Hello Professor, I'm a non art history student but I want to take more interest in art history as a hobby. I figured it would be great to start exploring art during Paleolithic Era first. This was an impressive introduction for me. Thank you!
My daughter, who is Canadian and lives in Canada, recently had minor surgery for nodes on her vocal cords. She was scheduled for three visits to a specialist; a pre-surgery visit, a half-hour surgery with local anesthetic, and a post-surgery follow-up, all months apart. The nearest place for this was 8 hours drive away. She does not live in the boondocks. I fully believe the information about the number of MRI machines!
Imagine being the first person to find those cave paintings after thousands of years hidden away, would to see them for real. Caves were probably considered to be entrances to the underworld and had quite a spiritual significance to the people of that time. I have been in some caves and a couple of mine shafts and when you turn off the torch it’s pitch black so dark that one cannot see their own hand , it’s a darkness that engulfs you completely. Now imagine if you add hallucinogenics to the mix in that all consuming darkness which leads into the spirit world, one would imagine that those who went into the spirit world would paint what they saw , just as people do today. Great video 👍👍👍
I'm so excited that I found this channel! Based on the images, it looks like you use the same textbook I'm using for my History of Art course (Gardner's Art Through The Ages 16th Edition) but my professor isn't using lecture videos despite it being an online class. I'll definitely be using your videos in conjunction with the rest of my material. Plus, the Paleolithic period is incredibly interesting and you talk about it very well. Thank you!
Gimbutus says that the bull head is the shape of the uterus. Fallopian tube and vagina. I'm with her. the male just wasn't that important until the sky father delusion.....
Women of Willendorf note: arms resting across top of breasts? Feet possibly broken or worn off? Great vid - love anything to do with pre-history; I can't stand when people assign 'religious' or other meaning, after saying 'we don't know what it means.' Thanks for not doing that!
I want to couch this carefully. I am deeply interested in the origins of art. There is so much to investigate and yet the impulse to create a significant representation is clearly a human impulse, for whatever reason. I wish we/ I were able to reduce bias to a minium, certainly these works discussed and depicted were very meaningful to the artists and their audiences. I wish we could learn more. Thanks for a very provoking lecture!! I look forward to others. Thanks for answering an earlier question about the text. A far better look than the Hanson text of my younger years.
Thank you, I came upon your video by chance. It was both informative and lively, shared with passion and humour. I wish all my art history teachers from way back had been so engaging lol.
What is cultivated is not wild; did you mean to say 'harvest' or were you insinuating paleo-humans were managing the landscape to encourage beneficial wild plants to flourish, as did American Indians?
Dear George: you mentioned (4:01) that it's around 40,000 BCE we start to see art creations, and I think 40,000 BCE is approximately when Neanderthals disappeared. Is there a connection? Or does this mean Neanderthals did not create artworks?
Religion fertility symbols sprituality and art are 100s of 1000s of years old. One of the earliest lastng symbols 10000+ years old the ANKH A symbolic pregnant belly topped by a cross.
can hear this bs,it does not matter if you are able to make this piece off art or not,you recognize a picture you see and like, as art,even if you are not able to paint it by yourself,for you its art,and it does not matter,who made it nature or human,full-stop full-stop komma line,its art,even if ,,corrosion,, made it,you only have to recognize it
Thanks for this great lecture! Now in 35:40 it might be that here both the human and the animal are dead; I mean the guy is lying on the ground, he is not in a position where he might dominate the animal, and is also drawn with very few detail, as compared to the animal. The guts of the bison are hanging out, it might not be alive, and the guy might be drawn in a position of a post-mortem errection. Also the bird seems to look like a symbol, is it possible that the bird is symbolizing the soul of the deceased person/animal, as it is kind of standing in the foreground of both figures, or would a concept like this be too complicated? Do these speculations make any sense?
