Global Prehistory
What this unit covers
The topics below follow the published Art History course framework for Unit 1. This unit is worth 4% of the exam, so budget your time against that rather than against how long the unit takes to teach.
Lessons in this unit
- Paleolithic Imagery: The Origins of Art13 min · 3 objectivesDescribe the form, technique, and likely function of Paleolithic cave paintings and portable objects · Explain how naturalism, twisted perspective, and abstraction appear in the earliest known art · Analyze the contexts — ritual, mobility, and survival — that shaped prehistoric image-making
- Neolithic Monuments, Ceramics & Settled Life14 min · 3 objectivesConnect the Neolithic shift to farming with new art forms: pottery, monumental stone, and the built environment · Describe the form and function of Stonehenge and other megalithic and ritual objects · Compare portable Neolithic objects across regions to practice cross-cultural analysis
What examiners penalize here
- When you attribute a prehistoric work, argue from **medium + convention + context** together. "Charcoal on a portable stone" points to Apollo 11 Stones; "mineral pigment on deep-cave rock with twisted perspective" points to Lascaux; "carved natural bone shaped like an animal" points to the Camelid sacrum. Naming a diagnostic visual trait earns the attribution point.
Practice Art History
Our practice bank is drawn from across the whole course rather than filtered to one unit, which is closer to how the exam asks anyway — it will not tell you which unit a question is testing.
Questions about this unit
How much of the AP Art History exam is Unit 1?
Unit 1, Global Prehistory, is worth 4% of the Art History multiple-choice section according to the published course framework. Across all 10 units that makes it one of the lighter units, so it is not where a review phase should start.
What topics are covered in Art History Unit 1?
Global Prehistory covers Cave paintings, Megaliths, Early figures and Context.
How should I study Art History Unit 1?
Read the 2 lessons below first — about 25 minutes — then work practice questions on these topics. Finish with practice questions and read the explanation for every one you get right by elimination as well as the ones you miss.
All 10 units of AP Art History
Unit names, topics and exam weights follow the published College Board course framework for AP Art History. AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which does not endorse this site.