ÒSeeing the art is one thing; reporting it is quite
another, and no cave art, as far as we know, was ever mentioned in print before
the nineteenth century. This is quite understandable, since prehistory did not
ÒexistÓ until then, and so the pictures had no significance. However, once
prehistoric studies got under way and portable art of the Ice Age had been
discovered and authenticated, a few scholars at last began to notice what had
been staring them in the face for so long.Ó (Bahn 16).
It
is generally agreed upon that Palaeolithic people did not live in caves, at
least not deep inside them. They lived in cave mouths and rock shelters for the
most part, although there is some evidence that perhaps during bad climatic
times, people moved deeper inside some caves seeking refuge from the cold. Many
of the caves in the French Pyrenees were examples of deeper cave dwelling. Some
exibit hearths that were clearly used for heat and light, wether they were
occupied out of necessity is unknown, some have argued that perhaps they were
temporary encampments occupied only during the decoration of the cave.
Many
scholars and scientists have theorized why cave paintings where done, what they
mean and what they tell us about the painters. From hunting magic rituals, to
shamanistic induced visions, there are many theories about why the inhabitants
painted these images. About the only thing most scholars agree upon is that no
one really knows why. In this paper, I will first give a brief history of the
first discoveries of parietal art, introducing the major characters, their
discoveries, ideas and contributions. Then, the subject of dating the images
will be discussed, and finally, some theories of meaning behind the cave
paintings.

Figure 1 Portable art carving of Chaffaud
from Prehistoric Art Virtual Museum.
Paleolithic
Art is divided into two types, portable and parietal (wall). Portable art is
anything decorated that is easily moved. Small carvings on stones, figurines
and jewelry are some examples. The first piece of known Paleolithic Art
unearthed was a reindeer antler that
appeared to have been decorated. Found by Paul Tournal around 1827 in
Grande Grotte de Bize. Shortly after this, in 1833 near FranceÕs border with
Switzerland, another antler carved to look like a budding plant was found by
Dr. Francois Mayor. This was the first illustrated find. ÒThe existence of
Palaeolithic art was first established and accepted through the discovery, in
the early 1860Õs, of engraved and carved bones and stones in a number of caves
and rock-shelters in south-west France, particularly by Edouard Lartet, a
brilliant French scholar funded by Henry Christy . . .The depictions he
encountered in his excavations came as a great surprise: their quality was
astounding, since it had been assumed that prehistoric people were primitive
savages with no leasure time and no asthetic senseÓ (Bahn 14). The next twenty
years were marked with reports of parietal art finds that never got much
attention. That changed in 1875 though.
Altamira
was discovered in 1868, but not explored until 1875 by an amateur archeologist
named Sanz de Sautuola who noticed some painted black signs on a wall, but
didnÕt think much of them. He did some of his own excavations in other caves
and returned to Altamira in 1879. While digging for artifacts on the floor his
little daughter Maria noticed images on the ceiling. She told her father ÒMira,
Papa, bueyes!Ó (Look, Papa, oxen).

Figure 2 Don M arcelino Sanz del
Sautuola.

Figure 2.1 Ceiling Bison at
Altamira..

Figure 2.2 Ceiling Bison at
Altamira..
Sautuola
knew that the paintings had not been done since the caves discovery in 1868
(since any visitors would have been seen). Realizing the images had been
painted with a fatty paste, and baring a resemblance to some of the portable
art found there, he must have deduced that the painting were very, very
old. Though very enthusiastic he
was rather conservative with his claims.
He
presented his findings to the academic community by writing to SpainÕs foremost
paleontologist Professor Juan Vilanova y Piera.

Figure 3 Juan Vilanova y Piera.
Vilanova
upon seeing the cave thought Sauluola was correct about his findings. In 1880
Sauluola published a book about his discoveries at Altamira. Later that year
Vilanova presented the discovery at The International Congress of Anthropology
and Prehistoric Archeology (many of them among EuropeÕs greatest Prehistorians). They apparently did not
greet this presentation with much enthusiasm. This hit Sautuola hard, he died
in 1888 under a cloud of suspicion. The rejection of his Altamira work occurred
for several reasons according to Bahn, first, he was unknown in the scientific
community. Second, this discovery was a first, nothing else like it had been
found before. Finally, this discover had occurred in Spain, many of the
prehistorians were French. In 1881 a French Engineer named Edouard Harle
examined Altamira and determined that the paintings had been done in the
1870Õs. He based these findings on a number of factors. First, the pictures
were too well done to have been made by prehistoric ÒsavagesÓ, they were
anatomically inaccurate, the paint looked too fresh and had been applied by a
modern brush. Additionally he found that the cave was too humid to preserve art
for so long and that some of the paintings were on top of stalagmites, while
others only had a thin layer covering them. Harles remained skeptical.

