The first artist on Earth was a caveman. Excavations and archaeological research told us about this. Most of the works of cave artists were found in the territory that we now call Europe. These are drawings on rocks and caves that served for primitive people shelter and home.
According to historians, painting originated in the Stone Age. This was a time when people did not yet know how to use steel. Their household items, tools and weapons, were made of stone, hence the name - stone Age. The first drawings were also carved using simple objects - a piece of stone or a bone tool. Perhaps that is why many works of primitive artists have survived to this day. The lines are deep cuts, essentially a kind of engraving on the stone.
What did cavemen draw? They were mainly interested in what surrounded them and gave them life. Therefore, their drawings are mainly the outlines of animals. At the same time, the artists of that time could quite accurately convey the movement of this or that animal. In this regard, there were even cases of doubt about the authenticity of such drawings. Experts simply could not believe that cavemen could be so capable of art.
It is surprising that it was primitive people who began to use paints when drawing. They extracted dyes from the earth and plants. These were mixtures based on minerals and natural substances. Animal fat, water and plant juice were added to them. The dyes were so durable that images using red, yellow, white and black retained their brightness for thousands of years.
Archaeologists have also found ancient painting tools. As already mentioned, these were products for carving - bone sticks with a pointed end, or tools made of stone. Artists also used unique brushes made from animal hair.
Scientists do not agree on why cavemen I needed to draw. Many believe that man's penchant for beauty arose simultaneously with the appearance of man himself. The need to depict the world around them, in their opinion, was purely aesthetic. Another opinion suggests that the drawings were part of the religious rituals of that time. Ancient people believed in magic and gave the drawings the meaning of amulets and talismans. The images attracted good luck and protected people from evil spirits.
It doesn't matter which of these opinions is closest to the truth. It is important that historians consider the Stone Age to be the first period in the development of painting. The works of ancient artists on the walls of their caves became the prototype of the magnificent creations of subsequent eras.
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Red discs, hand stencils and animal images in Spanish caves represent the oldest known examples of rock art in Europe
Symbols on walls at 11 excavation sites in Spain, including objects World Heritage Altamira, El Castillo and Tito Bustillo, have always been valued by scholars for their antiquity.
However, recently researchers have used improved dating techniques to obtain more exact information about the age of the images.
The scientists' main goal was to confirm that the oldest design is a pale red dot (disk), which is supposedly more than 40,000 years old.
Hand stencils and animal images dominate the El Castillo cave in Spain. One of the stencils was dated to 37,300 years ago and the red disk to 40,800 years ago, making them the oldest cave paintings in Europe (image: Pedro Saura). Photo from msn.com
"At Cantabria, El Castillo, we discover numerous hand stencils that are formed by spraying paint around hands pressed against the cave wall," explained Dr Alistair Pike from the University of Bristol, UK, and lead author of the academic paper published in the journal Science.
“We believe one of these stencils is over 37,300 years old, and nearby there is a red disk made using a similar technique that is dated to be closer to 40,800 years old. Now we know that these are the oldest samples ancient art Europe, at least 4,000 years older than we thought,” Pike told reporters. This is perhaps the oldest reliably dated rock art in the world.
The two-metre long horse images in Tito Bustillo are superimposed on earlier red dots that date back over 29,000 years (image: Rodrigo De Balbin Behrmann). Photo from msn.com
The team determined the age of the samples by examining the calcium carbonate (calcite) plaque that had formed in the image over the years.
This material grows in the same way that stalagmites and stalactites form in caves.
During the formation process, calcite incorporates a small amount of naturally occurring radioactive uranium atoms. Based on the level of decay of these atoms into thorium and the ratio of two different elements in a sample of the material, it is possible to very accurately determine the moment when the calcite plaque formed.
Uranium/thorium dating has been used for many decades, but over the years the technique has improved so much that scientists now only need a small sample of the material to get a very accurate result.
