Long years modern civilization had no idea about any objects of ancient painting, however, in 1879, the Spanish amateur archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, along with his 9-year-old daughter, during a walk, accidentally came across the Altamira cave, the vaults of which were decorated with many drawings of ancient people - The discovery, which had no analogues, greatly shocked the researcher and prompted him to study it closely.
1. White Shaman's Rock
This 4,000-year-old ancient rock art is located in the lower Peco River in Texas. The giant image (3.5 m) shows the central figure surrounded by other people performing some kind of rituals. It is assumed that the figure of a shaman is depicted in the center, and the picture itself depicts the cult of some forgotten ancient religion.
2. Kakadu Park
National Park Cockatoo is one of the most beautiful places for tourists in Australia. It is especially valued by its rich cultural heritage— the park contains an impressive collection of local Aboriginal art. Some of the rock paintings at Kakadu (which were included in the fund world heritage UNESCO) is almost 20,000 years old.
3. Chauvet Cave
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site is located in the south of France. More than 1000 different images can be found in the Chauvet Cave, most of them are animals and anthropomorphic figures. These are some of the most ancient images known to man: their age dates back to 30,000 - 32,000 years. About 20,000 years ago, the cave was filled with stones and has remained in excellent condition to this day.
4. Cueva de El Castillo
In Spain, the "Castle Cave" or Cueva de El Castillo was recently discovered, on the walls of which the most ancient cave drawings in Europe, their age is 4,000 years older than all the rock paintings that were previously found in the Old World. Most images contain handprints and simple geometric figures, although there are also images of strange animals. One of the drawings, a simple red disk, was made 40,800 years ago. It is assumed that these paintings were made by Neanderthals.
5. Laas Gaal
Some of the oldest and best-preserved rock paintings on the African continent can be found in Somalia, at the Laas Gaal (Camel Well) cave complex. Despite the fact that their age is “only” 5,000 - 12,000 years, these rock paintings are perfectly preserved. They depict mainly animals and people in ceremonial clothing and various decorations. Unfortunately this one is wonderful cultural site cannot receive World Heritage status because it is located in an area constantly at war.
6. Bhimbetka Cliff Dwellings
The cliff dwellings at Bhimbetka represent some of the earliest traces of human life on the Indian subcontinent. In natural rock shelters on the walls there are drawings that are about 30,000 years old. These paintings represent the period of development of civilization from the Mesolithic to the end of prehistoric times. The drawings depict animals and people engaged in daily activities such as hunting, religious ceremonies and, interestingly, dancing.
7. Magura
In Bulgaria, the rock paintings found in the Magura cave are not very old - they are between 4,000 and 8,000 years old. They are interesting because of the material that was used to apply the images - bat guano (droppings). In addition, the cave itself was formed millions of years ago and other archaeological artifacts, such as the bones of extinct animals (for example, the cave bear).
8. Cueva de las Manos
The "Cave of Hands" in Argentina is famous for its extensive collection of prints and images human hands. This rock painting dates back to 9,000 - 13,000 years. The cave itself (more precisely, the cave system) was used by ancient people 1,500 years ago. Also in Cueva de las Manos you can find various geometric shapes and images of hunting.
9. Altamira Cave
Paintings found in the Altamira cave in Spain are considered a masterpiece ancient culture. Stone painting of the era Upper Paleolithic(14,000 - 20,000 years old) is in exceptional condition. As in Chauvet Cave, a landslide sealed the entrance to this cave about 13,000 years ago, so the images remained intact. In fact, these drawings are so well preserved that when they were first discovered in the 19th century, scientists thought they were fakes. It took a long time until technology made it possible to confirm the authenticity of rock art. Since then, the cave has proved so popular among tourists that it had to be closed in the late 1970s because a large number of Carbon dioxide from the breath of visitors began to lead to the destruction of the painting.
10. Lascaux Cave
It is by far the best known and most significant collection of rock art in the world. Some of the most beautiful 17,000-year-old paintings in the world can be found in this cave system in France. They are very complex, very carefully made and at the same time perfectly preserved. Unfortunately, the cave was closed more than 50 years ago due to the fact that, under the influence of carbon dioxide exhaled by visitors, the unique images began to collapse. In 1983, a reproduction of part of the cave called Lascaux 2 was discovered.
