Pravěké umění

The book Prehistoric Art: Evolution of Man and Culture addresses the birth of human creativity in the context of the evolution of the humankind. It pays special attention to the development, description and interpretation of prehistoric art. The first part of the book presents a model of the anthropogenesis and the evolution of man with emphasis on the rise and migration of anatomically modern humans (homo sapiens). The theoretical analysis focuses on everyday life of prehistoric hunters and gatherers, the developmental transformations of Palaeolithic industry as well as the methods of using caves and overhangs. In the context of the genesis of human creativity, the book further analyses and interprets the phenomenon of proto-art: non utilitarian artifacts, which were created in the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic. In addition, the book strives to explain the meaning and significance of prehistoric artistic artifacts using theories and hypotheses about the origin of human creativity and art. The second half of the book presents specific artistic expressions in the periods of the Upper Palaeolithic (Perigordian, Gravettian, Solutrean, and Magdalenian), including material technology. Mobile and parietal art is systematically and chronologically categorized, described and interpreted in the context of its discovery and current findings.