1. NEOLITHIC OR NEW STONE AGE WESTERN EUROPEAN ART
Detail of a Kerb Stone at Newgrange

2. TIMELINE
Neolithic Period or New Stone Age occurred in Europe from 6000 to 4000 years ago
Megalithic art carved on the underside of the roof stone inside the mound at Newgrange

3. • Newgrange
• Stonehenge
Brittany

4. STYLE/DISTINGUISHING FEATURES
Some of the Menhirs or Megalithic stones at Avebury, England

5. A count of one Begin
End
A set of units counted
as one A single day
A count of five items, Two days
for example: instances
are given from three Three days
to twenty-two and
thirty-three Group of days
A whole unit; a whole night and day;
a week; a month
The Heavens
Half a whole unit
The winter sun,
A count of three whole units a clockwise spiral
e.g. three days and nights
The summer sun,
Four weeks an anti-clockwise spiral
The equinox,
spring and autumn
Four quarters in a year,
Four seasons in a year

6. Crosier
Shield
Axe Horn

7. Engravings inside the Cairn T, Loughcrew, Ireland,
at time of the Autumn Equinox
The 6ft high monolith or menhir that is only
illuminated on the 8th November and 4th February
each year marking the beginning of Spring and
Autumn.

8. The huge engraved stones inside the Gavrinis Cairn, Brittany, France

9. Examples of ceramic and stone Neolithic statuettes

10. KEY ARTISTS/MOST IMPORTANT WORKS
Aerial photo of Newgrange, Ireland

11. Entrance Kerbstone and Roof box of Newgrange, Ireland

12. The Three-spiral motif inside Newgrange, Ireland
The tri-spiral is often referred to as a Celtic design, however it was carved about 2500 years
before the Celts reached Ireland.

13. Stonehenge, England as it is today
Stonehenge as it may have originally looked

14. SOCIO-POLITICAL AGENDA
Examples of everyday
portable objects
Spindle for weaving
Ceremonial Flint Axe head
Ceramic bowl
Stone weight

15. Examples of Neolithic ceramic pottery

16. Stone Necklace

17. Stone Beads

18. LEGACY TO CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE
Decorative arts had a new religious and ceremonial focus which influenced art
among later generations.
The emergence of transport – mainly boats – allowed for a sharing of cultural
beliefs and an exchange of artefacts and techniques.
The arrival of pictorial methods of communication and religious worship lead to
early hieroglyphic writing systems.

19. REFERENCES
About Stonehenge
http://www.aboutstonehenge.info/index.php
Encyclopedia of World and Irish Art
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/index.htm
Gardner’s Art Through the Ages 11th Edition
Kliener, F., Mamiya, C., & Tansey, R. (2001) Gardner’s art through the ages. U.S.A.: Harcourt College Publishers
Knowth.com
http://www.knowth.com/index.htm
Megaliths in Morbihan
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/megalithes/en/index_en.html
Mythical Ireland
http://www.mythicalireland.com/
Virtual Museum
http://www.europeanvirtualmuseum.net/virtual_museum/virtual_museum.asp?lingua=en&tab=0