Difference between revisions of "Cave painting" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Category:Politics and social sciences]]
 
[[Category:Politics and social sciences]]
 
[[Category:Archaeology]]
 
[[Category:Archaeology]]
 
[[Category:Art]]
 
[[Category:Art]]
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[[Image:Laas Geel cow herd.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Detail of the Laas Geel cave paintings (near Hargeysa, Somaliland/Somalia) showing a cow herd.]]
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'''Cave''' or '''Rock Paintings''' are [[painting]]s on [[cave]] or [[rock (geology)|rock]] walls and ceilings, usually dating to [[prehistory|prehistoric]] times. The earliest known rock paintings are dated to the [[Upper Paleolithic]], approximately 40,000 years ago. The purpose of the cave paintings is not known, and may never be. The evidence suggests that they were not merely decorations of living areas, since the caves in which they have been found do not have signs of ongoing habitation. Also, they are often in areas of caves that were not easily accessed.
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{{toc}}
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Some theories hold that cave paintings may have been a way of transmitting information, while other theories ascribe them a [[religion|religious]] or ceremonial purpose. There are many common themes throughout the many different places that the paintings have been found; implying the universality of purpose and similarity of the impulses that might have created the imagery. Various conjectures have been made as to the meaning these paintings had to the people who made them. Prehistoric men may have painted [[animal]]s to "catch" their soul or [[spirit]] in order to [[hunting|hunt]] them more easily, or the paintings may represent an [[animism|animistic]] vision and homage to surrounding nature, or they may be the result of a basic need of expression that is innate to human beings, or they may be recordings of the life experiences of the artists and related stories from the members of their circle. While we may not fully understand the purpose for these paintings, we can appreciate and enjoy their [[beauty]], admiring the [[creativity]] of those from long-ago eras.
  
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{{Unreferenced|date=February 2007}}
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==Technique==
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{{citations missing|date=September 2007}}
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[[Image:Rock-painting-turtle.jpg|thumb|400px|right|A rock painting of a turtle in what is known as [[X-ray]] style—with some internal organs.]]
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'''Cave''' or '''Rock Paintings''' are [[painting]]s on [[cave]] or [[rock (geology)|rock]] walls and ceilings, usually dating to [[prehistoric]] times. The earliest known rock paintings are dated to the [[Upper Paleolithic]], 40,000 years ago, while the earliest European cave paintings date to 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the cave paintings is not known, and may never be. The evidence suggests that they weren't merely decorations of living areas, since the caves in which they've been found don't have signs of ongoing habitation. Also, they are often in areas of caves that aren't easily accessed. Some theories hold that they may have been a way of transmitting information, while other theories ascribe them a religious or ceremonial purpose.
 
  
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== Europe ==
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Cave paintings are a form of [[Rock art]], falling under the category of [[pictograph]], or the application of pigments to a rock surface. Survival of ancient cave paintings is attributable to use of [[mineral]] pigments, most commonly [[manganese]], [[hematite]], [[malachite]], [[gypsum]], [[limonite]], [[clay]]s, and various oxides. The best preserved pictography is found under sheltering overhangs and in [[cave]]s. The simplest pictographs are wet clay finger drawings and charcoal drawings. To produce crayons or paints first the minerals had to be finely ground and combined with binding materials. Crayons and [[animal]] hair brushes have been excavated in caves with paintings. Exceedingly fine lines evidence the production of excellent brushes. The most common rock art element found around the world, the human hand, exemplifies several pictography types. A technique used since the [[Neolithic]] is spraying around a hand, resulting in a negative image. The more common positive print was often made with pigment applied to the hand and transferred to the rock.
  
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[[Image:Lascaux2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Cave painting at [[Lascaux]]|{{puic|1=Image:Lascaux2.jpg|log=2007 September 19}}]]
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==Interpretation==
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[[Image:CavePainting1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[cave paintings|Cave Painting]]]]
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{{readout||right|250px|Cave paintings probably had a religious or informational purpose rather than being purely decorative}}
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When [[Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola]] first encountered the [[Magdalenian]] paintings of the [[Altamira (cave)|Altamira cave]], [[Cantabria]], [[Spain]] in 1879, the academics of the time considered them hoaxes. Recent reappraisals and increasing numbers of discoveries have illustrated their authenticity and have indicated high levels of [[art]]istry of [[Upper Palaeolithic]] humans who used only basic tools. Cave paintings can also give valuable clues as to the [[culture]] and beliefs of that era.  
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What rock art means and why the ancients practiced it has been a bane of contention amongst scholars since the phenomena started to be studied. Some have argued that such images are records of hunts that served not only to inventory the amount of animals killed as well as future references for animal migrating patterns.<ref> Christopher Chippindale and Paul S.C. Taçon (eds.), ''The Archaeology of Rock-Art'' (Cambridge University Press, 1998, ISBN 0521576199).</ref>
  
