Art of the Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Period, which is Greek for “Old Stone Age”, is the earliest period in human history. Today, the Paleolithic is divided into three categories, the first being the Lower Paleolithic (between 2.5 million – 200,000 BCE). During this time, our ancestors, such as Homo erectus and Homo ergaster, lived in nomadic groups and began making the first stone tools. The second Paleolithic category is the Middle Paleolithic (200,000 – 45,000 BCE), marked by the first Homo sapiens sapiens beginning to develop modern behaviors: more sophisticated tools, hunting, and the start of symbolic/ritualistic behavior. By the Upper Paleolithic (ending approximately 10,000 BCE), Neanderthal man had disappeared completely, and our ancestors were exhibiting fully modern behaviors such as making a wide range of even more sophisticated tools out of stone, bone, and ivory; hunting and fishing; and creating various forms of art such as figures and cave paintings.
In the absence of a written language, early humans were still able to communicate and express themselves, and their spirituality, using pictures instead of words. They could record the locations of successful hunting grounds and invoke the animal spirits to aid them in their endeavors.
Cave Paintings
Cave paintings are the oldest form of Paleolithic art found to date, and can be found on almost every continent in the world. Until recently, the Chauvet cave paintings in France were believed to be the oldest, dating back to approximately 32,000 BCE; however, using carbon dating of the calcium deposits formed over the mineral-based paint, the cave paintings found in Spain’s are now believed to be over 40,000 years old (Than, 2012). There has been speculation that these older paintings are the first evidence that Neanderthals could have been the first cave painters.
The older paintings usually consisted of red and black hand and footprints stenciled on the walls of the cave. In some of the caves the prints appear to be made by children, while in other caves there seems to be a mixture of adult sized and children sized prints. Simple line drawings of animals such as mammoths, deer, bison, and aurochs (ancestors of the modern bovine) appear to be floating in empty space on the walls of the caves.
In some caves, such as Chauvet, the animals are much more detailed, and shaded in such a way as to give them perspective and the illusion of movement. The Chauvet paintings are also unique in that they include images of animals not hunted for food such as Panthers and other large cats. The animals are arranged by species and gender, and are often located in distinct chambers of the cave, giving the impression the paintings may have served as a calendar for animal migration (Sayre, 2013, p. 3).
Depictions of people are rarer in the earlier cave paintings, and are often just stylized stick figures, with or without spears, next to more detailed drawings of animals. This may indicate that early humans viewed the animals of their world being more powerful and dominant than themselves. By the Upper Paleolithic era, depictions of humans, such as those found in Western Australia, were much more common and became more detailed, depicting not only hunting scenes but also what appeared to be both “men and women wearing extravagant headgear and elegant clothes” (Clottes, 2008, p. 308).
While there are some animals are rarely depicted in cave paintings, such as fish, there are items that have never been found in cave paintings. Plants have not been found in any paintings, nor are the sun or moon. There are also no specific indications of the animals standing on the ground, except when the contour of the cave wall gives the impression of ground.
Venus of Willendorf
In 1908, archeologist Joseph Szombathy discovered a small figure of a woman near Willendorf in Austria which, at the time, was the oldest figure found and it would become the most famous form of Paleolithic artwork. Living in nomadic bands, figures and talismans had to be small and easily carried. The limestone figure measured only about 4 1/2 inches high, and is between 25,000 – 30,000 years old. The body’s roundness is exaggerated, with the arms and lower legs only sketchily indicated. There are no facial features, and her head is covered by a spiral braid that looks similar to a cap of shells found on the skeleton of a young male at the Arene Candide in northwestern Italy (DK Encyclopedia, 2009, p. 474). There have been many hypotheses concerning the purpose of this Venus, as well as previous female figures. Some suggest it was a symbol of fertility, or the Mother Goddess, with its exaggerated belly, breasts, and pubic area. There is also evidence that it was colored with red ochre, possibly to symbolize menstrual blood, viewed as a life giving force. Others believe it was carried during the hunt as a symbol of good luck.
The Venus of Willendorf is not the only carving of a female figure that has been found. In 1911, in the Laussel Shelter in France, a female figure holding a bison horn was found carved into the wall. Like the Venus figure, the “Venus with a Horn” depicts large breasts and large belly. The horn she holds in her right hand is adorned with 13 marks, possibly an indication of yearly menstrual cycles.
Animal Carvings
In addition to the Venus figures, many small figures of animals, and humans with animal heads, as old as 34,000 years have also been found. Most were carved out of ivory, antler, or bone and were small enough to be carried or worn as an amulet during the hunt (Clottes, 2008, p. 56). One of these figures depicts the body of a man in the head of a lion. It was found in 1939, in Germany, and stands approximately 11 inches tall and 1 inch thick. It is thought to represent the importance of the big cats Paleolithic people, and also “highlights the fluid nature of their belief system, in which the borders separating humans and animals are easy to cross” (Clottes, 2008, p. 54).
In Le Tuc d’Audoubert, France, four bison made out of unfired clay was found in one of the upper galleries. While they were placed close together each one was unique. One of them was quite small, measuring just less than 5 inches long, and carved into a small lump of course clay. The second bison was deeply etched into a mound of clay on the ground next to the remaining two bison. The last two bison, a bull and a cow, were carved from 5 inch thick slabs of clay gathered from a neighboring chamber, which still shows the scars of its removal (Clottes, 2008, p. 251). The carved figures were set against a rock, in the middle of the chamber, for support, with four smaller stones slip between them and the rock for additional support.
Conclusion
With the absence of a written history, there is no way to be sure of the specific meaning of art created during the Paleolithic era, or who the artists were. Since the discovery of the first cave painting, observers have been trying to determine their meaning. Oftentimes the interpretation is tainted by the observer’s own biases, and by the belief that Paleolithic societies were based on the same folkways of modern societies. For example, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the predominantly male scholars of the time assumed cave art and figures depicting hunting and fertility rites were created by men for men. However, even today there are various cultures where women produce rock art in some areas of Australia, and in North America the native women were known to create paintings depicting coming-of-age ceremonies, while men sometimes created pottery. During the Paleolithic era, it could’ve been just as likely for women to paint hunting scenes as men (Bahn, 1998, p. 172).
The meaning of the artwork is just as difficult to interpret as who was the artist. There is no way to know for sure whether the cave paintings were literal record of what the people saw around them, or if they were used in spiritual ceremonies. References
Bahn, P. (1998). Prehistoric Art. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Clottes, J. (2008). Cave Art. New York, NY: Phaidon Press.
DK Encyclopedia. (2009). Prehistoric Live. New York: DK Publishing.
Sayre, H. M. (2013). Discovering the humanities (2nd ed.). [Vital Source digital version]. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Than, K. (2012, June 14). World's oldest cave art found - made by Neanderthals? Retrieved October 19, 2013, from National Geographic Daily News: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/06/120614-neanderthal-cave-paintings-spain-science-pike/