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Accepted Paper:
Paper short abstract:
How can one conceptualize the artistic traditions of Prehistoric Europe as a whole? By examining the nature of prehistoric European art as art, I put forward a definition of prehistoric art for Europe, which captures its distinctiveness as an artistic tradition.
Paper long abstract:
This paper is concerned with the broader aim of the panel of how to envision the artistic traditions of Prehistoric Europe as a whole. This question is considered on three levels. (1) What defines the nature of these images/objects as art? If the unifying factor between the various objects and images from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age is their status as art, what defines this artistic status? I argue against a very broad notion of art and put forward a concept of art, which outlines the specificity of art in prehistory. By considering examples from the Palaeolithic up till the Iron Age I discuss how one can conceptualize the artistic traditions of Prehistoric Europe as a whole. (2) These artistic traditions are placed in their material/social context by considering art as a specific type of social agent. I consider the social role of art within prehistoric communities as an indicator of a specific type of social ontology, which specifies the current actor-network approach to prehistoric art. (3) How can one acknowledge the diversity of art throughout the 30,000 years of European prehistory alongside the consideration of these art traditions as a whole? I argue that in order to understand the art of Prehistoric Europe both as a whole and in its specificity, one should not distinguish between the unifying concepts (art and social ontology) and difference, but encapsulate difference within these concepts themselves.
Art and Material Culture in Prehistoric Europe
Session 1 Saturday 2 June, 2018, -