The Importance of Art as a Historical Evidence
WORLD HISTORY PROJECTORIGINS / LESSON 2.2ACTIVITYTHE IMPORTANCE OF ART AS HISTORICAL EVIDENCEUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “The Importance of Art as Historical Evidence”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeThis activity asks you to analyze and evaluate art and artifacts from some of the earliest human communities. By doing so, you’ll understand how scholars use these not only as evidence of how early humans expressed themselves, but also as windows into early human culture. In addition, you’ll develop skills to analyze art from a historical perspective, which is an important skill for you to master.Key informationArt is a means of self-expression, but it also can be used to study the culture of early humans. Long before humans began using writing to record transactions, events, and stories, they created art. Historians and archaeologists use these early forms of human expression as evidence of what certain cultures held as important or sacred.OPTIC is an acronym:•O = overview/organization•P = parts•T = title/time•I = interrelationships•C = conclusion/contextProcess1.Analyze each image in this worksheet, andthen perform an OPTIC analysis of each image. You’ll use this format and the questions in the worksheet to look at the image first as a whole, and then in parts to help explain how these parts interrelate with one another so that you can then draw conclusions about the image.2.Make sure you answer the questions at the end of the worksheet as well. 3.If your teacher asks you to complete additional OPTIC analysis of the images in the image carousel, you can find an OPTIC worksheet here.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 2.2ACTIVITYTHE IMPORTANCE OF ART AS HISTORICAL EVIDENCE2Image 1Le#: Tla)lco figurines, c. 1200-900 BCE, present-day Mexico.By Madman2001, CC BY-SA 4.0.Right: Tla)lco figurine, c. 1200-900 BCE, present-day Mexico.By Steven Zucker, CC BY 2.5.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 2.2ACTIVITYTHE IMPORTANCE OF ART AS HISTORICAL EVIDENCE3Image 1: Tlatilco figurinesOPTICAnalysisOverview / Organiza5onIs this visual a pain)ng, cartoon, propaganda, photograph, poOery, sculpture, or another type of representa)on? What is the main focus of the piece?PartsWhat are the pieces that make up this image? Divide the image into quadrants (four parts) and study each part. What is the focal point? What do the colors, ligh)ng, paOerns, or sizes in the image tell you?Title / TimeDoes the )tle reveal anything about the piece? If it’s un)tled, does the )me period help reveal anything about the image?Interrela5onshipsHow do the parts, subjects, people, or animals in the image interact? Is one person or subject presented more prominently than another, or does one appear to have more power?Context / ConclusionsWhat do you know about the subject/person in the image? Or what do you know about the creator of the image? What conclusions can you draw from the image?
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 2.2ACTIVITYTHE IMPORTANCE OF ART AS HISTORICAL EVIDENCE4Image 2Both images (aboveand below) are from the Foggini Cave, also known as the Wadi Sura II, c. 5000 BCE, present-day Egypt near the border of Sudan and Libya in the Sahara Desert. ByClemens Schmillen, CC BY-SA 3.0.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 2.2ACTIVITYTHE IMPORTANCE OF ART AS HISTORICAL EVIDENCE5Image 2: Foggini Cave drawingsOPTICAnalysisOverview / Organiza5onIs this visual a pain)ng, cartoon, propaganda, photograph, poOery, sculpture, or another type of representa)on? What is the main focus of the piece?PartsWhat are the pieces that make up this image? Divide the image into quadrants (four parts) and study each part. What is the focal point? What do the colors, ligh)ng, paOerns, or sizes in the image tell you?Title / TimeDoes the )tle reveal anything about the piece? If it’s un)tled, does the )me period help reveal anything about the image?Interrela5onshipsHow do the parts, subjects, people, or animals in the image interact? Is one person or subject presented more prominently than another, or does one appear to have more power?Context / ConclusionsWhat do you know about the subject/person in the image? Or what do you know about the creator of the image? What conclusions can you draw from the image?
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 2.2ACTIVITYTHE IMPORTANCE OF ART AS HISTORICAL EVIDENCE6Image 3Mehrgarh figurine, c. 3000 BCE, present-day Pakistan.CC BY-SA 1.0
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 2.2ACTIVITYTHE IMPORTANCE OF ART AS HISTORICAL EVIDENCE7Image 3:Mehrgarh figurineOPTICAnalysisOverview / Organiza5onIs this visual a pain)ng, cartoon, propaganda, photograph, poOery, sculpture, or another type of representa)on? What is the main focus of the piece?PartsWhat are the pieces that make up this image? Divide the image into quadrants (four parts) and study each part. What is the focal point? What do the colors, ligh)ng, paOerns, or sizes in the image tell you?Title / TimeDoes the )tle reveal anything about the piece? If it’s un)tled, does the )me period help reveal anything about the image?Interrela5onshipsHow do the parts, subjects, people, or animals in the image interact? Is one person or subject presented more prominently than another, or does one appear to have more power?Context / ConclusionsWhat do you know about the subject/person in the image? Or what do you know about the creator of the image? What conclusions can you draw from the image?
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 2.2ACTIVITYTHE IMPORTANCE OF ART AS HISTORICAL EVIDENCE8Based on the OPTIC analyses you’ve completed for the threeimages, answer these follow-up questions:1.Why might it be difficult to assess the true nature or uses of these works of art?2.How might historians and archaeologists use these artworks to learn more about these societies?Be prepared to discuss your answers with the class.