ART in the Age of METALS: characteristics and works

It is known as Age of metals to a historical period that extends since the millennium IV and l BC. It is one of the last moments of prehistory, a phase in which the human being discovers and masters the art of melting metal to mold it and make objects of copper, bronze and iron.

A development of metallurgy which was the consequence of a boom in commerce, an increase in productivity, the appearance of skilled workers and artisans, as well as artistic activities. In this new lesson from unPROFESOR.com we tell you what the art in the Metal Age so that you know its stages, characteristics and main works.

Index

1. What are the stages of the Metal Age?
2. Art in the Copper Age
3. Art in the Bronze Age
4. Art in the Iron Age
5. Architecture in the Metal Age
6. Sculpture and painting during the Metal Age

Before talking about the Art in the Metal Age, we are going to know what are the stages of this time of Prehistory. Metalworking provided a strong and durable material

In this prehistoric era when the human being discovers the multitude of possibilities offered by metals. The first metal to be isolated and melted was copper, then bronze, and finally iron, each metal being the protagonist of a new historical stage.

It is estimated that metallurgy was born on the Anatolian Peninsula around the year 5000 BC, the smelting of copper was discovered there by chance. And it is that, although in previous times jewelry and metal objects had already been made, it would not be until their popularization and its use on a regular basis for the manufacture of all kinds of objects that began the Age of the metals.

The stages of the Metal Age are:

• The Copper Age o Chalcolithic (III millennium BC)
• The Bronze Age, II millennium BC
• The Iron Age, 1st millennium BC

The Copper Age coincides with the Chalcolithic, a stage that is usually dated between 6000 BC and 2500 BC. A period of time that is considered to be more of a transitional period prior to the Bronze Age, being so they were Few deposits knew the copper work technique, more abundant due to the intense exchange that this copper underwent. metal.

A) Yes, copper was one of the first metals used by the human being, being used first in its natural state, to later go on to melt the mineral, something that the most advanced cultures dominated. Along with the copper work, progress was also made in the improvement of the ceramic work.

Artistic objects in the Copper Age

The artistic production of this time continues to have stone as one of its main materials, since copper did not provide enough hardness. They are manufactured axes, drills, loom weights and stone idols, while there are numerous bronze ornaments and jewels such as bracelets, pins and rings. In some cultures, all kinds of ornaments can also be found in metals such as gold and silver.

Another of the arts of the Copper Age is the ceramics. The working technique of the same experiences a great advance, producing a high quality ceramic in a reddish-brown or red color. The decoration is made by means of incisions or prints of geometric themes such as stripes, checkered motifs, horizontal bands, etc.

One of the most common types of ceramics and that is the protagonist of this stage is the bell-shaped glass. A pottery in the shape of an inverted campaign, highly decorated and that is usually part of funerary furnishings.

Another type of ceramic from the Bronze Age is corded or decorated with ropes and is associated with the introduction of metals.

In addition to ceramics, Bronze is also characterized by appearance in funeral trousseau of ornaments made of bone such as buttons, pendants, spirals, Palmela arrows, perforated plates and triangular copper daggers.

We continue this review of art in the Metal Age to speak, now, of the Bronze Age. At this time they take place breakthroughs of great significance for the History of Humanity such as the expansion of agriculture and livestock and that of copper and its alloys. A process that was favored by greater socialization among the peoples.

An extension related to technical advances such as wheeled carts and horse use as traction and means of transport. The changes favored the intensification of commercial relations, the proliferation of trades and artisans and a greater specialization in all labor aspects.

What art was like in the Bronze Age

Specialization multiplied the number of articles produced, being also objects that served to show the situation and the economic and social power of the people. Thus, people of certain social and economic power possessed highly ornate and elaborate objects. Some grave goods that accompanied the person in life and in death, forming part of the grave goods.

With regard to other types of artistic expressions, the Bronze Age also highlights the petroglyphs, painting, stelae and ornamentation of tools, weapons and other household objects.

The populations of the Late Bronze Age were influenced by the Eastern cultures, appearing agrarian societies with a warrior aristocracy in Central Europe, and more sophisticated cultures in the Mediterranean area as they are under the influence of greeks and Phoenicians.

This stage starts approximately between 2000 and 1500 BC. spreading from the Middle East to Europe, South Asia and North Africa. The Iron Age constitutes the last period of Prehistory, prior to the invention of writing and the end of the Metal Age.

Iron was a more resistant and abundant mineral and simpler to extract than bronze. Some characteristics that made iron a cheaper metal and without the need to make an alloy, being an ideal material for the manufacture of axes, nails, saws, etc. However, iron required great skill to work, requiring a high level of temperature to melt it in a mold, something that was only achieved in China, working its molding at hammer.

Art objects in the Iron Age

While bronze was used for the manufacture of ornamental objects, iron was used more in the manufacture of instruments for work and weapons, while gold and silver remained as metals for the higher classes as prestige symbol.

Iron was used for the design of aarms, tools and armor, at the same time that it also meant a cultural advance as it was a unique material to respond to the needs of the day to day. A metal that allowed both to carry out all kinds of activities and for art. Thus, the use of metal helped to be able to work the stone better, making more complex petroglyphs.

Regarding the funeral cultureIn the Iron Age, the funeral rites of cremation in ceramic urns spread. A time in which the Celtic culture is consolidated in the Central European area, while the Iberian culture appears in the Peninsula. Some cultures that overlapped between the final moments of Prehistory and the beginning of Ancient History.

We continue to know what art was like in the Metal Age talking about one of the most representative artistic manifestations of the Metal Age: the megalithic monuments or the big stones. The megalithic monuments were constructions made with large blocks of stone. Tombs and religious sanctuaries were the main constructions of the time.

With regard to the houses, these were built with materials such as adobe and wood. Some houses that were built on circular, square, even rectangular floors.

The stone constructions were fortification walls, the menhirs, the dolmens, the chromlech, the navetas or the talayots. Solid and durable constructions that have survived to this day.

• The navetas they were monumental tombs in the shape of a pyramid
• While the talayot They were towers with a covered chamber and the taulas were constructions with a T-shape in the center.
• The menhirs They are stones driven into the ground, being of different dimensions, the dolmens are corridor tombs that were covered with earth and left with the appearance of small hills.
• The chromelech They are stone circles that are related to the cult of the sun, as well as being places where fertility rituals were performed.

And we end this review of art in the Metal Age by talking about other disciplines such as sculpture and painting. And it is that at this time a more refined sculpture and pottery and with a greater number of religious and ceremonial artifacts. Thus, there are small male and female sculptures made with baked clay or schematic figures with large eyes.

With regard to painting, we find figurative images of animals and humans, gods and tributes to the great rulers and kings. Cave paintings are also being made in which animals and human figures are represented.

If you want to read more articles similar to Art in the Metal Age, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

• Eiroa, J. J, (1996) Prehistory II: The Age of Metals, Akal
• Fullola, Josep Mª; Nadal, Jordi (2005). «Introduction to prehistory. The evolution of human culture. Barcelona, ​​Ed. UOC
• Heliodoro Núñez and Antonio Paniagua (2001). "The Age of Metals: chronology and periods". Institute of Educational Technologies. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
• Delibes, Germán; Fernández-Miranda, Manuel (1993). The origins of civilization. The Chalcolithic in the Old World ». Madrid, Synthesis Editorial