HISTORY OF ART AND DESIGN

CAVE ART
 The First Works of Art
• Cave Art (42.000 B.C.)
• Female figurines that symbolise Mother
Goddess
 Cave Art
• The animal figures that were painted on the
inner walls of the caves. They are technically
advanced, realist depictions of animals, with
the contours, the and the effect of the light
and shade, colour tones were applied.
• The scientists argued that the cave art were
done for rituals and magic.
 World Cave Art Map
https://www.americanscientist.org/article/contextualizing-cave-art
Cave Art
 Cave Art
• The main subject matters drawn on the cave walls is that of animals. With a majority of
images being those of large herbivores. The most commonly depicted animal in cave
paintings is the horse, although in some places there are many paintings of ox, mammoths,
ibex, deer, rhinoceroses, and others. Images of dangerous animals like lions and bears are
rare. Fish, birds, and reptiles are almost non-existent. No drawings have been found
containing landscapes, smaller animals, insects, plants, the sun, the moon, or the stars.
• Images were always drawn in side profile rather than in front or rear view. Additionally,
they were also never drawn in context (e.g. standing on the ground) and are portrayed as
being totally isolated from their surrounding environment, almost floating in space.
• There are very few (complete or detailed) paintings or engravings that are representations
of humans and those that have been found so far lack either significant detail or a
naturalistic appearance.
• Paintings created in the open-air were almost certainly made, but would have long since
been destroyed by the elements, so a chance finding of any that have survived is highly
unlikely.
• The whole community’s lives were dependent on the success of hunts.
Hand stencils (Sulawesi-Cave)
 Who Did the Cave Paintings?
• Since cave art often depicts game species, a subject near
and dear to hunters, most researchers have assumed
that the people behind this mysterious artwork must
have been male. But new research suggests that’s not
right: when scientists looked closely at a sample of hand
stencils, a common motif in cave art, they concluded
that about three-quarters were actually drawn by
women. Women tend to have ring and index fingers of
about the same length, whereas men’s ring fingers tend
to be longer than their index fingers.
 THE PAINTINGS MAY HAVE BEEN USED IN RELIGIOUS
RITUALS.

• The whole community’s lives were dependent on the

success of hunts.
• No drawings have been found containing landscapes,
smaller animals, insects, plants, the sun, the moon, or the
stars.
• While researchers don’t know exactly why these cave
paintings were created. In terms of a specific purpose,
some experts believe that the paintings may have been
used during a ritual where a shaman would enter the cave
and go into a trance in order to make contact with spirits.
•  
 Dating of Cave Art
• Carbon dating is the most commonly used
method of absolute dating in cave art
research. The basic principle of carbon dating
is that radioactive carbon atoms change at a
known rate over time.