The Pavement Artists of 5000 Years Ago!
People often speculate about the origins of pavement art, but in many ways it’s a pointless exercise. It’s like trying to find the origins of art itself, it doesn’t matter; mankind is a compulsive communicator and it’s likely that ‘art’ and mark-making happened in many different places at many different times, often in cultural isolation.
In this blog I’ve already debunked the idea that modern day pavement art originated in Italy and is in some way romantically connected to the renaissance. That’s a total myth!
Animal figure, possibly a horse incised drawing on the paving-stone at Megiddo.
In 1938, the London Illustrated News ran an article on the then recent expedition and finds in the ancient Palestine city (now Israel) of Megiddo, otherwise known from the Book of Revelations as Armageddon.
Human form as represented at Megiddon. 4th millennium BC
In the same year, archaeologist Gordon Loud gave an account of fresh discoveries at Megiddo undertaken by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. During the 1937-38 season a large mound was cleared to bedrock, disclosing for the first time a complete stone pavement
Human figure with hands upraised perhaps in a dance. Incised into the paving-stones at Megiddo.
Upon many of the paving-stones were incised drawings of human and animal forms, thought at the time to be the earliest examples of graphic pavement art ever found in Palestine, while no definite dates can be made as to when the pavement was laid, the cultural sequence in excavation estimated it as being the first half of the 4th millennium BC.
Deeply cut horned animal from Megiddo
The human figures have a certain style throughout and were drawn in various postures, and with strange proportions. Outlandishly long noses and large headdresses; a simple girdle would suffice for a costume.
Human figures: Harpist with her instrument and right, a warrior or dancer.
Animals would be drawn with abnormally long-tails, which archaeologists at the time put down to poor draughtsmanship, but may simply be a cultural stylisation.
Animal with abnormally long-tail incised into the pavement stone at Megiddo,, Palestine.
Whatever the truth, these must surly represent some of the earliest pavement art ever discovered, and certainly the earliest I’ve ever blogged about!
Of course there was a time when pavement art, wall art and cave painting were considered one and the same.
Written and researched by Philip Battle
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