Although there are many different Prehistoric art pieces I could chose for Humanities, I stick to a combination of Paleolithic and Neolithic and I try to make sure there are some overarching themes such as funerary or the natural world so that we can have some whole-class connections. Here are the ones I use:
- Apollo 11 Stones, Namibia
- Jade cong, China
- Lascaux caves, France
- Altamira caves, Spain
- Newgrange, Ireland
- Beaker with Ibex motifs, Iran
- Venus of Willendorf, Austria
As you can see there is definitely some crossover with the AP Art History, but my lessons differ enough to make it interesting for those students who take me for both courses.
Read more: Kinesthetic Learning with the Venus of Willendorf
Lesson Plan
I break up the class into groups of four students, each one assigned one of the images above. Each person in the group has a task to accomplish:
- One artist will create a representation of the image based on information given
- One researcher will provide the group will all the information they need to complete their tasks
- One writer will complete a Prehistoric Art Form with basic information on their assigned image and assist to write the short presentation
- One presenter will put everything together and showcase the group’s created image and deliver a short presentation on their assigned image
Read more: Prehistoric Posts
JMF
Excellent and creative!