Rock paintings found in caves in
the Sahara dessert
Asante Art works
Main
Topic: ARTS FROMS AS A SOURCE OF AFRICAN HISTORY
Sub Topic 1:
Definition of Arts
Sub Topic 2:
Advantages/Merits of Arts as a source of African history
Sub Topic 3:
Disadvantages/Demerits of Arts as a source of African history
Objectives
(By the end of the Lesson students will be able to):
1.
explain
Arts as a source of African history
2.
discuss
the advantages/merits of Arts as a source of African history
3.
discuss
the disadvantages/demerits of Arts as a source of African history
Definition of Arts
Art history is the study of art forms such as engravings, paintings, carvings and sculpture on stone surface, tombs, slabs or walls of caves, palaces and shrines. Examples of Art forms include painting, carving, moulding, weaving, bead making, drawing etc.
Advantages of Arts as a source
African history
1. Arts
forms have thrown light on the economic activities of some communities in
far-of times. For example, paintings on rocks and in caves found in the Sahara
desert have shown that the people who occupied the Sahara were pastoralists who
reared Cattles and also grew wild plants.
2. Through
Art forms, hidden facts have been revealed. For instance, the paintings on
rocks and in caves found in the Sahara desert have proved human and animal
habitation, and that the area had not been dry and sandy as found today but it
had once haboured aquatic and terrestrial animals and had supported crop
farming and animal rearing.
3. Art
forms has also revealed the rich artistic skills or technology of Africans. For
example, the Five-Part drinking vessel (decorated with ritual symbols from
north African now in a museum in Hamburg).The Ile- Ife arts in bronze and
copper, linguistic staffs, stools of Kings and Kenta weaving.
4. Additionally,
it has helped people to reveal the philosophical ideas of African people. For
instance, the tops of a linguistic’s staff with a fat man eating corn and a
thin man looking at him, portrays the saying that “ it is the one who has who
eats”, meaning that Kingship in any community is the preserve of a particular
family. Also, a stool may have a hen surrounded by young chicks. This convey
the message that heads of family have a moral duty to protect the members of
the family.
5. It
has thrown light on religious beliefs of people. Artistic drawings, paintings
and carvings of deities have illustrated the system of worship and the kind of
god the people served. For example, ancient Egyptians worshipped several gods
beside Pharaoh’s such as the Amon-Ra, Isis.
Disadvantages of Arts history
1. Difficult
to get
Rock paintings which are peculiar to art
forms are not common on the African continent especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
This is due to the fact that painting was restricted to perishable surfaces
such as textiles, wood, house walls among other therefore could not survive the
high humid climatic conditions of the environment.
2. Depend
on other sources
The art historian encounters the problem
of dating their artistic find. For that matter they resorts to the archeologist
in dating things such pre-historic art.
Past
Questions.
1.
In what five ways has Art forms contributed to the writing of African
history?
(WASSCE
NOV/DEC 2013)
2.
List any three examples of Art forms
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