Interdisciplinary Study: Cro-Magnon Cave Painting

Correlation with the Social Sciences

 

Prepared by: Celia Kim Gibson, Indiana University, for course Disted W505

 

(This material can be reduced or expanded to meet specific grade levels and/or students' needs)

(This lesson, as written, requires a minimal of three class sessions for completion)

 

Links to Web Sites for Teacher Preparation:

http://www.culture.fr/culture/arcnat/chauvet/et/gvpda-d.htmThe Chauvet Cave

http://www.mistral.culture.fr/culture/arcnat/chauvet/en/grotte3.htmPaintings and Engravings

http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/archive/1995/950619/950619.science.htmlStone Age Bombshell

http://www.campus.bt.com/public/ScienceNet/publications/neaderthal.html The Last Neanderthal

 

Links for Student Enrichment:

http://www.best.com/~swanson/caveart/cavemenu.htmlGallery of Student Works

http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/archive/1995/950213/950213.cover.html Flints and Stones

 

1. Lesson Plan Rationale -

  1. The purpose of this study is to emphasize the correlation between the visual arts and the social sciences.
  2. The focus of the lesson will be on anthropological findings that discern prehistoric times.
  3. This interdisciplinary study will consider human intellectual and creative abilities and the need to express purpose and/or meaning.

 

2. Instructional Objectives:

  1. With the completion of the lesson, the student will be familiar with terms associated with Cro-Magnon and the prehistoric time period.
  2. The students will actively participate in a discussion concerning various prehistoric tools and their uses. Also a variety of art mediums and techniques used by the Cro-Magnon will be discussed.
  3. The students will demonstrate their understanding of the terms, tools, and techniques associated with prehistoric art, by incorporation these primitive methods into representational cave painting.
  4. (ie. Stylized drawing, etching/painting of prehistoric animals, positive/negative use of hands with paint, dried powdered pigment application, and use of symbols).
    5.
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  • 3. Vocabulary:

    Prehistoric Time Period, Cro-Magnon, Neanderthal, Lascaux Cave, Chauvet Cave, Paleolithic Time Period, Prehistoric Animals, Rudimentary Tools, Powdered Earth Pigment, Binder, Symbols, Positive/Negative Shapes

     

  • 4. Visual Reproductions:

     

    Red Cow and Horses, Lascaux Cave Paintings, C. 30,000-15,000BC. Lascaux, France.

     

    Head of Bull, Entrance to Main Hall, Lascaux Cave.Lascaux, France. C. 30,000-15,000BC.

     

    Fighting Rhinoceroses, Horses and Mammoth,Lion and Rhinoceroses with Red Dot Symbols,Hyena and Panther, as seen @ Http://www.culture.fr/culture/arcnat/chauvet/en/gvpda-d.htm

     

  • 5. Materials:

    Drawing paper for preliminary sketch, Examples of flints, Illustrations of Prehistoric Tools, Mural Length Brown Butcher Paper,
    Powered Pigments, Straws, Charcoal, Gesso, Mortar/Pestle, Torches are optional.

     

     

  • 6. Instructional Procedures:
    1.  
    2. Introduction and Motivation - will begin with the idea that humans are social beings. There will be a student lead, (teacher-guided) discussion on the basic needs of humans: food, clothing, shelter, safety and protection, and social roles. This discussion will be held sitting down with the lights off.
    3. The discussion will continue centered on the viewing of The Red Cow and Horses reproduction from the Lascaux Cave. For added effect, the teacher can use a flashlight secured in a paper towel roll to serve as a "torch".

     

    Explanation/Demonstration

    1. The teacher will show examples of prehistoric mammals found in prehistoric paintings [bison, wooly mammoths, reindeer, auroch (prehistoric cattle), antelope, horses, hyena, rhinoceroses, bears, felines and panthers]. The teacher will mention and show examples of fish and birds used as subject matter in cave paintings, as well.
    2. The teacher will report that as of today, no (entire) human form has yet been depicted in cave paintings. (only the use of positive and negative hands)
    3. The teacher will show illustrations of primitive tools (arrowheads, flints, and bone needles, and stone chisels).
    4. The teacher will demonstrate the grinding of minerals found in the earth and the mixing with a binder. Students are fascinated by the idea of the primitive paint medium being animal fat, but you can use gesso for classroom purposes.

     

    Probing Questions

     

  • Describe how the cave might look inside?
  • Who do you think painted these images? (one or more people)
  • Why do you think the Cro-Magnon painted these images?
  • Do you think they were intelligent people? Does their work show emotion?
  • What are some remnants that could have been left by people inside the cave?
  • What would you need in order to paint inside a dark cave?
  • One painting is on a twenty-foot ceiling; how do you think this was done?
  • How do you think the black paint was made? The color pigment?
  • What purpose could this cave have had to the Cro-Magnon?
  • Does the images in the painting show movement?
  • What images are depicted in this reproduction; why are they predominant?
  • What are some of the ways these images could have been made? (etched/painted)
  • What are some of the different techniques that were used in applying the paint?
  • Can you locate any symbols in the paintings, and can you describe them?
  • What might be the purpose of putting one's handprint in the painting?
  • In what ways are the hands used in applying paint?
  • How does these paintings help to record history?
  • What does taking the time to paint show about a culture?
  • Would you say this work had meaning and purpose?
  • Do you think this work is the work of one person or the efforts of a group of people?

    Learning Activity

    Session One

    1. The students will be asked to empathize with the life and times of prehistoric man.
    2. They will be asked to draw a prehistoric animal from the group discussion.
    3. After an initial drawing, students (in groups of four) will make a composite drawing onto large brown butcher paper that has been crumpled and taped to the wall).
    4. During this time, each group has one "torch".
    5. Students will assemble and label their paintbrushes to be used next class period.

      Session Two

       

      1. After adding pigment to the binder, the students will apply color in a variety of ways.
      2. A mortar and pestle can be making its way through the room as the student's draw; this will impart upon the students how difficult this process was.
      3. The students will experiment with negative and positive shapes by using their hands as a template.

        Symbols will be added by the student, and powdered pigment may be blown onto the binder that has been applied to the wall's surface.

      Session Three

      1. Critique and recap of questions, especially #'s 3, 4, 13, 14, 17, 19, and 20.
      2. The students will view the cave painting and discuss the effectiveness of the artwork as a whole.
      3. Students will review the qualities unique to the Cro-Magnon and how it is represented in their own artwork.
      4. The students will write a critique of the cave painting, as a whole, and how their individual contribution adds to the overall effect.
    •

    7. Evaluation

  • Session One -The initial sketch will be graded on the students' comprehension of the prehistoric animals and the manner of stylization of the animal in their drawing. Notes will be taken on the paper to refer to during the painting exercise. The illustration and note taking will be based on a 100-point scale.

    Session Two -Student's work and effort will be graded on their ability to incorporate the information which was discussed in the lesson into their artwork.

    Session Three - The student's written critique will be graded on a 100-point scale. The written critique should reinforce the student's ability to recognize and discuss the characteristics of prehistoric cave painting.

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  • 8. References -

    National Geographic, Art Treasures from the Ice Age, Lascaux Cave. October 1988, pp.482-499
    Chapman, Laura H. Discover Art, No. 6, Davis Publications, 1988. Pp. 38-39
    Hubbard, Guy. Art in Action, Coronado Publishers, 1987
    Artist of the Ice Age. January 1988

    Weekly Reader: Mammoth Skeleton Found. 1988
    Smithsonian: Art Treasures from the Ice Age. Lascaux Cave
    And the above url addresses!

    For questions concerning the lesson plan, contactgjgibson@ioa.com">

     

     

     

     
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