7 Cro-Magnon 7

Like the Neanderthals, the Cro-Magnon people buried

their dead. The first examples of art by prehistoric peoples

are Cro-Magnon. The Cro-Magnons carved and sculpted

small engravings, reliefs, and statuettes not only of humans

but also of animals. Their human figures generally depict

large-breasted, wide-hipped, and often obviously pregnant

women, from which it is assumed that these figures had

significance in fertility rites. Numerous depictions of animals

are found in Cro-Magnon cave paintings throughout

France and Spain at sites such as Lascaux, Les Eyzies-de-

Tayac, and Altamira, and some of them are surpassingly

beautiful. It is thought that these paintings had some

magic or ritual importance to the people. From the high

quality of their art, it is clear that Cro-Magnons were not

primitive amateurs but had previously experimented with

artistic mediums and forms. Decorated tools and weapons

show that they appreciated art for aesthetic purposes as

well as for religious reasons.

It is difficult to determine how long the Cro-Magnons

lasted and what happened to them. Presumably they were

gradually absorbed into the European populations that

came later. Individuals with some Cro-Magnon character-

istics, commonly called Cro-Magnoids, have been found

in the Mesolithic Period (8000 to 5000 BCE) and the

Neolithic Period (5000 to 2000 BCE).

Imhotep

(b. 27th century BCE, Memphis, Egypt)

I

mhotep (Greek: Imouthes) was a vizier, sage, architect,

astrologer, and chief minister to Djoser (reigned 2630–

2611 BCE), the second king of Egypt’s third dynasty, who

was later worshipped as the god of medicine in Egypt and

in Greece, where he was identified with the Greek god of