Prehistoric rock art is the most abundant evidence available of humanity's first steps in the fields of art, knowledge and culture. It is found in most countries of the world, from the tropics to the Arctic, and in a wide variety of places - from deep caves to mountain heights.
Several tens of millions of rock paintings have already been discovered and artistic motives, and every year more and more of them are discovered. This solid, enduring, cumulative monument of the past is clear evidence that our distant ancestors developed complex social systems.
Some common false claims about the origins of art had to be rejected at their very beginning. Art, as such, did not arise suddenly; it developed gradually with the enrichment of human experience. By the time the famous cave art appeared in France and Spain, it is believed that artistic traditions were already fairly developed, at least in South Africa, Lebanon, Eastern Europe, India and Australia, and no doubt in many other regions that have yet to be adequately explored.
When did people first decide to generalize reality? This is an interesting question for art historians and archaeologists, but it also has broad interest given that the idea of cultural primacy has an influence on the formation of ideas about racial, ethnic and national value, even on fantasy. For example, the claim that art originated in the caves of Western Europe encourages the creation of myths about European cultural superiority. Secondly, the origins of art should be considered closely related to the emergence of other purely human qualities: the ability to create abstract ideas and symbols, communicate at the highest level, develop self-image. Apart from prehistoric art, we have no real evidence from which to conclude the existence of such abilities.
THE BEGINNINGS OF ART
Artistic creativity was considered an example of “impractical” behavior, that is, behavior that seemed to have no practical purpose. The oldest visual archaeological evidence of this is the use of ocher or red iron ore (hematite), a red mineral dye removed and used by people several hundred thousand years ago. These ancient people also collected crystals and patterned fossils, colorful and unusual shape gravel. They began to distinguish between ordinary, everyday objects and unusual, exotic ones. Apparently they developed ideas about a world in which objects could be classified into different classes. Evidence first appears in South Africa, then in Asia and finally in Europe.
The oldest known cave painting was made in India two or three hundred thousand years ago. It consists of cup-shaped depressions and a sinuous line, chiseled into the sandstone of the cave. Around the same time, on various kinds of portable objects (bone, teeth, tusks and stones) found at sites primitive man, simple linear signs were made. Sets of clustered carved lines first appear in the central and Eastern Europe, they acquire a certain improvement, which makes it possible to recognize individual motifs: scribbles, crosses, arcs and sets of parallel lines.
This period, which archaeologists call the Middle Paleolithic (somewhere between 35,000 and 150,000 years ago), was decisive for the development of human mental and cognitive abilities. This was also the time when people acquired seafaring skills and groups of colonists could make journeys of up to 180 km. Regular sea navigation obviously required improvement of the communication system, that is, language.
People of this era also mined ocher and flint in several world regions. They began to build large joint houses out of bones and put stone walls inside the caves. And most importantly, they created art. In Australia, some examples of rock art were born 60,000 years ago, that is, during the era of human settlement of the continent. In hundreds of places there are objects believed to be of older origin than the art of Western Europe. But during this era rock art also appears in Europe. The oldest example of it that is known to us is a system of nineteen cup-like signs in a cave in France, carved on a stone slab, covering the site of a child’s burial.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this era is the cultural unanimity that reigned in the world at that time in all regions of settlement. Despite the differences in tools, undoubtedly due to differences in environment, cultural behavior was surprisingly resilient. The use of ocher and an expressively monotonous set of geometric marks indicate the existence of a universal artistic language between archaic homo sapiens, including European Neanderthals and others that we know about from fossil remains.
Figured images (sculptures) arranged in a circle first appeared in Israel (about 250-300 thousand years ago), in the form of modified natural forms, then in Siberia and central Europe (about 30-35 thousand years ago), and only then in Western Europe. Around 30,000 years ago, rock art became richer in intricate finger marks made into the soft surfaces of caves in Australia and Europe, and stenciled images of palms in France. Two-dimensional images of objects began to appear. The oldest examples, created approximately 32,000 years ago, come from France, followed by South African paintings (Namibia).
