effort, skill, strategy, and
caution. It required communication within a group and possibly the
definition of territories through agreements with other groups. One
hunting strategy used by early man was the battue, in which the animals
were driven into ravines or off cliffs. The essential knowledge of the
3
prey and its habits also undoubtedly led to the early hunters' first
awareness of their superiority over the other animals.
The most important 2 weapon in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic was the
pointed wooden spear or lance, which initially was thrust and later
thrown. The bow and arrow did not appear until the Neolithic period.
Shortly afterward the dog was domesticated to assist in the hunt.
The preferred prey was the aurochs (or wisent) and red deer in Europe, reindeer and moose in the northern lands, and antelope in
Africa. Early man also hunted pachyderms such as the mammoth, forest
elephant, and woolly rhinoceros. Cave bears, which played a special role
in their cults, were also hunted. These animals became extinct during
the transition to the Neolithic period.
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The use of fire, verifiable in numerous places as early as the Lower
Paleolithic, is seen by many researchers as the truly decisive step in
the evolution of modern man. At first, early man probably made use of
prairie fire and fire resulting from lighting, until he learned how to
create it with 1 flint stone and control it himself. Thus, he took control of a
force of nature for his own protection and as a weapon. He also used it
for cooking and roasting his food. Furthermore, it was probably the
discovery of fire that made it possible for him to use caves as dwelling
places.
Many theories about the division of labor between the sexes during this
stage of human evolution have been proposed. Theories have suggested
that this may have been the point at which the distinction between the
male as hunter, and the female as gatherer and custodian of the fire and
children, was first made.
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2 Antler spear points
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3 Bison sculpture
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4
Base of hunting group ca. 10,000 B.C., reconstruction sketch after finds
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Mammoth hunt by Cro-Magnon hunting group
Hunting Techniques
The use of wooden spears for hunting is evidenced by the many animal
skeletons that have been found pierced by lances and spears. Near
Hannover, Germany, for example, 400,000-year-old horse skeletons were
found with three-foot-long lances embedded in their sides. Hunting
scenes showing animals shot with spears and arrows are popular subjects
of cave paintings. In the wisent hunt in Europe and the bison hunt in
prehistoric America, individual animals would be isolated and then
hunted. Nets into which animals were driven were also used in the battue
for wild horses, red deer, and reindeer.
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Language and Burial of the Dead
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Mankind's progress also involved the evolution of mental and
intellectual abilities.
The learning and use of a symbolic language,
together with the development of the
early death cults, are considered
milestones in this respect.
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A "psychological revolution" took place hand in hand with the
technical and social development of early man. The formation of social
groups made it necessary for individuals to express their conscious
concerns and feelings
as well as to recognize differences. It is assumed that a basic
awareness of the self and others and a capacity for simple speech were
present from Homo ergaster onward.
Language serves as a way of transmitting thoughts, using
sounds and words to denote meanings (ideas). Thus, language would have
required an ability to conceptualize the ideas communicated through
words and symbols. Symbols arc characters that—unlike pictographs—do not
need to resemble the things they symbolize. These symbols are associated
with certain agreed-upon (conventional) meanings, which are then learned
by the members of the group.
The use of language therefore implies the parallel development of all
these faculties between themselves and others. However, due to the lack
of written evidence, only indirect conclusions as to the exact nature
and extent of this development are possible.
A higher degree of intellectual abstraction was also a prerequisite for
the burial of the dead by early man. With knowledge of the burial rites
comes the supposition of an awareness of the mortality of man.
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5
Tumuli (burial mounds) made of stone slabs with stone engravings, France
6 Megalith graves, reconstruction drawing
7 Dolmens
(megaliths) in Evora, Portugal
8 Skeleton excavated from middle Paleolithic burial site, Les Eyzies,
France
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The special burial of human skulls and lower jawbones was
practiced as early as the Lower Paleolithic period, particularly by the
groups inhabiting present-day China. Middle Paleolithic cave dwellers
certainly seem to have performed burial rites. This is evidenced by the
8 human skeletons found arranged in a way that suggests the dead were
buried lying on their backs or squatting, with stone tools as burial
objects. The skeletons, and particularly the skulls, were frequently
covered with 5,
6, 7 stone slabs. It is unclear whether this was to
protect the dead or to protect the living from the spirits of the dead.
