How did early humans use art to express their prehistoric culture?

Caves paintings are more then just pretty colours on a wall, they are the key to history. They all have powerful stories to tell and if we listen we can learn.

Painting found in Lascaux, France (cave art)

If you were to walk into a cave filled with a million ancient paintings, I bet that half of them would have something to do with animals. Scientists believe that the animals painted might have been worshipped or the animals that roamed the earth at that time. Some of the animals might have even been their dinner!

Found in Lascaux, France (cave art)

As you walk farther into the cave, and realise that there are many paintings, you may be surprised to  see not only animals but also humans in the scenes, (even though they are very rare). Yes, humans you heard right, maybe stone age people wanted to leave behind evidence of their tribe's famous hunters. Another possibility, is that the paintings were used to describe and celebrate rituals. 

Found in Argentina, South America (cave art)

Now you are getting to the point were animals and humans start getting old, when suddenly, you look at the cave painting to your left and see something new....... handprints and red colour markings!The red included in various cave paintings could have been the colour of blood, anger or love.   Handprints are pretty common in cave art, but it is the meaning that puzzles us. In fact, scientists believe that handprints were a way the artist signed their work. The handprints in the paintings were very small, indicating that prehistoric people were much smaller than us. 


 In conclusion, early humans used art to express their prehistoric culture by painting scenes of important rituals, hunting and evidence of community. Before researching early human artifacts, I thought they not as intelligent as modern day man, however, by viewing the artwork I can clearly see they were just as smart as us. After all, they left artifacts for us to ponder over and learn about their cultures.




Here is a youtube video on the Lascaux caves in France:









Resource For text: 

• www.edsitement.neh.gov
• History Alive, The Ancient World pg. 9

Images Courtesy of:

• www.ursispaltenstein.com
• www.artnewsblog.com
• www.4real.thenetsmith.com