Abstract
This article provides an analysis on the archeological perspectives taken towards paleolithic art. Pulling largely from an essay by Steven Mithen's, the writer posits the meaning and value of many of Mithen's observations on the study of paleolithic art. Using many examples and quotes from the essays text, the reader concludes that Mithen's is correct in the belief that understanding and interpreting such era's of art cannot be subject to conventional or modern analysis. Rather, the writer follows Mithen's argument that a holistic interpretation is necessary.

Outline:
Mithen's Ecological Approach
Discussion and Comparisons
Conclusion

From the Paper
"In the sense that Mithen interprets ecology it refers to the connections between, for example, the social patterning in the culture and art creation and production. He directly links human adaptation to social interaction. Mithen expands on this view and envisages the term ecology as encompassing a wide web or network of interactions and relationships within the society. In other words the ecological model is one that can be extremely useful in the interpretation of ancient cultural artifacts and creations.
"Mithen goes on to state that we can use the ecological models to understand the fact that there was no real division in Paleolithic culture between art, society and economy. He asserts that such distinctions are essentiality "artificial". (Mithen, 1996, p. 80) This stance tends to contradict to a certain extent other theoretical views, such as the Marxist mode of interpretation, where divisions in society are used as a basis of understanding and interpretation. In contrast, the ecological model that Mithen suggests is one that is extremely holistic and inclusive in its interactive intention. The author continually emphasizes the importance of understanding connections and interconnections between different aspects or parts of a culture and their significance in the interpretations of the archeological art."

Tags:art, paleolithic, archeology, anthropology

From the Paper
"This paper will examine paleolithic art, and the insights it affords to man's earliest cultures, and to the basics of his own today.There is much to be learned from paleolithic art.There is an interesting history to the discovery of the cave paintings. Don Marcelino de Santinola discovered them. His findings were denied and judged false.... "

Tags:ARCHAEOLOGY, ART: GENERAL

Abstract
This paper discusses prehistoric art in the context of two particular features: one, the most dominant forms of this art are "portable" graphics, suggesting that iconic art was mobilized throughout geographic areas, and second, that much of this artwork is intextricable from technological innovations in carving, etching, "pecking/chipping" and shaping various mediums such as bone, ivory, horns, antlers, and softer stones.

Abstract
This paper looks at the relatively recent discovery of cave art and how many experts were, at first, skeptical of its authenticity. The paper describes some of the art found and how it was accidentally discovered, as well as how it finally came to be recognized as authentic Paleolithic art.

From the Paper
"Despite being the most ancient of all human artistic forms, cave art was discovered only within the last one hundred years or so, usually by accident and by amateurs. In 1879, near Santander in northern Spain, Marcelino de Sautuola was exploring with his little daughter the Altamira caves on his estate. Since the ceiling of the debris-filled cavern "was only a few inches above Marcelino's head, it was his daughter who was first able to discern the shadowy forms of painted beasts on the cave roof" (Berenquer, 25). De Sautuola was the first modern man to explore this cave and he was certain that the paintings dated back to prehistoric times. Archeologists, however, were highly dubious of their authenticity, but in 1880 the Altamira paintings were officially dismissed as forgeries. In 1896, at Pair-non-Pair in the Gironde district of France, more paintings were discovered that were partially covered by calcareous deposits that would have taken thousands of years to accumulate and soon after, these paintings were recognized as authentic by the experts. The caves at Lascaux near Montignac in France were discovered accidentally in 1941 by two young boys who were playing in a field. Their dog chased a ball down a hole and disappeared, and the boys then followed the dog down into the caves."

Tags:drawings, prehistoric, paintings, subterranean, chambers, caverns, hunter-artist

From the Paper
"The period of the late Ice Age hunter-gatherers rides the tag-end of the Paleolithic development of humankind. It is a period that, given the nuances of scientific interpretation and the influences of geography upon the Paleolithic peoples themselves, ended as long ago as 12,000 B. C. (Guilaine, 1991, P. 64) or as recently as 8,000 B. C. (Hawkes, 1976, p. 16), after which agricultural cultures took root in the prehistoric society, leading almost immediately (in relative terms compared with the millennia of slow development that had come before) to dramatic advances in technology, communication and the general raising of living standards for humankind. It was an interesting choice for late Paleolithic man to make - this switching from hunter-gatherer to farmer - for game was plentiful in the late Ice Age: "wandering" in the nomadic terms that we have come to associate..."

Abstract
In this article, the writer constructs a virtual museum using 12 works of art from the Paleolithic era to the Renaissance.

From the Paper
"Image the Venus of Willendorf can be found online at http/witcombe.sbc.edu.willendorf.willendorfdiscoveryhtml. This statuette was carved from a fine porous oolitic limestone not found in the Austrian region where it was originally discovered leading archeologist Josef Szombathy to conclude that it had been brought there from elsewhere. This Paleolithic figure of a female is generally recognized as a fertility symbol and is said to fit into ..."

