Transcript Prehistoric Art - Rosa Parks Elementary PTSA

4th Grade
Prehistoric art is defined as art produced in preliterate
cultures and continuing until the development of writing or
other methods of record-keeping

Cave paintings are some of the great mysteries of the
world

Many experts have been baffled as to their true
meanings but it is certain that, without language or writing,
they were the main way early man communicated

Paints were made by crushing minerals into powder and
putting them on damp surfaces like rocks


These early artists sometimes painted deep in caves
To provide light, they made lamps from hollow stones
filled with animal fat and moss or fur that was set on fire

Cave paintings can be
found around the world
in many areas including:





Europe
Africa
Asia
The Americas – even in
Washington State!
 Australia

In 1940, four teenage
boys accidentally
discovered the most
famous cave art in
Europe
Africa has some of the
earliest paintings and rock
engravings to have been
securely dated

Nearly 30,000 years old,
some were discovered in 1969
in a cave near Twyfelfontein,
Namibia

Some of the earliest oil
paintings are found in the
Bamian caves outside of
Kabul, Afghanistan

Cave paintings can be
found in the countries of
Columbia and Peru in South
America

Many places in North
America have cave
paintings from Native
American tribes

In prehistoric times, the
Wanapum Native Americans
inhabited the region in
Washington State along the
Columbia River and created
cave paintings there

In 2003, more than
200 well-preserved
paintings were
discovered in a 4,000year-old Aboriginal
rock art site at Eagles
Reach, near Sydney,
Australia

Until 1788 , the only inhabitants of Australia were the
Aborigines

They had lived there for over 40,000 years and it is thought
that there was as many as 300,000 of them there at the time

Today there are only 150,000 Aborigines representing 1% of
the population of Australia

The Aborigines did not grow crops but survived by hunting,
fishing and gathering food

Aborigines learned to live with long periods of drought
which could last up to eight months

One of the classic styles of Aboriginal artwork is the
dot paintings utilizing thousands of painted dots


Kangaroo

Tasmanian Devil

Dingo

Koala

Kookaburra

Emu

Platypus
Using black paper, brightly colored paints, and Q-tips
and paint brushes, create your own Aboriginal Dot
Painting


Select a native Australian animal as your main feature

Cover at least 85% of the paper with dots or lines

Leave blank the areas that you want to remain black