The most ancient cave drawings. Primitive art, When did the first images created by man appear? Chumashskaya painted cave

Paintings and engravings on the rocks began to be painted tens of thousands of years before the birth of such civilizations as Greece and Mesopotamia. While most of these writings remain a mystery, they scold modern scholars to understand the daily lives of prehistoric people, to understand their religious beliefs and culture. It is a real miracle that these ancient drawings have survived for such a long time in the face of natural erosion, wars and destructive human activities.

1. El Castillo

Spain
Some of the oldest known rock paintings in the world, depicting horses, bison and warriors, are located in the El Castillo Cave, in Cantabria in northern Spain. Inside the cave there is a hole so narrow that you need to crawl through it. In the cave itself, you can find many drawings that are at least 40,800 years old.

They were made shortly after humans began migrating from Africa to Europe, where they met the Neanderthals. In fact, the age of the rock paintings suggests the possibility that they were made by Neanderthals living in the region at the time, although the evidence for this is not at all conclusive.

2.Sulawesi

Indonesia
For a long time, El Castillo cave was believed to contain the oldest known rock paintings. But in 2014, archaeologists made a stunning discovery. In seven caves on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, handprints and primitive drawings of local pigs were found on the walls.

These images were already known to the locals, but no one even guessed how old they were. Scientists have estimated the age of the rock paintings at 40,000 years. Such a discovery called into question the long-standing belief that human art first appeared in Europe.

3. Arnhem Land Plateau

Australia
Recent studies have shown that some places in Australia may well compete in age with the world's oldest art. A 28,000-year-old rock painting has been found at the Navarla Gabarnmang rock shelter in the north of the country. However, scientists believe that some of the drawings may be much older, as one of them depicts a giant bird that became extinct about 40,000 years ago.

Therefore, either the rock art is older than expected, or the bird lived longer than modern science suggests. At Nawarla Gabarnmang, you can also find drawings of fish, crocodiles, wallabies, lizards, turtles and other animals made tens of thousands of years ago.

4. Apollo 11

Namibia
This cave got such an unusual name because it was discovered by a German archaeologist in 1969, when the first spacecraft (Apollo 11) landed on the moon. Drawings made with charcoal, ocher and white paint have been found on the stone slabs of a cave in southwestern Namibia.

The creatures, which resemble cats, zebras, ostriches and giraffes, are between 26,000 and 28,000 years old and are the oldest fine art found in Africa.

5. Pech-Merle cave

France
Scholars believed that the paintings of two spotted horses on the walls of the Peche Merle cave in south-central France, which were made 25,000 years ago, were the product of an ancient artist's imagination. But recent DNA studies have shown that a similar spotted horse did exist in the region at that time. Also in the cave you can find 5000-year-old images of bison, mammoths, horses and other animals, painted with black manganese oxide and red ocher.

6. Tadrart-Acacus

Libya
Deep in the Sahara desert in southwestern Libya, in the Tadrart Acacus mountain range, thousands of paintings and rock paintings have been found that show that once there was water and lush vegetation in these arid lands. Also on the territory of the present Sahara lived giraffes, rhinos, and crocodiles. The oldest drawing here was made 12,000 years ago. But, after Tadrart-Acacus began to be swallowed up by the desert, people finally left this place around 100 AD.

7. Bhimbetka

India
In the state of Madhya Pradesh, there are about 600 caves and rock dwellings in which rock paintings have been found, made between 1,000 and 12,000 years ago.
These prehistoric images are painted with red and white paint. In the paintings you can find hunting scenes for buffaloes, tigers, giraffes, elks, lions, leopards, elephants and rhinos. Other drawings show fruit and honey gathering and animal domestication. You can also find images of animals that have long since become extinct in India.

8. Laas Gaal

Somalia
The complex of eight caves in Somaliland contains some of the oldest and best preserved rock paintings in Africa. They are estimated to be between 5,000 and 11,000 years old, and these drawings of cows, humans, dogs, and giraffes are done in red, orange, and cream. Almost nothing is known about the people who lived here at that time, but many locals still consider the caves to be sacred.

9. Cueva de las Manos

Argentina
This unusual cave in Patagonia is literally overflowing with 9,000-year-old red and black handprints on the walls. Since there are mainly images of the left hands of teenage boys, scientists have suggested that drawing the image of one's hand was part of the rite of initiation for young men. In addition, hunting scenes of guanacos and flightless rhea birds can also be found in the cave.

