The Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art (Cambridge Illustrated Histories) [Hardcover]

Paul G. Bahn (Author), Desmond Morris (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521454735 | ISBN-13: 978-0521454735 | Publication Date: January 13, 1998

Beautifully illustrated in color with many rare and unique photographs, prints, and drawings, The Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art presents the first balanced and truly worldwide survey of prehistoric art. The book also offers the first detailed account of how the world of scholarship became aware of the existence of prehistoric art, reproducing the very earliest drawings by explorers and surveyors from the 1600s onward to create a unique pictorial as well as discursive resource. With this powerful combination of illustration and analysis, Paul Bahn describes what prehistoric art is and the different ways in which it can shed light on the lives and preoccupations of our ancestors: sexual, humorous, social, economic, and religious. The result is a fascinating exploration: a book that Desmond Morris describes as "a model of scientific restraint and objectivity....this is ultimately an art book, and as such it is endlessly provocative and engaging." Paul Bahn is an archaeologist and the author of more than 400 publications. He has authored or coauthored eight books, including The Cambridge Illustrated History of Archaeology. Dr. Bahn is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Prehistoric artwork is puzzling to modern archaeologists, for its creators are long gone and their purposes obscure. Bahn surveys the field, spanning the continents, from a historical perspective, as he did the broader subject of archaeology in The Cambridge Illustrated History of Archaeology (1996); that is, he recounts how antiquarian approaches of the nineteenth century--just collecting the stuff--gave way to scientific methods of interpretation. For cave paintings and portable objects, such as "Venus" figurines, dating has become very accurate, thanks to stratigraphic and radiocarbon analysis (and helpful in exposing fakes, as one sidebar explains). But rock carvings tend to remain as obstinately undatable as they are ubiquitous; whatever their exact ages, their meanings excite speculation, capitalized on through this volume's wealth of photographs accompanied by informative captions. Bahn's final chapter warns of threats to petroglyphs because of their popularity, capping an effective visual introduction with a technical bibliography to guide serious students. Gilbert Taylor

Review

"When I first visited the painted cave at Lascaux, not long after it had been discovered, I was stunned by what I saw. The skill of the prehistoric artists and the beauty of the images on the walls overwhelmed me. A companion, staring at them open-mouthed, blurted out that they must be fakes--they were clearly too good to have been produced by a Stone Age tribe. Of course, she was wrong. Much research has taken place during the half century since Lascaux was revealed to the world, and we now know that these remarkable paintings are perfectly genuine. My companion's disbelief was an impulsive reaction to the sheer quality of the portrayals. Therein lies their mystery and their greatest fascination." From the foreword by Desmond Morris

"The Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art presents the first balanced and truly worldwide survey of prehistoric art....a fascinating exploration of prehistoric art that is informative, engaging, and beautifully presented." Reviewer's Bookwatch

"....an effective visual introduction with a technical bibliograohy to guide serious students." Booklist

"Bahn...has written what must be considered the most comprehensive treatise on prehistoric art to date. The writing is lucid and descriptive, satisfying to the advanced anthropologist or artist while quite comprehensible to uninitiated readers. Highly recommended for all levels." Choice

"Using his expertise and experience as an archaeologist, the author has put together a fascinating study of Prehistoric Art. This fascinating book is highly readable, attractively formatted and would be of great value in an art history class with a range broad enough to cover prehistory." Rita N. Doyle, Book Report

"Bahn has authored a book that will be useful to nonspecialist professionals and students with interests in the fascinating subject of parietal art." Thomas F. Aleto, American Antiquity

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 302 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521454735
• ISBN-13: 978-0521454735
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,097,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding survey of the history of prehistoric art., October 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art (Cambridge Illustrated Histories) (Hardcover)

Few scholars could deign to undertake a survey of the world's prehistoric art, but Bahn is well chosen. He has experienced a breadth of world rock art equaled by few others. But, it is his command of history and literature that distinguish this book. The first 70 pages define the study of prehistoric art and survey the history of rock art research on each continent. For example, Chinese philosopher Han Fei produced the earliest written account about 2,300 years ago (much of the world's prehistoric art is younger than this). Modern scholars, on the other hand, only "discovered" Chinese rock art about 1950. Two-thirds of the book is devoted to Art on Rocks and Walls, rock art. Bahn leads the reader through the amazing array of rock art around the world and through time, skipping from place-to-place, style-to-style, and culture-to-culture while holding the reader's interest. He takes the reader through the science of dating and style. He turns to literal interpretations of vulvas and sex, human portraiture, zoophilia, and birth. Violence and warfare, sound and music, humor-the vast array of human experiences are revealed in his survey of rock art through the art itself. The reader learns not so much about the art of any one people as about how humans see and experience the world. Bahn's volume on prehistoric art is not the final word on the subject, but it is a valuable contribution to the literature. His survey of works predating 1900 alone makes this book and invaluable addition to one's library.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Artistic Wonder, May 18, 2010

By 

Ann B. Keller "Ann B. Keller" (Cleveland, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art (Cambridge Illustrated Histories) (Hardcover)

Outstanding book. From Nine Mile Canyon in Utah to ancient drawings and paintings captured in Sefar, Algeria and Arnhem Land in Australia, Paul Bahn delights us with incredible images from our prehistoric past. Petroglyphs of emus, sheep, birdmen, bison, cup marks and shamen leap off the pages of this book, surrounded by riveting historical commentary, including paint pigment details, stories and folktales that help bring the pictures to life. Excellent resource for any library and fascinating coffee table book, too. Students of art, art history and anthropology will adore it.

30 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too Politically Correct, May 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art (Cambridge Illustrated Histories) (Hardcover)

This is a lovely book, but is so politically correct that it is obnoxious. The primitive art of Australian aborigines, for example, is given as much, if not more, coverage than that of Europe and the Middle East. There is too much emphasis on the peripheral in a misguided attempt to be "fair," with a corresponding reduction in coverage for the prehistoric art of peoples who eventually created civilizations.