Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2007
Department
Communications
Abstract
...The major focus of my sabbatical study was Paleolithic Art, although I also studied the megalithic monuments of the Neolithic era, ancient and contemporary architecture, medieval French and Spanish literature, and Middle Eastern history and culture. With extensive travel to France, Spain, and Italy, I was able to view paintings in caves that are open to the public and I was able to improve my ability to use French and Spanish in everyday conversation.
My sabbatical study of rock art was a continuation of research undertaken earlier when I was a member of several small groups that located, photographed, and made measured drawings of rock art in Tanzania, Hawaii, and the Big Bend area of Texas. During a previous sabbatical, I accompanied Mary Leakey and three other researchers to Tanzania, where we located and analyzed rock paintings that are rapidly disappearing, and I photographed the images with infrared film.
The recent discovery of caves with significant art and artifacts in France, Spain, and England, the excavation of new sites in Siberia and the central Russian steppes, the acknowledgement of the study of prehistoric art as a legitimate branch of anthropology and archaeology, and the development of increasingly sophisticated techniques for analyses such as dating artwork and examining skeletal remains have made this an exciting time to study prehistoric rock art. Several significant and surprising discoveries during the past twenty years have provided information that has challenged many long-held ideas concerning Paleolithic art and the people who produced it, as well as the general development of art styles. Included in this report are descriptions several decorated caves in France and Spain. A few of the paintings are reproduced in color on separate pages at the end of the report...
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Loy, Sue, "A Study of Prehistoric Art and Other Pleasures" (2007). Sabbaticals. 9.
https://spark.parkland.edu/sabbaticals/9