Corredor de los Puntos is located in the El Castillo cave of Spain. Red discs here date from 34,000 to 36,000 years ago, and elsewhere in the cave to 40,800 years ago, making them examples of the earliest cave art in Europe (image: Pedro Saura). Photo from msn.com
The team took thin samples of sediments just above the paint pigments, the ages of the images should be equal to or older than the age of the calcite.
The earliest dates coincide with the first known human immigration to Europe modern look(Homo sapiens). Previously, approximately 41,000 years ago, their evolutionary cousins, the Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis), dominated the continent.
The work of Dr. Pike and his colleagues raises some intriguing questions about who is the creator of signs.
The antiquity of the paintings leads study co-author Joao Sillao, a lecturer at the University of Barcelona, to suggest that some fragments were created by Neanderthals. If images could be discovered that were even older than the red dot at El Castillo, it might confirm that the professor's "gut feeling" was correct.
“There is a chance that the authors of these images are Neanderthals,” said Professor Sillao. - But I won’t say that we proved it, because it can’t even be proven now. Now all we can do is go back and look for older examples until we are convinced that there are no drawings older than 42,000 to 44,000 years old. We will go through all the caves in Spain, Portugal and Western Europe, and in the end we will obtain the necessary information."
By tracing the origin and change in the level of human thoughts and behavior in relation to time, one can understand the process of development, which is undoubtedly important in relation to the understanding of human history.
The use of symbols - the ability of one thing to stand for another in the mind - is one of those features that distinguishes our species of animals from all others. This is what keeps us going creativity and use of speech.
Man has always been drawn to art. Proof of this is the numerous cave paintings all over the planet, created by our ancestors tens of thousands of years ago. Primitive creativity is evidence that people lived everywhere - from the hot African savannah to the Arctic Circle. America, China, Russia, Europe, Australia – ancient artists left their marks everywhere. One should not think that primitive painting is completely primitive. Among the rock masterpieces, there are also very skillful works that surprise with their beauty and technique, painted bright colors and carrying deep meaning.
Petroglyphs and rock paintings of ancient people
Cueva de las Manos cave
The cave is located in the south of Argentina. The ancestors of the Indians of Patagonia lived here for a long time. On the walls of the cave, drawings were found depicting a scene of hunting wild animals, as well as many negative images of the hands of teenage boys. Scientists have suggested that drawing the outline of a hand on the wall is part of an initiation rite. In 1999, the cave was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List
Serra da Capivara National Park
After the discovery of many rock art sites, the area, located in the Brazilian state of Piaui, was declared a national park. Even in the days of pre-Columbian America, the Serra da Capivara park was a densely populated area; a large number of communities of the ancestors of modern Indians were concentrated here. The cave paintings, created using charcoal, red hematite and white gypsum, date back to the 12th-9th millennium BC. They belong to the Nordesti culture.
Lascaux Cave
A monument of the Late Paleolithic period, one of the best preserved in Europe. The cave is located in France in the Vézère river valley. In the middle of the 20th century, drawings created 18-15 thousand years ago were discovered in it. They belong to the ancient Solutrean culture. The images are located in several cave halls. The most impressive 5-meter drawings of animals resembling bison are in the “Hall of Bulls”.
Kakadu National Park
The area is located in northern Australia, approximately 170 km from the city of Darwin. Over the past 40 thousand years, in the territory of the present national park Aboriginal people lived. They left interesting samples primitive painting. These are images of hunting scenes, shamanic rituals and scenes of the creation of the world, made using a special “X-ray” technique.
Nine Mile Canyon
A gorge in the USA in the east of Utah is almost 60 km long. It was even nicknamed the longest art gallery due to a series of rock petroglyphs. Some are created using natural dyes, others are carved directly into the rock. Most of the images were created by the Fremont Indians. In addition to the drawings, cave dwellings, well houses and ancient grain storage facilities are of interest.
Kapova Cave
An archaeological monument located in Bashkortostan on the territory of the Shulgan-Tash nature reserve. The length of the cave is more than 3 km, the entrance in the form of an arch is 20 meters high and 40 meters wide. In the 1950s, in four halls of the grotto were discovered primitive drawings Paleolithic era - about 200 images of animals, anthropomorphic figures and abstract symbols. Most of them are created using red ocher.