Figure 4 Edouard Harle: Museum dÕ
Histoire.
Emile
Cartailhac, an influencial French scholar published HarleÕs findings which
spurred on other anti-Altamira articles in scientific journals and newspapers
in both France and Spain. One more attempt by Vilanova and Sautuola in 1881 at
the French Congresses for the Advancement of Science in Algiers and La Rochelle
to present their case for Altamira was made, the critics remained solidly
against them, Harle and Cartailhac didnÕt even attend.

Figure 5 Emile Cartailhac.
In
1882 they presented a booklet comparing the parietal art with portable art to
the International Congress in Berlin but again, no discussion was held. At this
point, Vilanova gave up and left Sautuola on his own. There were however some
who did see possibilities at Altamira. Henri Martin and Edouard Piette both
sided with Sautuota. Nevertheless, the majority of the scientific community
ignored Altamira, de MortilletÕs book le Prehistorique (1883) and CartailhacÕs
Les Ages Prehistorique de lÕEspagne et du Portugal (1886) nor the International
Congress in Paris in 1889 mention
Altamira.
Though
mention of Altamira seemed to be rare, other discoveries continued to surface.
In 1895 a landowner while removing fill dirt from a cave entrance discovered an
unknown gallery within the cave (La Mouthe). Gaston Berthoumeyrou and his
father, a few days later visited the cave and found a bison engraving on a wall
along with some other figures. It was determined that since Palaeolithic
deposits were present in the fill material blocking the wall, the images behind
the fill must be ancient. Excavations were then performed by French
prehistorian Emile Riviere yielding more parietal pictures and in 1899, the
unearthing of a Paleolithic lamp. (Bahn 125). This discovery proved both age
and the existence of a lighting system (which was necessary to make cave art
even possible). This was considered a turning point. During this time, other
discoveries at Ardeche and Pair-non-Pair piled up.

Figure 6 Pair-non-Pair image.
By
1901 a digger named Pomarel found engravings in a cave at Les Combarelles (near
Dordogne) prompting a visit from prehistorian Louis Capitan and Henry Breuil.
This visit yielded many more pictures. It is thought that all these discoveries
finally changed CartailhacÕs mind. In 1902 he went to Marsoulas and Altamira,
finally coming away from those visits as an ardent supporter and scholar of
cave art. Later in 1902, Cartailhac published ÒMea Culpa dÕun sceptiqueÓ in
which he admitted making mistakes in recognizing cave art. (Clottes & Lewis-Williams)
In
1903 Harle did the same, though supposedly grudgingly. The acceptance of cave
art by Cartailhac and the visit to decorated caves in the Les Eyzies area by
the Montauban Congress of the French Association for the Advancement of
Sciences marked the official recognition by the scientific community of the
existence of Paleolithic Cave Art.
Until
recently, dating wall paintings was done primarily by stylistic comparison to
portable art (that was datable). The assumption was that the style of work
would carry over from hand carvings to cave paintings. At best, this was a very
subjective starting point to discuss the cave paintings in some time frame.
Species depicted has also been a method of dating cave paintings. It was
assumed that the species depicted where in fact roaming around. While this may
tell us what animals the painter was familiar with, it does not tell us all the
species they were familiar with, it canÕt be assumed that the images are
complete records of species present in other words. Formation of stalagmite or
calcite has been used as an indicator of age. It was assumed that the buildup
of the layer of stalagmite/calcite occurred at a constant rate. This has been
seen as inaccurate from photographs taken in the Grotte du Cheval at
Arcy-sur-Cure. Photos from 1946 were compared to some taken in the 1950Õs revealing
significant stalagmite and calcite growth on some portions of the cave while on
other engraved walls, there appears to have been no change.
Several
of the big players in attempts at dating parietal art were Henry Breuil and
Leroi-Gourhan. Each had their own approach, both approaches had problems but
during this time period, they were leading the field.

Figure 7 Henry Breuil.