About 20,000 years ago (very recently in terms of human history) significant differences begin to form between cultures. Late Paleolithic people in Western Europe began graceful traditions, both in sculpture and graphic arts ritual and decorative consumption. Somewhere around 15,000 years ago, this tradition led to the appearance of such famous masterpieces, such as painting in the caves of Altamira (Spain) and Lescaut (France), as well as the appearance of thousands of elaborately carved figurines from stone, tusks, bone, clay and other materials. This was the time of the finest multicolored works of cave art, drawn or embossed by a certain hand of master craftsmen. However, the development of graphic traditions in other regions was not easy.
In Asia, forms of geometric art, developing, formed very perfect systems, some reminiscent of official records, others - mnemonic emblems, original texts designed to refresh the memory.
Beginning around the end of the Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, rock art gradually expanded beyond the caves. This was not dictated by the search for new best places, as (there is almost no doubt here) the survival of rock art through selection. Rock art is well preserved in the permanent conditions of deep limestone caves, but not on rock surfaces, which are more open to destruction. Thus, the unquestioned spread of rock art at the end of the Ice Age does not indicate an increase in artistic production, but rather the crossing of the threshold of what ensured good preservation.
On every continent beyond Antarctica, rock art now shows diversity artistic styles and cultures, the progressive growth of the ethnic diversity of humanity on all continents, as well as the development of major religions. Even the last historical stage in the development of mass migrations, colonization and religious expansion is thoroughly reflected in rock art.
DATING
There are two main forms of rock art, petroglyphs (carving) and pictors (painting). Petroglyphic motifs were created by carving, gouging, chasing or grinding rock surfaces. In pictographs, additional substances, usually paint, were applied to the rock surface. This difference is very important; it determines approaches to dating.
The methodology for scientific dating of rock art has only been developed within the last fifteen years. Therefore, it is still in its “infancy” stage, and the dating of almost all of the world’s rock art remains in poor condition. This, however, does not mean that we have no idea about his age: there are often all kinds of landmarks that allow us to determine the approximate or at least probable age. Sometimes you are lucky enough to determine the age of a rock painting quite accurately, especially when the paint contains organic substances or microscopic inclusions that allow dating due to the radioactive carbon isotope present in them. Careful evaluation of the results of such an analysis can determine the date quite accurately. On the other hand, dating petroglyphs remains extremely difficult.
Modern methods rely on determining the age of mineral deposits that may have been deposited on rock art. But they only allow you to determine the minimum age. One way is to analyze the microscopic organic matter embedded in such mineral deposits; laser technology can be successfully used here. Today, only one method is suitable for determining the age of the petroglyphs themselves. It is based on the fact that the mineral crystals, chipped when gouging out petroglyphs, initially had sharp edges, which became blunt and rounded over time. By determining the rate of such processes on nearby surfaces whose age is known, the age of the petroglyphs can be calculated.
Several archaeological methods can also help the dating matter a little. If, for example, the rock surface is covered with archaeological layers of mud whose age can be determined, they can be used to determine the minimum age of petroglyphs. Often resort to comparison of style manners to determine chronological framework rock art, although not very successfully.
Much more reliable are the methods of studying rock art, which often resemble the methods of forensic science. For example, the components of paint can tell how it was made, what tools and admixtures were used, where the dyes were taken from, and the like. Human blood, which was used as a bonding agent in glacial period, discovered in Australian rock art. Australian researchers also discovered up to forty layers of paint superimposed on each other in different places, indicating constant redrawing of the same surface over a long period of time. Like the pages of a book, these layers convey to us the history of the use of surfaces by artists of many generations. The study of such layers is just beginning and can lead to a real revolution in views.
Pollen found on brush fibers in the paint of cave paintings indicates what crops were grown by the ancient artists' contemporaries. In some French caves, characteristic paint recipes were determined from their chemical composition. Using charcoal dyes, often used for drawings, even the type of wood burned into charcoal was determined.
The study of rock art has become a separate scientific discipline, and is already used by many other disciplines, from geology to semiotics, from ethnology to cybernetics. His methodology involves expressiveness using electronic images of colors of very damaged, almost completely faded drawings; a wide range of specialized description methods; microscopic studies of traces left by tools and scanty sediments.