@@profnealart Yeah true. Since we have no idea whatsoever what they had as "rituals". We know Neanderthal buried their dead, and it probably involved a ritual. What beliefs was there behind? Animism? Shamanism? There could be no belief of an afterlife, but a ritualistic burial as the last care of a fellow, I dare say, human being. Now with these human representations, the interesting thing is that it's the closest to a realistic human representation. If we compare to any other early human representations men looks like stick figures(for most with a few exceptions while animals are mostly anatomically realistic. All anonymous figures.
Instructor needs to work on his gender assumptions. He calls the generous proportions of sculptures of women "fertility fetishes" and the sculptures of men's genitals "symbolic of men's power". Someone who ought to learn more before teaching.
The term "fetish" is being used in the anthropological sense, and not in the sexual sense. "Fetish" simply means an object that contains power. Calling the Women a Willendorf a fetish is literally saying it was probably viewed to hold power. Both objects you mentioned are symbols of power. I apologize if I did not explain the use of the term more thoroughly in the video. Merriam-Webster definition of fetish provided below: an object (such as a small stone carving of an animal) believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner
Looking back at the video I realized I did explain the meaning of the word fetish and utilized the word "power" when talking about it. As far as assumptions go, as I said, we are assuming quite a bit when we talk about Paleolithic art as we are look at a prehistorical society with no written evidence. The fact that the Woman of Willendorf even represents fertility is an assumption, but I think a pretty good one considering the emphasis on reproductive anatomy. These assumptions could be disproven however, and I certainly don't hold to them with any vigor. As far as my references to power, I was referring to what is displayed in the male figure only. Concerning as how Paleolithic power structures were arranged, we simply do not know if these people lived under a matriarchy, patriarchy or a more egalitarian society. However, female power symbols can exist in patriarchal societies as well as male power symbols can exist in matriarchies. The representation of power in relation to the gender depicted in an object does not necessarily relate to the more complex power structures of a larger society. In fact, allowing oneself to think that one object (or even 100 objects) can give real insight to the complex nuances of the power structures of a society is ultimately folly.
Two little remarks: William Irwin Thompson sees the horn of the Lady of Laussel as a moon calendar depicting the female cycle, as he describes it in "The Time Falling Bodies Took To Light". And the last image, discussing perspective: Think of Picasso painting both eyes on one side of a face. Also, I think, and this a third but last remark, that techniques applied are often strongly related to the intention of the artist, so we cannot say that medieval artists knew nothing of perspective and it had to be reinvented in the Renaissance. I believe very emphatically that perspective was known in the Middle Ages, but was not considered relevant. The same goes for paleolithic art in its respective stages and personal artistic intention
Two years late to the party, but there is a collection of paintings that date back to around 34,000BCE that suggest at least some people understood perspective and narrative storytelling much earlier than we originally thought! I can't remember the cave specifically, but it depicts detailed paintings of horses, woolly rhinos, and an auroch which was not painted in strict profile and only showed one horn rather than two - a big deal when every other painting showed all details to reveal an entire concept of an animal. The woolly rhinos in the painting appear to be engaged in battle, something that was never depicted in Paleolithic art even 20,000 years later. It's a really interesting find that changed what we thought we knew about art!
You could find tons of drawings made in Wacom tablets with digital styluses that quite resemble that stone statue of an overweight woman in proportions. That's amusing
It is rather interesting that at the time these images were made, the creator actually knew what a fat woman is and looks like. That says a lot about diet and exercise at the time. There is not only a clear reduction on secondary sexual characteristics there is also a clear objectification. Are we seeing the beginnings of sexism or is this just saying that gathered vegetables make you fat and fertile?
i think you are looking at this in modern terms. the woman is fat because she is fertile - birthing, nursing, wise. in ancient times an entire bloodlines survival could depend on the fertility of one or two women. this symbol that you are seeing as sexist objectification. I see the valuation of wise, maternal women who would have been revered. "Fitness" indicates labor - leave that to the men who chase beasts. Want to develop religion, art, language, medicine and and birth? That's women's territory. Like the needle. Not the wheel, the needle is what allowed humans the ability to travel out of Africa.