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=== Locations ===
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[[Image:Cogul HBreuil.jpg|thumb|right|400 px|Danza de Cogul, provincia de Lleida, Spain.]]
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Well known cave paintings include those of:
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An alternative theory, developed by [[David Lewis-Williams]] and broadly based on ethnographic studies of contemporary [[hunter-gatherer]] societies, is that the paintings were made by [[Cro-Magnon]] [[shamanism|shaman]]s. The shaman would retreat into the darkness of the caves, enter into a [[trance]] state and then paint images of their visions, perhaps with some notion of drawing power out of the cave walls themselves. This goes some way toward explaining the remoteness of some of the paintings (which often occur in deep or small caves) and the variety of subject matter (from [[prey]] animals to [[predator]]s and human hand-prints). This echoes [[Joseph Campbell]]'s idea that the paintings "were associated with the magic of the hunt."<ref>Joseph Campbell, ''Primitive Mythology'' (Penguin Books, 1991, ISBN 978-0140194432).</ref> For Campbell, this "sympathetic magic" was akin to a participation mystique, where the paintings, drawn in a sanctuary of "timeless principle," were acted upon by rite.
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* [[Lascaux]], France
 
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* [[La Marche (cave)|La Marche]], near [[Lussac-les-Chateaux]],  France
 
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* [[Chauvet Cave]], near [[Vallon-Pont-d'Arc]], France
 
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* [[Altamira (cave)|Altamira]], near [[Santillana del Mar]], [[Cantabria]], Spain
 
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* [[Cosquer Cave]], with an entrance below [[sea level]] near [[Marseille, France]]
 
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* [[Font de Gaume]], in the [[Dordogne]] Valley in France
 
  
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Other sites include [[Creswell Crags]], [[Nottinghamshire]], [[England]]. (Cave etchings and [[bas-reliefs]] discovered in 2003), and Magura [http://www.magura.belogradchik.info/index800.htm], Belogradchik, [[Bulgaria]].
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[[R. Dale Guthrie]] has studied not only the most artistic and publicized paintings but also a variety of lower quality art and figurines, and he identifies a wide range of skill and ages among the artists.<ref> R. Dale Guthrie, ''The Nature of Paleolithic Art'' (University Of Chicago Press, 2006, ISBN 0226311260).</ref> He also points out that the main themes in the paintings and other artifacts (powerful beasts, risky hunting scenes, and the over-sexual representation of women in the [[Venus figurine]]s) are to be expected in the fantasies of [[adolescent]] males, who constituted a large part of the [[prehistoric demography|human population at the time]]. However, Merlin Stone, in her book ''When God Was a Woman'', suggested that many scholars and archaeologists impose modern sexist views on ancient findings.<ref name=stone> Merlin Stone, ''When God Was a Woman'' (Harvest Books, 1978, ISBN 015696158X). </ref> Considering the prevalence of [[Goddess]] worship (beginning between 7,000 and 25,000 B.C.E..E.), it is probable that art depicting the fullness of a woman's body was not a teenage male's fantasy but reproductions done in praise of women by artists of either sex.<ref name=stone/> As with all [[prehistory]], it is impossible to be certain because of the relative lack of material evidence and the many pitfalls associated with trying to understand the prehistoric mindset.
  
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Rock painting was also performed on cliff faces, but fewer of those have survived because of [[erosion]]. One well-known example is the rock paintings of ''Astuvansalmi'' in the [[Saimaa]] area of [[Finland]].
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[[Graham Hancock]]'s ''Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind'' explores the various theories on the interpretation of rock art, and provides extensive references. He concludes that recent theory linking shamanic and religious practices with cave painting throughout the world appear the most credible.<ref>Graham Hancock, ''Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind'' (Disinformation Company, 2007, ISBN 1932857842). </ref>
  
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=== Age ===
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==Cultural Variants==
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Nearly 350 caves have now been discovered in France and Spain that contain art from prehistoric times. The age of the paintings in many sites has been a contentious issue, since methods like [[radiocarbon dating]] can be easily misled by contaminated samples of older or newer material{{Fact|date=February 2007}}, and caves and rocky overhangs (parietal art) are typically littered with debris from many time periods. Recent advances make it possible to date the paintings by sampling the pigment itself. [http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0957-0233/14/9/301]
 
  
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The choice of subject matter can also indicate date such as the [[reindeer]] at the Spanish cave of [[Cueva de las Monedas]] which imply the art is from the [[Wisconsin glaciation|last Ice Age]]. The oldest cave is that of [[Chauvet Cave|Chauvet]], and is 32,000 years old.[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chav/hd_chav.htm] Other examples may date as late as the Early Bronze Age, but the well known prolific and sophisticated style from Lascaux and Altamira died out about 10,000 years ago, coinciding with the advent of the neolithic period.
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=== Europe ===
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[[Image:Lascaux2.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Cave painting at [[Lascaux]]]]
  
