Rock art: o que é, types and meanings

A rock art is that produced on rocks during previous history, when written has not yet been invented.

It has accompanied humanity about 40 thousand years ago. C., most ancient dating from the Upper Paleolithic period.

A rock word is of French origin and means “painting, drawing or gravitation on rock”, assim, as manifestations that are encaixam nesse type of art as paintings and engravings in caves or in locations openings.

It is considered that these expressões were made, at the most part, with ritualistic intuitions.

Types and examples of rock art

The cave paintings are classified in paintings and engravings. Ha ainda a chamada parietal art, that are as manifestations found exclusively in caves and caves.

Paintings

Paintings are artistic manifestations with four pigments deposited on a two-dimensional support. Also, cave paintings are famous figures with the application of inks on stones of pre-historical civilizations.

More negative

The first techniques used were more simple and resulted in images of fewer devices on walls. The method was or “more negative”, which consisted of placing more on a rocky surface and absorbing a pigment applied on them, transferring to a negative image.

One of these paintings is located in Argentina, na Cave of the hands, in the Patagonian region, world heritage since 1999.

Observing these images is possible to perceive the feeling of collective life that enveloped primitive civilizations, as well as the intention of leaving a “mark” of human existence in their environment.

Naturalist rock figures

After mastering the simplest painting techniques, each of the caves will go on to elaborate detailed drawings. A majority of them consisted of images of animais.

Eram naturalistic representations, ou seja, feitas de manner semelhante ao real, the intention was to portray the figures as they were seen.

Also, they are created with varieties of colors and nuances, filled with polychromatic paintings. As tempo, the unfolding forms becoming simpler again, I attached caminharem for the first forms of writing.

An example of a famous naturalist cave painting Bisão in Altamira cavern, in Spain, the first two rock records to be serem uncovered, about 150 years ago and dating back to 15 thousand BC. C.

Rock engravings

So rock carvings, also chamadas de petroglyphs, são disenhos feitos through fendas nas rochas using pointy ferramentas.

As an example has Rock carvings of Tanum, found in Sweden. There are approximately 3 thousand images, being that the largest painting was located in the 70's.

At present, the patrimony is being attacked for pollution and, for a large tourist visit, some designs are reinforced in vermelho for serem melhor visualized, opposing historians.

Meanings of rock art

There is mystery and fascination around the images produced by little hairs of pre-history, precisely because of terem originated in a remote time, raised by beings far from us.

In the meantime, there is a consensus among researchers that the development of animais were feitos as ritualistic purpose As assistants to the caçadores, we confront future beings as portrayed bugs.

At the same time, it is considered that they paint enormous bisões, touros, mammoths and reindeer proving that ao "capture" you animais with "power of imagem", also they will get apanhá-them and guarantee food.

Also, their meanings are still pure representation or "decoration", symbolizing for the primitive people the animais themselves, or the real world.

Other themes also appear in rock art, such as dance dinners, sex and other daily activities.

How were your cave paintings?

The pigments used in the breeding of paintings vinham da combination of various organic materials, such as mineral oxides, carvão, sangue, urina, fat, charred ossos and other natural elements.

The raw material was crushed and mixed, creating pigments that remained impregnated on the walls for two days.

The instruments used in the application were, at the beginning your fingers, later, for the unwrapped pinches of hair and pain of animais.

Where was rock art found?

There are archaeological sites containing rock records on various continents, demonstrating that this was a frequent activity of two ancient primitive ancestors.

Some two more locations are known:

• Brazil - Parque Nacional da Serra da Capivara no Piauí and Parque Nacional do Catimbau, in Pernambuco
• Espanha - Altamira Cavern
• França - Caverns of Lascaux, Les Combarelles and Font de Gaume
• Portugal - Vale do rio Côa e Vale do Tejo
• Italy - Rock art of Val Camonica
• England - Creswell Crags
• Libya - Tadrart Acacus
• Saudi Arabia - Rock art in the Ha’il region
• Índia - Na Rocha coats by Bhimbetka
• Argentina - Cave of the Hands

You can also be interested:

• Art History: A Chronological Guide to Understanding Artistic Periods
• Indigenous art: types of art and characteristics
• African Art

Bibliographic references:

GOMBRICH, Ernst Hans. A history gives art. 16. ed. Rio de Janeiro: LTC, 1999

PROENÇA, Graça. History of Art. São Paulo: Ed. Ática, 2010