VULNERABLE MONUMENTS
Methods for preserving prehistoric monuments are also being developed and increasingly used. Copies of rock art are made (fragments of an object or even the entire object) to prevent damage to the originals. Yet many of the world's prehistoric sites are in constant danger. Acid rain dissolves the protective mineral layers that cover many petroglyphs. All turbulent streams tourists, urban sprawl, industrial and mining development, even unskilled research contribute to the dirty work of shortening the age of invaluable artistic treasures.
The discovery of an ancient rock painting in a Gibraltar cave, which scientists believe was made by Neanderthals about 39,000 years ago, has become a sensation in the world. scientific world. If the discovery turns out to be true, then history will have to be rewritten, because it turns out that Neanderthals were not at all primitively stupid savages, as is commonly believed today. In our review of ten unique rock paintings that were found in different time and created a real sensation in the world of science.
1. White Shaman's Rock
This 4,000-year-old ancient rock art is located in the lower Peco River in Texas. The giant image (3.5 m) shows the central figure surrounded by other people performing some kind of rituals. It is assumed that the figure of a shaman is depicted in the center, and the picture itself depicts the cult of some forgotten ancient religion.
2. Kakadu Park
Kakadu National Park is one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in Australia. It is especially valued for its rich cultural heritage - the park contains an impressive collection of local Aboriginal art. Some of the rock art at Kakadu (which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is almost 20,000 years old.
3. Chauvet Cave
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site is located in the south of France. More than 1000 different images can be found in the Chauvet Cave, most of them are animals and anthropomorphic figures. These are some of the oldest images known to man: their age dates back to 30,000 - 32,000 years. About 20,000 years ago, the cave was filled with stones and has remained in excellent condition to this day.
4. Cueva de El Castillo
In Spain, the “Castle Cave” or Cueva de El Castillo was recently discovered, on the walls of which the oldest cave paintings in Europe were found, their age is 4,000 years older than all the rock paintings that were previously found in the Old World. Most of the images feature handprints and simple geometric shapes, although there are also images of strange animals. One of the drawings, a simple red disk, was made 40,800 years ago. It is assumed that these paintings were made by Neanderthals.
5. Laas Gaal
Some of the oldest and best-preserved rock paintings on the African continent can be found in Somalia, at the Laas Gaal (Camel Well) cave complex. Despite the fact that their age is “only” 5,000 – 12,000 years, these rock paintings have been preserved simply perfectly. They depict mainly animals and people in ceremonial clothing and various decorations. Unfortunately, this wonderful cultural site cannot receive World Heritage status because it is located in an area constantly at war.
6. Bhimbetka Cliff Dwellings
The cliff dwellings at Bhimbetka represent some of the earliest traces of human life on the Indian subcontinent. In natural rock shelters on the walls there are drawings that are about 30,000 years old. These paintings represent the period of development of civilization from the Mesolithic to the end of prehistoric times. The drawings depict animals and people engaged in daily activities such as hunting, religious ceremonies and, interestingly, dancing.
7. Magura
In Bulgaria, the rock paintings found in the Magura cave are not very old - they are between 4,000 and 8,000 years old. They are interesting because of the material that was used to apply the images - bat guano (droppings). In addition, the cave itself was formed millions of years ago and other archaeological artifacts have been found in it, such as the bones of extinct animals (for example, the cave bear).
8. Cueva de las Manos
The "Cave of Hands" in Argentina is famous for its extensive collection of prints and images of human hands. This rock painting dates back to 9,000 - 13,000 years. The cave itself (more precisely, the cave system) was used by ancient people 1,500 years ago. Also in Cueva de las Manos you can find various geometric shapes and images of hunting.
9. Altamira Cave
The paintings found in the Altamira Cave in Spain are considered masterpieces of ancient culture. The stone paintings from the Upper Paleolithic period (14,000 – 20,000 years old) are in exceptional condition. As in Chauvet Cave, a collapse tightly sealed the entrance to this cave about 13,000 years ago, so the images remained in their original form. In fact, these drawings are so well preserved that when they were first discovered in the 19th century, scientists thought they were fakes. It took a long time until technology made it possible to confirm the authenticity of rock art. Since then, the cave has proven so popular with tourists that it had to be closed in the late 1970s because large amounts of carbon dioxide from visitors' breath began to destroy the paintings.