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[[Image:Rock art bull.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px|Spanish Cave Painting of Bulls]]
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The first cave paintings to be discovered were in [[Europe]], where soon afterwards, many more sites uncovered. Some of the most famous European sites are:
  
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=== Themes and patterns ===
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* [[Lascaux]], [[France]]
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The most common themes in cave paintings are large wild animals, such as [[bison]], [[horse]]s, [[aurochs]], and [[deer]], and tracings of human [[hand]]s as well as abstract patterns, called [[finger flutings]]. Drawings of humans are rare and are usually schematic rather than the more naturalistic animal subjects. Cave art may have begun in the [[Aurignacian]] period ([[Hohle Fels]], Germany), but reached its apogee in the late [[Magdalenian]] (Lascaux, France).
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* [[La Marche (cave)|La Marche]], near [[Lussac-les-Chateaux]], France
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* [[Chauvet Cave]], near [[Vallon-Pont-d'Arc]], France
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* [[Cosquer Cave]], with an entrance below [[sea level]] near [[Marseille, France]]
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* [[Font de Gaume]], in the [[Dordogne]] Valley in France
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* [[Altamira (cave)|Altamira]], near [[Santillana del Mar]], [[Cantabria]], [[Spain]]
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* [[Cave of El Castillo]] in northern Spain
  
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The paintings were drawn with red and yellow [[ochre]], [[hematite]], [[manganese oxide]] and [[charcoal]]. Sometimes the silhouette of the animal was incised in the rock first.
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Rock painting was also performed on cliff faces, but fewer of those have survived because of [[erosion]]. One well-known example is the rock paintings of ''Astuvansalmi'' in the [[Saimaa]] area of [[Finland]].
  
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===Theories and interpretations ===
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The age of the paintings in many sites has been a contentious issue, since methods like [[radiocarbon dating]] can be easily misled by contaminated samples of older or newer material<ref>Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn, ''Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice'' (Thames and Hudson, 2000, ISBN 0500281475).</ref> and caves and rocky overhangs (parietal art) are typically littered with debris from many time periods. Recent advances make it possible to date the paintings by sampling the pigment itself.<ref> Hélène Valladas, [https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-0233/14/9/301 Direct radiocarbon dating of prehistoric cave paintings by accelerator mass spectrometry] ''Measurement Science Technology'' Issue 9 (September 2003). Retrieved November 26, 2023.</ref> The choice of subject matter can also indicate date such as the [[reindeer]] at the Spanish cave of [[Cueva de las Monedas]] which imply the art is from the [[Wisconsin glaciation|last Ice Age]]. The oldest cave art, found in [[Cave of El Castillo]] in the [[Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain]] site, are decorations in [[red ochre]] in the forms of hand stencils (from as far back as 35,300 B.C.E.) and dots. One dot has been dated to 40,800 B.C.E., making it the oldest dated cave decoration in the world as of 2012.<ref name=Pike>Alistair W.G. Pike ''et al.'', [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1219957 U-Series Dating of Paleolithic Art in 11 Caves in Spain] ''Science'' 336(6087) (June 15, 2012): 1409-1413. Retrieved November 26, 2023.</ref><ref>Michael Marshall, [https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21925-oldest-confirmed-cave-art-is-a-single-red-dot/ Oldest confirmed cave art is a single red dot] ''New Scientist'' (June 20, 2012): 10-11. Retrieved November 26, 2023.</ref> These examples are several thousand years older than the previously oldest paintings found in [[Chauvet Cave]].<ref>Jean Clottes, [https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chav/hd_chav.htm Chauvet Cave (ca. 30,000 B.C.E.)] ''Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History''. Retrieved November 26, 2023.</ref> Other examples may date as recent as the Early Bronze Age, but the well known prolific and sophisticated style from Lascaux and Altamira died out about 10,000 years ago, coinciding with the advent of the neolithic period.
  
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[[Henri Breuil]] interpreted the paintings as being hunting magic, meant to increase the number of animals. As there are some clay sculptures that seem to have been the targets of spears, this may partly be true, but does not explain the pictures of predators such as the [[lion]] or the bear.
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===Africa===
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[[Image:Southafrica468bushman.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Rock paintings from the [[Western Cape]] ]]
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At [[Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg]], [[South Africa]], now thought to be some 3,000 years old, the paintings by the [[Bushmen|San]] people who settled in the area some 8,000 years ago depict animals and humans, and are thought to represent religious beliefs.
  
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An alternative theory, developed by [[David Lewis-Williams]] and broadly based on ethnographic studies of contemporary [[hunter-gatherer]] societies, is that the paintings were made by [[Cro-Magnon]] [[shaman]]s. The [[Shamanism|shaman]] would retreat into the darkness of the caves, enter into a trance state and then paint images of their visions, perhaps with some notion of drawing power out of the cave walls themselves. This goes some way toward explaining the remoteness of some of the paintings (which often occur in deep or small caves) and the variety of subject matter (from prey animals to [[predator]]s and human hand-prints).
+
An archeological team discovered the [[Laas Gaa'l]] cave paintings outside [[Hargeisa]] in [[Somaliland]].<ref>Simon Reeve, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/4491257.stm Somaliland's missing identity] ''BBC News'' (May 5, 2005). Retrieved November 26, 2023.</ref> They show the ancient inhabitants of the area worshiping [[cattle]] and performing religious ceremonies.
  