Figure 8 Leroi- Gourhan.
For
Breuil, the presence or absence of a Òtwisted perspectiveÓ in the paintings was an indicator of
more or less primitive and archaic origins. Certain features, antlers for
example, would be painted from a front perspective while the rest of the animal
was seen from a profile viewpoint. This method proved to be inconsistent when
images of species from various ÒknownÓ time periods (Magdalenian &
Gravettian) displayed both twisted and normal perspective. The Breuil cycle
proposed that there were four cycles (eventually reduced down to two). The Aurignaco – Perigordian and
the Solutreo – Magdalenian. Breuil thought that all the parietal art
would fall into one of the two cycles based on itÕs level of sophistication. He
saw more primitive work as earlier. The problem, even at that time was that
there existed enough skepticism about a strict dating scheme that could not
account for the fact that some of the paintings that looked primitive were
thought to be newer than much more sophisticated paintings.
Several successive scientists ( Annette
Laming-Emperaire & Franciso Jorda) tried modifying Breuils theory by adding
more cycles.
Where
Breuil had his cycles Leroi-Gourhan had styles. Gourhan original thought the
whole of the development of cave art could fit into four styles. The first
style included Aurignacian and Early Gravettian art. This consisted of Ò. . .deep incisions, with stiff
contours ( the Belcayre herbivore being the only complete specimen), an
apparent obsession with vulvas, an absence of decorated utilitarian objects,
and parietal art only in daylight areas of caves and shelters.Ó (Bahn 69).
Style two included the rest of the Gravettian and part of the Solutrean
featuring good animal profiles, some
twisted perspective and very little extremity detail. Style three consisted of
the rest of the Solutrean and the Early Magdalenian. Some examples would be the
animals found in Lascaux and Pech Merle.

Figure 9 Painted Gallery, Lascaux.

Figure 9.1 Great Painted
Gallery, Lascaux. Figure
9.2 Great Hall of the Bulls,
Lascaux

Figure 9.3 Great Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux.
Directly
dating painting on stone walls was extremely difficult due to the the limits of
Radio Carbon Dating. It used to be the case that most of the carbon matter that
made up a painting would be needed to use carbon dating methods, thus destroying
the painting. It wasnÕt until recently that AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry)
was used that Radiocarbon dating became practical. AMS is a form or Radiocarbon
Dating but requires far less organic material to get a date,
therefore
it is far less invasive to the painting. As of 1995, thirteen sites had been
analysed using this type of dating. Much of the earlier stylistic and
archaeological materials dating estimates have been confirmed by AMS. There are
some exceptions such as Chauvet which was estimated to be 20,000 years old
based on portable art found there, but it turns out that AMS testing yielded a
date around 30,000 years old. At Altamira, AMS has yielded some complex
results. Three bison paintings dated to 14,800 & 14,600 & 13,570 years
old. Large gaps between very similar images, which, could mean that the famous
Altamira ceiling painting might not be one homogeneous composition. Though AMS
dating reqiures far less invasive measures to get dates, it is still not nearly
perfect.
Direct
dating of parietal art is challenging, Ò. . . First, what has been dated is the death of the tree that
produced the charcoal, which is not necessarily the same as the time when the
charcoal was used to produce the figure; in most cases the two events are not
far apart, but it is theoretically possible that people could have entered a
cave and used charcoal from an ancient hearth to draw on the walls . . .so the
charcoals age represents merely a maximum age for the art. . . . .Nevertheless,
these uncertainties and caveats concerning radiocarbon dating are – and
always have been equally applicable to the rest of the archaeological record
because there is only a 68 per cent chance that the true age lies within the
span including the plus/minus figure, it is obvious that at least a third of
radiocarbon dates may be faulty; some are recognized as such immediately,
because they are incongruous, but others that are currently accepted as correct
are probably wrong Ò (Bahn 76). As of 1997 only about 13 per-cent of caveÕs had
been dated via radiocarbon techniques, so much in still unknown. New
discoveries and techniques could render all the dates thus far totally wrong,
or solidify estimates already in place but, there is confidence that
Palaeolithic cave art now does represent a recognizable period in history.
ÒThe paintings, engraving, and carving in Europe may
well represent a cultural explosion or sorts, but it could simply be the local
expression of a cognative capacity that was already more widely spread in human
populations thoughout much of the old world.Ó (Lewin, Research news 21
nov,1986)
ÒArt inside caves was simply much more likely to be
preserved than art outside. Thus, the term cave art is analogous to caveman or
cave lion – which accurately describe the taphonomic bias of preservation
in caves than an actual life history . . . .We can safely say that cave art is
a small sliver of the Paleolithic art that existed and was preserved only
because of its protected location.Ó (Guthrie 35).

