WHAT IS THE CAVE ART ?

CAVE ART: Any paintings, engravings, or designs on cave walls; man’s oldest surviving art, especially those by Paleolithic and Pleistocene people that are found in southwest France, northeast Spain, and elsewhere in Europe. Other sites have been discovered in Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Ural mountains; the only known Russian site is Kapovo Cave. The subject matter of cave art is predominantly animals, especially mammoth, horse, ox, deer, and bison; human figures are relatively uncommon. There are also numerous signs and symbols. The artist used a range of reds, blacks, yellows, and browns derived from ochers and other naturally occurring mineral pigments (iron oxide and manganese dioxide). The purpose and meaning of cave art are still obscure. In France, the caves are mainly in the limestone of the Perigord and Pyrennean regions and the most famous are Altamira, Lascaux, Niaux, and Pech Merle. Occupational evidence is rarely found with the art.

WHAT IS THE CAULDRON ?

COULDRON: A large metal vessel for cooking, usually with a round base, heavy flange rim, and handles for suspending it over a fire. Examples date from the European Late Bronze Age, with especially important ones from Urartu (an ancient country of southwest Asia). In the Iron Age, they were sometimes made of silver. Cauldrons were usually made of sheet bronze riveted together and having two to four handles. Cauldrons were a sign of great wealth or power.

WHAT IS THE CASTOR WARE ?

CASTOR WARE: A distinctive pottery named after a Roman settlement site on the north bank of the Nene in Northhamptonshire. Castor ware is a slate-colored pottery that commonly had hunting scenes of dogs, boars, etc. on the outer surface, which were applied by squeezing paste from a bag or applying by brush. The E barbotine hunt cups were a highlight of the native Romano-British potter’s craft. [Nene Valley ware]

WHAT IS THE CASTING ?

CASTING: 1. Casting that consists of pouring molten metal into a mold, where it solidifies into the shape of the mold. The process was well established in the Bronze Age (beginning c. 3000 bc), when it was used to form bronze pieces. It is particularly valuable for the economical production of complex shapes, from mass-produced parts to one-ofa- kind items or even large machinery. Three principal techniques of casting were successively developed in prehistoric Europe: one-piece stone molds for flat-faced objects; clay or stone piece molds that could be dismantled and reused; and one-off clay molds for complex shapes made in one piece around a wax or lead pattern (cire perdue). Every metal with a low enough melting point was exploited in early Europe, except iron and steel, and used for casting artifacts. 2. A process for forming a ceramic object by pouring a clay slip into a hollow, porous (usually plaster) mold and leaving it there long enough for a layer of clay to settle and thicken on the mold wall. The remaining slip is poured off, and the object is removed from the mold when it has dried. [slip casting, solid casting]