What is PALEOLITHIC art and examples

He paleolithic art It is the art produced by man during a period of prehistory that lies between the lower and upper Paleolithic, that is, between 2,000,000 BC. C and 125,000 BC. c. At unPROFESOR.com we tell you what Paleolithic art is and notable examples.

The Paleolithic, or Stone Age, is a period in human history that is characterized as a time in which Men made their utensils out of stone, This being the main material used to manufacture their tools and weapons.

In this lesson from unPROFESOR.com we tell you What is Paleolithic art and the most notable examples.

The term Paleolithic means “of ancient stone” and was created in 1865 by the archaeologist John Lubbock as a term opposed to Neolithic or “of new stone.”

From a chronological point of view, the Paleolithic is a longest period of man's existence and that would begin about 2.85 million years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago. The development of agriculture, livestock and the domestication of some animals such as dogs and cats mark the end of the Paleolithic and the beginning of the Neolithic.

The Paleolithic is divided into three periods:

• He Lower Paleolithic (2.85 million years to 127,000 years ago). In this period of time lived the Austrolopithecus, the Homo Habilis and the homo erectus.
• He Middle Paleolithic (127,000-40,000 years ago), when Homo Neanderthalensis lived.
• He Superior paleolithic (40,000-10,000 years ago), period in which Homo Sapiens lived.

Here we leave you a review of the characteristics of art in the Paleolithic.

When approaching the study of Paleolithic artistic productions They must bear in mind that they are called art because it is considered that human beings produced them voluntarily, without having to do with the concept of art that we have today.

Thus, today, art is associated with contemplation and ornamentation, while Paleolithic art contains a symbolic messageor that we cannot interpret because we do not know the code behind it. Furthermore, it has been observed that these productions disappeared at the time when these populations acquired a mode of communication closer to writing.

The paleolithic manifestations that are known so far would be the wall paintings found in caves and shelters, in addition to sculptures and carvings.

Paleolithic painting is a painting that consists of images of animals, human figures and abstract symbols engraved and painted inside the caves. The oldest ones are located in the most intricate and difficult to access areas.

These caves were not their place of habitation and they accessed the deeper areas with the sole intention of making these paintings. To reach this point they used rudimentary lamps made with animal fat and a vegetable wick. Paleolithic men walked through the cave to appreciate projections and recesses to take advantage of the visual effects and the sensation of volume that they achieved by taking advantage of them.

Themes of Paleolithic art

The themes are usually animals like bison, horses, bulls, deer, as well as lions, panthers, bears, rhinos and owls. They are represented in a stylized way, but always within naturalism and with the intention of imitating reality.

Another theme, although less frequent, is the representation of human figures. Human figures are usually represented in a more schematic way than animals, tending towards a certain abstraction. In addition, and along with images of human beings and animals, you can see geometric figures such as dots, stripes and sticks. Landscapes are not made.

Paleolithic painting techniques

The techniques and colors used are common throughout the cave painting. The color palette is limited and ochres, reds, earths, yellows and blacks abound, mostly coming from mineral pigments and agglutinated with blood and fat.

Paleolithic art is naturalistic and allows us to perceive how the painters made an observation of reality to make a detailed portrait. Thus, there seems to be a relationship between the representation and the possession of the object or being that one wanted to possess.

It is estimated that there are more than 130 caves in southern and central France and about 60 caves in northern and central Spain. Among the main examples of Paleolithic painting we can highlight the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave, one of the most complete sets; the Altamira caves in Cantabria, the Lascaux caves in Dordogne, France. Here we discover what it was like rock art in Spain.

Paleolithic sculptures are small, especially figurines, weapons and objects made of bone, ivory and stone.

Among these figures, the so-called Steatopygian Venus or figures of naked women with their hips, breasts and abdomen enlarged and disproportionate. Curvilinear figures that are identified with pregnant women.

What sculptures stand out in the Paleolithic?

The sculptures of these Venuses can be Western, Eastern or Russian and Siberian, depending on where they were found and their morphology. Western women are usually represented naked, the best known being the Venus of Willendorf (Austria) and of Lespugue (France). The oriental ones are usually decorated with necklaces and bracelets, highlighting the Venus Kostenki (Russia). The Siberian women appear dressed and with long hair.