Figure 10 Great Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux.
Perhaps
even more debated than the dates of cave art is itÕs perceived meaning. This is
a very broad area of inquiry not simply answering the question Òwhat is itÕs
meaningÓ but in the process potentially shedding light on, who, how, why and
giving a more complete image of who these people were and what they intended
through these images. As seems obvious when looking at the many different
images left on cave walls, there must be many different meanings, as diverse as
the intentions behind them. One of the early theories put forth was that the
images had no real intended meaning. This thought was originally attributed to
the early portable art pieces that were discovered . . .no real obvious
purpose, just decoration for art sake. Two proponents for the art for artÕs
sake idea
were
Piette and Lartet in the nineteenth century. This theory seemed to make sense
when applied to portable art, but not some much so when applied to parietal
art. Why would people make special trips into caves they were not inhabiting,
to paint images that have no meaning to them ? In some cases, patterns seem to
appear over and over again, does this not at least hint at a widely held set of
beliefs certain people had in common ? The idea of art for artÕs sake could
also include the satisfaction of the painter as a motivation, and in so doing,
make a more plausible argument for this position. It is reasonable to think
that some of the cave artists painted for nothing more than their own enjoyment
and satisfaction, they were after all much like us today in many ways.
After
the turn of the century, theories that tended to be more utilitarian started to
emerge. In 1899 Balwin Spencer and F.J. Gillen published a book on the life and
beliefs of the Arunta people of Central Australia. From there Salomon Reinach
concluded that the primitive users of stone tools were at the same stage as Ice
Age people and assumed that Ò . . .the same motivation lay behind the art of
both culturesÓ (Bahn 171). Out of this came the ideas of hunting magic and
shamanism. Hunting magic being
depictions of animals for various hunting related purposes. The exertion of
influence over the animals outside was one purpose, in other words, if the
bison were depicted as being well feed and strong in the paintings, perhaps
this would magically yield well feed and strong bison just outside. Breuil and
Begouen adopted a form of hunting magic. Breuil felt that some Palaeolithic Art
rose out of an anxiety about the availability of wild game. Begouen saw ritual and magic in the images. He
noted that marks on the bodies of animals were from arrows and spears while
marks around the nose and mouth indicated blood being vomited by the dying
animal. Dots represented stones thrown at the animals.

Figure 11 Tracing of engraving in Trois Freres.
Even
if this theory is true, only about 3-4 per-cent of known Palaeolithic painted
animals were depicted with missiles or arrows in the composition. The marks on
or near the mouths of the animals seem open to interpretation. If one sides on
the mystical, the marks may represent voices, on the literal, perhaps they
represent the breath of the animal in the cold.
Shamanism
has been used to explain meaning in cave art. In the picture below from
Lascaux, certain elements fit the Shamanistic profile. Ò . . .the famous
Lascaux shaft scene of the four-fingered bird-headed ithyphallic man with the
apparently disembowled bison and the bird-on-a-stick has often been
interpreted, quite subjectively, as a typical shamanistic sŽance, depicting the
shaman, his spirit helper and a sacrificial animal; or as a shamanistic fight,
a psychic conflict between two shamans (one in animal form), or between a
shaman and a malevolent spirit.Ó
(Bahn 181).

Figure 12 Cave of dead man, Lascaux..
Here
is another interpretation of as literal event. Illustrated by Dale Guthrie in
his book The Nature of Palaeolithic Art. One manÕs shamanistic ritual is
another mans run of the mill hunting scene gone bad.

Figure 12.1 Cave of dead man, Lascaux. Guthrie
illustration.
Associated
with the shamanistic trance, some researchers (Jean Clottes & David
lewis-Williams) have attributed cave paintings to Òaltered states of
consciousnessÓ.

