The Prehistoric Period
PaleolithicEra
(ca. 30,000-9,000 BCE)
Distribution of European Cave-Art
The oldest cave paintings were all found mostly in the continent of Europe. However, some of the most important and well-known examples of cave-art were discovered in the isolated regions of Southern France and Northern Spain.
In fact, the first examples of cave-art was discovered in the Altamira cave in Spain by amateur archaeologist, Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, in 1876 when his daughter had reached a chamber of 85 ft from the cave's entrance. There they saw shadowy forms of painted beasts on the cave roof. It was mistakenly dismissed as a forgery in 1880 but by the end of the century, more caves had been discovered and experts were able to prove their authenticity by analyzing the mineral deposits that would have taken thousands of years to accumilate.
Cave Paintings
Click on each image for more information on the artwork
Contrary to popular belief by depictions in popular culture, neanderthals did not dip their hands into a liquid to imprint them on the wall. In actuality, hand imprints were created by using hollow bones that would blow ochre over their hand which was placed on the wall to leave a negative imprint.
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This is important because, in a way, these hand prints were like the first self-portraits and some experts speculate that they were even meant to be the equivalent to an artist's signature in the modern era.
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