cave painting
Quick Summary
Cave art refers to paintings and engravings found in caves and shelters, dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period, roughly between 40,000 and 14,000 years ago. The earliest known painted cave of this era is Altamira in Spain, recognized as the work of Homo sapiens.12
Most cave art utilizes red (from iron oxides) or black (from manganese dioxide and charcoal) pigments. While sculptures and engravings also exist, paintings are most common. Animal figures dominate cave art, with early depictions featuring formidable extinct creatures like mammoths and cave lions, later shifting to horses, bison, and deer. Humans are rarely depicted, though hand stencils and prints are characteristic of earlier periods. Geometric signs are also frequently found.1
The exact meaning of cave art remains unknown, but it is generally believed to have served a symbolic or religious function, possibly linked to shamanic beliefs and practices.1
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