Figure 13 Jean Clottes.
Figure
14 David Lewis-Williams.
ÒEverywhere
and at all times, the underground has been perceived as being a supernatural
world, the realm of the spirits or of the dead, a forbidding gate to the Beyond
which people are frightened of and never cross. Going into the subterranean world was thus defying ancestral
fears, deliberately venturing into the kingdom of the supernatural powers in
order to meet them. The analogy
with shamanic mind travels is obvious, but their underground adventure went
much beyond a metaphoric equivalent of the shamanÕs voyage: it made it real in a milieu where one
could physically move and in which spirits were literally at hand. When Upper Paleolithic people went into
the deeper galleries, they must have been acutely aware that they were in the
world of the supernatural powers and they expected to see and find them . . .
The animals, individualised by means of precise details, seem to float on the
walls; they are disconnected from reality, without any ground line, often
without respect of the laws of gravity, in the absence of any framework or
surroundings. Elementary geometric
signs are always present and recall those seen in the various stages of trance. As to composite creatures and monsters
(i.e., animals with corporal attributes pertaining to various species), we know
that they belong to the world of shamanic visions. This does not mean that they would have made their paintings
and engravings under a state of trance.
The visions could be drawn (much) later. . . .
Under
the power of the sacred paint, the hand would metaphorically vanish into the
wall. It would thus, concretely,
link its owner to the world of the spirits. This might enable the Òlay people,Ó maybe the sick, to
benefit directly from the forces of the world beyond. Seen in that light, the presence of hands belonging to very
young children, such as those in Gargas, stops being extraordinaryÓ (Clottes
& Lewis-Williams 1998, 2001). Though a number of researchers have bought
into the shamanistic theory in some capacity, there is a alternate theory at
odds being talked about. This theory states that rather than completely
subjective rituals many of the images claimed to be shamanistic or fertility
based are really just Palaeolithic teenage graffiti. Dale Guthrie has been
making waves by suggesting such a thing.
Though
a trance-like state may explain strange imagery, it does nothing in furthering
our understanding of the realistic depictions of existing animals. Why would
someone need to alter their state of consciousness to depict what theyÕve seen?
Once again Bahn comes through with sensible skepticism: ÒIn any case, the
African research on which the new approach is founded is itself based on
massive assumptions, wishful thinking, and extreme selectivity of image and of
interpretation. In fact, there is no hard ethnographic evidence to link any
prehistoric southern African rock art with shamans, let alone with trance
phenomena. . .There is likewise no
nineteenth-century ethnographic evidence of medicine men or rain doctors being
the artists, nor of the artists being in a state of trance before or during the
making of pictures. . .In short, there is nothing in the ethnographic record to
prove any connection between shamanism and the execution of artÓ (Bahn
182-183). Along the same lines and rebuking the parallel comparisons of modern
ÒprimitiveÓ cultures to ancient cultures:
ÒUpper
Palaeolithic art has no real counterpart in any present day primitive
community. (Lewis-Williams, Dowson, Current Anthropology volume 29, number 2,
April 1988).
Another
theory of meaning in cave art was that of fertility magic through sexually
revealing images. In 1911 Henry Breuil was consulted as to the meaning of
certain engravings found at Dordogne. His answer was that the triangle shapes
engraved were female vulvas. This deduction was considered highly subjective
but nonetheless it took hold and became a default answer anytime triangle
shapes were found. Perhaps attributing eroticism to some of the images is a valid
conclusion to reach, but at some point one must ask wether this is
manufacturing something that is not really there.

Figure 15 The Playing Card from Dordogne.
Ò . . .there is ample evidence of erotic
emphasis in a number of images from our collection of Palaeolithic art. . . . Perhaps it is because this
thread, which often transgresses into crudity, may not always be experienced as
erotic but rather as strange or offensive. After all, we tend to look for some
kind of beauty in art. But I submit to you that among the dramatic beauty of
horse and bison so present in this old art, there also lie earthly and poignant
insights into our human kinship. . . .This thread of sensuality, and sometimes
crude coarseness discernable in some Palaeolithic art is a normal part of male
developmentÓ (Guthrie 365).
While
there is no doubt that there are sexually themed images in cave art, it also
seems the case that overly zealous researchers have sought to find sexual
meaning in just about every aspect of Palaeolithic art. The amount of
ÒresearchÓ and theorizing that ends up concluding such narrow interpretations
litters the web in huge volume . . . itÕs as if the MTV crowd suddenly
considered themselves researchers.
The
absence of context in most of the supposed vulva images really begs the
question how do we really know what the rough shape may indicate? Very few of
these triangles are actually seen in context (as part of a naked female body).
Further, many of the ÒtrianglesÓ must be looked at rather loosely to even fit
that shape. ÒThe identification of so many examples of female genitalia led to
ideas about the Palaeolithic obsession with sex; there is a tautology in the
reasoning – the figures are assumed to be vulvas, from which an obsession
with sex is inferred, the evidence for which is the vulvasÓ (Bahn 187).
Clearly, the artists engraving and painting images through the Palaeolithic had
many things on their minds, it would probably seem strange in a cultural sense
for there not to be some mention of their awareness, desire and acknowledgement
of sex as part of their culture. In truth, many more attempts at explaining the
meaning of cave art have been put into print. From sex to hunting magic, from fertility to story telling,
cave art has been explained many ways. It has been said that we have to decide
wether to be content working with the images as a body of markings that we
cannot read, or, make up stories that we canÕt prove to explain the meanings
behind Palaeolithic cave art.
It
is a shame to end this paper the way so many more knowledgeable writers have
regarding their research into cave art, but to do otherwise would mean not
recognizing how much we donÕt know about the images in these caves, and the
people who made them there. One of the temptations that is obviously yielded
too so often in Cave Art research is the viewing of Palaeolithic images through
modern day eyes. We see what appears to be beads and teeth with holes in them,
we assume these must have been a necklace of some sort . . . .a reasonable
guess but difficult to prove knowing so little about the people of that time
and their cultural habits.