Valley of Miracles
Mercantour National Park, which is called the "Valley of Miracles", is located near the Cote d'Azur. In addition to its natural beauty, tourists are attracted by Mount Bego, a real archaeological site where tens of thousands of ancient paintings from the Bronze Age have been discovered. These are geometric figures of unknown purpose, religious symbols and other mysterious signs.
Altamira Cave
The cave is located in northern Spain in the autonomous community of Cantabria. She became famous for her rock paintings, which were made using polychrome technique using a variety of natural dyes: ocher, hematite, coal. The images belong to the Magdalenian culture, which existed 15-8 thousand years BC. Ancient artists were so skillful that they were able to give images of bison, horses and wild boars a three-dimensional appearance, using the natural irregularities of the wall.
Chauvet Cave
A historical monument of France, located in the Ardèche River valley. About 40 thousand years ago, the cave was inhabited by ancient people, who left behind more than 400 drawings. The oldest images are over 35 thousand years old. The paintings have been perfectly preserved due to the fact that for a long time they could not reach Chauvet; it was discovered only in the 1990s. Unfortunately, tourist access to the cave is prohibited.
Tadrart-Akakus
Once upon a time, in the hot and practically barren Sahara there was a fertile and green area. There is a lot of evidence of this, including rock paintings discovered in Libya on the territory of the Tadrart-Akakus mountain range. Using these images, you can study the evolution of climate in this part of Africa, and trace the transformation of a flowering valley into a desert.
Wadi Methandush
Another masterpiece rock art on the territory of Libya, located in the southwest of the country. The paintings of Wadi Methandush depict scenes with animals: elephants, cats, giraffes, crocodiles, bulls, antelopes. It is believed that the most ancient ones were created 12 thousand years ago. Most famous picture and the unofficial symbol of the area - two large cats locked in a duel.
Laas Gaal
A cave complex in the unrecognized state of Somaliland with perfectly preserved ancient drawings. These paintings are considered the best surviving of all on the African continent, they date back to 9-3 millennia BC. Basically, they are dedicated to the sacred cow - a cult animal that was worshiped in these places. The images were discovered in the early 2000s by a French expedition.
Bhimbetka cliff dwellings
Located in India, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is believed that the immediate ancestors of Homo erectus lived in the Bhimbetka cave complex modern people. The drawings discovered by Indian archaeologists date back to the Mesolithic era. Interestingly, many of the rituals of the inhabitants of the surrounding villages are similar to the scenes depicted by ancient people. There are about 700 caves in Bhimbetka, of which more than 300 are well explored.
White Sea petroglyphs
The drawings of primitive people are located on the territory of the White Sea Petroglyphs archaeological complex, which includes several dozen sites of ancient people. The images are located in a place called Zalavruga on the shores of the White Sea. In total, the collection consists of 2000 illustrations, grouped into groups, depicting people, animals, battles, rituals, hunting scenes, there are also interesting picture man on skis.
Petroglyphs of Tassil-Adjer
A mountain plateau in Algeria, on the territory of which the largest drawings of ancient people discovered in northern Africa are located. Petroglyphs began to appear here from the 7th millennium BC. The main plot is hunting scenes and figures of animals of the African savannah. Illustrations made in different techniques, which indicates their belonging to different historical eras.
Tsodilo
The Tsodilo mountain range is located in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. Here, over an area of more than 10 km², thousands of images created by ancient people were discovered. The researchers claim that they cover a time period of 100 thousand years. The most ancient creations are primitive contour images, while later ones represent an attempt by artists to give the drawings a three-dimensional effect.
Tomsk writing
Natural Museum-Reserve in Kemerovo region, created in the late 1980s with the aim of preserving rock art. On its territory there are about 300 images, many of them created approximately 4 thousand years ago. The earliest date back to the 10th century BC. In addition to the creativity of the ancient man, tourists will be interested in seeing the ethnographic exhibition and museum collections that are part of the Tomsk Pisanitsa.