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[[R. Dale Guthrie]]<ref name="Guthrie">R. Dale Guthrie, ''[[The Nature of Paleolithic Art]]''. University Of Chicago Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0-226-31126-5. [http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/311260.html Preface].</ref> has studied not only the most artistic and publicized paintings but also a variety of lower quality art and figurines, and he identifies a wide range of skill and ages among the artists.
+
Cave paintings are found in the [[Tassili n'Ajjer]] mountains in southeast [[Algeria]] also in the [[Akakus]], [[Messak Settafet]] and [[Tadrart]] in [[Libya]] and other [[Sahara]] regions including Ayr mountains, [[Niger]] and Tibesti, [[Chad]].
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He also points that the main themes in the paintings and other artifacts (powerful beasts, risky hunting scenes and the over-sexual representation of women in the [[Venus figurine]]s) are to be expected in the fantasies of adolescent males, who made a big part of the [[prehistoric demography|human population at the time]].
 
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According to Merlin Stone in her book ''When God Was a Woman'', many scholars and archaeologists impose modern sexist views on ancient findings.  Considering the prevalence of Goddess worship (beginning between 7,000 and 25,000 B.C.E.), it is much more probable that art depicting the fullness of a woman's body was not a teenage male's fantasy but reproductions done in praise of women by artists of either sex. As with all [[prehistory]], it is impossible to be certain because of the relative lack of material evidence and the many pitfalls associated with trying to understand the prehistoric mindset.
 
  
−
[[Graham Hancock]]'s [[Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind]] explores the various theories on the interpretation of rock art, and provides extensive references. He concludes that recent theory linking shamanic and religious practices with cave painting throughout the world appear the most credible.
+
===Australia===
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[[Image:Kakadu-painting-hero.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A male hunter or warrior.]]
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Significant early cave paintings have also been found in [[Kakadu National Park]] in [[Australia]]. The [[Kakadu|park]] has a large collection of [[ochre]] paintings. Ochre is a not an [[organic material]], so [[carbon dating]] of these pictures is impossible. Sometimes the approximate date, or at least, an epoch, can be guessed from the content.
  
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== Africa ==
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===Mexico===
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[[Image:Southafrica468bushman.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Rock paintings from the [[Western Cape]] ]]
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The [[Rock Paintings of Sierra de San Francisco]] is the name given to prehistoric rock art found in the Sierra de San Francisco region of Baja California, Mexico, created by a people referred to as Cochimi or Guachimis. There are some 250 sites which are located in the municipality of Mulege within the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve in the state of Baja California Sur in Northern Mexico. Motifs include human figures, weapons, and animal species such as rabbit, puma, lynx, deer, wild goat/sheep, whale, turtle, tuna, sardine, octopus, eagle, and pelican; there are also abstract elements of various forms. The paintings vary in age from 1100 B.C.E. to 1300 C.E..
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At [[Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg]], [[South Africa]], now thought to be some 3,000 years old, the paintings by the [[Bushmen|San]] people who settled in the area some 8,000 years ago depict animals and humans, and are thought to represent religious beliefs.
 
  
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Recently, an archeological team discovered the [[Laas Gaa'l]] cave paintings outside [[Hargeisa]] in [[Somaliland]]. They show the ancient inhabitants of the area worshipping [[cattle]] and performing religious ceremonies.
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The paintings are noted for their high quality, extent, the variety and originality of human and animal representations, remarkable colors, and excellent state of preservation. The rock paintings of Sierra de San Francisco were nominated in 1989 and became a World Heritage Site in 1993.<ref> https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/714 Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Francisco] ''UNESCO World Heritage Convention''. Retrieved November 26, 2023.</ref>
  
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Cave paintings are found in the [[Tassili n'Ajjer]] mountains in southeast [[Algeria]] also in the [[Akakus]], [[Messak Settafet]] and [[Tadrart]] in Libya and other Sahara regions including: Ayr mountains, Niger and Tibesti, Chad.
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===Southeast Asia===
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[[Image:Bhimbetka.JPG|thumb|right|400px|[[Bhimbetka]] rock painting, [[World Heritage Site]]]]
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There are rock paintings in caves in India,<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=925 Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka] ''UNESCO World Heritage Convention''. Retrieved November 26, 2023.</ref> [[Thailand]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Indonesia]].  
  
