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11.2: Modern Human Art

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  • Page ID
    258658
    • Keith Chan

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    Modern Human Art

    Petroglyph from Qobustan, Azerbaijan dating to between 1300 to 900 BC
    Rock art from 3000 years ago. What do you see?

    Author: Dr. Keith Chan

    Introduction

    This activity will guide students through examples of modern human art with a focus on prehistoric art as well as one current piece of art. The goal is to explore the cultural side of human life over time by inferring meaning from their media. Students will use their interpretations of the details in the art to build scientific hypotheses that can be tested with other types of research, such as by examining skeletal remains found in the same region or the material culture of the artists.

    References

    Chan, Keith. 2019. “Chapter 12: Modern Homo sapiens.” Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology, edited by Beth Shook, Katie Nelson, Kelsie Aguilera, and Lara Braff. Arlington, VA: American Anthropological Association.

    Image Attributions

    Banksy. (2008). Cave Painting Removal [Graffiti]. Leake Street Tunnel, London, UK. Photograph by Beckett, Chris. (2008). Banksy, Council worker cleaning up the cave paintings - The Cans Festival, Waterloo, London. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. .

    Catron, Scott. (2006). HuntSceneNMC [Photograph of rock art]. . CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Jones, Caroline. (2022). Aboriginal rock art at Carnarvon Gorge. CC BY-NC 2.0.

    The Met. (n.d.). Plaque: Equestrian Oba and Attendants [Photograph of metal sculpture]. Public Domain.

    Retlaw Snellac Photography. (2008). Azerbaijan [Photograph of rock art].
    CC BY 2.0.

    Modern Human Art Worksheet

    Part 1. Examples of Human Art

    View five pieces of art, either with the attached materials or online. Some context is provided for each piece.

    Part 2. Art Interpretation

    For each art piece, answer the following questions on a separate document:

    1. What objects, actions, or things appear in the artwork? What do you think is happening in the artwork? Specifically try to identify what is being depicted and describe the overall scene.

    2. Why do you think the artist made this piece?

    Part 3. Scientific Hypotheses

    3. Make hypotheses to test your answers from Part Two. What kinds of evidence from subdisciplines of anthropology (i.e. cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and/or biological anthropology) could support your interpretation? For example, if you think the piece depicts warfare, archaeology could be used to look for artifacts matching the weapons that the artist drew or one might want to examine skeletons from that culture for injuries from these types of weapons. If the piece depicts an animal, what kind of evidence would show that it was based on a real organism? Get creative and think widely of where the evidence could come from.

    Additional Images: Art Pieces

    1. Petroglyph (rock art) found in the Nine-Mile Canyon, Utah (Catron, 2006). The piece is approximately the size of a couch.

    Rock art from Nine-Mile Canyon, Utah

    2. Plaque cast in bronze from the Edo people of Nigeria. The date is from 1550 to 1680 (The Met, n.d.). It is just under 20 inches tall and would have been mounted on the wall of a building.

    Bronze cast from Nigeria

    3. Rock art in Carnarvon National Park, Australia, attributed to aboriginal peoples (Jones, 2022). Be sure to consider the grid to the right and the three-pronged shapes to the left in your interpretation. The hands are life size.

    Petroglyph from Qobustan, Azerbaijan dating to between 1300 to 900 BC

    4. Petroglyph from Qobustan, Azerbaijan dating to between 1300 to 900 BC. The piece is around three feet high.

    Petroglyph from Qobustan, Azerbaijan dating to between 1300 to 900 BC

    5. Graffiti by the contemporary artist Banksy. It was made in 2008 in a London tunnel where graffiti was allowed (Banksy, 2008). The figure is life size. Imagine viewing this piece without knowledge of the figure’s culture.

    "Graffiti" by the contemporary artist Banksy, London 2008

    This page titled 11.2: Modern Human Art is shared under a CC BY 1.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Keith Chan via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.