Magura Cave
The natural site is located in northwestern Bulgaria near the city of Belogradchik. During archaeological excavations in the 1920s, the first evidence of the presence of ancient man was found here: tools, ceramics, jewelry. More than 700 examples of rock paintings, presumably created 100-40 thousand years ago, were also discovered. In addition to figures of animals and people, they depict stars and the sun.
Gobustan Nature Reserve
The protected area includes mud volcanoes and ancient rock art. More than 6 thousand images were created by people who lived on this land from the primitive era to the Middle Ages. The subjects are quite simple - scenes of hunting, religious rituals, figures of people and animals. Gobustan is located in Azerbaijan, approximately 50 km from Baku.
Onega petroglyphs
Petroglyphs were discovered on the eastern shore of Lake Onega in the Pudozh region of Karelia. Drawings dating back to 4-3 millennia BC are placed on the rocks of several capes. Some illustrations are quite impressive 4 meters in size. Besides standard images people and animals, there are also mystical symbols of unknown purpose, which always frightened the monks of the nearby Murom Holy Dormition Monastery.
Rock reliefs at Tanum
A group of petroglyphs discovered in the 1970s on the territory of the Swedish commune of Tanum. They are located along a 25-kilometer line that is believed to have been the shore of a fjord in the Bronze Age. In total, archaeologists discovered approximately 3 thousand drawings, collected in groups. Unfortunately, under the influence of unfavorable natural conditions, petroglyphs are in danger of extinction. Gradually it becomes more and more difficult to distinguish their outlines.
Rock paintings in Alta
Primitive people lived not only in a comfortable warm climate, but also near the Arctic Circle. In the 1970s, in northern Norway near the city of Alta, scientists discovered a large group of prehistoric drawings, consisting of 5 thousand fragments. These paintings depict human life in harsh weather conditions. Some illustrations contain ornaments and signs that scientists have not been able to decipher.
Archaeological Park of the Coa Valley
An archaeological complex created at the site of the discovery of prehistoric paintings that date back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods (the so-called Solutrean culture). There are not only ancient images here, some elements were created in the Middle Ages. The drawings are located on rocks stretching for 17 km along the Koa River. There is also a Museum of Art and Archeology in the park, dedicated to the history of the area.
Newspaper Rock
Translated, the name of the archaeological site means “Newspaper Stone”. Indeed, the petroglyphs covering the rock resemble a characteristic typographical seal. The mountain is located in American state Utah. It has not been established for certain when these signs were created. It is believed that the Indians applied them to the cliff both before the European conquerors arrived on the continent and after that.
Edakkal Caves
One of the archaeological treasures of India and all humanity is the Edakkal caves in the state of Kerala. During the Neolithic era, prehistoric petroglyphs were painted on the walls of the grottoes. These characters have not yet been deciphered. The area is a popular tourist attraction; visiting the caves is only possible as part of an excursion. Self-entrance is prohibited.
Petroglyphs of the archaeological landscape of Tamgaly
The Tamgaly tract is located approximately 170 km from Almaty. In the 1950s, about 2 thousand rock paintings were discovered on its territory. Most of the images were created in the Bronze Age, there are also modern creations that appeared in the Middle Ages. Based on the nature of the drawings, scientists have suggested that an ancient sanctuary was located in Tamgaly.
Petroglyphs of the Mongolian Altai
The complex of rock signs, located in Northern Mongolia, covers an area of 25 km² and stretches 40 km in length. The images were created in the Neolithic era more than 3 thousand years ago, there are drawings even older, 5 thousand years old. Most of them depict deer with chariots; there are also figures of hunters and fairy-tale animals reminiscent of dragons.
Rock art in Hua Mountains
Chinese rock art was discovered in the south of the country in the Hua mountain range. They represent figures of people, animals, ships, celestial bodies, weapons, painted in rich ocher. In total there are about 2 thousand images, which are divided into 100 groups. Some pictures develop into full-fledged scenes where you can see solemn ceremony, ritual or procession.
