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This is a descriptive list of Stone Age art, the period of prehistory characterised by the widespread use of stone tools. This article contains, by sheer volume of the artwork discovered, a very incomplete list of the works of the painters, sculptors, and other artists who created what is now called prehistoric art.
A stone sculpture is an object made of stone which has been shaped, usually by carving, or assembled to form a visually interesting three-dimensional shape. Stone is more durable than most alternative materials, making it especially important in architectural sculpture on the outside of buildings.
Central Zimbabwe contains the "Great Dyke" – a source of serpentine rocks of many types including a hard variety locally called springstone.An early precolonial culture of Shona peoples settled the high plateau around 900 AD and “Great Zimbabwe”, which dates from about 1250–1450 AD, was a stone-walled town showing evidence in its archaeology of skilled stone working.
Celtic stone idols are Northern European stone sculptures dated to the Iron Age, that are believed to represent Celtic gods. The majority contain one or more human heads, which may have one or more faces. It is thought that the heads were often placed on top of pillar stones and were a centrepiece at cultic worship sites.
The earliest known works of representational art are stone carvings. Often marks carved into rock or petroglyphs will survive where painted work will not. Prehistoric Venus figurines such as the Venus of Berekhat Ram may be as old as 250,000 years [citation needed], and are carved in stones such as tuff and limestone.
Art of the European Upper Paleolithic includes rock and cave painting, jewelry, [12] [13] drawing, carving, engraving and sculpture in clay, bone, antler, [14] stone [15] and ivory, such as the Venus figurines, and musical instruments such as flutes. Decoration was also made on functional tools, such as spear throwers, perforated batons and lamps.
Sculpture in stone survives far better than works of art in perishable materials, and often represents the majority of the surviving works (other than pottery) from ancient cultures, though conversely traditions of sculpture in wood may have vanished almost entirely. In addition, most ancient sculpture was brightly painted, and this has been lost.
The first records of the images inscribed at the site were made in 1627 when Peder Alfsön, a Norwegian doctor and lector, made ink drawings of some of the carvings.The first professional recordings were made in 1792 by Carl Gustaf Gottfried Hilfeling, who was sent by nobleman Pehr Tham to draw the carvings.