Isabella Flores
Cave paintings are a type of parietal art, which also includes engravings, found on the walls and ceilings of caves. They are often found closer to the entrance of caves, in areas with natural light, as opposed to deep inside the caves where it is completely dark. The oldest known cave paintings are more than 40,000 years old and were made by Homo sapiens, Denisovans, and Neanderthals. These paintings often consist of hand stencils, geometric shapes, and animal figures. The discovery of cave paintings has provided valuable insights into the history of Homo sapiens and their abstract thoughts, with some experts suggesting that they were created within the framework of shamanic beliefs and practices.
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What You'll Learn
The oldest cave paintings
The subject matter of cave paintings can indicate their chronology. For example, the reindeer depicted in the Spanish Cueva de las Monedas cave places the drawings in the last Ice Age. The oldest known cave painting is a red hand stencil found in the Maltravieso cave in Cáceres, Spain, dated to be over 64,000 years old. This painting was also created by Neanderthals.
Most cave art consists of paintings made with red or black pigment, with animal figures constituting the majority of images. Examples of animals depicted include long-extinct species such as cave lions, mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, and cave bears. Horses, bison, aurochs, cervids, and ibex are also commonly portrayed. Birds and fish are rarely depicted.
The discovery of the Lascaux cave in 1940 brought about a new era in our understanding of prehistoric art and human origins. Located in the Lascaux valley in southwestern France, the cave contains over 600 parietal wall paintings, primarily of large animals that correspond with the local fossil record of the Upper Paleolithic. The age of the paintings is estimated to be between 17,000 and 22,000 years old. Due to the outstanding prehistoric art it contains, Lascaux was inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.
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The discovery of cave paintings
Cave paintings are a type of parietal art, which also includes engravings or petroglyphs, found on the walls or ceilings of caves. They are mostly paintings made with either red or black pigment, with reds made from iron oxides (hematite) and blacks from manganese dioxide and charcoal. The exact meanings of the images remain unknown, but they may have been created within the framework of shamanic beliefs and practices.
The first cave art acknowledged as being Paleolithic was discovered in 1875 in Altamira, Spain, and in 1879 in the Chabot Cave in the Ardèche Valley. The paintings in Altamira were deemed by experts to be the work of modern humans (Homo sapiens). However, the oldest known cave paintings, dated to over 64,000 years ago, were made by Neanderthals. These include three red non-figurative symbols found in the caves of Maltravieso, Ardales, and La Pasiega in Spain, and a red hand stencil found in the cave of Maltravieso in Cáceres, Spain.
The discovery of the Lascaux cave in 1940 brought about a new era in our understanding of prehistoric art and human origins. The entrance to the cave was discovered by 18-year-old Marcel Ravidat and his dog, who investigated a hole left by an uprooted tree. Ravidat returned with three friends, and they entered the cave through a 15-metre-deep shaft, finding the walls covered with depictions of animals. The cave contains nearly 6,000 figures, including animals, human figures, and abstract signs. The paintings are estimated to be between 17,000 and 22,000 years old. Due to their outstanding prehistoric art, the Lascaux caves were inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.
More recently, in 2021, cave art of a pig found in Sulawesi, Indonesia, was dated to over 45,500 years ago. In 2024, the journal Nature published research findings indicating that the cave paintings in Leang Karampuang, depicting anthropomorphic figures interacting with a pig, are approximately 51,200 years old, making them the oldest known figurative art paintings in the world.
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The meaning of cave paintings
Cave paintings, a type of parietal art, are found on the walls and ceilings of caves. They are mostly paintings, but some are engravings or sculptures. The oldest known cave paintings are more than 40,000 years old, but some estimates place the earliest examples at 64,000 years old. These paintings were often created by Homo sapiens, but also Denisovans and Neanderthals.
The exact meanings of the images remain unknown, but some experts think they may have been created within the framework of shamanic beliefs and practices. Shamanic practices involve entering a trance state and sending one's soul into the spirit world to obtain the benevolence of the spirits. Caves may have been used to facilitate these visions and to come into contact with the spirits.
Other theories suggest that the paintings were created for aesthetic reasons, to represent beauty. Some paintings may have been created by adolescent males, as suggested by the main themes of powerful beasts and risky hunting scenes. However, analysis of handprints and stencils in French and Spanish caves has revealed that some were made by females.
The paintings may also have served didactic and educational purposes, such as facilitating ceremonies and rituals. For example, the Lion Man found in a cave may have been part of a story or myth that helped people understand their place in nature. Additionally, some symbols found in the paintings, such as the "Y" symbol, may correlate with the mating cycle of animals in a lunar calendar.
The discovery and interpretation of cave paintings are important for understanding the history of Homo sapiens and their unique abstract thoughts. They serve as a reminder of the common humanity we share with our prehistoric ancestors.
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The creation of cave paintings
Cave paintings are a type of parietal art, which also includes engravings or petroglyphs, found on the walls or ceilings of caves. They are primarily a product of the Upper Palaeolithic era, dating from around 40,000 to 14,000 years ago, though some examples have been found to be much older, with the oldest known cave painting, a red hand stencil found in Spain, dated to over 64,000 years old.
The paintings were often created by Homo sapiens, but also Denisovans and Neanderthals, with the oldest examples attributed to the latter. The paintings were typically of animals, with the most common subjects being those that were the most formidable: cave lions, mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, and cave bears. Later, horses, bison, aurochs, cervids, and ibex became prevalent subjects. Birds and fish were rarely depicted. Human figures were also occasionally included, though these were often heads or genitalia in isolation. Hand stencils and handprints are characteristic of earlier periods.
The meaning of the images remains unknown, but some experts believe they were created within the framework of shamanic beliefs and practices. One such practice involved shamans entering a trance state and sending their souls into the otherworld to make contact with spirits. The caves themselves may have played a role in facilitating these visions, with the cold, humidity, darkness, and absence of sensory cues potentially inducing hallucinations.
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The locations of cave paintings
In terms of their specific locations within caves, cave paintings can be found on walls or ceilings, often deep within the cave systems. For example, the Rouffignac cave in France, discovered in 1956, features a variety of parietal art, including engravings and paintings of animals, located about 500 metres (1,600 feet) from the cave's entrance. The Lascaux cave, also in France, features over 600 parietal wall paintings and was discovered through a 15-metre-deep (50-foot) shaft. The Chauvet Cave, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is another example of a cave with parietal art located deep within.
The locations of the paintings within caves may hold significance. For instance, according to Jean Clottes, paintings in the middle of large chambers may have different meanings from those found in narrow, confined spaces. Additionally, the subject matter of the paintings can indicate their chronology. For example, the reindeer depicted in the Spanish Cueva de las Monedas cave places the drawings in the last Ice Age.
The specific locations of the caves themselves can also be significant. For instance, the Lascaux valley, where the Lascaux caves are located, is situated away from the major concentrations of decorated caves. This relative isolation has resulted in the preservation of the art within.
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Frequently asked questions
Not necessarily. While some cave paintings are found closer to the entrance of caves, others are found deep inside the caves, in the dark.
Cave paintings are found on the walls or ceilings of caves.
Most cave art consists of paintings made with either red or black pigment. The reds were made with iron oxides (hematite), whereas manganese dioxide and charcoal were used for the blacks.
Animal figures constitute the majority of images in caves from all periods. Some of the animals depicted include long-extinct species such as cave lions, mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, and cave bears. Later, horses, bison, aurochs, cervids, and ibex became prevalent. Human figures and abstract signs have also been found in cave paintings.
The oldest known cave paintings are more than 40,000 years old, with some paintings dated to be over 64,000 years old.