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== Mexico ==
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In Thailand, caves and scarps along the Thai-Burmese border, in the Petchabun Range of Central Thailand, and overlooking the Mekong River in Nakorn Sawan Province, all contain galleries of rock paintings.
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[[Image:Sierra san francisco.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Rock Paintings of Sierra de San Francisco|Rock paintings of the Sierra de San Francisco]], [[Mexico]]]]
 
  
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The [[Rock Paintings of Sierra de San Francisco]] is the name given to prehistoric rock art found in the Sierra de San francisco region of Baja California, Mexico, created by a people referred to as Cochimi or Guachimis. There are some 250 sites which are located in the municipality of Mulege within the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve in the state of Baja California Sur in Northern Mexico. Motifs include human figures, weapons, and animal species such as rabbit, puma, lynx, deer, wild goat/sheep, whale, turtle, tuna, sardine, octopus, eagle, and pelican; there are also abstract elements of various forms. The paintings vary in age from 1100 B.C.E. to AD 1300.
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In Malaysia the oldest paintings are at Gua Tambun in Perak, dated at 2000 years, and those in the Painted Cave at [[Niah Caves]] National Park are 1200 years old.  
  
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The paintings are noted for their high quality, extent, the variety and originality of human and animal representations, remarkable colors, and excellent state of preservation. The rock paintings of Sierra de San Francisco were nominated in 1989 and became a World Heritage Site in 1993.
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In Indonesia the caves at Maros in Sulawesi are famous for their hand prints, also found in caves in the Sangkulirang area of Kalimantan.
  
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== Australia ==
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==Gallery==
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<Gallery>
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Significant early cave paintings have also been found in  [[Kakadu National Park]] in [[Australia]].
 
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The [[Kakadu|park]] has a large collection of [[ochre]] paintings. Ochre is a not an [[organic material]], so [[carbon dating]] of these pictures is impossible. Sometimes the approximate date, or at least, an [[epoch]], can be guessed from the content.
 
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<gallery>
 
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Image:Kakadu-painting-hero.jpg|A male hunter or warrior.
 
 
Image:Rock-painting-wallaby.jpg|A [[wallaby]] (and some other things).
 
Image:Rock-painting-wallaby.jpg|A [[wallaby]] (and some other things).
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Image:Rock-painting-turtle.jpg|An elaborate turtle.
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Image:Algerien 5 0049.jpg|Cave painting from Tassili Plateau in the mountains of southeast [[Algeria]]
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Image:Rock_painting_fishes.jpg|Fishes—an [[X-ray]] style painting—with some internal organs shown in detail.
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Image:Laas Geel cow and human.jpg|Detail of the Laas Geel cave paintings near Hargeysa, Somaliland/Somalia, showing a cow accompanied by a human being.
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Image:Rock_painting_kangaroo_skeleton.jpg|A [[macropod]]'s (probably [[kangaroo]]'s) [[skeleton]] (?)
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Image:Lascaux 01.jpg|Lascaux Caves - Prehistoric Paintings
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Image:Lascaux 03.jpg|Lascaux Caves - Prehistoric Paintings
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Image:Lascaux 04.jpg|Lascaux Caves - Prehistoric Paintings
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Image:Laas Geel single cow.jpg|Detail of the Laas Geel cave paintings near Hargeysa, Somaliland/Somalia, showing a cow.
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Image:San-Elephant Murewa ZW.jpg|Stoneage paintings of the San, found near Murewa (Zimbabwe)
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Image:San-Paintings Murewa ZW.jpg|Stoneage paintings of the San, found near Murewa (Zimbabwe)
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
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== Southeast Asia ==
 
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[[Image:Bhimbetka.JPG|thumb|right|200px|[[Bhimbetka]] rock painting, [[World Heritage Site]]]]
 
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There are rock paintings in caves in India,<ref>{{cite web
 
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|url=http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=925
 
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|title=Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka
 
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|publisher=World Heritage Site
 
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|accessdate=2007-02-15
 
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}}</ref>  Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
 
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In Thailand, caves and scarps along the Thai-Burmese border, in the Petchabun Range of Central Thailand, and overlooking the Mekong River in Nakorn Sawan Province, all contain galleries of rock paintings.
 
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In Malaysia the oldest paintings are at Gua Tambun in Perak, dated at 2000 years, and those in the Painted Cave at [[Niah Caves]] National Park are 1200 years old. See [[prehistoric Malaysia]].
 
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In Indonesia the caves at Maros in Sulawesi are famous for their hand prints, also found in caves in the Sangkulirang area of Kalimantan.
 
