From Humble Beginnings: Man's Earliest Form of Creative Expression
By Olivia Bastin
In a primordial world filled with forests, grass and sky, ancient man felt compelled to understand his surroundings, to process and describe his place in an expansive and bewildering universe alongside other species. Therefore, whilst our ancestral counterparts lived in dark, hollow caves, they decided to draw and then they decided to paint. They wanted to capture their pre-historic world and the experiences that came with it. A few simplistic drawings and etchings on cave walls would change our understanding and knowledge of early man and therefore ourselves. Early images of man chasing mammoth under wide celestial skies would become a mystical catalyst, sparking interest and curiosity amongst many, to understand our species’ true beginnings. Cave art has let both academics and the public view the world hundreds of thousands of years ago from an elemental perspective; not only does this make cave art highly culturally valuable but irreplaceable.
Lascaux Caves, Montignac, France, c. 15,000 BCE
Firstly, it must be noted that the first cave paintings were not found until the end of the nineteenth century. Despite claims that they originated from the Paleolithic century, many rejected these suggestions as they were contrary to popular anthropological notions of early man's cognitive functions and capabilities. Yet as a wealth of discoveries emerged throughout the twentieth century, it was confirmed that early humans were more intellectually capable than previously believed. Archeologists and academics took the opportunity to record pre-historic flora and fauna alongside the sophisticated and symbolic language of pre-historic man.
Secondly, when considering cave art, where do you think of it as being located? Most people would answer France or Spain. However, many other nations harbour important cave paintings; for example, Portugal has many Paleolithic decorated caves, as do Slovenia, Romania and Russia and further examples are found in Italy, Sicily and south-west Germany. In total, Eurasia has around 280 sites. Some sites such as Creswell Crags in England contain one or two isolated figures on the wall, yet others like the Lascaux Caves or Les Trois-Frères reveal hundreds. Many believe that some cave paintings were created to record predators and identity prey in order to educate younger homo sapiens about the many dangers and triumphs of the world that existed outside their caves. Furthermore, the paintings served as prompts for storytelling, enhancing the community. Many paintings are located in dark parts of caves, they could reveal story elements using fire to illuminate the terrifying twists of the tales they told to shock and delight their audiences. This highlights man's need to articulate the world around him through art as part of an oral storytelling culture. Its creators may have used their art combined with chilling narrative as a vehicle to conjure comprehension to the challenging and harsh world they inhabited. Cave art is also considered to contain spiritual or religious connotations. Maybe artistic depictions of animals were crafted to summon specific species of hunting if they became sparse. However, the phenomenon of cave paintings is widely disputed as no one concretely understands why our ancestors created these murals and depictions. Despite limited geographical communications, similar art is found within each cave usually showing large animals, abstract dots and cross-hatched lines and handprints.
The world’s oldest cave painting is thought to be a red hand stencil in the Maltraviseo Cave in Carceres, Spain, dating back to more than 64,000 years ago, painted by a Neanderthal. Additionally, experts have found another cave painting located in Indonesia of a large wild pig dating back 45,500 years ago. They believe this reveals one of humanity’s earliest homo sapien settlements, precisely found in the Leong cave in a remote valley, only accessible during the dry season. This painting measures 136cm by 56cm and has been confirmed to be a Sulawesi warty pig and has a short crest of upright hair as well as horn-like facial warts indicating it is an adult male. Two handprints can be found above the pig’s hindquarters. It is facing two other pigs that are only partially preserved as part of a larger narrative scene. It is known that this breed of pigs has been hunted for tens of thousands of years in this geographic area, particularly during the ice age. Other rock art cave paintings have been found by the same team in the Sulawesi area such as a painting featuring part-human part animal figures chasing after mammals. This work, believed to have been created by homo sapiens, was found to be at least 43,900 years old.
Sulawesi warty pig, Indonesia, c. 43,500 BCE
Additionally, not only do these examples of cave art allow their makers to express the earliest human condition but they allow modern day viewers an insight into prehistoric life. They tell of hunts long forgotten, buried in the ravages of time that would have been a focal point for homo sapiens’ daily routines. Important societal values and beliefs are depicted in with the pigment, allowing modern audiences to consider the significance of the hunts. Moreover, cave paintings allow a discourse concerning the nature of early human migrations. These ancient paintings represent a distant time, harking back to the birth of the Anthropocene. If we lean into this angle, then we must discuss the preservation of these priceless cave paintings. Many of the dyes used are organic, meaning that cave paintings are robust. Hematite and iron were commonly used to produce a pigment called ochre once they started to oxidize. This pigment could be mixed with charcoal and burnt bones and thickened into a paint with animal fat and other natural oils. These cave paintings were resistant to fading but could be damaged by fire or chemicals. Part of their resilience lies in the fact that these paintings are removed from the elements. Normally caves are not subject to water level changes, structural fluctuation from tectonic movement or volcanic activity. Temperature and humidity are well–regulated and stable for long periods.
The last factor influencing the survival of cave art would be a lack of human contact, however, this is changing. The over commercialisation of numerous cave tours is leading to their degradation. For example, the Lascaux caves receive over 100,000 people per annum. Millions of camera flashes and the exhalations of carbon dioxide within the enclosed space put these paintings at risk, leading to some of the murals eventually being sealed off. A replica is typically erected instead. Cave paintings are a window into humanity’s birth and evolution as a species and need to be properly preserved in order to see how much we have truly altered our former primal realities these caves are temples to primeval epochs that are long-gone and they provide information on sacred rituals, beliefs and societal values that our ancestors harboured. To see how far we have come we must study our ancestors as they emerged from the primordial era to reshape the world.
Notes:
D’Arcy, Patrick. ‘What the Mysterious Symbols Made by Early Humans Can Teach Us About How We Evolved.’ Ideas Ted. 7th of June 2017. https://ideas.ted.com/what-the-mysterious-symbols-made-by-early-humans-can-teach-us-about-how-we-evolved/
France-Presse, Agence. ‘World’s ‘oldest known cave painting’ found in Indonesia.’ The Guardian. Wednesday 13th January 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jan/13/worlds-oldest-known-cave-painting-found-in-indonesia
Harvey, Charles. ‘Ancient Cave Paintings Threatened by Tourist Plans.’ New Scientist. 6th October 2011. https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21020-ancient-cave-paintings-threatened-by-tourist-plans/
Little, Becky. ‘What Pre-historic Cave Paintings Reveal About Early Human Life.’ H History. 5th October 2021. https://www.history.com/news/prehistoric-cave-paintings-early-humans
Staughtonm John. ‘How Ancient Cave Paintings Are Perfectly Preserved For So Long.’ Science ABC. 16th January 2022. https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/how-are-ancient-cave-paintings-perfectly-preserved.html