Tags:art, virtual museum

Abstract
Discusses images of women in Paleolithic society. How depictions of women in prehistoric art can determine the traditions and lifestyles of their society. Features of the images found in caves and grottoes and figurines. Women as symbols of fertility, as matriarchs who ruled over their domestic environment. Specific examples.

From the Paper
"I. Introduction

Since the early discoveries of prehistoric art in the mid-19th century, scholars and archaeologists have sought to determine the functions and the significance of art in Paleolithic society. The uncovering of artistic images in caves and grottoes, along with figurines of various shapes and sizes, provides clues to the lives, culture, language and myths of prehistoric people. The emergence of the aesthetic perception of the prehistoric people from a strictly utilitarian lifestyle also offers evidence of how the human brain has developed over the centuries.
In this paper, the depictions of women in prehistoric art will be used to determine the traditions and lifestyles of prehistoric people in ..."

Abstract
As long as there has been art there has been public art. But this does not mean that public art has always meant the same thing to the people who made it or the community that it was made for. This paper examines four moments in history and four specific artworks as a way of examining how the function of art in public places has changed, as well as the ways in which it has not changed, over the centuries. This paper begins at a moment long before many people would place the beginnings of public art with the Paleolithic drawings on the walls in French caves and ends with the works of Maya Lin. As each moment in time presents a different form of public art, no single, overriding definition of the term is offered here. Rather, each moment in history and each example of art requires its own definition of public art.

From the Paper
"Some nineteenth-century scholars argued that the cave paintings should be seen as attempts to influence reality, that the images painted on cave walls (and this would perhaps have been especially true of the portrayals of animals) had a totemistic value. In other words, people painted animals to help hunters have better luck in the hunt, either in terms of capturing prey or in terms of surviving the hunt without injury. In a similar vein, other important types of Paleolithic that seem to celebrate female fertility, such as the Venus of Wallendorf, might have been used as totems that would help to ensure the continuing existence of the tribe itself."

Tags:Ice, Age, cathedrals, Diego, Rivera, Allegory, of, California

Abstract
Examines how depictions of women throughout history illustrate the roles of women in various groups. Focuses on Paleolithic, Egyptian & Indian art. Venus sculptures. Reductioin of female figure to its reproductive function. Lower status depicted in size of female figure. Female deities as representatives of power & protector of society, not just fertility objects.

From the Paper
"In many cultures throughout history, depictions of women in art were far less common than representations of men. When women are shown in art the form of representation offers some clues as to the roles of women in the various groups. In the examples considered here two so-called Venus figures from Paleolithic art, two Egyptian "portraits" of women and girls of the highest class, and two goddess sculptures from India offer some insight into the ways women were perceived in these societies. They do not, however, offer more than a slight indication--especially in the Paleolithic and Indian examples--of the ways women functioned in everyday life, although it is possible to infer some things from these works of art.


Two Paleolithic sculptures of women are of the type that have been designated "Venus" figures because they are presumed to..."

Abstract
This paper describes the beautiful, complex and sophisticated Paleolithic artwork on the wall panels of Chauvet cave that have led to the questioning of the use of the stylistic method of dating. Next, the author presents the debate over the use of carbon dating versus stylistic dating. The paper concludes that the discovery of Chauvet cave reveals not only the flaws of the stylistic dating methodology but also the vulnerability of its result so that it should not be used in assigning dates to Paleolithic art. A table is included in the paper.

Table of Contents:
Background
Brief Description of the Artworks in the Cave
Interpreting the Significance of the Discovery of Chauvet Cave and its Artworks
The Stylistic Dating Contention
Carbon Dating versus Stylistic Dating
Conclusion

From the Paper
"In contrast, the unreliability on the use of stylistic dating became more glaring with the discovery of Chauvet cave. In addition to the possible error of dating the Chauvet cave between 21,000 - 17,000 years, its method has already been questioned in the same year that the Chauvet cave has been discovered. It proved to have erred in dating the engravings at the Foz Coa dam construction site.
"The vulnerability of stylistic dating has been further revealed by the study of von Petzinger in 2010. In the study of von Petzinger, it revealed that certain symbols and art form used in stylistic dating was in fact not exclusive in a certain period as assigned by stylistic dating but rather, ubiquitous in the entire palaeolithic era. Examples cited were the dots, the positive and negative and hands and the finger fluting implying that stylistic dating could be inaccurate.
"There was also another method suggested by several authors after the discovery of the Chauvet cave that to really appreciate and determine the stylistic context of the art forms in the cave, it should be compared with other caves."

Tags:sophistication, human hand, limitations, aurignacian era, anachronism