Cave of Swimmers
The grotto is located in the Libyan Desert on the border of Egypt and Libya. In the 1990s, ancient petroglyphs were discovered there, their age exceeding 10 thousand years (Neolithic era). They depict people swimming in the sea or other body of water. That's why the cave was named modern name. After people began to visit the grotto en masse, many of the drawings began to deteriorate.
Horseshoe Canyon
The gorge is part of Canyonlands National Park, which is located in the US state of Utah. Horseshoe Canyon became famous because ancient paintings created by nomadic hunter-gatherers were discovered there in the 1970s. The images are depicted on panels about 5 meters high and 60 meters wide, they represent 2-meter humanoid figures.
Petroglyphs of Val Camonica
In the first half of the 20th century, in the Italian Val Camonica valley (Lombardy region), the largest collection of rock art in the world was discovered - more than 300 thousand drawings. Most of them were created in the Iron Age, the latest ones belong to the Camun culture, which is written about in ancient Roman sources. It is curious that when B. Mussolini was in power in Italy, these petroglyphs were considered proof of the emergence of the superior Aryan race.
Twyfelfontein Valley
The most ancient settlements appeared in the Namibian Twyfelfontein Valley more than 5 thousand years ago. Around this time, rock paintings were created depicting the typical life of hunters and nomads. In total, scientists counted more than 2.5 thousand fragments, most of them are about 3 thousand years old, the youngest are about 500 years old. In the middle of the 20th century, someone stole an impressive part of the slabs with petroglyphs.
Chumash Painted Cave
A national park in California, on the territory of which there is a small sandstone grotto with wall paintings of the Chumash Indians. The subjects of the paintings reflect the ideas of the aborigines about the world order. By different estimates, the paintings were created between 1 thousand and 200 years ago, making them quite modern compared to prehistoric cave paintings elsewhere in the world.
Petroglyphs of Toro Muerto
A group of petroglyphs in the Peruvian province of Castilla, which were created in the 6th-12th centuries during the Huari culture. Some scientists suggest that the Incas had a hand in them. The drawings depict animals, birds, celestial bodies, geometric patterns, as well as people dancing, probably performing some kind of ritual. In total, about 3 thousand painted stones of volcanic origin were discovered.
Petroglyphs of Easter Island
One of the most mysterious places planet, Easter Island can surprise not only with giant stone heads. Ancient petroglyphs painted on rocks, boulders, and cave walls are of no less interest and are considered an important archaeological heritage. They are either schematic images of a technical process, or non-existent animals and plants - scientists have yet to understand this issue.
Interesting and picturesque messages from the past - drawings on the walls of caves, which are up to 40 thousand years old - fascinate modern people with their brevity.
What were they for the people of ancient times? If they served only to decorate the walls, then why were they performed in remote corners of caves, in places where, most likely, they did not live?
The oldest of the found drawings were made about 40 thousand years ago, others are several tens of thousands of years younger. It is interesting that in different parts of the world the images on the walls of caves are very similar - in those days people depicted mainly ungulates and other animals that were common in their area.
The image of hands was also popular: community members put their palms to the wall and outlined them. Such pictures are truly inspiring: by pressing your palm against such an image, a person can feel as if he has formed a bridge between modern civilization and antiquity!
Below we bring to your attention interesting images made on the walls of caves by ancient people from different parts of the world.
Pettaker Lime Cave, Indonesia
Pettaker Cave 12 kilometers from the town of Maros. At the entrance to the cave, there are white and red outlines of hands on the ceiling - 26 images in total. The age of the drawings is about 35 thousand years. Photo: Cahyo Ramadhani/wikipedia.org
Chauvet Cave, south of France
The images, which are about 32-34 thousand years old, are placed on the walls of a limestone cave near the city of Valon-pont-d'Arc. In total, in the cave, which was discovered only in 1994, there are 300 drawings that amaze with their picturesqueness.
One of the most famous images from the Chauvet Cave. Photo: JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images
Photo: JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images
Photo: JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images
Photo: JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images
Photo: JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images
El Castillo Cave, Spain
El Castillo contains some of the oldest examples of cave painting in the world. The age of the images is at least 40,800 years.
