Preview

Cave Paintings

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1267 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Cave Paintings
The Cave of Lascaux and Cave Art Cave paintings might possibly be the oldest known form of communication that exists today. Cave paintings date back to a period of time called the Paleolithic Age. The Paleolithic Age took place from 40,000 to 10,000 B.C. Prehistoric Age is divided into three parts: Paleolithic being the earliest, Mesolithic being the middle at 10,000 B.C. and Neolithic Age being the latest at 8,000 B.C. During the Paleolithic Age it is believed that the cave paintings at Lascaux, France were created. Lascaux, is located in the south central, western corner of France. In 1940 this cave was believed to be found by a group of four boys from Montignac, France and a dog while out walking through the woods. Allegedly the dog fell into the cave and would not answer the owners call. The boys came up to what appeared to be a dark rock but as they got closer they realized they was not the case, it was a cave. The boys entered in an attempt to find the dog and discovered one of the most important cave paintings now known to man. Lascaux quickly became a heavy tourist spot and was forced to be closed in 1963 due to the damage being caused by human beings. In Lascaux this elegant cave painting is comprised of almost six hundred figures of different animals. The cave art at Lascaux is comprised of horses, bison, cattle and hinds as suggested by the Columbia Encyclopedia in its article Paleolithic Art. It is suggested that the art "may have a ritual significance to hunting". (Columbia) These animal paintings in the cave vary in size but the bulls specifically range from thirteen to sixteen feet long. It is believed that these particular cave works were created sometime around 13,000 B.C. and have remained, for the most part, completely intact. This date is only hypothetical being that the process of dating these cave paintings is slightly inaccurate and limited. As talked about on the Lascaux Cave Official Website "the range of methods and
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Natural Bridge Cavern
    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Natural Bridge Cavern

    The original exploration of the caverns done by a group of four students from St. Mary’s University, Orion Knox Jr., Preston Knodell, Al Brandt and Joe Cantu led to over a mile of underground caverns being discovered. Over the next several months an additional two miles of caverns were discovered. Development of the caves into a public attraction started in 1963 and was funded by the property owner Clara Wuest and her husband Harry Heidemann. The family worked along with the original explorers of the cave to excavate the cave opening, install lights, and develop trails. During the excavation many items of archaeological significance including arrow heads, stone tools and some type of cooking device. Also discovered inside the cave was the Jawbone of a species of Black Bear that became extinct over 8,000 years ago.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Cave Of Forgotten Dreams Analysis
    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Cave Of Forgotten Dreams Analysis

    These drawing showed how life more than 30,000 years ago was outside the cave. During that time, animals had a bigger role in their environment than they do today, this is shown because in the drawings there was only one painting that included a human. I think people saw themselves as being almost equal to animals, they probably very well knew that animals were dangerous and powerful, which can be seen through the paintings. An example of the difference in power of the animals and the humans would be the footprint…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Cave Paintings Of The Cave Essay
    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cave Paintings Of The Cave Essay

    Prehistoric art of caves in southern France and northern Spain have many common motifs. In both places, the main subjects are animals. The paintings are quite sophisticated, thus creatures depicted with great details: horns, tusks, eyes, faces, bodies are very well observed and painted. The Hall of Bulls in Lascaux Cave in France is a good example. Wall paintings include images of the cows, bisons, deers and horses. Animals features are emphasised and pronounced: deers have beautiful antlers, bisons’ faces and bodies look very realistic. Not only animal appearance but animal behavior is well observed. The ceiling of cave in Altamira, Spain has painting of dust-wallowing bisons, which is common behavior during the mating season. Paintings in…

    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Chauvet Versus Laxcaux: Comparing Cave Paintings
    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Chauvet Versus Laxcaux: Comparing Cave Paintings

    I think it is also important to note that the objects of the paintings also tell us quite a bit of the locations and state of culture during these time periods. It's clear that Lascaux is a cave of a more sedentary tribe, with the “hut in a tree” as well as with the more domesticated animals as the cows. The fact that the dwellers of Lascaux had the time to craft different colors of pigments also leads me to believe they were more sedentary. In stark contrast to those in Lascaux, the paintings of Chauvet are of more predatory animals, such as panthers, suggesting that those dangerous creatures may be a sort of trophy, should one be adept enough to bring it down. The dwellers of Chauvet seem more concered with the glory of the hunt, than creating symbols, signs, or “Great Sorcerers.”…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hall Of Bulls Analysis
    • 145 Words
    • 1 Page