10. Lascaux Cave
It is by far the best known and most significant collection of rock art in the world. Some of the most beautiful 17,000-year-old paintings in the world can be found in this cave system in France. They are very complex, very carefully made and at the same time perfectly preserved. Unfortunately, the cave was closed more than 50 years ago due to the fact that, under the influence of carbon dioxide exhaled by visitors, the unique images began to collapse. In 1983, a reproduction of part of the cave called Lascaux 2 was discovered.
Of great interest are also. They will be of interest not only to professional historians and art critics, but also to anyone interested in history.
Rock paintings and engravings began tens of thousands of years before the birth of civilizations such as Greece and Mesopotamia. Although most of these works remain a mystery, they provide modern scholars with insight into daily life prehistoric people, understand their religious beliefs and culture. It is a real miracle that these ancient drawings survived for such a long time in the face of natural erosion, wars and destructive activities person.
1. El Castillo
Spain
Some of the oldest known cave paintings in the world, depicting horses, bison and warriors, are located in the El Castillo cave, in Cantabria in northern Spain. There is a hole leading into the cave, so narrow that you have to crawl through it. In the cave itself you can find many drawings that are at least 40,800 years old.
They were made shortly after people began migrating from Africa to Europe, where they met Neanderthals. In fact, the age of the cave paintings suggests the possibility that they were made by Neanderthals who lived in the region at the time, although the evidence for this is not at all conclusive.
2.Sulawesi
Indonesia
For a long time, El Castillo Cave was believed to contain the oldest known cave paintings. But in 2014, archaeologists made a stunning discovery. In seven caves on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, handprints and primitive drawings of local pigs were found on the walls.
These images were already known to local residents, but no one even knew how old they were. Scientists estimate the age of the rock paintings at 40,000 years. A similar discovery called into question the long-held belief that human art first appeared in Europe.
3. Arnhem Land Plateau
Australia
Recent research has shown that some places in Australia may rival the world's oldest art in age. Rock art dating back 28,000 years has been found at the Nawarla Gabarnmang rock shelter in the north of the country. However, scientists believe that some of the drawings may be much older, as one of them depicts a giant bird that went extinct about 40,000 years ago.
Therefore, either the rock art is older than expected, or the bird lived longer than expected modern science. In Nawarla Gabarnmang you can also find drawings of fish, crocodiles, wallabies, lizards, turtles and other animals made tens of thousands of years ago.
4. Apollo 11
Namibia
This cave has received so much unusual name, because it was discovered by a German archaeologist in 1969, when the first spaceship(Apollo 11) landed on the moon. Drawings made with charcoal, ocher and white paint were found on the stone slabs of a cave in southwestern Namibia.
The images of creatures that resemble cats, zebras, ostriches and giraffes are between 26,000 and 28,000 years old and are the oldest fine arts, found in Africa.
5. Pech Merle Cave
France
Scientists believed that the 25,000-year-old paintings of two spotted horses on the walls of the Pech-Merle cave in south-central France were a figment of imagination. ancient artist. But recent DNA research has shown that similar spotted horses actually existed in the region at that time. Also in the cave you can find 5,000-year-old images of bison, mammoths, horses and other animals, painted with black manganese oxide and red ocher.
6. Tadrart-Akakus
Libya
Deep in the Sahara Desert in southwestern Libya, in the Tadrart-Akakus mountain range, thousands of paintings and rock carvings have been found that show that these arid lands once contained water and lush vegetation. Also on the territory of what is now the Sahara lived giraffes, rhinoceroses, and crocodiles. The oldest drawing here was made 12,000 years ago. But, after Tadrart-Akakus began to be swallowed up by the desert, people finally left this place around 100 AD.
7. Bhimbetka
India
There are about 600 caves and rock dwellings in Madhya Pradesh that contain rock paintings made between 1,000 and 12,000 years ago.
These prehistoric images are painted with red and white paint. In the paintings you can find scenes of hunting buffaloes, tigers, giraffes, moose, lions, leopards, elephants and rhinoceroses. Other drawings show the collection of fruits and honey and the domestication of animals. You can also find images of animals that have long been extinct in India.