Hello Professor,
I'm a non art history student but I want to take more interest in art history as a hobby. I figured it would be great to start exploring art during Paleolithic Era first. This was an impressive introduction for me.
Thank you!
Thank you!
My daughter, who is Canadian and lives in Canada, recently had minor surgery for nodes on her vocal cords. She was scheduled for three visits to a specialist; a pre-surgery visit, a half-hour surgery with local anesthetic, and a post-surgery follow-up, all months apart. The nearest place for this was 8 hours drive away. She does not live in the boondocks. I fully believe the information about the number of MRI machines!
Stumbled upon this by chance. Very informative and clear. Thank you for sharing your class!
I'm glad you liked it!
I finished my formal education years ago. Thank you for contributing to my life-long learning!
It is truly my pleasure!
Finally a video with images instead of close ups of people talking and tiny windows with pictures.
I love this peble. Duchcamp didn' t event ready mades after all.
Imagine being the first person to find those cave paintings after thousands of years hidden away, would to see them for real.
Caves were probably considered to be entrances to the underworld and had quite a spiritual significance to the people of that time.
I have been in some caves and a couple of mine shafts and when you turn off the torch it’s pitch black so dark that one cannot see their own hand , it’s a darkness that engulfs you completely.
Now imagine if you add hallucinogenics to the mix in that all consuming darkness which leads into the spirit world, one would imagine that those who went into the spirit world would paint what they saw , just as people do today.
Great video 👍👍👍
This was so good!! I appreciate you providing this online. Thank you!
Great that I found this so interesting thank you!
Moravany in Italy? arsure?
Muy bueno profesor, gracias por la información
The female figurines have hair that looks like African corn rows.
Corn rows are European pre-dating ancient Greeks and Romans just
Like dreadlocks are a European fashion thousands of years old introduced to Africa.
I'm so excited that I found this channel! Based on the images, it looks like you use the same textbook I'm using for my History of Art course (Gardner's Art Through The Ages 16th Edition) but my professor isn't using lecture videos despite it being an online class.
I'll definitely be using your videos in conjunction with the rest of my material. Plus, the Paleolithic period is incredibly interesting and you talk about it very well. Thank you!
Human/animal hybrid..maybe they exist then..we don't know.. but common in sculpture and paintings.
Please also note that the animal depictions show individuals with distinct features but humans appear to be all stylized.
So women displayed in documentaries show thin women... the art work from the period show heavy women....
Gimbutus says that the bull head is the shape of the uterus. Fallopian tube and vagina. I'm with her. the male just wasn't that important until the sky father delusion.....
Hey, Im going around thanking folks for teaching me things, by teaching them things. Would you like to know what these mean?
Where does the squatter man come in to play with this? You never mentioned it. Please do an entire video on that sir
Watching because i typed Venus of Willendorf ✨💜✨
Wonderful lecture! What books would you recommend on this topic ?
Find a picture of a grizzly bear on its hind legs and you won’t be able to unsee it. Lion?
Women of Willendorf note: arms resting across top of breasts? Feet possibly broken or worn off? Great vid - love anything to do with pre-history; I can't stand when people assign 'religious' or other meaning, after saying 'we don't know what it means.' Thanks for not doing that!
PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN'T SEE THEM, OR REMOVE THE INSERT ! GET IT ??
Great Mother worship...not human at all
when your child makes a clay ashtray at daycare is it art?
Sir , where is the PDF
I want to couch this carefully. I am deeply interested in the origins of art. There is so much to investigate and yet the impulse to create a significant representation is clearly a human impulse, for whatever reason.
I wish we/ I were able to reduce bias to a minium, certainly these works discussed and depicted were very meaningful to the artists and their audiences.
I wish we could learn more. Thanks for a very provoking lecture!! I look forward to others. Thanks for answering an earlier question about the text. A far better look than the Hanson text of my younger years.
