During the Paleolithic Era, most of the depictions of animals oftentimes showed the animals while standing alone or in groups, or when they were in motion. In the famous Hall of the Bulls in the caves of Lascaux, France, a series of animals (bulls and other species) are seen as if they were in motion in their own natural environment (Kleiner, 2010, 7). The animal representations during this era were very real. In Cap Blanc, France, a group of horses was drawn onto a limestone surface. In this era, the focus was largely on the animals, and not on humans. This condition seems to emphasize the fact that humans were largely dependent on animals, from which humans could obtain both food and clothing (Johanson, 1996, 102). Also, the fact that animals were not with humans in these depictions reveals that one of the main occupations of humans during this era was hunting-gathering.
However, in the Neolithic Era, the depiction of animals began to change. The depiction in “The Deer Hunt” from an excavation in Catal Hayuk, Turkey, reveals humans as being involved in the hunt for deer. Wall paintings were no longer the ‘fad’ during the Neolithic Era. Animals are depicted more in relief sculptures rather than paintings. As the Neolithic Era heralded the appearance of permanent human settlements, as well as the agricultural revolution and the domestication of animals, humans figured also in the depiction of animals (McCannon, 2010, 54). Thus the depictions of animals during the Neolithic Age were more inclusive of humans and the activities that involved both of them.
Works Cited
Johanson, Donald. From Lucy to Language. (1996). New York City, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Kleiner, Fred. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective, Thirteenth Edition, Volume 1. (2010). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
McCannon, J. Barrons AP World History. (2010). Hauppage, NY: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.
