Paleolithic Art

Abstract

Paleolithic art first came to the attention of scholars through excavations in French caves (Lartet and Christy 1875, cited under Engraved on Bone/Antler/Ivory). The art was mostly found as broken fragments of bone, stone, antler, or ivory engraved with images of animals, in layers of sediment that included stone tools and other remains of animals. The animals depicted included mammoths and reindeer, one extinct, the other now confined to the Arctic Circle, such that it was possible to attribute the art (for so it was called) to a period of colder climate, known as the Pleistocene period. When subsequently paintings were found on the ceiling of the Spanish cave of Altamira (see Altamira) there was initial skepticism that the paintings could be genuine despite the well-known abundance of images on bone and antler. But once the finding had been repeated in France and the Spanish paintings were deemed genuine, cave art was accepted as dating to the last Ice Age (Moro Abadía 2006, cited under Oscar Moro Abadía). Early interpretations concentrated on the possible religious content of the art and the relations between magic and religion (Breuil 1952, cited under Historical Background). After the discovery of the French cave of Lascaux in 1940, Paleolithic cave art became very well-known and excited the popular imagination (see the definitive publication of Lascaux in Aujoulat 2004, cited under Major Works). As a result, the cave art of the Upper Paleolithic of western Europe became synonymous with the art of the Ice Age, Pleistocene period (see Other Archaeological and Chronological Definitions), often said to end at 10,000 years ago, but probably ending earlier. Subsequent discoveries in Africa (Henshilwood, et al. 2009, cited under Blombos), Asia (Marshack 1997, cited under Western Asia), Island South East Asia (Aubert, et al. 2014, cited under Leang Timpuseng) and North America (Benson, et al. 2013, cited under Winnemucca Lake) have shown that Europe is not unique in having art dated to the Pleistocene. The question of the relationship between these images and other forms of art is a complex one (see discussion in Is It Art?). This bibliography will guide readers to some of the important publications about art—pictographs, petroglyphs, and engravings—earlier than 10,000 years ago all over the world. And there are also recommendations about how it is studied and how it should be approached.