What is Cave Art?

General Characteristics

"Cave art" - also known as "parietal art", or occasionally "Ice Age rock art" - is a general term
used to describe any kind of man-made image on the walls, ceiling or floor of a cave or rock
shelter. It does not refer to "mobiliary art", meaning portable items like venus figurines or
loose decorated stones: it must be part of the cave's fabric. Most cave art is found in shallow
rock shelters, such as those formed by overhanging rocks, but some was created in total
darkness within deep, uninhabited caves, and was rarely seen by humans. Also, the term is
used mostly in connection with Stone Age art created during the last Ice Age, between about
40,000 and 10,000 BCE - a period known as the "Upper Paleolithic". Archeologists have yet
to pinpoint who created this rock art, although it is generally believed that the vast majority
was created by Modern man (Homo sapiens sapiens), who began arriving in Europe from
Africa around 40,000 BCE. Important finds have been made in India, Indonesia, Siberia,
Australia and elsewhere, but most of our knowledge of Paleolithic art comes from excavations
conducted in European caves, notably in southern France and northern Spain. Cave art
embraces five different types of art, as follows. (1) Hand prints and finger marks. (2) Abstract
signs. (3) Figurative painting. (4) Rock engraving. (5) Relief sculpture. It does not usually
include more ancient cultural markings like cupules, since scholars are divided as to their
significance and meaning. The prevalence and age of the five main forms varies considerably.
In general, hand prints and abstract symbols are the most common form of art, while relief
sculpture is least common, occurring in only a few caves. Most pictures that appear in caves
are of large animals - either predators or animals hunted for food - although artists also
depicted a small number of human figures. The most spectacular images are undoubtedly the
polychrome cave paintings at Lascaux and Altamira, and the monochrome imagery at
Chauvet. The purpose and meaning of this ancient art continues to be widely debated.
Scholars have proposed a wide range of theories involving Shamanism, hunting rituals, cult
behaviour and neuro-aesthetics, to name but a few.