Cave Art: The World’s First Art Galleries

Works of art have existed among anatomically modern humans and potentially our human ancestors for several centuries, and a few hundred cave art pieces have been found across the Old & New World.  Long believed to be fakes, cave paintings have since been determined to be legitimate pieces created by our human ancestors, demonstrating their intellect and creative prowess.  Today’s blog post is dedicated to discussing the subjects of and means of creating cave paintings.  This blog post will not discuss the motivations behind the creation of these cave paintings because this is a broad enough topic for a separate (and future) blog post.

Figure 1: Altamira Cave Painting

The first cave painting ever discovered was at Altamira in Spain (Figure 1).  It was originally declared a hoax by many because it was believed that the artistic depictions were too advanced for early humans to create.  As more painted caves were discovered, it became clear that the Altamira cave was not a hoax but real evidence of human art work. 

Cave paintings most commonly depict a variety of animals, followed closely by people.  Cave paintings throughout Europe demonstrate a variety of local fauna, including bison, oxen, horses, deer, mammoths, ibex, rhinoceros, lions, and bears.  Each cave demonstrates variation in form and style, demonstrating the differences among the artists.  Extensive study of these artistic renderings has demonstrated that they were not composed by childish hands but the skilled and experienced imaginations of adults.  These paintings are not merely 2-dimensional depictions but appear to be moving, animated pieces that demonstrate a precise eye and artistic mind, which provide rare glimpses into the world of the past which we, as modern scholars and viewers, may not have been able to see.

Figure 2: Female form in a cave in France, one of the oldest cave drawings of humans.

Depictions of humans are also present in cave depictions, although these depictions are not believed to be self-portraits.  Generally, portrayals of humans are rare in occurrence.  One of the oldest cave drawing with humans as the subject is found in France, and it is the outline of the female form (Figure 2).  This depiction dates to around 25,000 years ago based on radiocarbon dating.  This is not the only human depiction found.  Of all the European cave art depictions involving humans, 78 % are males vs.  22% of which are female.  And there are differences in behaviors depicted among males and females.  Males are most often depicted as active, either running, walking, or dancing, whereas females are more static, lying or standing in groups with other females.    

Another depiction involving humans that is very common is the depictions of hands.  Hand prints, either in the negative, which refers to outlines of hands (Figure 3) or positive, which refers to the form of the hand (Figure 4), are found in many caves.  They range in size and are attributed to men, women, and children of all ages.  It is unclear the meaning of all these various types of depictions of humans.

Figure 3: Negative Handprints

Figure 4: Positive Handprints

       

We know through careful analysis of these paintings that the paint was created with natural products, such as ochre, iron oxides, and manganese dioxide.  These elements were ground into fine powders and mixed with a binding agent, such as grease, marrow, saliva, or blood.  Fingers, wooden spatulas, and brushes of twigs and animal hair were used to apply the paint to walls. 

In conclusion, cave art represents some of the earliest art creations of humans and our ancestors.  These pieces primarily focused on natural fauna of the region surrounding the cave, followed closely by humans.  Much like artists today they were drawing/painting what they knew best, so these subjects should not be surprising.  They ultimately provide us insights into the daily lives of our human ancestors, who took the time to record their existence on the walls of caves, allowing us to know and understand the past today.

References

Feder, Kenneth and Park M. Human Antiquity: An Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archeology, McGraw-Hill.