Photo: cuevas.culturadecantabria.com
Covalanas Cave, Spain
The unique Kovalanas cave was inhabited by people less than 45 thousand years ago!
Photo: cuevas.culturadecantabria.com
Photo: cuevas.culturadecantabria.com
The walls of the caves located near Covalanas and El Castillo are also decorated with numerous paintings made by people thousands of years ago. However, these caves are not so famous. Among them are Las Monedas, El Pendo, Chufin, Hornos de la Pena, Culalvera.
Lascaux Cave, France
The Lascaux cave complex in southwest France was accidentally discovered in 1940 local, an 18-year-old guy named Marcel Ravid. The huge number of paintings on the walls, which are surprisingly well preserved, give this cave complex the right to claim the title of one of the largest galleries ancient world. The age of the images is about 17.3 thousand years.
All over the world, speleologists in deep caves are finding confirmation of the existence of ancient people. Rock paintings have been perfectly preserved for many millennia. There are several types of masterpieces - pictograms, petroglyphs, geoglyphs. Important monuments of human history are regularly included in the World Heritage Register.
Usually on the walls of caves there are common subjects, such as hunting, battle, images of the sun, animals, human hands. People in ancient times attached sacred meaning to paintings; they believed that they were helping themselves in the future.
Images were applied various methods and materials. For artistic creativity animal blood, ocher, chalk and even guano were used bats. A special type of painting is ashlar painting; they were carved into stone using a special chisel.
Many caves have not been sufficiently studied and are limited in visiting, while others, on the contrary, are open to tourists. However, most of the precious cultural heritage disappears unattended, unable to find her researchers.
Below is a short excursion into the world of the most interesting caves with prehistoric rock paintings.
Magura Cave, Bulgaria
It is famous not only for the hospitality of its residents and the indescribable flavor of the resorts, but also for its caves. One of them, with the sonorous name Magura, is located north of Sofia, near the town of Belogradchik. The total length of the cave galleries is more than two kilometers. The cave halls are colossal in size, each of them is about 50 meters wide and 20 meters high. The pearl of the cave is a rock painting made directly on the surface covered with bat guano. The paintings are multi-layered; there are a number of paintings from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods. The drawings of ancient homo sapiens depict figures of dancing villagers, hunters, many strange animals, and constellations. The sun, plants, and tools are also represented. Here begins the story of the festivities ancient era and about the solar calendar, scientists assure.
Cueva de las Manos Cave, Argentina
The cave with the poetic name Cueva de las Manos (from Spanish - “Cave of Many Hands”) is located in the province of Santa Cruz, exactly one hundred miles from the nearest settlement- the city of Perito Moreno. The rock painting art in the 24-meter-long and 10-meter-high hall dates back to the 13th to 9th millennia BC. Amazing picture on limestone it is a three-dimensional canvas decorated with traces of hands. Scientists have built a theory about how the amazingly clear and clear handprints turned out. Prehistoric people they took a special composition, then put it in the mouth, and blew it forcefully through a tube onto a hand attached to the wall. In addition, there are stylized images of humans, rheas, guanacos, cats, geometric shapes with ornaments, the process of hunting and observing the sun.
Bhimbetka cliff dwellings, India
Enchanting offers tourists not only the delights of oriental palaces and charming dances. In north central India there are huge rock formations of weathered sandstone with many caves. Ancient people once lived in natural shelters. About 500 dwellings with traces of human habitation remain in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The Indians named the rock dwellings Bhimbetka (after the hero of the epic Mahabharata). The art of the ancients here dates back to the Mesolithic era. Some of the paintings are insignificant, and some of the hundreds of images are very typical and striking. 15 rock masterpieces are available for contemplation by those who wish. Mainly, patterned ornaments and battle scenes are depicted here.