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9 Zoomorphic mask;
10 Human skull with ivory inlay;
11 Burial objects from a grave of the Globular Amphora culture, near
Berlin
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10 Special treatment of the skull has been noted almost everywhere,
often with the brain having been removed through holes bored in the rear
of the skull.
In Upper Paleolithic times, the bodies of the dead and especially the
skulls were generally sprinkled with ocher, a red pigment, and buried in
separate stone encasements. Precious 9 jewelry and finely worked, unused
11 stone implements have been found as burial objects inside the
skeletons. Teeth with holes bored into them have also been found inside
the graves and were probably worn as pendants.
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Burial Rites and Skull Holes
During the Upper Paleolithic, the dead were buried in graves dug
especially for this purpose. These were often in the middle of the
dwelling area or near a fire site. Presumably the dead were buried there
only after the group had moved on. The circular holes in the back of
many skulls are a greater riddle. Probably the brains of the deceased
were removed through these holes. However, some skulls have been found
in which the cranial bones had partially healed or grown back at the
edges, suggesting that the person lived for some time after
"trepanation" was performed.
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Skeleton of a Neolithic woman buried in a sitting position, found
in Backaskog, Sweden
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Religion and Cults
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A series of prehistoric finds indicates the existence of ritual cults
and sacrificial ceremonies.
Opinions diverge widely as to whether a form
of religion had already developed.
It is generally assumed, however,
that there was a link between the primitive cults,
hunting mysticism,
and the preparation of food.
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Among the indications of man's psychological evolution, a fundamental
one is the emergence of the belief in a transcendental power to whom
sacrifices must be made.
Another is the consciousness of a special relationship between
man and animal, hunter and prey (animalism), and man and his environment. It is widely accepted that the earliest "religions" or cults
were associated with hunting. One of the oldest cult rituals, evidenced
since the end of the Lower Paleolithic period, was the ceremonial
sacrifice of animals. Examples of this include female reindeer that were
submerged in lakes and moors with stones and wooden stakes in their open
breast cavities. The buried skeletal remains of animals, especially
mammoths, draped with jewelry have also been unearthed.
The cave dwellers of the Middle Paleolithic decorated and reworked the
skulls of cave bears and buried them or stood them up behind stone
walls. This practice has led to the supposition that a particular cave
bear cult existed.
Parallel to the shaman concepts of Siberian hunting tribes, some
researchers interpret the decoration and special treatment of animal
bones as either a "compensation ritual" for the killing of the animal or
an expression of early man's belief that through the burial, the prey
would "arise anew." Others theorize that the early humans were
sacrificing a portion of the kill to a hunting god or animal totem.
Related to this are the representations of half-human creatures, such as
the "Sorcerer of 1,
4 Trois-Freres," which have been the subject of
particularly controversial interpretations.
4 Shaman from the cave at Trois-Freres in French Pyrenees. Paleolithiñ
period
Cult rituals may also have developed around the dividing up of
the kill among the group and the preparation of food around the hearth.
Possible evidence of this are the many 2,
3 female statuettes with
voluptuous forms that have been found around hearths dating back to the
Upper Paleolithic. These probably symbolize either fertility or a mother
deity. Another controversial subject is the religious or cult
interpretation of the art of early man. The representations of game and
hunting themes found in cave paintings may have been intended to invoke
success in the hunt or protection against dangerous game.
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1 Rock drawing of a human figure,
possibly a shamanistic dancer
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2 "Venus of Willendorf," statuette, Upper Paleolithic period
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3
Female idol, Neolithic period
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The "Sorcerer of Trois-Freres"
No cave painting has provoked as many different attempts at
interpretation as the famous "Sorcerer of Trois-Freres." The name itself
is rejected by many researchers. The sorcerer is one of three hybrid
creatures discovered on a cave wall in 1916. The painting depicts all
three creatures with animal heads and front limbs. The rear part of the
body, however, is human. Some researchers, referring to shaman practices
in other cultures, see this figure as a "medicine man" dressed in animal
skins and an animal mask. They suggest he might be performing a mystical
hunting dance as a supplication for the successful outcome of the hunt.
Other researchers doubt this theory and see him simply as an imaginative
cross between man and animal which testifies to the creativity of early
man.
The "Sorcerer of Trois-Peres,
cave painting, ca. 14,000 a.c.
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The Art of Early Man
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The best known examples of the diverse and impressive artwork of early
man are cave paintings.
Predominant motifs include game animals and
representations of people.
