Primitive art is all creations created in the pre-literary period of human history. The art of primitive man is very different from what we are used to seeing in the modern world, but this does not make it less interesting.
When primitive art appeared
It is believed that primitive art originated in the Stone Age, about 40 thousand years ago, when homo sapiens (reasonable man) appeared. However, there is some evidence of human creative activity, which scientists date back to about 500 thousand years ago. Perhaps it would be more correct not even to indicate the beginning of the emergence of art, because in some way it exists as long as a person exists.
The date of the end of this period is also conditional and is the cause of many controversies, but the most widespread opinion of scientists agrees that primitive art ends around the 1st millennium BC.
The work of historians studying the art of primitive society is complicated by the absence of traces. Not many materials can survive tens and hundreds of centuries, especially in the absence of modern technologies and special processing. In addition, it is believed that before the advent of writing, most of the works of art were not fixed in any way and existed in the form of dance, rituals, and music.
Primitive art: tools of labor
Many tools of labor during this period were made of stone by chipping. The most versatile and widespread tools were hand choppers - stones hewn to sharpness on one side. These sharpened tools were used to cut bone plates or the tops of rocks inside caves (they are softer than stone and easily amenable to physical influences). To give color to his work, primitive man used natural mineral and plant pigments: coal, ocher, clay, saffron, kraplak, etc.
By the first millennium BC. there are works of art made of copper, gold and other metals, sculptures made of stone are hewn, become smooth and take clear forms. Many scientists argue whether it is worth attributing these works to primitive art, because by this time man clearly mastered fire and tools and brought some crafts to perfection. Still, rock paintings and roughly hewn stone sculptures are more related to primitiveness.
Types of primitive art
Rock painting. In the caves, animals were mainly depicted, and most often bulls. The most famous place where rock paintings were found is the Lascaux Cave, the entire ceiling and walls of which are painted with bulls
Sculpture. In different countries, very similar primitive sculptures have been found that have recognizable features: a rounded female figure with large breasts. This image was named Venus - it is believed that people used it as a symbol of fertility
Megaliths. Megalithic architecture is an impressive structure of large stone blocks. The most common example of this type of structure is dolmens, which are similar to walls and roofs. Sometimes human remains are found inside the dolmen - perhaps they were used for burial
Houseware. The primitive art also includes many things that are absolutely familiar in our world: toys, jewelry, plates, etc. For their manufacture, primitive people spent a lot of time and effort
Features of primitive art
- Primitive art has the following features:
- Lack of writing. The primitive art includes exclusively the preliterate period of history.
- Syncretism. In ancient times, there were no separate types of art - it was not divided into painting, sculpture, etc., everything was mixed and represented a single process, most often of a ritual nature.
- Symbolism. Primitive people did not devote time to detailing: all works were very conditional and symbolic, proportions were not respected. But at the same time, the image depicted in a drawing or sculpture is usually easy to catch.
- The object of creativity is animals. The overwhelming majority of ancient works depict exactly animals: bulls, horses, goats, mammoths. It is noteworthy that animals were most often depicted in dynamics, while running.
