Friday, May 16, 2014


Art is as old as human civilization.  The first art was most likely body adornment:  jewelry, clothes, tattoos.  Most of this art has not survived the savages of time.  

Most scholars agree that art began in the earliest of human epochs, the Paleolithic Age ("Old Stone Age").  This age began some 2 million years ago and covers the movement of people out of Africa, into Asia and the Americas.  During this time, early man crafted spear points by skillfully flaking flint.  Most likely they decorated dwellings with animal hides and adorned their bodies with horns, beads and pendants.  Perforated beads made from sea shells have been found in a cave in South Africa dating from at least 75,000 years ago.  This suggests that jewelry, perhaps, was one of the first forms of artistic expression.

Around 50,000 years ago, early humans began making what we would consider to be art.  This coincides with the beginning of religion, as well.  Humans began to think outside of everyday existence, looking to understand their place within the world.  Some crafted sculptures out of stone and ivory.  Some ventured deep into caves to paint images on the walls and ceilings.  Others moved huge rocks to form patterns and symbols.

Cave Art

Deep within caves scattered across the globe is evidence of early human artistic endeavors. Mostly images of animals, these cave paintings date to at least 30,000 years ago.  With paint made from various natural ingredients such as charcoal and powdered iron, early artists ventured deep into caves and decorated the walls and ceilings.  Such locations necessitated the bringing of light, and evidence of torches and oil lamps have been found in these caves. Scaffolding was also required to place some of the murals high on the ceilings. 

Bison from the cave at Altamira.
Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira
In 1880, a cave was found in Northern Spain by an 8 year old girl exploring the area with her father.  The cave is Altamira and dates back to nearly 20,000 years ago.  So pristine were the images that many people thought it was a hoax.  And a debate soon began as to whether or not early humans could even produce such stunningly beautiful imagery. 

Other caves were soon found.  The most famous cave art was discovered in Lascaux, France, by some teenage boys in 1940.  

Horse from Lascaux, France.  This image is some 16,000 years old.
Most of the imagery in caves are that of animals, many of which are now extinct.  There also are symbols and patterns.  

Cave painting of human hands
from a cave in France.
Why did early humans venture into caves to paint on the walls?  No one knows.  Many of the paintings are in areas of caves that are not easily accessible.  Therefore, it is believed that these images may have served some type of religious purpose.  Or, perhaps to conjure luck in upcoming hunts. This is not to rule out, however, the creative impulse found in all humans. After all, scattered throughout the world are the "signatures" of early artists in the form of hand prints.  Perhaps art serves the purpose of immortality; wanting to leave one's mark on the world. 

Not too different from our own justifications, perhaps. 


Sculpture

Along with cave art, early humans also carved images into bone and rock.  One of the earliest representations of human beings are found in the famous "Venus" figurines.

Don Hitchcock
Creative Commons license.
Between 30,000 and 25,000 years ago someone carved this small figure, now known as the Venus of Willendorf (found in Willendorf, Austria in 1908). Carved out of limestone, she stands a mere 4 1/2 inches tall and represents one of the first nude depictions of human beings ever found.  

Similar statues have been found scattered throughout Europe, Asia and Africa and depict a universal image: a naked female.  The breasts and hips are accentuated, while nearly in every example she is faceless.  The similarity among these images are striking, which suggests some relationship to fertility. Due to the prevalence of such imagery, they have been given the name "Venus," although this use of the term is an anachronism due to the fact that these figures predate the mythical goddess Venus by thousands of years.

Megaliths

During the Neolithic Age (New Stone Age, 9000 BCE-3000 BCE), humans began altering their physical surroundings by creating huge sculptures known as megaliths.  The Neolithic Age saw the transition from hunting and gathering societies to agriculture.  As humans began to settle down into a more sedentary lifestyle, they created huge stone monuments.  Some megaliths mark tombs, others were arranged in patterns that mirrored the stars and heavens.

The most famous megalith is that of Stonehenge located in modern England and created some 4,100 years ago.  Large stones were transported a distance of more than 150 miles and arranged in a circular pattern in the soil. Some of these rocks weighed over 26 tons.  It is unknown how such heavy stones were lifted into place, but it is believed to have been built to mark astronomical events, such as the spring and winter solstice.

Image source: Mactographer
Creative Commons License
Megalith in Sweden known as the Ales Stones.
Image:  Fred J   Creative Commons License
Points to Remember
  • The first type of art was most likely body adornment 
  • Art began during the paleolithic Age, some 40,000 years ago
  • The development of art was closely tied to religious beliefs and an attempt by early humans to understand the world around them
  • Cave painting, sculptures and megaliths are common throughout all human societies at this time 




Updated: August 14, 2014
© 2014  Bruce Janu
Bell, Book & Camera Productions