8. Laas Gaal
Somalia
A complex of eight caves in Somaliland contains some of the oldest and best-preserved rock paintings in Africa. They are estimated to be between 5,000 and 11,000 years old and are painted in red, orange and cream colors of cows, people, dogs and giraffes. Almost nothing is known about the people who lived here at that time, but many local residents The caves are still considered sacred.
9. Cueva de las Manos
Argentina
This unusual cave in Patagonia is overflowing with 9,000-year-old red and black handprints on the walls. Since there are mainly images of the left hands of teenage boys, scientists have suggested that drawing an image of one’s hand was part of the initiation rite for young men. In addition, scenes of hunting guanacos and flightless rhea birds can also be found in the cave.
10. Cave of Swimmers
Egypt
In 1933, a cave with Neolithic rock paintings was found in the Libyan Desert. The images of people swimming (from which the cave gets its name), as well as the handprints that adorn the walls, were made between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago.
Rock painting - images in caves made by people of the Paleolithic era, one of the types primitive art. Most of these objects were found in Europe, since it was there that ancient people were forced to live in caves and grottoes to escape the cold. But there are also such caves in Asia, for example, Niah Caves in Malaysia.
For many years, modern civilization had no idea about any objects of ancient painting, but in 1879, the Spanish amateur archaeologist Marcelino-Sans de Sautuola, together with his 9-year-old daughter, during a walk, accidentally came across the Altamira cave, the vaults of which were decorated many drawings of ancient people - this unprecedented find greatly shocked the researcher and prompted him to study it closely. A year later, Sautuola, together with his friend Juan Vilanova y Pierre from the University of Madrid, published the results of their research, which dated the execution of the drawings to the Paleolithic era. Many scientists perceived this message extremely ambiguously; Sautuola was accused of falsifying the finds, but later similar caves were discovered in many other parts of the planet.
Rock art has been the object of great interest among scientists around the world since its discovery in the 19th century. The first discoveries were made in Spain, but later cave paintings were discovered in different corners world, from Europe and Africa to Malaysia and Australia, as well as in North and South America.
Rock paintings are a source of valuable information for many scientific disciplines, related to the study of antiquity - from anthropology to zoology.
It is customary to distinguish between single-color, or monochrome, and multi-color, or polychrome images. Developing over time, by the 12th millennium BC. e. Cave painting began to be carried out taking into account volume, perspective, color and proportion of figures, and took into account movement. Later, cave painting became more stylized.
To create the designs, dyes of various origins were used: mineral (hematite, clay, manganese oxide), animal, vegetable (charcoal). Dyes were mixed, if necessary, with binders such as tree resin or animal fat, and applied directly to the surface with the fingers; Tools were also used, such as hollow tubes through which dyes were applied, as well as reeds and primitive brushes. Sometimes, to achieve greater clarity of the contours, scraping or cutting out the contours of figures on the walls was used.
Since the caves in which most of the rock paintings are located are practically not penetrated sunlight, when creating drawings, torches and primitive lamps were used for lighting.
Cave painting of the Paleolithic era consisted of lines and was dedicated mainly to animals. Over time, cave painting evolved as primitive communities developed; In the painting of the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras, there are both animals and handprints and images of people, their interactions with animals and with each other, as well as the deities of primitive cults and their rituals. A significant proportion of Neolithic paintings are depictions of ungulates, such as bison, deer, elk and horses, as well as mammoths; a large share also make up handprints. Animals were often depicted as wounded, with arrows sticking out of them. Later rock paintings also depict domesticated animals and other subjects contemporary to the authors. There are known images of the ships of the seafarers of ancient Phenicia, noticed by the more primitive communities of the Iberian Peninsula.
Cave painting was widely practiced by primitive hunter-gatherer societies who took refuge in or lived near caves. Lifestyle primitive people changed little over thousands of years, and therefore both the dyes and the subjects of rock paintings practically did not change and were common to populations of people living thousands of kilometers from each other.
However, the differences between cave painting different time periods and regions exist. Thus, the caves of Europe mainly depict animals, while African cave paintings pay equal attention to both humans and fauna. The technique of creating drawings also underwent certain changes; later painting is often less crude and shows more high level cultural development.