10 Swimmers Cave

Egypt
In the Libyan desert in 1933, they found a cave with cave paintings from the Neolithic era. The images of floating people (from which the cave got its name), as well as the handprints that adorn the walls, were made between 6000 and 8000 years ago.

More than three million years ago, the process of formation of the modern species of people began. The sites of primitive man have been found in various countries of the world. Our ancient ancestors, exploring new territories, encountered unfamiliar natural phenomena and formed the first centers of primitive culture.

Among the ancient hunters, people with extraordinary artistic talents stood out, who left many expressive works. There are no corrections in the drawings made on the walls of the caves, since the unique masters had a very firm hand.

Primitive thinking

The problem of the origin of primitive art, reflecting the lifestyle of ancient hunters, has been worrying the minds of scientists for several centuries. Despite its simplicity, it is of great importance in the history of mankind. It reflects the religious and social spheres of the life of that society. The consciousness of primitive people is a very complex interweaving of two principles - illusory and realistic. It is believed that this combination had a decisive influence on the nature of the creative activity of the first artists.

Unlike modern art, the art of past eras is always connected with the everyday aspects of human life and seems more earthly. It fully reflects primitive thinking, which does not always have a realistic coloring. And the point here is not the low level of skill of the artists, but the special purposes of their creativity.

The emergence of art

In the middle of the 19th century, archaeologist E. Larte discovered an image of a mammoth in the La Madeleine cave. So, for the first time, the involvement of hunters in painting was proved. As a result of the discoveries, it was established that art monuments appeared much later than tools.

Representatives of homo sapiens made stone knives, spearheads, and this technique was passed down from generation to generation. Later, people used bones, wood, stone and clay to create their first works. It turns out that primitive art arose when a person had free time. When the problem of survival was solved, people began to leave a huge number of monuments of the same type.

Kinds of art

Primitive art, which appeared in the late Paleolithic era (more than 33 thousand years ago), developed in several directions. The first is represented by rock paintings and megaliths, and the second - by small sculptures and carvings on bone, stone and wood. Unfortunately, wooden artifacts are extremely rare in archaeological sites. However, the objects created by man that have come down to us are very expressive and silently tell about the skill of ancient hunters.

It must be admitted that in the minds of the ancestors, art did not stand out as a separate field of activity, and not all people had the ability to create images. The artists of that era possessed such a powerful talent that he himself burst out, splashing bright and expressive images on the walls and vault of the cave, which overwhelmed the human mind.

The Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) is the earliest but longest period, at the end of which all kinds of art appeared, which are characterized by external simplicity and realism. People did not connect the events with nature or themselves, they did not feel the space.

The most outstanding monuments of the Paleolithic are the drawings on the walls of the caves, which are recognized as the first type of primitive art. They are very primitive and represent wavy lines, prints of human hands, images of animal heads. These are clear attempts to feel part of the world and the first glimpses of consciousness among our ancestors.

The paintings on the rocks were made with a stone chisel or paint (red ocher, black charcoal, white lime). Scientists argue that along with the emerging art, the first rudiments of a primitive society (society) arose.

In the Paleolithic era, carving on stone, wood and bone develops. The figurines of animals and birds found by archaeologists are distinguished by the exact reproduction of all volumes. The researchers claim that they were created as amulets-amulets that protected the inhabitants of the caves from evil spirits. The oldest masterpieces had a magical meaning and oriented man in nature.

Different tasks facing the artists

The main feature of primitive art in the Paleolithic era is its primitivism. Ancient people did not know how to convey space and endow natural phenomena with human qualities. The visual image of animals was originally represented by a schematic, almost conditional, image. And only after a few centuries, colorful images appear that reliably show all the details of the appearance of wild animals. Scientists believe that this is not due to the level of skill of the first artists, but to the various tasks that were set before them.

Contour primitive drawings were used in rituals, created for magical purposes. But detailed, very accurate images appear at a time when animals turn into an object of veneration, and ancient people thus emphasize their mystical connection with them.

The heyday of art

According to archaeologists, the highest flowering of the art of primitive society falls on the Madeleine period (25-12 thousand years BC). At this time, animals are depicted in motion, and a simple contour drawing takes on three-dimensional forms.

The spiritual forces of hunters, who have studied the habits of predators to the smallest detail, are aimed at comprehending the laws of nature. Ancient artists convincingly draw images of animals, but the man himself does not receive special attention in art. In addition, not a single image of the landscape has ever been found. It is believed that ancient hunters simply admired nature, and feared predators and worshiped them.

