• Descriptive analysis — What is it made out of?  How big is it? Can we figure out what the subject is?

• Contextual analysis — How old is it? Where was the art found? What might it have been used for?

 The archeological evidence suggests that modern human beings originated in Africa.  The very first evidence of intentional art production occurs around 30,000 B.C., which marks the beginning of the Paleolithic period (or Old Stone Age).

The art of this period was made by Cro-Magnons, who were prehistoric humans who existed ~30,000 years ago and whose skeletal remains were first discovered in 1868 when road workers in France accidentally opened a prehistoric rock shelter containing human bones, stone tools, and ancient hearths.  The name derived from the location in which they were discovered — the Cro-Magnon rock shelter in Dordogne, southwestern France (note that the Cro-Magnons came after the Neanderthals).  Cro-Magnons were anatomically similar to modern humans, but not identical — they seem to have been more muscular.  We know that they hunted because left large piles of animal bones, and they made bone and wood artifacts.  The anthropological term for their culture is hunter-gather.  These people cooked their food and used bone needles for sewing.  The deceased were adorned with shell and ivory objects and then buried in mass graves.  This evidence suggests that Cro-Magnons engaged in various ritual activities.