Unit 1 Required Works

Unit 1 Required Works: AP Art History Study Guide

Welcome, art aficionados and time-travel enthusiasts! Grab your brushes, put on your virtual archaeologist hats, and get ready to dive into the world of Global Prehistoric Art. We're rewinding time to explore the artistic marvels from 30,000 to 500 BCE. Trust me, prehistoric art is way cooler than it sounds—think of it as the original #ThrowbackThursday but with cave paintings and bone carvings. 🦴🖌️

What are FFCCs, you ask? No, they’re not another alphabet soup ingredient but the secret sauce to understanding prehistoric art. Let's break down these essential components:

• Form: What materials are used in the artwork? Is it stone, bone, or something else that’s harder to spell?
• Function: Why was the artwork created? Picture it as the ‘mission statement’ for the piece.
• Content: What is depicted in the artwork? Think of this as the plot of the artwork’s story.
• Context: What historical circumstances surround the creation? This is like an IMDb bio, but for art.

Now that you’ve got a handle on the FFCCs, let’s delve into the wondrous and enigmatic Unit 1 works. 🎨🔍

Imagine discovering ancient art while humming “Space Oddity.” Found in Namibia in 1969, the Apollo 11 Stones were named after the moon landing. These stones take us back to one of the earliest creative expressions by humans.

• Form: The artwork is charcoal on stone.
• Function: While its exact purpose is unknown, it might have been used for storytelling or animal worship. Basically, prehistoric animal planet.
• Content: It might show a four-legged animal or a therianthrope—a mythical being part-human, part-animal. Think of it as an ancient superhero mashup.
• Context: Discovered during the same year as the moon landings, one of the oldest known artworks and proof that even our ancestors were into DIY crafts.

Step into the Lascaux Caves of France, and you’re entering the Great Hall of Bulls. If ancient art galleries existed, this would be the Louvre of the prehistoric era.

• Form: Natural pigments such as charcoal, ochre, and crushed berries on rock.
• Function: Possibly used for teaching about local fauna or in religious rituals. Think PowerPoint presentations but with charcoals and berries.
• Content: It shows women gathering and men hunting, highlighting the division of labor. The animals are large, emphasizing their importance.
• Context: Hidden 250 meters inside a cave, suggesting it was accessible only to the elite or spiritually significant individuals. It may have hosted shamanistic rituals, and with multiple layers of overlapping images showing generations of cave-goers who enjoyed a little prehistoric repainting.

Heads up, bone lovers! Found in Mesoamerica, this artwork is a bone carved to look like a canine.

• Form: Carved from the sacrum (tailbone/hip area) of an extinct camelid. So it’s basically a prehistoric hipster cane.
• Function: Unknown, but it might represent an everyday canine or have some fertility symbolism, given its anatomical origin.
• Content: A careful carving of a camelid bone to mimic a dog’s face.
• Context: Later Mesoamerican cultures considered the sacrum sacred, emphasizing its importance.

Let's sprint over to Algeria and uncover the mysteries of the Tassili n'Ajjer. Meet the Running Horned Woman!

• Form: Pigment on rock.
• Function: It symbolizes survival or highlights human-animal relationships. Some even think it represents a deity or “Mother Earth.”
• Content: A woman in motion, with animal-like horns and body paint or ritualistic scarification. She’s got that prehistoric festival look nailed down.
• Context: Located high up in a secluded area, probably a religious sanctuary. The woman’s attire is symbolic rather than quotidian.

Discovered in Susa, Iran, this beautiful bushel turns out to be more morbid than we thought!

• Form: Painted terra-cotta.
• Function: A funerary item, indicating it had a role in burial rituals.
• Content: Decorated with animals including an ibex, dogs, and birds, suggesting a perpetual human-animal bond.
• Context: Found in a Neolithic settlement, illustrating early funerary practices.

Next on our tour, let’s stroll over to the Arabian Peninsula and uncover some anthropomorphic fun.

• Form: Sandstone.
• Function: Numerous steles like this one show its significance in prehistoric society.
• Content: A human-like figure carved into sandstone.
• Context: Found along ancient trade routes, suggesting they might have been travel talismans.

Off to ancient China we go! Jade congs dazzle, but don’t be fooled—they’re way more than pretty paperweights.

• Form: Intricately carved jade.
• Function: Found in graves, likely serving a funerary purpose to protect the deceased in the afterlife.
• Content: Decorated with human and animal faces, possibly for ancestor veneration or religious beliefs.
• Context: From the Yangzi River Delta where cultivation of rice began.

Ah, the world’s favorite ancient mystery! Step into Bronze Age England with Stonehenge.

• Form: Sandstone pillars, around 4-5 meters high.
• Function: Could be a burial site, astronomical center, or a temple for sun worshipers. Why not all three?
• Content: Constructed using post-and-lintel construction, a preview of the engineering prowess we’ll see in future units.
• Context: Built over 500 years, clearly a significant location for Bronze Age Brits.

Let's swing over to Papua New Guinea and marvel at the Ambum Stone, a masterpiece from the greywacke rock stars.

• Form: Greywacke.
• Function: Possibly religious or used as a pestle.
• Content: Depicts an anteater or echidna, blending human and animal features.
• Context: Hails from a settled Neolithic community, where more time could be given to artistic endeavors.

Fast forward to what is now Mexico for the Tlatilco Female Figurines, the OG action figures of dolls.

• Form: Ceramic.
• Function: Likely symbolized fertility and the importance of women.
• Content: Features two faces, sparking debates about congenital defects and the artistic ideal of dualism.
• Context: Pre-Columbian, existing long before the mighty Aztecs roamed.

Let’s end our tour with a hop to the Solomon Islands, exploring a piece of expert pottery mastery.

• Form: Incised terra-cotta.
• Function: Part of a larger cooking pot, possibly used in rituals.
• Content: Decorated with dentate stamping techniques and anthropomorphic designs.
• Context: Created by the Lapita people, famous for their pottery craftsmanship.

• Ambum Stone: Stone carvings from Papua New Guinea with possible spiritual significance.
• Anthropomorphic: Human-like features in non-human forms.
• Apollo 11 Stones: Early evidence of prehistoric art found in Namibia.
• Bushel with Ibex Motifs: A funerary terra-cotta bushel from Susa, Iran.
• Camelid Sacrum: A canine-like Mesoamerican sculpture made from a camelid sacrum bone.
• Running Horned Woman: A pictograph of a horned female figure from Algeria.
• Stonehenge: The iconic prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England made with post-and-lintel construction.

With these incredible prehistoric masterpieces, you've journeyed back in time and seen the world through the eyes of our earliest ancestors. Whether they were painting in caves, carving bones, or lifting gigantic stones, they left an indelible mark on the history of art. You’re now armed with knowledge and a sprinkle of humor. Art history conquest, here you come! 📚🧐