View source for Past Objects of Artistic, Aesthetic Representation and Ornament

{{Article
|Headline=Gallery: Past Objects of Artistic Representation and Ornament
|Sort as=Past Objects of Artistic Representation and Ornament
|Teaser=Humans have long used and selected for certain materials due to their aesthetic appeal.
|Authors=Irina Matuzava
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|Cover image=Raspador y polvo de ocre para trabajar la piel. Museo Arqueológico Municipal de Alcoy.jpg
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|Section=Observatory
|Source=Human Bridges Project
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|Date published=2025-03-21
|Published by=User:Irina Matuzava

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Humans have long used and selected for certain materials due to their aesthetic appeal. These include pigments like [[Our Ancient Relationship With Red Ocher and the Color of Cognition|red ocher]], ivory, human and animal teeth, and other [[The Aesthetic and Evolutionary Preference of Lustrous Surfaces in Humans|lustrous materials]], such as mother of pearl. Many of these materials have attracted the eye of our human ancestors because of an inherent lustrous appearance or their potential to become lustrous when polished. 

Below are eleven images representing a selection of the materials used and objects crafted by humans throughout time in part due to their aesthetic appeal. 
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File:Raspador y polvo de ocre para trabajar la piel. Museo Arqueológico Municipal de Alcoy.jpg|A scraper and ocher powder used to work leather. One of the many utilitarian applications of ocher includes its use in hide processing. Courtesy of the Alcoy Municipal Archaeological Museum.
File:Blombo.jpg|Ocher stone with linear engravings found at a workshop in Blombos Cave, South Africa. This stone dates to approximately 70,000 years ago.
File:La Dama Roja 1.jpg|The skeletal remains of the "Dama Roja del Mirón", or the "Red Lady of Mirón," whose burial was covered in red ocher. This ocher was gathered from nonlocal sources, suggesting it may have been collected specifically for special burial rites or for use as a preservative.
File:La Dama Roja 2.jpg|The skeletal remains of the "Dama Roja del Mirón", or the "Red Lady of Mirón," whose burial was covered in red ocher. This ocher was gathered from nonlocal sources, suggesting it may have been collected specifically for special burial rites or for use as a preservative.
File:Spear thrower with fish MAN ArtsEtPrehistoire.jpg|A spear thrower with an engraved fish made out of reindeer antler. Found in the Isturitz cave in France and dates to 19,000 to 14,000 years ago.
File:NHM - Lautsch Kette.jpg|An Aurignacian necklace made out of the teeth of several animals: bear, horse, elk, beaver. Found in Mladex, Czech Republic.
File:Pendants from Satsurblia cave (Tejero et al, 2021).png|Pendants from Upper Paleolithic, found in the Satsurblia cave, Georgia. Made out of (A) red deer vestigial canines, (B) ungulate incisors, (C) bone.
File:Necklace (AM 674266-2).jpg|A necklace made out of strung mother of pearl. Mother of pearl has been used for adornment for thousands of years due to its lustrous appearance and finish.
File:Venus of Monpazier - 1.jpg|The Venus of Monpazier, found in Monpazier, France in 1970. The figurine is carved from limonite and dates to around 30,000 to 20,000 BP.
File:Female figurine marble neolithic, NAMA 3928, 225566.jpg|A female figurine made of marble. From the Neolithic Period and dates from 6500 to 5800 BCE. Courtesy of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.
File:Makapansgat pebble.webp|The Makapansgat cobble, a jasperite pebble transported to a cave in the Makapan Valley, South Africa, where it was deposited almost 3 million years ago. This pebble is a notable manuport, a possible example of early paleoart, and is the oldest known objects of its kind.
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