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==Notes==
 
==Notes==
Line 98: Line 87:
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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* Campbell, Joseph. ''Primitive Mythology''. Penguin Books, 1991. ISBN 978-0140194432
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* Thomas Heyd and John Clegg, eds. ''Aesthetics and Rock Art''. Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot, England and Burlington, VT, USA. 2005. ISBN 0-7546-3924-X
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* Chippindale, Christopher, and Paul S.C. Taçon (eds.). ''The Archaeology of Rock-Art''. Cambridge University Press, 1998 ISBN 0521576199
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* Gregory Curtis, ''The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists'', Knopf, New York, NY, USA, 2006. 1-4000-4348-4
+
* Curtis, Gregory. ''The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists''. New York, NY: Knopf, 2006. ISBN 1400043484
 +
* Guthrie, R. Dale. ''The Nature of Paleolithic Art''. University Of Chicago Press, 2006. ISBN 0226311260
 +
* Hancock, Graham. ''Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind''. Disinformation Company, 2007. ISBN 1932857842
 +
* Heyd, Thomas, and John Clegg (eds.). ''Aesthetics and Rock Art''. Aldershot, England and Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2005. ISBN 075463924X
 +
* Renfrew, Colin, and Paul Bahn. ''Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice''. Thames and Hudson, 2000. ISBN 0500281475
 +
* Stone, Merlin. ''When God Was a Woman''. Harvest Books, 1978. ISBN 015696158X
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
 +
All links retrieved November 3, 2023.
  
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* [http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/ Bradshaw Foundation] The recording of cave paintings around the world
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* [https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/ Bradshaw Foundation]  
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* [http://www.europreart.net EuroPreArt] database of European Prehistoric Art
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* [http://www.europreart.net/ EuroPreArt] database of European Prehistoric Art
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* [http://www.cavesofmalaysia.com Malaysian Caves]
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* [http://www.arara.org/ American Rock Art Research Association]
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* [http://www.39steps.aixa.com/page6.html  Cave paintings in Castell de Castells Spain]
 
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* [http://www.arara.org American Rock Art Research Association]
 
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{{Prehistoric technology}}
 
{{Credits|Cave_painting|168996910|}}
 
{{Credits|Cave_painting|168996910|}}

Latest revision as of 16:21, 3 December 2023

Detail of the Laas Geel cave paintings (near Hargeysa, Somaliland/Somalia) showing a cow herd.

Cave or Rock Paintings are paintings on cave or rock walls and ceilings, usually dating to prehistoric times. The earliest known rock paintings are dated to the Upper Paleolithic, approximately 40,000 years ago. The purpose of the cave paintings is not known, and may never be. The evidence suggests that they were not merely decorations of living areas, since the caves in which they have been found do not have signs of ongoing habitation. Also, they are often in areas of caves that were not easily accessed.

Some theories hold that cave paintings may have been a way of transmitting information, while other theories ascribe them a religious or ceremonial purpose. There are many common themes throughout the many different places that the paintings have been found; implying the universality of purpose and similarity of the impulses that might have created the imagery. Various conjectures have been made as to the meaning these paintings had to the people who made them. Prehistoric men may have painted animals to "catch" their soul or spirit in order to hunt them more easily, or the paintings may represent an animistic vision and homage to surrounding nature, or they may be the result of a basic need of expression that is innate to human beings, or they may be recordings of the life experiences of the artists and related stories from the members of their circle. While we may not fully understand the purpose for these paintings, we can appreciate and enjoy their beauty, admiring the creativity of those from long-ago eras.

Technique

A rock painting of a turtle in what is known as X-ray style—with some internal organs.

Cave paintings are a form of Rock art, falling under the category of pictograph, or the application of pigments to a rock surface. Survival of ancient cave paintings is attributable to use of mineral pigments, most commonly manganese, hematite, malachite, gypsum, limonite, clays, and various oxides. The best preserved pictography is found under sheltering overhangs and in caves. The simplest pictographs are wet clay finger drawings and charcoal drawings. To produce crayons or paints first the minerals had to be finely ground and combined with binding materials. Crayons and animal hair brushes have been excavated in caves with paintings. Exceedingly fine lines evidence the production of excellent brushes. The most common rock art element found around the world, the human hand, exemplifies several pictography types. A technique used since the Neolithic is spraying around a hand, resulting in a negative image. The more common positive print was often made with pigment applied to the hand and transferred to the rock.

Interpretation

Did you know?
Cave paintings probably had a religious or informational purpose rather than being purely decorative

What rock art means and why the ancients practiced it has been a bane of contention amongst scholars since the phenomena started to be studied. Some have argued that such images are records of hunts that served not only to inventory the amount of animals killed as well as future references for animal migrating patterns.[1]

Danza de Cogul, provincia de Lleida, Spain.

An alternative theory, developed by David Lewis-Williams and broadly based on ethnographic studies of contemporary hunter-gatherer societies, is that the paintings were made by Cro-Magnon shamans. The shaman would retreat into the darkness of the caves, enter into a trance state and then paint images of their visions, perhaps with some notion of drawing power out of the cave walls themselves. This goes some way toward explaining the remoteness of some of the paintings (which often occur in deep or small caves) and the variety of subject matter (from prey animals to predators and human hand-prints). This echoes Joseph Campbell's idea that the paintings "were associated with the magic of the hunt."[2] For Campbell, this "sympathetic magic" was akin to a participation mystique, where the paintings, drawn in a sanctuary of "timeless principle," were acted upon by rite.

