Cave Art

The earliest works of art were created some 40,000 years ago. During the last Ice Age, early painted pictures of the animals they hunted – bulls, reindeer and bison – on the walls of the caves they sheltered in.

A bison carved from antler about 29,000 years ago. Its detail shows that the artist must have closely observed real bison.

Paints were made from minerals such as clay, lime and charcoal. These were ground into a powder and mixed with water or animal fat. They were applied with brushes made from fur, feathers, moss or frayed twigs. The paintings were not done simply for decoration and they have had a religious or magical meaning. Perhaps the painters thought they would bring good luck for hunting.

Cave paintings have been found in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Europe’s most famous paintings cover the walls of the Altamira caves (Spain) and Lascaux caves(France). Painted between 17,000 and 12,000 years ago, they include bison, horses, mammoths, reindeer and four huge white bulls. The Lascaux caves were discovered in 1940 by four schoolboys, who were looking for their dog. The caves are now closed to the public, but full-sized copies of the prehistoric masterpieces have been made for people to see.