Gardners Art through the Ages A Global History

F

rom the moment in 1879 that cave paintings were discovered at

Altamira (FIG. 1-9), scholars have wondered why the hunters of

the Old Stone Age decided to cover the walls of dark caverns with

animal images like those found at Altamira, Pech-Merle (FIG. 1-10),

Lascaux (FIGS. 1-11and 1-13), and Vallon-Pont-d’Arc (FIG. 1-12).

Scholars have proposed various theories including that the painted

and engraved animals were mere decoration, but this explanation

cannot account for the narrow range of subjects or the inaccessibil-

ity of many of the representations. In fact, the remoteness and diffi-

culty of access of many of the images, and indications that the caves

were used for centuries, are precisely why many researchers have

suggested that the prehistoric hunters attributed magical properties

to the images they painted and sculpted. According to this argu-

ment, by confining animals to the surfaces of their cave walls, the

Paleolithic hunters believed they were bringing the beasts under

their control. Some prehistorians have even hypothesized that ritu-

als or dances were performed in front of the images and that these

rites served to improve the hunters’ luck. Still others have stated that

the animal representations may have served as teaching tools to in-

struct new hunters about the character of the various species they

would encounter or even to serve as targets for spears.

In contrast, some scholars have argued that the magical purpose

of the paintings and reliefs was not to facilitate the destruction of bison

and other species. Instead, they believe prehistoric painters and sculp-

tors created animal images to assure the survival of the herds on which

Paleolithic peoples depended for their food supply and for their cloth-

ing. A central problem for both the hunting-magic and food-creation

theories is that the animals that seem to have been diet staples of Old

Stone Age peoples are not those most frequently portrayed. For exam-

ple, faunal remains show that the Altamirans ate red deer, not bison.

Other scholars have sought to reconstruct an elaborate mythology

based on the cave paintings and sculptures, suggesting that Paleolithic

humans believed they had animal ancestors. Still others have equated

certain species with men and others with women and postulated vari-

ous meanings for the abstract signs that sometimes accompany the im-

ages. Almost all of these theories have been discredited over time, and

most prehistorians admit that no one knows the intent of these repre-

sentations. In fact, a single explanation for all Paleolithic animal im-

ages, even ones similar in subject, style, and composition(how the mo-

tifs are arranged on the surface), is unlikely to apply universally. The

works remain an enigma—and always will, because before the inven-

tion of writing, no contemporaneous explanations could be recorded.

Art in the Old Stone Age

ART AND SOCIETY

Paleolithic Art 21

1-11Hall of the Bulls (left wall) in the cave at Lascaux, France, ca. 15,000–13,000 BCE. Largest bull 11 6 long.

Several species of animals appear together in the Hall of the Bulls. Many are colored silhouettes, but others were created by outline alone—the two

basic approaches to painting in the history of art.

1 ft.

1-11A“Chinese
horse,”
Lascaux,
ca. 15,000–
13,000 BCE.