R. Dale Guthrie has studied not only the most artistic and publicized paintings but also a variety of lower quality art and figurines, and he identifies a wide range of skill and ages among the artists.[3] He also points out that the main themes in the paintings and other artifacts (powerful beasts, risky hunting scenes, and the over-sexual representation of women in the Venus figurines) are to be expected in the fantasies of adolescent males, who constituted a large part of the human population at the time. However, Merlin Stone, in her book When God Was a Woman, suggested that many scholars and archaeologists impose modern sexist views on ancient findings.[4] Considering the prevalence of Goddess worship (beginning between 7,000 and 25,000 B.C.E.), it is probable that art depicting the fullness of a woman's body was not a teenage male's fantasy but reproductions done in praise of women by artists of either sex.[4] As with all prehistory, it is impossible to be certain because of the relative lack of material evidence and the many pitfalls associated with trying to understand the prehistoric mindset.

Graham Hancock's Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind explores the various theories on the interpretation of rock art, and provides extensive references. He concludes that recent theory linking shamanic and religious practices with cave painting throughout the world appear the most credible.[5]

Cultural Variants

Europe

Cave painting at Lascaux

The first cave paintings to be discovered were in Europe, where soon afterwards, many more sites uncovered. Some of the most famous European sites are:

  • Lascaux, France
  • La Marche, near Lussac-les-Chateaux, France
  • Chauvet Cave, near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France
  • Cosquer Cave, with an entrance below sea level near Marseille, France
  • Font de Gaume, in the Dordogne Valley in France
  • Altamira, near Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, Spain
  • Cave of El Castillo in northern Spain

Rock painting was also performed on cliff faces, but fewer of those have survived because of erosion. One well-known example is the rock paintings of Astuvansalmi in the Saimaa area of Finland.

The age of the paintings in many sites has been a contentious issue, since methods like radiocarbon dating can be easily misled by contaminated samples of older or newer material[6] and caves and rocky overhangs (parietal art) are typically littered with debris from many time periods. Recent advances make it possible to date the paintings by sampling the pigment itself.[7] The choice of subject matter can also indicate date such as the reindeer at the Spanish cave of Cueva de las Monedas which imply the art is from the last Ice Age. The oldest cave art, found in Cave of El Castillo in the Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain site, are decorations in red ochre in the forms of hand stencils (from as far back as 35,300 B.C.E.) and dots. One dot has been dated to 40,800 B.C.E., making it the oldest dated cave decoration in the world as of 2012.[8][9] These examples are several thousand years older than the previously oldest paintings found in Chauvet Cave.[10] Other examples may date as recent as the Early Bronze Age, but the well known prolific and sophisticated style from Lascaux and Altamira died out about 10,000 years ago, coinciding with the advent of the neolithic period.

Africa

Rock paintings from the Western Cape

At Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg, South Africa, now thought to be some 3,000 years old, the paintings by the San people who settled in the area some 8,000 years ago depict animals and humans, and are thought to represent religious beliefs.

An archeological team discovered the Laas Gaa'l cave paintings outside Hargeisa in Somaliland.[11] They show the ancient inhabitants of the area worshiping cattle and performing religious ceremonies.

Cave paintings are found in the Tassili n'Ajjer mountains in southeast Algeria also in the Akakus, Messak Settafet and Tadrart in Libya and other Sahara regions including Ayr mountains, Niger and Tibesti, Chad.

Australia

A male hunter or warrior.

Significant early cave paintings have also been found in Kakadu National Park in Australia. The park has a large collection of ochre paintings. Ochre is a not an organic material, so carbon dating of these pictures is impossible. Sometimes the approximate date, or at least, an epoch, can be guessed from the content.

Mexico

The Rock Paintings of Sierra de San Francisco is the name given to prehistoric rock art found in the Sierra de San Francisco region of Baja California, Mexico, created by a people referred to as Cochimi or Guachimis. There are some 250 sites which are located in the municipality of Mulege within the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve in the state of Baja California Sur in Northern Mexico. Motifs include human figures, weapons, and animal species such as rabbit, puma, lynx, deer, wild goat/sheep, whale, turtle, tuna, sardine, octopus, eagle, and pelican; there are also abstract elements of various forms. The paintings vary in age from 1100 B.C.E. to 1300 C.E.

The paintings are noted for their high quality, extent, the variety and originality of human and animal representations, remarkable colors, and excellent state of preservation. The rock paintings of Sierra de San Francisco were nominated in 1989 and became a World Heritage Site in 1993.[12]

Southeast Asia

Bhimbetka rock painting, World Heritage Site

There are rock paintings in caves in India,[13] Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

In Thailand, caves and scarps along the Thai-Burmese border, in the Petchabun Range of Central Thailand, and overlooking the Mekong River in Nakorn Sawan Province, all contain galleries of rock paintings.

In Malaysia the oldest paintings are at Gua Tambun in Perak, dated at 2000 years, and those in the Painted Cave at Niah Caves National Park are 1200 years old.