Thank you, I came upon your video by chance. It was both informative and lively, shared with passion and humour. I wish all my art history teachers from way back had been so engaging lol.
Thanks for the precious information
Thank you professor
What is cultivated is not wild; did you mean to say 'harvest' or were you insinuating paleo-humans were managing the landscape to encourage beneficial wild plants to flourish, as did American Indians?
Dear George: you mentioned (4:01) that it's around 40,000 BCE we start to see art creations, and I think 40,000 BCE is approximately when Neanderthals disappeared. Is there a connection? Or does this mean Neanderthals did not create artworks?
Religion fertility symbols sprituality and art are 100s of 1000s of years old.
One of the earliest lastng symbols 10000+ years old the ANKH
A symbolic pregnant belly topped by a cross.
I found a bunch of human made face artworks. My avatar to the left is just one of the photorealistic faces on a stone.
if you fell asleep in his class, I understand.
Ummmm...I'm right here. You can address me directly, ya know!
can hear this bs,it does not matter if you are able to make this piece off art or not,you recognize a picture you see and like, as art,even if you are not able to paint it by yourself,for you its art,and it does not matter,who made it nature or human,full-stop full-stop komma line,its art,even if ,,corrosion,, made it,you only have to recognize it
What happend with the pdf files?
Thousands of years from now petrified copies of Hustler and Cherry Popper magazines will be declared World Heritage art treasures.
I'm lucky enough to have a bluff behind my house that has native American drawings on it from 1000 years ago
Thank you , this is amazing!! I’m so grateful for this experience!!
Can u please share the PDFs
Thanks for this great lecture! Now in 35:40 it might be that here both the human and the animal are dead; I mean the guy is lying on the ground, he is not in a position where he might dominate the animal, and is also drawn with very few detail, as compared to the animal. The guts of the bison are hanging out, it might not be alive, and the guy might be drawn in a position of a post-mortem errection. Also the bird seems to look like a symbol, is it possible that the bird is symbolizing the soul of the deceased person/animal, as it is kind of standing in the foreground of both figures, or would a concept like this be too complicated? Do these speculations make any sense?
Venuses can be Paleolithic porn as far as I know.
The idea that the image could be sexually stimulating doesn't negate it's function as a ceremonial or spiritual object.
@@profnealart Yeah true. Since we have no idea whatsoever what they had as "rituals". We know Neanderthal buried their dead, and it probably involved a ritual. What beliefs was there behind? Animism? Shamanism? There could be no belief of an afterlife, but a ritualistic burial as the last care of a fellow, I dare say, human being. Now with these human representations, the interesting thing is that it's the closest to a realistic human representation. If we compare to any other early human representations men looks like stick figures(for most with a few exceptions while animals are mostly anatomically realistic. All anonymous figures.
This was so amazing to watch! Im so happy I stumbled across your youtube channel! Will be watching more. :)
"We think it's ritualistic-"
*Metatron wants to know your location*
Interesting :)
Heidelbergensis making quality art 400,000 b.c.
How can i get the lectures of this course ? And thank u for this information, with this history of art 🌺
there are rocks being sold on ebay as paleolithic art
This video needs more likes people its a very decent pop at the subject
yeah i got a fetish meant to ensure fertility
we don't know... love it
isn't there, beside the chinese horse , a bird in flight?
This was really good
What book is used? I cannot find a link to PDFs? Thanks - great stuff!
I use Garner's Art through the Ages. Unfortunately the pdfs are only available to my college students.
Instructor needs to work on his gender assumptions. He calls the generous proportions of sculptures of women "fertility fetishes" and the sculptures of men's genitals "symbolic of men's power".
Someone who ought to learn more before teaching.
The term "fetish" is being used in the anthropological sense, and not in the sexual sense. "Fetish" simply means an object that contains power. Calling the Women a Willendorf a fetish is literally saying it was probably viewed to hold power. Both objects you mentioned are symbols of power. I apologize if I did not explain the use of the term more thoroughly in the video.
