ARTH101: Art Appreciation

The well-known site of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, although not completely understood today, provides us with insight into the early evolution of a ritual location. (Figure 10.1) It was developed over the course of some 1,500 years (c. 3,000-1,600 BCE). The site's configuration has astronomical implications, with a design of a ritual offering or sacrifice table and portal placed in relationship to the sunrise at the summer solstice. (Figure 10.2) Its concentric rings were made of wooden posts, earthen ditches, and thirty megaliths, or large stones, each approximately 13 feet high, seven feet wide, and weighing more than 25 tons. In places where two megaliths support another horizontal stone, a dolmen or cromlech is formed. (Figure 10.3) Other parts of stone, wood, and earth were placed in particular spots for which the choice of location and use are now unclear.

How could Stonehenge have been built with prehistoric knowledge and technology? It is believed that the large stones were quarried from twenty-five to 150 miles away, floated, and log rolled to the final site and then placed by creating inclined dirt ramps. (Figure 10.4) Once the upright stones were placed, the spaces were filled with dirt, the capstones rolled into place, and all the dirt was removed. As is clear with these construction methods, it is important to recognize that prehistoric people did not lack the clever mental ability or tireless devotion.

Many sites across England and other parts of Europe show a kinship to it in their use of space and materials and their desire to engage with the cosmos. Stonehenge is the largest of approximately 1,000 stone circles on the British Isles. Their existence and the fact that these sites were used for such a long time gives us some insight into how our earliest known ancestors devised views of the universe and their place in it, as well as how they addressed such issues through artistic expression.

Human societies from widely separated times and locations have constructed strikingly similar forms of symbolic or physical enclosure or elevation of the sacred. The altar is the most simple and expedient means. An altar, found in religious settings and structures to this day, is a piece of liturgical (religious ritual) furniture possessing ancient symbolism primarily as the site of sacrifice, most often in the offering of animals ritually slain for the deity.

It is a short step to placing the altar on a raised platform to accentuate its status. For example, a heiau is a Hawaiian temple composed of a Polynesian-raised earthen or stone temple platform in an enclosed area that might also contain stone markers and cult images. Heiau was used for various reasons: to treat the sick, offer first fruits, control rain, and achieve success in war (for which human sacrifices were made). Heiau is found throughout the Pacific island. This print depicts the heiau at Waimea, on Kauai, one of the Hawaiian islands, as it existed before European occupation. (Figure 10.5) The print was created by artist John Webber (1751-1793, England), who accompanied British explorer Captain James Cook on this third Pacific expedition (1776-1779). Although many Hawaiian Heiau were deliberately destroyed at the official end of the Hawaiian religion in the nineteenth century, some have since been rebuilt and are now public attractions.

Olmec, Mayas, and Aztecs built large temple complexes dedicated to religious worship, which included animal and human sacrifice. One fine example of these large complexes is the Mayan temple at Chichen Itza. It is a four-sided pyramid with staircases of 91 steps on each side, all leading to a temple at the top. The number 91 is no accident: four times 91 equals 364, which, paired with one final step at the top, represents the number of days in the solar year. Quetzalcoatl appears in succeeding Central American religions.

In the Aztec culture, Quetzalcoatl was related to the gods of the wind, of the planet Venus, of the dawn, of merchants, and of arts, crafts, and knowledge. He was also the patron god of the Aztec priesthood, of learning and knowledge.

The gateway is another architectural method for creating or recognizing a ritual or sacred space. Ritual gateways are found more often in Asian religious settings, although any entrance could be considered a marker for a physical and spiritual transition.

Shinto is an ancient religion native to Japan. The main focus of Shinto is the veneration of the deeds and images of ancestors in home shrines. In public places, torii, or Shinto gateways, are often found marking the sites of important ancient events or framing beautiful views. The "floating gate," so named because when the tide is high, it is surrounded by water and appears to float, of the Itsukushima Shrine near Hiroshima, is a good example. (Figures 10.6 and 10.7) The entrance gate was erected in 1168; it has been destroyed, redesigned, and rebuilt several times.