“Art” is the quintessential activity of human species; yet, we understand so little about why we produce “art” and what “artistic production” achieves. Through a survey of the earliest “art” produced by our ancestors, this course will give a glimpse of our current state of knowledge about the changing social and cognitive abilities as well as the meaning-laden worlds of human-beings over the last 3 million years. Our specific focus will be on the use of imagery in prehistoric cave paintings, use of the earliest statuettes and the development of body decoration, pottery, architecture and music.