Serra da Capivara National Park, Brazil
Rare animals and venerable scientists find shelter in the Serra da Capivara National Park. And 50 thousand years ago, our distant ancestors found shelter here in caves. Presumably, this is the oldest community of hominids in South America. The park is located near the town of San Raimondo Nonato, in the central part of the state of Piaui. Experts counted more than 300 here archaeological sites. The main surviving images date back to 25-22 millennium BC. The most amazing thing is that extinct bears and other paleofauna are painted on the rocks.
Laas Gaal cave complex, Somaliland
The Republic of Somaliland recently separated from Somalia in Africa. Archaeologists in this area are interested in the Laas Gaal cave complex. Here you can see rock paintings from the 8th-9th and 3rd millennium BC. Scenes of life and everyday life are depicted on the granite walls of majestic natural shelters nomadic people Africa: the process of grazing livestock, ceremonies, playing with dogs. The local population does not attach importance to the drawings of their ancestors, and uses the caves, as in the old days, for shelter during the rain. Many of the studies have not been properly studied. In particular, problems arise with the chronological reference of masterpieces of Arab-Ethiopian ancient rock paintings.
Rock art Tadrart Acacus, Libya
Not far from Somalia, in Libya, there are also rock paintings. They are much earlier, dating back almost to the 12th millennium BC. The last of them were applied after the birth of Christ, in the first century. It is interesting to observe, following the drawings, how the fauna and flora changed in this area of the Sahara. First we see elephants, rhinoceroses and fauna typical of a rather humid climate. Also interesting is the clearly visible change in the lifestyle of the population - from hunting to sedentary cattle breeding, then to nomadism. To get to Tadrart Akakus, you need to cross the desert east of the city of Ghat.
Chauvet Cave, France
In 1994, while walking, by chance, Jean-Marie Chauvet discovered the cave that later became famous. She was named after the speleologist. In the Chauvet cave, in addition to traces of the life activity of ancient people, hundreds of wonderful frescoes were discovered. The most amazing and beautiful of them depict mammoths. In 1995, the cave became a state monument, and in 1997, 24-hour surveillance was introduced here to prevent damage to the magnificent heritage. Today, in order to take a look at the incomparable rock art of the Cro-Magnons, you need to obtain special permission. In addition to mammoths, there is something to admire; here on the walls there are handprints and fingerprints of representatives of the Aurignacian culture (34-32 thousand years BC)
Kakadu National Park, Australia
In fact, the name of the Australian national park has nothing to do with the famous Cockatoo parrots. The Europeans simply mispronounced the name of the Gaagudju tribe. This nation is now extinct, and there is no one to correct the ignorant. The park is home to Aboriginal people who have not changed their way of life since the Stone Age. For thousands of years, Indigenous Australians have been involved in rock painting. Pictures were painted here already 40 thousand years ago. In addition to religious scenes and hunting, there are stylized stories in drawings about useful skills (educational) and magic (entertaining). Among the animals depicted are the extinct marsupial tigers, catfish, and barramundi. All the wonders of the Arnhem Land plateau, Colpignac and the southern hills are located 171 km from the city of Darwin. in the 35th millennium BC, it was the early Paleolithic. They left strange rock paintings in the Altamira cave. Art artifacts on the walls of the huge cave date back to both the 18th and 13th millennia. IN last period Interesting are the polychrome figures, the unique combination of engraving and painting, and the acquisition of realistic details. The famous bison, deer and horses, or rather, their beautiful images on the walls of Altamira, often end up in textbooks for middle school students. The Altamira Cave is located in the Cantabria region.
Lascaux Cave, France
Lascaux is not just a cave, but a whole complex of small and large cave halls located in the south of France. Not far from the caves is the legendary village of Montignac. The paintings on the cave walls were painted 17 thousand years ago. And they still amaze with their amazing forms, akin to modern graffiti art. Scholars especially value the Hall of the Bulls and the Palace Hall of the Cats. It’s easy to guess what prehistoric creators left there. In 1998, the rock masterpieces were almost destroyed by mold caused by an improperly installed air conditioning system. And in 2008, Lascaux was closed to preserve more than 2,000 unique drawings.
