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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Figure 3: Negative Handprints |
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| 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.
