Cave painting

Cave, or rock, paintings are paintings painted on cave or rock walls and ceilings, usually dating to pre-historic times.\n

European cave paintings

\nWhen Europeans first encountered the Magdalenian paintings of southern France and Cantabrian Spain some 150 years ago they were often considered primitive, but recent reappraisals and new discoveries indicate that many show high levels of artistry of palaeolithic humans, and give valuable clues as to the culture and beliefs of that era. The age of the paintings in many sites remains a contentious issue, since methods like radiocarbon dating can be easily mislead by contaminated samples of older or newer material, and caves and rocky overhangs are typically littered with debris from many time periods. The commonest themes in cave paintings are large wild animals, such as bison, deer, aurochs, and horsess, and tracings of human hands as well as abstract patterns, called Maccaroni by Breuill. Drawings of humans are rare. Cave art may have begun in the Aurignacian period (Hohle Fels, Germany), but reached its apogee in the late Magdalenian. The paintings were drawn with red and yellow ochre, haematite, Manganium oxide and charcoal. Sometimes the silhouette of the animal was incised in the rock first. Stone lamps provided some light. Abbé Breuill interpreted the paintings as 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 beast of prey like the sabre-toothed lion or the bear. In 2003, cave paintings also were discovered in Creswell Crags, Nottinghamshire, England. Well known cave paintings include those of:\n* Lascaux in France (discovered by a dog named Robot)\n* La Marche, in the Lussac-les-Chateaux area of France\n* Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc, France\n* Altamira in Spain\n

African Cave paintings

\nAt 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.\n

Australian cave paintings

\nSignificant early cave paintings have also been found in Australia.