The most famous samples of rock art of this period were found in the caves of Lascaux (France), Altamira (Spain), Shulgan-Tash (Urals).

"Sistine Chapel of the Stone Age"

It is curious that even in the middle of the 19th century, cave painting was not known to scientists. And only in 1877, a famous archaeologist, who got into the Almamir cave, discovered rock paintings, which were later included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is no coincidence that the underground grotto was called the Sistine Chapel of the Stone Age. In rock art, one can see the confident hand of ancient artists who made the outlines of animals without any corrections, in single lines. In the light of a torch, which gives rise to an amazing play of shadows, it seems that three-dimensional images are moving.

Later, more than a hundred underground grottoes with traces of primitive people were found in France.

In the Kapova Cave (Shulgan-Tash), located in the Southern Urals, animal images were found relatively recently - in 1959. 14 silhouette and contour drawings of animals are made in red ocher. In addition, various geometric signs were also found.

The first humanoid images

One of the main themes of primitive art is the image of a woman. It was caused by the special specifics of the thinking of ancient people. The drawings were attributed magical powers. The found figures of naked and dressed women testify to the very high level of skill of ancient hunters and convey the main idea of ​​the image - the keeper of the hearth.

These are figurines of very full women, the so-called Venuses. Such sculptures are the first humanoid images symbolizing fertility and motherhood.

Changes that took place during the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras

In the Mesolithic era, primitive art undergoes changes. Rock paintings are multi-figure compositions, on which you can trace various episodes from people's lives. Most often scenes of battles and hunting are depicted.

But the main changes in primitive society occur during the Neolithic period. A person learns to build new types of dwellings and builds structures on piles of brick. The main theme of art is the activity of the collective, and fine art is represented by rock paintings, stone, ceramic and wooden sculpture, clay plastic.

Ancient petroglyphs

It is impossible not to mention the multi-plot and multi-figure compositions, in which the main attention is paid to the animal and man. Petroglyphs (rock carvings that are carved or painted), painted in secluded places, attract the attention of scientists from all over the world. Some experts believe that they are ordinary sketches of everyday scenes. And others see in them some kind of writing, which is based on symbols and signs, and testifies to the spiritual heritage of our ancestors.

In Russia, petroglyphs are called "petroglyphs", and most often they are found not in caves, but in open areas. Made in ocher, they are perfectly preserved, because the paint is perfectly absorbed into the rocks. The subjects of the drawings are very wide and varied: the heroes are animals, symbols, signs and people. Schematic representations of the stars of the solar system have even been found. Despite the very respectable age, the petroglyphs, made in a realistic manner, speak of the great skill of the people who applied them.

And now research is ongoing to get closer to deciphering the unique messages left by our distant ancestors.

Bronze Age

In the Bronze Age, which is associated with the main milestones in the history of primitive art and humanity as a whole, new technical inventions appear, metal is mastered, people are engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding.

The themes of art are enriched with new plots, the role of figurative symbolism increases, and geometric ornament spreads. You can see scenes that are associated with mythology, and images become a special sign system that is understandable to some groups of the population. Appears zoomorphic and anthropomorphic sculpture, as well as mysterious structures - megaliths.

Symbols, through which a variety of concepts and feelings are conveyed, carry a great aesthetic load.

Conclusion

At the earliest stages of its development, art does not stand out as an independent sphere of human spiritual life. In primitive society, there is only nameless creativity, closely intertwined with ancient beliefs. It reflected the ideas of the ancient "artists" about nature, the surrounding world, and thanks to it, people communicated with each other.

If we talk about the features of primitive art, then we cannot fail to mention that it has always been associated with the labor activity of people. Only labor allowed the ancient masters to create real works that excite descendants with the vivid expressiveness of artistic images. Primitive man expanded his ideas about the world around him, enriching his spiritual world. In the course of labor activity, people developed aesthetic feelings and an understanding of beauty took place. From the very moment of its inception, art had a magical meaning, and later existed with other forms of not only spiritual, but also material activity.

When man learned to create images, he gained power over time. Therefore, it can be said without exaggeration that the appeal of ancient people to art is one of the most important events in the history of mankind.

Modern man is surrounded by an incredible number of artistic images. Wherever we look, everything is replete with paintings, ornaments, photographs, from the simplest life to works of art.