In Indonesia the caves at Maros in Sulawesi are famous for their hand prints, also found in caves in the Sangkulirang area of Kalimantan.

Gallery

  • A wallaby (and some other things).

  • Cave painting from Tassili Plateau in the mountains of southeast Algeria

  • Detail of the Laas Geel cave paintings near Hargeysa, Somaliland/Somalia, showing a cow accompanied by a human being.

  • Lascaux Caves - Prehistoric Paintings

  • Lascaux Caves - Prehistoric Paintings

  • Lascaux Caves - Prehistoric Paintings

  • Detail of the Laas Geel cave paintings near Hargeysa, Somaliland/Somalia, showing a cow.

  • Stoneage paintings of the San, found near Murewa (Zimbabwe)

  • Stoneage paintings of the San, found near Murewa (Zimbabwe)

Notes

  1. ↑ Christopher Chippindale and Paul S.C. Taçon (eds.), The Archaeology of Rock-Art (Cambridge University Press, 1998, ISBN 0521576199).
  2. ↑ Joseph Campbell, Primitive Mythology (Penguin Books, 1991, ISBN 978-0140194432).
  3. ↑ R. Dale Guthrie, The Nature of Paleolithic Art (University Of Chicago Press, 2006, ISBN 0226311260).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Merlin Stone, When God Was a Woman (Harvest Books, 1978, ISBN 015696158X).
  5. ↑ Graham Hancock, Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind (Disinformation Company, 2007, ISBN 1932857842).
  6. ↑ Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn, Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice (Thames and Hudson, 2000, ISBN 0500281475).
  7. ↑ Hélène Valladas, Direct radiocarbon dating of prehistoric cave paintings by accelerator mass spectrometry Measurement Science Technology Issue 9 (September 2003). Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  8. ↑ Alistair W.G. Pike et al., U-Series Dating of Paleolithic Art in 11 Caves in Spain Science 336(6087) (June 15, 2012): 1409-1413. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  9. ↑ Michael Marshall, Oldest confirmed cave art is a single red dot New Scientist (June 20, 2012): 10-11. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  10. ↑ Jean Clottes, Chauvet Cave (ca. 30,000 B.C.E.) Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  11. ↑ Simon Reeve, Somaliland's missing identity BBC News (May 5, 2005). Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  12. ↑ https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/714 Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Francisco] UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  13. ↑ Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Retrieved November 26, 2023.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Campbell, Joseph. Primitive Mythology. Penguin Books, 1991. ISBN 978-0140194432
  • Chippindale, Christopher, and Paul S.C. Taçon (eds.). The Archaeology of Rock-Art. Cambridge University Press, 1998 ISBN 0521576199
  • Curtis, Gregory. The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists. New York, NY: Knopf, 2006. ISBN 1400043484
  • Guthrie, R. Dale. The Nature of Paleolithic Art. University Of Chicago Press, 2006. ISBN 0226311260
  • Hancock, Graham. Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind. Disinformation Company, 2007. ISBN 1932857842
  • Heyd, Thomas, and John Clegg (eds.). Aesthetics and Rock Art. Aldershot, England and Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2005. ISBN 075463924X
  • Renfrew, Colin, and Paul Bahn. Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice. Thames and Hudson, 2000. ISBN 0500281475
  • Stone, Merlin. When God Was a Woman. Harvest Books, 1978. ISBN 015696158X

External links

All links retrieved November 3, 2023.

Prehistoric technology
Architectural
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Food processing Fire • Basket • Granaries • Grinding slab • Ground stone • Hearth • Manos • Metate • Mortar and pestle • Pottery • Quern-stone • Storage pit
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Toolmaking Earliest toolmaking • Biface • Cupstone • Hafting • Hand axe • Lithic core • Lithic reduction • Prepared-core technique • Striking platform • Tool stone
Other tools Adze • Awl • Axe • Blade • Bone tool • Bow drill • Burin • Chopper • Cleaver • Denticulate tool • Fire plough • Fire-saw • Hammerstone • Hand axe • Knife • Quern-stone • Rope • Scraper • Stone tool • Weapons • Wheel • Ancient maritime history
Arts and culture
Material goods Basket weaving • Beadwork • Chalcolithic • Clothing • Clothing and textiles • Hides • Pottery • Weaving
Prehistoric art Earliest art • Cairn • Cave painting • Cup and ring mark • Geoglyph • Guardian stone • Ideograms • Megalithic art • Petroform • Petroglyph • Petrosomatoglyph • Pictogram • Rock art • Stone circle
Burial Burial mounds • Chamber tomb • Cist • Dolmen • Great dolmen • Jar burial • Long barrow • Passage grave • Funeral pyre • Megalithic tomb • Mummy • Rectangular dolmen • Ring cairn • Simple dolmen • Stone box grave • Tor cairn • Tumulus • Unchambered long barrow • Unchambered long cairn

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