    Hall Of Bulls Analysis

    In Chapter 5, the work of art that I found most compelling was the cave painting in Lascaux, Dordogne, France, called Hall of Bulls (Page 112). This cave painting was created somewhere between c. 15,000-10,000 BCE. and may have been part of an ancient ritual. I find the detail on this cave painting to be utterly astonishing. I can’t even draw a proper stick figure in Paint and yet these cavemen were painting detailed pictures of running animals. It is amazing to see such a historical piece of art still living to this day on the same wall that the people painted it on. I particularly like the way that the wall’s rough exterior gives life to animals, it is as if they are running in smoke or dust. This is truly an amazing piece of art and hopefully,…

    • 145 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    San Agustin Basin-Bat Cave Carton, N.M.
    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages

    San Agustin Basin-Bat Cave Carton, N.M.

    The cave was formed by an ancient wave that was covered by an inland sea about 35 miles long and 165ft deep 15,000 years ago. Late Archaic occupation represents a use of the cave as seasonal (summer-fall) base camp (Wills 1988a, 1988b). It was stated to be possible that by the time Horse Springs finally disappeared and bare that human habitation was few. The cave site became a low intensity use. Samples found of the maize in the U.S. Southwest it contained geological mass dating back ca.14, ooo - 10,500 B.P. but there is no evidence for human functional proof during that time period. But from evidence available information from the site from later excavations it stated that the oldest cultural components from the site was from “Buff Sand”…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Paleolithic Era
    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Paleolithic Era

    Our ancestors began to express their creativity and individuality with the first forms of art. The two forms art were mural and portable art. “Mural art is paintings and engravings on the walls of caves” (Price 131). Mural art has been found mostly in France and Spain. The paint used for murals is a combination of minerals and cave water. The main colors are black, yellow, red and sometimes white. The mixture is long lasting as hundreds of murals exist today. Most of the murals that have survived are deep within the caves as oppose to the murals that may have been painted in the entrance of caves. There are several caves that have invaluable collections of mural art. One of them is the cave of Lascaux in France. The murals are mostly of animals, occasionally pregnant. There are few paintings of humans. “Portable art is cravings, figurines and other shaped or decorated pieces that can be moved from place to place (Price 131). Portable art has been found in Europe and most of the Old World. The amount of portable art many be a result of groups of people traveling during different seasons to more accommodating areas during the year. A remarkable example of portable art is from the site Dolni Vestonice. Two representations of the same woman have been found. One is a small ivory plaque and the other is a small carved ivory head of a woman with an asymmetrical face. At this site, “a skeleton of a woman with congenital nerve damage buried under two…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hall Of the Bulls, Lascaux
    • 1347 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hall Of the Bulls, Lascaux

    This magnificent painting dates back to Lascaux, France 15,000-13,000 B.C.E. It was found on cave walls and it is said to represent one of the earliest examples of artistic expression. We can see that this piece was created during the Paleolithic period because; they are images walls using paint on limestone. We can see that the primitive people used natural rock contours, which suggested the animal’s volumes and portrayed real representations of a major role in their lives, which were the animals. We can see horses, bulls, deer, cows and more animals on the walls of these caves. Furthermore, the images of the animals are…

    • 1347 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Paleolithic and Neolithic Art
    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Paleolithic and Neolithic Art

    Cave or rock paintings are paintings painted on cave or rock walls and ceilings, usually dating to prehistoric times. Rock paintings are made since the Upper Paleolithic, 40,000 years ago. It is widely believed that the paintings are the work of respected elders or shamans.…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hidden Cave Research Paper
    • 136 Words
    • 1 Page

