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Paleolithic Cave Paintings Essay, Research Paper

Paleolithic art and cave paintings

Paleolithic Art, was produced from about 32,000 to 11,000 years ago, which is

during the Stone Age. It is characterized by two main categories: first of all, by

portable pieces, like small figurines or decorated objects, and second of all, by cave art.

The portable art was carved out of bone, antler, stone, or modeled in clay. It has

mostly been found in Europe, Northern Africa, and Siberia. Cave art however, was

discovered mostly in northern Spain and southern France, whaich takes the form of

paintings, drawings, and engravings on the walls. There have also been pictures and

symbols engraved on rock in the open air, but not much of it has survived.

Paleolithic art was discovered in the 1860s, when French paleontologist

Edouard Lartet found decorated objects in caves in southern France. The objects were

recognized as ancient by their similarity to Stone Age tools and the bones of the Ice

Age animals. These discoveries engaged a want for digging in caves to look for such

objects, but not much attention was given to the paintings on the walls.

The discovery in 1880 of Paleolithic paintings in the Spanish cave of Altamira

was first met with great skepticism. In 1895, engraving covered walls were discovered

in the cave of La Mouthe, in the Dordogne region of southwestern France. Debris had

originaly blocked the entrance to this cave, but Paleolithic deposits in the debris

indicated that the cave paintings were considerably old. In 1901, engravings were

found in the cave of Les Combarelles, such as paintings in nearby Font de Gaume, in

the same region of France as La Mouthe. In 1902 archaeologists admitted to the

existence of art in caves. From then on, many new sites were found, and discoveries

continue even today, most importantly in France and Spain. In 1994, a Frenchman by

the name of Jean-Marie Chauvet discovered a cave in the Ardeche Valley in

southeastern France. The Chauvet cave has many paintings of different animals that

date back 32,000 years, making them the oldest cave paintings ever discovered.

Until not long ago, not much Paleolithic art had been found on the outside of

caves. But since 1981, some archaeologists have discovered a few of outdoor sites in

Spain, Portugal, Australia, and South Africa. In 1994, along the River C a in the north

of Portugal, explorers have came across rocks engraved with human figures, horses,

and wild cattle. Archaeologists estimate that the paintings are somewhat 20,000 years

old. Scientists now think that this kind of art was pretty common, although little of it

survived erosion of wind and rain.

Paleolithic art usually is thought to be either figurative which means,

translating animals or humans, or nonfigurative, which is using signs and symbols.

Animals translated in Paleolithic art depend on the period and region. Cave art

mostly shows horses and bison, but mammoth or deer can be more important at other

sites. Fish and birds are sometimes found in cave paintings or engravings, but are

mostly used for portable art.

Almost all the animals in cave paintings are drawn using their profile. Many of

these images are either not finished or abstract. A few are even imaginary creatures,

like the unicorn translated in a cave in Lascaux, France. The number of animals

translated in cave paintings vary from a few to hundreds in caves like in Lascaux or

Les Trois Fr res. Due to the difficulty to demonstrate a relationship between

drawings, just a small number of scenes have be understood. Some paintings are even

layered one on top of another.

Human figures are not really typical in cave paintings but mostly in portable art.

Small female statuettes known as Venus figures, with exaggerated breasts, abdomen,

and hips, have been found principally in central Europe. They are sensed to represent

firtility.

Signs and symbols are much more important in cave art than representations of

humans or animals. Markings differ from a dot or line to many linear marks, which are

grouped together. Sometimes these signs are completely hidden and closed off in a

cave, but other times they can appear next to figurative images. The less complicated

symbolics, such as handprints outlined in colored earth (done by blowing the paint

through a sort of straw) can be found in many caves.

Most people thought cave art was basicaly used for as decoration, which meant

basically nothing. But as discoveries became more numerous, patterns began to

appear, making us think of the real reasons. Why do we see only certain animals in the

cave paintings? Why is all the art in such hard to find places in the caves? Why were

the caves painted, but not lived in? Strange symbols and figures make us think that

there is some reason to this art. There are a few theories that might help to explain

For some people, Stone Age people painted pictures of animals to effect them

in some way or another. They think that Paleolithic art was spiritual in some way.

They thought, for example, that painting darts or spears on the images of animals

could help them during hunting. Though none of this can be proved. Very little animal

figures acctually have weapons drawn on them. Weapons are also drawn on some

human figures, and a lot of caves do not have any paintings of this type at all. Another

problem with the theory is that there

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