Cave paintings during the Paleolithic Age were painted not just for arts sake. There are many interpretations of the rationale behind these paintings. Kottack (1991), an anthropologist says that the paintings are associated with ritual and magic. Paintings of animals showing spears on their bodies could be a way of envisioning a successful hunt, that by drawing what they intended to achieve the Paleolithic hunters would be successful. These are also interpreted as a strategy to control the animal reproduction or part of ceremonies of increase. They may also be a form of documentation or historical archive of the successful hunts; that after the event, the hunters would put image on the cave walls to record such occurrence.
One example of cave paintings during the Paleolithic period is the painting of Aurochs, horses, and rhinoceros found in the walls of the Chauvet Cave inCallon-Pont-d’Arc, France. These were said to have existed since 15,000-13,000 BCE (Kleiner, 2009 ). This particular painting was said to have “exhibit[ed] surprisingly advanced features, such as overlapping animal horns” (p. 22). The aurochs or Bos primigenius is a type of cattle that is already extinct and known for its horns that are “pointed forward and curved inwards” (Sixth extinction.com).
In the painting, the horns of the aurochs were “shown naturalistically, one behind the other” (Kleiner, 2009, p. 22). Below the aurochs, towards the right are two rhinoceros locked horns with each other, seemingly in conflict. Kleiner (2009) says that the artist of this painting is attempting to present a narrative. The Chauvet Cave paintings are considered the oldest discovered cave paintings in history carbon dated to have been in existence since 30,000-28,000 BCE.
References
Aurochs-Bos primigenius. The Sixth Extinction. Retrieved from http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/aurochs.htm. 1 Oct 2013.
Kleiner, F. S. (2009 )“The World’s Oldest Paintings.” In Gardner’s Art through the Ages: A Global History, 13th edition. Boston: Thomson Higher Education, pp. 22.
Kottack, C.P (1991). Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity, 5th Edition. New Yor: McGraw Hill, pp. 157-159.
