AES_307 Symbolic Communication and the Origin of Art

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Martina Galetová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Klára Šabatová, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Martina Galetová, Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Šibíčková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Wed 14:00–15:40 M12, except Mon 21. 4. to Sun 27. 4.
Prerequisites (in Czech)
Předmět je určen zájemcům o problematiku.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 16 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 10/16, only registered: 0/16, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/16
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 15 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The goal of the course is to introduce students to the origins of artistic expressions and potential earliest symbolic representations that arose during the evolution of the genus Homo. Specific examples of presumed evidence of the earliest human art and adornment will be used to address the question: What is art/art? The basic categories of these manifestations of human art and adornment - materials, technologies of production, and analyses of potential functions - will be theoretically introduced to retrospectively approximate the "life" and functioning of these artifacts in contemporary human society. The issue is approached from a cultural anthropological perspective. Man himself, his representation and adornment, and the manifestations of his behaviour such as music, proto-language, learning, dance, performance and their evidence will also be presented. Examples will be chosen from the prehistoric art and adornment of man. Detailed focus will be directed to finds from the Moravian Paleolithic and to specific examples of the objects analyzed (may also be suggested by students). Current trends in interpretations of the earliest human art and ornamentation will be discussed.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- orient themselves in the artistic expressions and forms of art of the Paleolithic
- use and interpret the results of basic anthropological methods and ethnographic analogies in the context of the earliest art
- unravel potential evidence of artistic production in the Palaeolithic
Syllabus
  • 1. The origin and development of symbolic behaviour across the genus Homo, was the creator of art and symbolic representations already a Neanderthal? - The current state of knowledge
  • 2. Current understanding of the earliest evidence of symbolic human behavior based on artifact analyses of art and ornamentation
  • 3. Visual culture in the Palaeolithic, materials, technologies, analyses of function and methodologies for their investigation
  • 4. Statement of the problem and cultural anthropological approach to the solution: Is Paleolithic art art?
  • 5. Abstract art - graphic narrative, writing, symbols, proto-language, symbolic communication, numerical records
  • 6. Figurative art, the relationship between man and animal
  • 7. Narrative dimension, scenes, animation
  • 8. Human cognition, visual perception, neuroscience in art
  • 9. Role of learning, play in human development
  • 10. Human representation - women, men and children in the Paleolithic
  • 11. Jewellery/jewellery, body decoration and body modification as a carrier of meaning
  • 12. Intangible expressions of culture in the Palaeolithic - language, music, dance, performance, learning and gesture
  • 13. Current developments and discussions of interpretations of the earliest art and symbolic representations of humans
Literature
    required literature
  • Vanhaeren, M. and F. d’Errico (2006). "Aurignacian Ethno-linguistic Geography of Europe Revealed by Personal Ornaments." Journal of Archaeological Science 33: 1105–1128.
  • Soffer O. (1997). The Mutability of Upper Paleolithic Art in Central and Eastern Europe : Patterning and Significance in : Beyond Art : Pleistocene Image and Symbol, M. W. Conkey, O. Soffer, D. Stratmann et N. G. Jablonski (Eds.), Memoirs of the Califoni
  • Barton, C. M., Clark, G. A., & Cohen, A. E. (1994). Art as information : Explaining Upper Palaeolithic art in western Europe. World Archaeology, 26(2), 185-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.1994.9980272
  • Shipman, P. (2010) The animal connection and human evolution. Current Anthropology 51 (4): 519–538.
  • Jelínek, J. (1972). Velký obrazový atlas člověka. Praha, Artia.
  • De Smedt, J., De Cruz, H., (2011). A Cognitive Approach to the Earliest Art. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 69, 379-389.
  • French, J. C. and A. Nowell (2022). "Growing up Gravettian: Bioarchaeological perspectives on adolescence in the European Mid-Upper Paleolithic." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 67: 101430.
  • D’Errico, F, Henshilwood, C., Lawson, G., Vanhaeren, M., Tillier, A.-M., Soressi, M., Bresson, F., Maureille, B., Nowell, A., & Lakarra, J. (2003). Archaeological evidence for the emergence of language, symbolism, and music–an alternative multidiscipl
  • Lázničková-Galetová, M. (2015). Poznámky k technologii tvorby moravského paleolitického umění Umění Moravského paleolitu. Atlas sbírky Ústavu Anthropos Moravského zemského muzea. Oliva. Brno, Studies in Anthropology, Palaeothnology, Plaeontology and
  • OLIVA, Martin. Palaeolithic art of Moravia :the Anthropos collection of the Moravian museum. Vydání 1. Brno: Moravské zemské muzeum, 2015, 172 stran. ISBN 9788070284551. info
Teaching methods
Lectures with discussion, active analysis of case artefacts.
Assessment methods
The student prepares and submits a written thesis of 2-3 standard pages on a sub-topic chosen from a selection of topics or suggested during the consultation. After fulfilling this requirement, the student will receive credit.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in three years.
Teacher's information
Povinná literatura

1. De Smedt, J., De Cruz, H., (2011). A Cognitive Approach to the Earliest Art. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 69, 379-389.

