Cave painting
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Cave or rock paintings are paintings on cave or rock walls and ceilings, usually dating to prehistoric times. Rock paintings are made since the Upper Paleolithic, 40,000 years ago. The purpose of these cave paintings is not known , and may never be. However, some theories hold that they may be a way of transmitting information about large game to other hunters. Other theories ascribe them a religious or ceremonial purpose. Finally, although it is not generally accepted these days, some claim them to simply be the work of a bored prehistoric man.
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[edit] Europe
When Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola first encountered the Magdalenian paintings of the 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 artistry 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. the paintings were made out of animal blood and powdered rock
The age of the paintings in many sites remains a contentious issue, since methods like radiocarbon dating can be easily misled by contaminated samples of older or newer material[citation needed], and caves and rocky overhangs (parietal art) are typically littered with debris from many time periods. The choice of subject matter can 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 is that of Chauvet, and is 32,000 years old.
The most common themes in cave paintings are large wild animals, such as bison, horses, aurochs, and deer, and tracings of human hands [which was said to be the signature of the artist who painted it] as well as abstract patterns, called Macaroni by Breuil. 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).
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. Stone lamps provided some light. Abbé 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.
An alternative and more modern theory, based on studies of more modern hunter-gatherer societies, is that the paintings were made by Cro-Magnon shaman. 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). R. Dale Guthrie[1] however studied not only the most artistic and publicized paintings but also those of lower quality and he identifies a wide range of skill and ages among the authors. He also points that the main themes (powerful beasts, risky hunting scenes and the over-sexual representation of women, as in Venus figurines) are to be expected in the fantasies of teenager males, who made a big part of the human population at the time. At the end of the day, 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 with a modern mind.
Rock painting was also performed on cliff faces, but fewer of those have survived because of erosion. One well-known example are the rock paintings of Astuvansalmi in the Saimaa area of Finland.
In 2003, cave etchings and bas-reliefs were discovered in Creswell Crags, Nottinghamshire, England.
Well known cave paintings include those of:
- Lascaux, France
- La Marche, near Lussac-les-Chateaux, France
- Chauvet Cave, near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France
- Altamira, near Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, Spain
- Cosquer Cave, with an entrance below sea level near Marseille, France
[edit] Africa
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.
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.
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.
[edit] Australia
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.
 A male hunter or warrior. |
 A wallaby (and some other things). |
 A sailing ship -- this one is easier to date even without carbon dating. |
 An elaborate turtle. |
 Fishes -- an X-ray style painting -- with some internal organs shown in detail. |
[edit] Southeast Asia
There are rock paintings in caves in India,[2] 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. See prehistoric Malaysia. In Indonesia the caves at Maros in Sulawesi are famous for their hand prints, also found in caves in the Sangkulirang area of Kalimantan.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ R. Dale Guthrie, The Nature of Paleolithic Art. University Of Chicago Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0-226-31126-5. Preface.
- ^ Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka. World Heritage Site. Retrieved on February 15, 2007.
[edit] References
- Thomas Heyd and John Clegg, eds. Aesthetics and Rock Art. Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot, England and Burlington, VT, USA. 2005. ISBN 0-7546-3924-X
[edit] External links
- Bradshaw Foundation The recording of cave paintings around the world
- EuroPreArt database of European Prehistoric Art
- Malaysian Caves
- Cave paintings in Thailand
