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.