Art and anthropology?

Question

Does anyone know a piece of art that might be interesting to write a paper on from an anthropological point of view? It can be any object from any time but it must be possible to explain whether it is conventional or not, where its meaning lies, what it says about the culture that produced it and so on. I am open to anything that anyone might find interesting and am ooking for any ideas for some inspiration.

Answer 1

What can be more interesting than The Sphinx.  It is a work of art.  A big one.

Answer 2

There are some very interesting cave drawings in France that would lend themselves well to an anthropological/artistic interpretation.

Answer 3

What about Buddha? I think the Chinese portray him as fat, bald and jolly and the E.Indians portray him as thin with carpal tunnel syndrome. What did he look like in Persia? Which is more accurate or do we really know? Are there only statues and figurines or are there writings and drawings of what he looks like?

Answer 4

if you want to do something somewhat original (at least for an undergraduate course), why not take on 'zemis' (AKA cemis).  Zemis are small abstract ground-stone sculptures usually made of greenstone from South America by prehistoric and Contact Period inhabitants of the West Indies (known to Columbus and later Europeans as the Caribs and the Taino).  

Some work has been done on their symbolism, religious significance etc, and they are truly fascinating works of art as well.

Answer 5

Any kind of art, or visual art, or what?

Almost all art has anthropological significance, if not simply because it is art. I find it hard to think of a work of art that doesn't have anthropological significance.