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Cave art
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bison drawing at Altamira cave drawings at Chauvet–Pont d'Arc Arawak: cave art Aboriginal cave paintings, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia Ceiling of the Altamira replica cave at the National Archeological Museum in Madrid, Spain, showing textured rock surface with reddish-brown cave paintings. Chauvet–Pont d'Arc: animal drawings Chauvet–Pont d'Arc: drawings Chauvet–Pont d'Arc: horse Rock art Chad: prehistoric cave art
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bison drawing at Altamira cave
bison drawing at Altamira cave Cave painting of bison, c. 15,000 bce; in Altamira cave, near Santander, Spain.

Cave art

visual arts
Written by
Jean Clottes
Dr. Jean Clottes earned his Ph.D. in 1975 from the University of Toulouse. He became the Director of Prehistoric Antiquities for Midi-Pyrénées in 1971, General Inspector for Archaeology at the French Ministry...
Jean Clottes
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Cave art, generally, the numerous paintings and engravings found in caves and shelters dating back to the Ice Age (Upper Paleolithic), roughly between 40,000 and 14,000 years ago. See also rock art. The first painted cave acknowledged as being Paleolithic, meaning from the Stone Age, was Altamira in Spain. The art discovered there was deemed by experts to be the work of modern humans (Homo sapiens). Most examples of cave art have been found in...

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