2. Barton, C. M., Clark, G. A., & Cohen, A. E. (1994). Art as information : Explaining Upper Palaeolithic art in western Europe. World Archaeology, 26(2), 185-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.1994.9980272

3. Shipman, P. (2010) The animal connection and human evolution. Current Anthropology 51 (4): 519–538.

4. Oliva, M. (2015). Umění Moravského paleolitu. Atlas sbírky Ústavu Anthropos Moravského zemského muzea Brno, Moravské zemské muzeum.

5. French, J. C. and A. Nowell (2022). "Growing up Gravettian: Bioarchaeological perspectives on adolescence in the European Mid-Upper Paleolithic." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 67: 101430.

6. Jelínek J. (1977): Velký obrazový atlas pravěkého člověka. Praha, Artia.

7. Lázničková-Galetová, M. (2015). Poznámky k technologii tvorby moravského paleolitického umění Umění Moravského paleolitu. Atlas sbírky Ústavu Anthropos Moravského zemského muzea. Oliva. Brno, Studies in Anthropology, Palaeothnology, Plaeontology and Quaternary Geology, vol. 38/N.S. 30, Moravské zemské museum, 154-172.

8. Vanhaeren, M. and F. d’Errico (2006). "Aurignacian Ethno-linguistic Geography of Europe Revealed by Personal Ornaments." Journal of Archaeological Science 33: 1105–1128.

9. D’Errico, F, Henshilwood, C., Lawson, G., Vanhaeren, M., Tillier, A.-M., Soressi, M., Bresson, F., Maureille, B., Nowell, A., & Lakarra, J. (2003). Archaeological evidence for the emergence of language, symbolism, and music–an alternative multidisciplinary perspective. Journal of World Prehistory, 17(1), 1–70.

10. Soffer O. (1997). The Mutability of Upper Paleolithic Art in Central and Eastern Europe : Patterning and Significance in : Beyond Art : Pleistocene Image and Symbol, M. W. Conkey, O. Soffer, D. Stratmann et N. G. Jablonski (Eds.), Memoirs of the Califonia Academy of Sciences. N° 23, 239-261.

Doporučená literatura

Literatura bude doporučována ke každému tématu v jednotlivých přednáškách – zde uvedene jen některá, vzhledem k možným modifikacím vycházejích z diskusí k tématům

1. Azéma, M. (2015). De l’image à la narration graphique à l’Aurignacien. Palethnologie. Archéologie et sciences humaines, 7. https://doi.org/10.4000/palethnologie.850.

2. Lázničková-Galetová, M., (2023). Nejstarší šperky a ozdoby těla/The Oldest Jewellery and Body Ornaments. Moravské zemské muzeum, Brno.

3. Nowell, A. (2006). "From A Paleolithic Art to Pleistocene Visual Cultures (Introduction of two Special Issus on "Advances in the Study of Pleistocene Imagery and Symbol Use") " Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 13(4): 239-249.

4. Mithen, S. (2014). The Cognition of Homo neanderthalensis and H. sapiens : Does the Use of Pigment Necessarily Imply Symbolic Thought? In T. Akazawa, N. Ogihara, H. C Tanabe, & H. Terashima (Éds.), Dynamics of Learning in Neanderthals and Modern Humans Volume 2 : Cognitive and Physical Perspectives (p. 7-16). Springer Japan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54553-8_2

5. Riede, F., N. N. Johannsen, A. Högberg, A. Nowell and M. Lombard (2018). The role of play objects and object play in human cognitive evolution and innovation. Evolutionary anthropology 27(1): 46-59.

6. Rivero, O., M. S. Beato, A. Alvarez-Martinez, M. García-Bustos, M. Suarez, A. M. Mateo-Pellitero, J. Eseverri and X. Eguilleor-Carmona (2024). "Experimental insights into cognition, motor skills, and artistic expertise in Paleolithic art." Scientific Reports 14(1): 18029.

7. Solso, R. (2000). The cognitive neuroscience of art. Journal of Consciousness Studies 7-8/9: 75–81.

8. Soffer O. (1997). The Mutability of Upper Paleolithic Art in Central and Eastern Europe : Patterning and Significance in : Beyond Art : Pleistocene Image and Symbol, M. W. Conkey, O. Soffer, D. Stratmann et N. G. Jablonski (Eds.), Memoirs of the Califonia Academy of Sciences. N° 23, 239-261.

9. Sauvet, G., Fritz, C., & Tosello, G. (2008). Emergence et expansion de l’art aurignacien. Bull. Soc. Préhist. Ariège, 63(3). http://creap.fr/pdfs/Sauvet-Fritz-Tosello-Aurignacien- PAS-2008.pdf

10. Mellet E, Salagnon M, Majkic ́A, Cremona S, Joliot M, Jobard G, Mazoyer B, Tzourio-Mazoyer N, d’Errico F. (2019). Neuroimaging supports the representational nature of the earliest human engravings. R. Soc.open sci.6: 90086. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190086.

11. Valoch, K. and M. Lázničková-Galetová (2009). Nejstarší umění střední Evropy. Brno.

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