Throughout history, man has sought to convey the internal or external through the image. “Indeed, art lies in nature; who knows how to find it, he owns it. Albrecht Dürer

The artistic culture of mankind begins its countdown from time immemorial - the Paleolithic itself. Everyone knows the ancient rock painting. It was in the Paleolithic (2.5 million-10,000 years BC) that art as such was born.

The time when agriculture did not yet exist, and the Earth was inhabited by extinct species of animals, during the Stone Age, when primitive man was engaged in gathering and hunting with the help of primitive weapons.

Even then, a person had a need for the artistic transmission of simple images.

rock art

These drawings, differing in the manner of execution, were located in the caves where Paleolithic people lived, sometimes in inaccessible places.

rock drawing was carried out on stone with the help of a rough cutting tool, as evidenced by stone cutters found at the sites of primitive people.

Mineral dyes were often used, which were applied as a second layer, they were prepared from manganese oxide, coal, kaolite and gave color variations from ocher to black. "The cave painters had a better understanding of the anatomy of quadrupeds than most modern artists, and made fewer mistakes in the drawings of walking mammoths and other mammals" It is assumed that the meaning of the rock drawings was ritual, but disputes on this topic are still ongoing. Mostly animals were depicted, including those that have already become extinct. The image of a person is much less common and belongs to a later period.

For rock paintings characteristic is the lack of proportions, a simple primitive depiction technique, sometimes a primitive hunting plot is visible, often the drawings of primitive people conveyed movement.

rock painting distributed throughout the world. Its most striking examples are in Kazakhstan (Tamgaly), in Karelia, in Spain (Altamira cave), in France (caves of Font-de-Gaume, Montespan, etc.), in Siberia, on the Don (Kostenki), in Italy, England , Germany, Algeria.

History of the first found rock art

Cave drawings were carefully hidden in numerous caves not in one place, but all over the world. For the first time they attracted the attention of the public only 120 years ago.

Why did this happen relatively recently, despite the fact that they have probably been found repeatedly before? Apparently, their simplicity of execution, often similar to children's drawings, was simply unremarkable.

In the 19th-20th centuries, the systematization and comprehension of the entire artistic heritage of our planet takes place. In the middle of the 19th century, no art was known older than Egyptian or Celtic.

The existence of some ancient rudimentary forms of art was assumed, but it was believed that they would have to be extremely primitive. This is probably why it took half a century to recognize and comprehend the already found, very meaningful and multifaceted cave drawings.

Marcelino de Sautuola is considered the discoverer of rock art. He explored the caves that were located in the area where he lived since 1875. In 1879, while exploring Altamira Cave, his nine-year-old daughter discovered amazing drawings that were later called the “Sistine Chapel of Primitive Art” of Altamira Cave.

It took Marcelino de Sautuola a whole year to dare to make a public statement. He was not worried for nothing, as his statement caused an incredible storm of unrest in scientific circles.

It took a lot of time and discoveries to recognize the authenticity rock paintings Altamira. As time passed and numerous similar finds, the experts were forced to admit that Marselio was right, he, unfortunately, did not live to see these days.

Ancient of the ancient - the creations of the Neanderthals

The Spanish cave of Nerja with the finds found in it rock paintings may revolutionize the understanding of Neanderthals. These caves were discovered in 1959 by boys hunting bats. Excavations in these caves continue to this day.

It was in Nerja that they discovered cave drawings strange spiral shape, reminiscent of the structure of DNA. Scientists claim that pinnipeds, which the inhabitants of that time ate, had a similar appearance.
“Art must first of all be clear and simple, its significance is too great and important.” M. Gorky The coal found on the images was examined by radiocarbon dating, which determined the approximate age of the drawings. Their age stunned everyone - it turned out that the drawings are about 43 thousand years old. This is 13,000 years older than the drawings of the Chauvet Cave, France, which have so far been considered the most ancient.

At the moment, there have been no official statements about the cave of Nerja, as they can have a big impact on ideas about human development, cave drawings need more research and validation.

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For many years, modern civilization had no idea about any objects of ancient painting, but in 1879, amateur archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, along with his 9-year-old daughter, accidentally stumbled upon the Altamira Cave during a walk, the vaults of which were decorated with many drawings of ancient people - the discovery, which had no analogues, shocked the researcher extremely and encouraged him to study it closely. A year later, Sautuola, together with his friend Juan Vilanov y Pierre from the University of Madrid, published their research results, in which they dated the execution of the drawings to the Paleolithic era. Many scientists took this message extremely ambiguously, Sautuola was accused of falsifying the finds, but later similar caves were discovered in many other parts of the world.

