Anthropology and Art

Art is universal

• People express themselves with imagination, beauty, skill, style

painting

architecture

sculpture

carving

pottery weaving

music song

poetryfolklore

danceperformane

calligraphy

The Earliest Art

• Neanderthal 70 – 35 kya– Burials decorated with ochre– Beads– flutes

• Modern Humans– Venus figures– Cave painting

Characteristics of Art

• Art is a reflection of cultural values• Art uses symbols, different in each culture• In some cultures the art object has spiritual

power so created in a certain way, these cultures have little change in style

• Changes in artistic style can be used to understand history of a culture

Functions of Art

• Ritual• Expression of Cultural Themes• Depiction of Social Structure• Expression of Resistance to the Elite• Recording Cultural History• Personal Expression

Art as Ritual

• Many cultures use art to communicate with spirit world

Painting

artifact

sound

dance

Expression of Cultural Themes

• Arts make cultural themes visible– Godzilla post WWII, awakened by atomic bomb

attacks Tokyo

Depiction of Social Structure

• Power of the ruler depicted in visual arts, stories, performing arts, architecture

Arts and Resistance

• Expression of conflict• Resistance to social structure in stories about

underdog who out smarts bigger, stronger opponent

Recording Cultural History

• Express cultural identity by depicting past• Tell stories of ancestors or clan

Luba of ZaireMemory board

North American Ledger drawings

Personal Expression

• Body art identifies social bonds and status

hennatattoo

piercing

scarification

Representing Others

• Art of the dominant culture may depict and reinforce relationships to other cultures or subcultures

• Insight into the ideas one group has about another

Marketing Cultural Identity Through the Arts

• Role of arts in globally connected economic and cultural system

• Growth of tourism and art collecting

Bali GamelanOrchestra