Figure 16 Gazel Teeth from Grotte Gazel.
We
see images as seen as in figure 12 & 12.1 and must decide which
interpretation to believe. Is it a shamanistic ritual being depicted or a
normal hunting scene. Which one we decide to believe says something about what
we think of the people who painted these images, were they primitive, believing
in superstitions or were they just trying to make a record of something
significant in a place where it may best be preserved? Ò Judging from the
images alone, it is impossible to know what part the rhino played in the
artists beliefs . . . .imagine a future archaeologist visiting the ruins of 200
European churches: How would he guess from the nativity scenes that the mother
was a virgina, or that the people with wings were angels?Ó (Balter, Science
magazine).
Hopefully,
in future years, dating technologies will continue to improve and more
discoveries will be made yielding additional knowledge and insites about people
of this time great span of time.
Many great researchers have put down a foundation over the past 150 years . . . .Breuil, Lewis-Williams, Paul
Bahn, Leroi-Gourhan, and Margaret Conkey among others all have made powerful
contributions. It will be for future researches to decide wether they were
accurate or not.
Image Credits
Figure 1: Portable art
carving of Chaffaud from Prehistoric Art Virtual Museum.
Figure 2 Don Marcelino
Sanz del Sautuola.
http://www.santillana-del-mar.com/espanol/altamira_archivos/Marcelino.htm
Figure 2.1 Ceiling Bison
at Altamira
Figure 2.2 Ceiling Bison
at Altamira
figure 3 Juan Vilanova y
Piera
Fugure 4 Edouard Harle:
Museum dÕ Histoire
http://www.pole-prehistoire.com/
Figure 5 Emile
Cartailhac
http://www.societes-savantes-toulouse.asso.fr
Figure 6 Pair-non-Pair
image
http://www.visitorama.com
Philippe
BerthŽ © CMN
Figure 7 Abbi Henry
Breuil
Figure 8 Leroi-Gourhan
http://prehisto.ifrance.com
Figure 9 Painted Gallery, Lascaux.
http://www.culture.gouv.fr:80/culture
Figure 9.1 Great Painted Gallery, Lascaux
http://www.culture.gouv.fr:80/culture
Figure 9.2 Great Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux
http://www.culture.gouv.fr:80/culture
Figure 9.3 Great Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux
http://www.culture.gouv.fr:80/culture
Figure 10 Great Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux.
http://www.culture.gouv.fr:80/culture
Figure 11 Tracing of engraving in Trois Freres.
Figure 12 Cave of dead man, Lascaux..
http://www.culture.gouv.fr:80/culture
Figure 13 Jean Clottes.
http://www.archaeologychannel.org
Figure 14 David Lewis-Williams.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com
Figure 15 The playing card from Dordogne
Journey through the Ice
Age, Bahn, pp186
Figure 16 Gazel Teeth from Grotte Gazel.
Òperhaps
we have closed off certain lines of inquiry, simply by using the label art.Ó
(Conkey in Lewin piece.)
Palaeolithic
art is an unsatidfactory term that prejudges aesthetic sensibilities and
obscures the variety of genres, but, in the absense of a better and equally
succinct phrase, we retain itÓ (Conkey 1984, n.d.; davis 1986:193).
New
light on the oldest art
Michael
Balter
Science
magazine Feb 12, 1999: 920-922
Ò
Judging from the images alone, it is impossible to know what part the rhino
played in the artists beliefs . . . .imagine a future archaeologist visiting
the ruins of 200 European churches: How would he guess from the nativity scenes
that the mother was a virgina, or that the people with wings were angels ?Ó