Merriam-Webster definition of fetish provided below:
an object (such as a small stone carving of an animal) believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner
Looking back at the video I realized I did explain the meaning of the word fetish and utilized the word "power" when talking about it. As far as assumptions go, as I said, we are assuming quite a bit when we talk about Paleolithic art as we are look at a prehistorical society with no written evidence. The fact that the Woman of Willendorf even represents fertility is an assumption, but I think a pretty good one considering the emphasis on reproductive anatomy. These assumptions could be disproven however, and I certainly don't hold to them with any vigor.
As far as my references to power, I was referring to what is displayed in the male figure only. Concerning as how Paleolithic power structures were arranged, we simply do not know if these people lived under a matriarchy, patriarchy or a more egalitarian society. However, female power symbols can exist in patriarchal societies as well as male power symbols can exist in matriarchies.
The representation of power in relation to the gender depicted in an object does not necessarily relate to the more complex power structures of a larger society. In fact, allowing oneself to think that one object (or even 100 objects) can give real insight to the complex nuances of the power structures of a society is ultimately folly.
Plz make a video on stone age art
Two little remarks: William Irwin Thompson sees the horn of the Lady of Laussel as a moon calendar depicting the female cycle, as he describes it in "The Time Falling Bodies Took To Light". And the last image, discussing perspective: Think of Picasso painting both eyes on one side of a face. Also, I think, and this a third but last remark, that techniques applied are often strongly related to the intention of the artist, so we cannot say that medieval artists knew nothing of perspective and it had to be reinvented in the Renaissance. I believe very emphatically that perspective was known in the Middle Ages, but was not considered relevant. The same goes for paleolithic art in its respective stages and personal artistic intention
Two years late to the party, but there is a collection of paintings that date back to around 34,000BCE that suggest at least some people understood perspective and narrative storytelling much earlier than we originally thought! I can't remember the cave specifically, but it depicts detailed paintings of horses, woolly rhinos, and an auroch which was not painted in strict profile and only showed one horn rather than two - a big deal when every other painting showed all details to reveal an entire concept of an animal.
The woolly rhinos in the painting appear to be engaged in battle, something that was never depicted in Paleolithic art even 20,000 years later. It's a really interesting find that changed what we thought we knew about art!
whats with the painting elephant,he is a disguised human?
The video is blurry
Robot was not a bad boy!
Thank You!!!
Am extremely disappointing presentation and narration.
You could find tons of drawings made in Wacom tablets with digital styluses that quite resemble that stone statue of an overweight woman in proportions. That's amusing
Hi sir good day how conflict arts in politics or in society?
This guy talks a lot for saying so little. More time fumbling with words than conveying relevant information in my opinion.
And I thought I had edited out all the really bad fumbly bits! This guy fumbled that too, I guess.
It is rather interesting that at the time these images were made, the creator actually knew what a fat woman is and looks like. That says a lot about diet and exercise at the time. There is not only a clear reduction on secondary sexual characteristics there is also a clear objectification. Are we seeing the beginnings of sexism or is this just saying that gathered vegetables make you fat and fertile?
i think you are looking at this in modern terms. the woman is fat because she is fertile - birthing, nursing, wise. in ancient times an entire bloodlines survival could depend on the fertility of one or two women. this symbol that you are seeing as sexist objectification. I see the valuation of wise, maternal women who would have been revered. "Fitness" indicates labor - leave that to the men who chase beasts. Want to develop religion, art, language, medicine and and birth? That's women's territory. Like the needle. Not the wheel, the needle is what allowed humans the ability to travel out of Africa.
LOL spotted the feminist
@@xcidgaf feminist isn’t an insult
@@Andrea-fd2bw You should look up what (early) feminists thought of black (men) people...yikes.
@@xcidgaf yes because the opinion a few define a movement that has liberated so many people including the women of the black community