Prehistoric art forms— including stone
engraving, carvings, and figurines—
are diverse in style and allow for a
variety of interpretations.
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5 Horse, cave painting at Lascaux in France. Lower Paleolithic
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Horse, bone carving, Middle Paleolithic
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Fish, bone carving, Middle Paleolithic
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Handprint, cave wail
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Fighting ibex, cave wall engraving, Le Roc de Sers in France, Lower
Paleolithic
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Statue, mammoth bone, Paleolithic
5 Cave paintings and
9 wall engravings first appeared during the Upper
Paleolithic period. The caves of France and northern Spain are
particularly rich in art. For a long time, it was believed that
motivation for these artworks originated from observation of the cracks
and fissures on cave walls, which inspired early man to create first
geometric designs and then drawings. However, the painted looping lines
have been shown to be no older than the developed picture motifs. Thus
from the start the artists must have been aware of the possibility of
representing their environment in images.
Generally, it is assumed that the cave paintings did not primarily serve
an aesthetic purpose, nor were they the work of one gifted individual
but rather represented the world of the group. The dominant theme of the
cave paintings is game animals, all depicted in profile and in motion.
The rare human figures appear abstract by comparison. The figures are
always standing alone and are not uniform in style. Realistic
pictographic representations can be seen alongside stark abstractions
of human and animal images with overly emphasized details. Another
special subject in the caves is the 8 human handprint.
Even more numerous than the paintings are the cave and rock engravings
that occasionally overlap and portray themes similar to the paintings.
Engravings are also found on stone, antler horn, and animal bone.
In addition to paintings, sculptured pieces were also produced in the
Upper Paleolithic. Many 6,
7 small sculptures made of limestone,
soapstone, bone, and antler horn—as well as baked-clay figurines—have
been found. The smaller ones were probably
worn as pendants.
The statuettes most often depict
10 females and are
considered to have been fertility symbols. The figures vary from coarse
cone shapes to ones with well-detailed facial features.
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Painting Techniques in the Upper Paleolithic
Upper Paleolithic cave paintings can be found in Western Europe,
particularly in France and Spain, the Urals, and Siberia. Cave artists
used various iron ochers dissolved in water for coloration. Egg whites,
fat, plant juice, and blood created shades from red to yellow and brown
(visible in paintings of the wisent of Altamira, Spain, for example)
were used in the paintings. Black tones were achieved with animal
charcoal or manganese.
Handprints in the caves usually appear in black or red. In some cases,
the artist's hand was painted with a liquid color and then pressed
against the cave wall (a positive print); in others, the hand was placed
on the wall and paint was sprayed around it so that when the hand was
removed a negative handprint remained.
Cave draving in Altamira, Spain
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The "Neolithic Revolution"
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During the Neolithic period, a rapid progression of human culture took
place—
primarily due to the introduction of agriculture and animal
domestication.
The new sedentary lifestyle demanded new technologies and
shaped the beginnings
of the modern form of settlement.
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The Neolithic period saw a rapid development in many aspects of human
culture, characterized by 5 man's
attempts to establish independence from the vagaries of the environment
in which he lived. This process was made possible primarily by the broadening of the diet, which was linked
to agriculture and the domestication of animals and occurred as a result
of sedentary life in 3,
4 houses and communities. The hunt continued to
play a role in
providing nutrition, yet the supply of food was no longer completely
dependent on the success of the hunt as there were now alternative food
sources.
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4 Early Stone Age family in a hut; 5
Reconstruction of Similaun man "Otzi" found in the Similaun glacier, Itaiy
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There was a parallel technological revolution. The introduction of fired
1, 2 ceramic
vessels, initially used for storing food supplies, defined whole
cultural communities, such as the Middle European "Linear Ceramic
Culture." Advances also included the use of rotating grindstones and mortars
for the processing of plants for food and the construction of houses
from clay bricks. Wood was worked at first with chisels and stone axes.
Sickle tools were used to cut grasses and grains. After 3000 B.C.,
metallurgy (initially with copper), using simple pouring techniques,
appeared in the Near East.
Agriculture demanded long-term planning as well as knowledge of climatic
periods and seasonal cycles. The cultivation of fertile alluvial land
began, particularly in Mesopotamia and along the Nile. Goats, sheep,
pigs, and later cattle were domesticated for man's use.
New cults also formed around plants and grains. Many Neolithic houses
had their own cult niche where offerings such as grain, fruits, and
animal remains have been found. The surviving clay, stone, and metal
statuettes are thought to be votive offerings, as many have raised arms
or open hands in an attitude of supplication. Some represent God.
Most Neolithic settlements had separate cult edifices. In the Near East,
there were early temple complexes. The transition to advanced
civilizations began even before 3000 B.C. in these regions with the
development of script or hieroglyphics and of religious monarchies.
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1 Painted vase and pottery stemming from Neolithic cultures;
2 Ceramics stemming from the Funnel Beaker Culture;
3
View of Stone Age house nterior
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The "Linear Ceramic Culture"
The oldest culture of the Paleolithic period in Central and Southern
Europe is known as the Linear Ceramic Culture. It stretched from eastern
France to Hungary in the fifth millenium B.C. The people lived in closed
settlements with nave houses and pursued agriculture and animal
husbandry.
The culture was named after the ribbon-like decorations typically used
on their pottery. These decorations were made up of solid lines and
dashes. The Linear Ceramic Culture tribes buried their dead positioned
toward the sun, on their side, and with legs drawn up in a sleep-like
pose. Some researchers infer from this that they had the concept of an
afterlife. Skeletal remains have also been found in a supine position
with outstretched arms, reminiscent of certain types of statuettes.
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The Tell Cultures
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Modern village and city cultures developed from the Tell (Arabic for
"hill") settlements of the Near East.
These give evidence of a social
differentiation between the inhabitants as well as an organized economic
life.
These communities, identifiable mostly through their
characteristic pottery,
demonstrate a fluid transition to early advanced
civilizations.
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The peoples of the earliest known village-like hill communities in the
Near East are called Tell Cultures. As a rule, new settlements were
built on top of older ones. However, it is possible to date cultural
peaks and distinctive featurcs by excavating deep shafts through the layers.
8 Coital Huyuk in Anatolia proved to be a particularly rich site for excavation.
Many settlements were enclosed by protective stone walls, which
testifies to competition between the sedentary agricultural communities
and roaming nomad peoples.
8 Maternal goddess, statue, Anatolia. Neolithic period
Often the different cultures can be distinguished by their
characteristic pottery forms or ceramic decorations: The Syrian
9 ,10
Tell Halaf Culture, for example, which dominated the Mesopotamian area
in the fifth and fourth millenium B.C., decorated its ceramics with axes or crosses.
Given the importance of ceramics in determining social and cultural
development, a division is made between the "Aceramic Neolithic" (ca.
8000-6500 B.C.) and the "Ceramic Neolithic" after about 6500 B.C.
9 Detail from altar, castle of Guzana, Tell Halaf ruins, Syria, from ca.
800 B.C.
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10
Hill of ruins of Tell Mardich in Syria: Partial view of the excavation
area,
showing what was probably a palace during the Bronze Age
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The Tell Cultures displayed varied building styles—both round and
angular—and pottery forms. The discovery of 6 seals and counting markers
indicates an early organization and control of economic life and trade,
as well as sophisticated property-ownership relations, which paved the
way for more advanced civilizations and societies.
The Obed Culture in southern Babylon and Ur (ca. 5000-4000 B.C.)
possessed 7 houses divided
into rooms ("middle room houses"), early pottery wheels, seals, stamps,
and cult and administrative buildings. It is believed that a cult and
administration elite had emerged within the community—a sign of an
advanced early civilization. These people dug a system of complex and
strategically placed irrigation canals, and signs of a communication
net-
work and paths linking the communities have been found. The transition
to the metropolitan civilizations of Mesopotamia began with the
emergence of urban cultures in the Uruk period around 4000 B.C.
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6 Stamp, Late Paleolithic period
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7
Model of a building with animal skulls on the roof, Neolithic period
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Catal Huyuk
The large city-like complexes in Anatolia of the early Neolithic period
are a treasure trove for archaeologists because of their size and the
variety of artifacts found. The clay brick houses possess central rooms
that are usually decorated with painted figures, relief figures, and
bull heads on the walls. The houses are so close together that the
inhabitants had to enter them through a hole in the roof. Clay platforms
are found along the walls under which the skeletal remains of the dead
were buried. It is therefore assumed that some of the rooms were used
for ancestor-worship. Numerous small sculpted figures indicate the
worship of two pairs of deities and sacred animals. The inhabitants used
wood and stone vessels but no pottery.
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see also appendix:
Charles Estienne
"De
dissectione partium corporis humani libri tres"
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