Rock paintings in Altamira cave

Pablo Picasso, visiting the Altamira cave, exclaimed: "after the work in Altamira, all art began to decline." He wasn't kidding. The art in this cave and in many other caves that are found in France, in Spain and other countries, is one of the greatest assets in the field of art that has ever been created.

Magura Cave

Magura Cave is one of the largest caves in Bulgaria. It is located in the northwestern part of the country. The walls of the cave are adorned with prehistoric rock paintings dating from around 8,000 to 4,000 years ago. More than 700 drawings were discovered. The drawings depict hunters, dancing people and many animals.

Cueva de las Manos - "Cave of the Hands".

Cueva de las Manos is located in Southern Argentina. The name can be literally translated as "Cave of Hands". The cave depicts mostly left hands, but there are also hunting scenes and images of animals. The paintings are believed to have been created 13,000 and 9,500 years ago.

Bhimbetka.

Bhimbetka is located in central India and contains over 600 prehistoric rock paintings. The drawings depict people who lived at that time in a cave. Animals were also given a lot of space. Images of bison, tigers, lions and crocodiles have been found. The oldest painting is believed to be 12,000 years old.

Serra da Capivara

Serra da Capivara is a national park in the northeast of Brazil. This place is the home of many stone shelters that are decorated with rock paintings that represent ritual scenes, hunting, trees, animals. Some scientists believe that the oldest rock paintings in this park are 25,000 years old.

Prehistoric rock paintings at Laas Gaal

Laas Gaal is a complex of caves in northwest Somalia that contain some of the earliest known art on the African continent. The prehistoric rock paintings are estimated by scientists to be between 11,000 and 5,000 years old. They show cows, ceremonially dressed people, domestic dogs and even giraffes.

Drawing of a giraffe in the Tadrart Acacus.

Tadrart Acacus forms a mountain range in the Sahara desert, in western Libya. The area has been known for its rock paintings since 12,000 BC. up to 100 years. The paintings reflect the changing conditions of the Sahara desert. 9,000 years ago, the local area was full of greenery and lakes, forests and wild animals, as evidenced by rock paintings depicting giraffes, elephants and ostriches.

Drawing of a bear in Chauvet cave

Chauvet Cave, in southern France, contains some of the earliest known prehistoric rock art in the world. The images preserved in this cave may be around 32,000 years old. The cave was discovered in 1994 by Jean Marie Chauvet and his team of cavers. The paintings found in the cave represent images of animals: mountain goats, mammoths, horses, lions, bears, rhinos, lions.

Rock painting of Kakadu.

Located in northern Australia, Kakadu National Park contains one of the largest concentrations of Aboriginal art. The oldest works are believed to be 20,000 years old.

Drawing of a bison in the cave of Altamira.

Discovered in the late 19th century, the Altamira Cave is located in northern Spain. Surprisingly, the paintings found on the rocks were of such high quality that scientists doubted their authenticity for a long time and even accused the discoverer Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola of forging the painting. Many do not believe in the intellectual potential of primitive people. Unfortunately, the discoverer did not live to see 1902. This year, the paintings were found to be authentic. The images are made with charcoal and ocher.

Paintings by Lasko.

The Lascaux Caves, located in the southwest of France, are adorned with impressive and famous rock paintings. Some of the images are 17,000 years old. Most of the rock paintings are depicted far from the entrance. The most famous images of this cave are images of bulls, horses and deer. The largest rock art in the world is the bull in Lascaux Cave, which is 5.2 meters long.

Vintage cave paintings of primitive people were very amazing images, basically they were all drawn on stone walls.

There is an opinion that the rock paintings of ancient people are various animals that were hunted at that time. Then these drawings played a major role in magical rites, hunters wanted to attract real animals during their hunt.

Pictures and rock paintings of primitive people very often resemble a two-dimensional image. Rock art is very rich in drawings of bison, rhinos, deer, mammoths. Also in many pictures you can see hunting scenes or people with spears and arrows.

What did the first people draw?

Rock paintings of ancient people- this is one of the manifestations of their emotional state and figurative thinking. Not everyone was able to create a vivid image of an animal or a hunt; only those people who could create such an image in their subconscious could do this.

There is also an assumption that ancient people with the help of rock art conveyed their visions and experiences That's how they expressed themselves.

Where did primitive people paint?

Parts of the caves that were hard to find - this is one of the best places to draw. This explains the significance of the rock paintings. Drawing was a certain rite, the artists worked by the light of stone lamps.