    Hidden Cave Research Paper

    cave!" It was excavated originally in the 1930s by Harrington and then excavated twice more before being returned to for the final time in 1978 by David Hurst Thomas for a more in depth excavation.The site dates back to the early Desert Archaic Culture from c. 4000 to 2000 years ago.Thousands of Archaic artifacts have been found here, and the site provides important, if unusual clues about Desert Archaic lifeways.Hidden Cave was not lived in, but used as storage site for goods and tools for…

    • 136 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Art History
    • 7818 Words
    • 32 Pages

    Art History

    • Chapter 1 Notes - Prehistoric Period o Paleolithic Period – "Old Stone Age"  Old and primitive period  Around 50,000BC  Artwork consisted of cave paintings  Brutal period  Average life expectancy was about 20 years o Neolithic Period – "New Stone Age"  Begins around 9,000BC  Neolithic Revolution • Agriculture o Allows people luxury of staying in one place; stability and performance o Cornerstone of civilization • Domestic Architecture o Wigwam, Huts, Lean-to's o Native American Indians were considered "Neolithic" • Refined tools o Spears, Bows and Arrows • Domesticated Animals o Hallmark of luxury, stability, and permanence • Pottery – clay art o Bowls and containers o Exquisite decoration…

    • 7818 Words
    • 32 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Art History: Hall Of Bulls And Chinese Horses
    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Art History: Hall Of Bulls And Chinese Horses

    Art in the earliest of days was a bit interesting because of what we know now about art and its history. The first period/discovery of art was between 40,000 and 8,000 b.c.e or more known as the Path eolithic period, this period included artistic forms such as cave paintings and smaller objects used for legion purposes. One of the first caves to be discovered was Lascaux Cave in 1940, says to be dated from 15,000s b.c.e. This cave contains very important and rare drawings such as “Hall of bulls”, and “Chinese horses”.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Aboriginal Cave Painting
    • 322 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Aboriginal Cave Painting

    Indigenous Australians drew cave paintings as a religious symbol, and to feel the spirits in their sacred places. The practice of making artworks allowed tribes to pass on knowledge about their country and culture. The earliest forms of Indigenous art were paintings or engravings on boulders and on the walls of rock shelters and caves. There is evidence that Aborigines were painting on rock over 30 000 years ago. Aboriginal Australians drew about daily life, hunting and spirits. Images that are usually found in rock art are hands or arms, animal tracks, boomerangs, spear throwers, and other tools such as stone axes. There are three main styles of Aboriginal rock art. The first is the style of engraved geometric figures. It consists of engraved…

    • 322 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Art- Cave of Forgotten Dreams Essay
    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Art- Cave of Forgotten Dreams Essay

    The first impressions of the Chauvet Cave seemed uninteresting and looked like an ordinary cave at first. But it turns out that some of the very first human drawings and paintings on Earth were discovered inside this cave. Natural disasters, such as rock slides, caused the entrance of the cave to be blocked off and no one (except for the scientists and film crew) is allowed in. The paintings and drawings inside were placed near the end of the cave; keeping them further away from the daylight. This was meant to preserve the paintings and keep them looking fresh. The ancient artists drew many animals and their methods of life, by showing movements and capturing scenes or events that took place during their times. The illusion of moving images depicts a story or narrative. Some examples of the types of animals they drew were lions, bulls, rhinos, deer, cattle, etc. Depending on how the artists draw the animal’s movements and gestures, tells what kind of scene or story is taking place. Movements such as horns and bodies clashing into each other, or animals with their mouths open, indicate that a brawl or a fight is taking place.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Chauvet Cave
    • 164 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Chauvet Cave

    The Chauvet Cave revealed, among other things, that art may not have developed linearly as scholars previously assumed. The Chauvet Cave, though at least 10,000 years older than the other discoveries, contains surprisingly sophisticated art, by far the most realistic of all the other examples of cave art discovered so far. The use of modeling, or shading, to give the art the appearance of volume has yet to be found in any other caves. The fact that the art in the Chauvet Cave predates other, more simplistic discoveries seems to suggest that, rather than the level of sophistication paralleling the evolution of man, the use of naturalism, modeling, and illusionism was most likely determined by cultural factors or even varying amounts of skill…

    • 164 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics