Rock painting - images in caves made by people of the Paleolithic era, one of the types of primitive art. Most of these objects were found in Europe, since it was there that ancient people were forced to live in caves and grottoes to escape the cold. But there are also such caves in Asia, for example, Niah Caves in Malaysia.

For many years, modern civilization had no idea about any objects of ancient painting, but in 1879, the Spanish amateur archaeologist Marcelino-Sans de Sautuola, together with his 9-year-old daughter, during a walk, accidentally came across the Altamira cave, the vaults of which were decorated many drawings of ancient people - this unprecedented find greatly shocked the researcher and prompted him to study it closely. A year later, Sautuola, together with his friend Juan Vilanova y Pierre from the University of Madrid, published the results of their research, which dated the execution of the drawings to the Paleolithic era. Many scientists perceived this message extremely ambiguously; Sautuola was accused of falsifying the finds, but later similar caves were discovered in many other parts of the planet.

Rock art has been the object of great interest among scientists around the world since its discovery in the 19th century. The first discoveries were made in Spain, but subsequently cave paintings were discovered in different parts of the world, from Europe and Africa to Malaysia and Australia, as well as in Northern and South America.

Rock paintings are a source of valuable information for many scientific disciplines, related to the study of antiquity - from anthropology to zoology.

It is customary to distinguish between single-color, or monochrome, and multi-color, or polychrome images. Developing over time, by the 12th millennium BC. e. Cave painting began to be carried out taking into account volume, perspective, color and proportion of figures, and took into account movement. Later, cave painting became more stylized.

To create the drawings, dyes of various origins were used: mineral (hematite, clay, manganese oxide), animal, plant ( charcoal). Dyes were mixed, if necessary, with binders such as tree resin or animal fat, and applied directly to the surface with the fingers; Tools were also used, such as hollow tubes through which dyes were applied, as well as reeds and primitive brushes. Sometimes, to achieve greater clarity of the contours, scraping or cutting out the contours of figures on the walls was used.

Since the caves in which most of the rock paintings are located are practically not penetrated sunlight, when creating drawings, torches and primitive lamps were used for lighting.

Cave painting of the Paleolithic era consisted of lines and was dedicated mainly to animals. Over time, cave painting evolved as primitive communities developed; In the painting of the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras, there are both animals and handprints and images of people, their interactions with animals and with each other, as well as the deities of primitive cults and their rituals. A significant proportion of Neolithic paintings are depictions of ungulates, such as bison, deer, elk and horses, as well as mammoths; a large proportion is also made up of handprints. Animals were often depicted as wounded, with arrows sticking out of them. Later rock paintings also depict domesticated animals and other contemporary authors stories. There are known images of the ships of the seafarers of ancient Phenicia, noticed by the more primitive communities of the Iberian Peninsula.

Cave painting was widely practiced by primitive hunter-gatherer societies who took refuge in or lived near caves. Lifestyle primitive people changed little over thousands of years, and therefore both the dyes and the subjects of rock paintings practically did not change and were common to populations of people living thousands of kilometers from each other.

However, differences exist between cave paintings from different time periods and regions. Thus, the caves of Europe mainly depict animals, while African cave paintings pay equal attention to both humans and fauna. The technique of creating drawings also underwent certain changes; later painting is often less crude and shows more high level cultural development.

Which drawing is the oldest? It should probably be drawn on an old, worn-out piece of papyrus, which is now kept in some museum under certain circumstances. temperature conditions. But time will not be kind to such a drawing even under the most optimal storage conditions - after several thousand years it will inevitably turn into dust. But destroy rock albeit over several tens of thousands of years - a difficult task even for the all-consuming time. Perhaps in those distant times, when man had just begun to live on Earth and huddled in unbuilt with my own hands houses, and in the caves and grottoes created by nature, he found time not only to get food for himself and keep the fire going, but also to create?

Indeed, cave paintings dating back several tens of thousands of years BC can be found in some caves scattered across different parts of the planet. There, in a dark and cold confined space, the paint retains its properties for a long time. Interestingly, the first cave paintings were found in 1879 - relatively recently by historical standards - when archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, walking with his daughter, wandered into the cave and saw numerous drawings decorating its roof. Scientists around the world at first did not believe in the amazing find, but studies of other caves around confirmed that some of them really served as a refuge for ancient man and contain traces of his stay, including drawings.

To determine their age, archaeologists radiocarbon date the particles of paint that were used to paint the images. After analyzing hundreds of drawings, experts saw that rock art existed ten, twenty, and thirty thousand years ago.

This is interesting: “arranging” the found drawings into chronological order, experts saw how rock art changed over time. Starting with simple two-dimensional images, artists of the distant past improved their skills, first adding more detail to their creations, and then shadows and volume.

But the most interesting thing, of course, is the age of the rock paintings. The use of modern scanners when exploring caves reveals to us even those rock paintings that are already indistinguishable to the human eye. The record of the antiquity of the found image is constantly updated. How deeply we were able to penetrate into the past by exploring the cold stone walls caves and grottoes? To date, the cave boasts the oldest rock paintings El Castillo, located in Spain. It is believed that the most ancient rock paintings were discovered in this cave. One of them - the depiction of a human palm by spraying paint on a hand leaning against a wall - is of particular interest.

The oldest drawing to date, age ~ 40,800 years. El Castillo Cave, Spain.

Since traditional radiocarbon dating would give too wide a scatter in the readings, to more accurately determine the age of the images, scientists used the method of radioactive decay of uranium, measuring the amount of decay products in the stalactites formed over thousands of years on top of the picture. It turned out that the age of the rock paintings is about 40,800 years, making them the most ancient on Earth among those discovered so far. It is quite possible that they were not even drawn by homo sapience, but by a Neanderthal.

But El Castillo Cave has a worthy competitor: caves on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. To determine the age of the local drawings, scientists examined the age of the calcium deposits that formed on top of them. It turned out that calcium deposits appeared no less 40,000 years ago, which means that the rock paintings cannot be younger. Unfortunately, it is not possible to more accurately determine the age of the ancient artist’s creations. But we know one thing for sure: in the future, humanity will face even more ancient and amazing discoveries.

Illustration: image of a bison in a cave in Altamira, Spain. About 20,000 years old

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A person's desire to capture the world around us, events that inspire fear, hope to be successful in hunting, life, struggle with other tribes, nature, demonstrated in drawings. They are found all over the world from South America to Siberia. The rock art of primitive people is also called cave art, since mountain, underground shelters were often used by them as shelters, reliably sheltering them from bad weather and predators. In Russia they are called “pisanitsy”. The scientific name of the drawings is petroglyphs. After discovery, scientists sometimes paint them over for better visibility and preservation.

Rock Art Themes

Drawings carved on the walls of caves, open, vertical surfaces of rocks, free-standing stones, drawn with coal from a fire, chalk, mineral or plant substances, essentially represent objects of art - engravings, paintings of ancient people. They usually depict:

1. Figures of large animals (mammoths, elephants, bulls, deer, bison), birds, fish, which were coveted prey, as well as dangerous predators - bears, lions, wolves, crocodiles.
2. Scenes of hunting, dancing, sacrifices, war, boating, fishing.
3. Images of pregnant women, leaders, shamans in ritual robes, spirits, deities, and other mythical creatures, sometimes attributed by sensationalists to aliens.

These paintings have given scientists a lot to understand the history of the development of society, the animal world, and changes in the Earth’s climate over thousands of years, because the early petroglyphs date back to the late Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, and the later ones to the Bronze Age. For example, this is how the periods of domestication of the buffalo, wild bull, horse, and camel in the history of the use of animals by humans were determined. Unexpected discoveries included confirmation of the existence of bison in Spain, woolly rhinoceroses in Siberia, and prehistoric animals on the great plain, which today represents a huge desert - the Central Sahara.

History of discovery

This discovery is often attributed to the Spanish amateur archaeologist Marcelino de Sautuole, who found magnificent drawings in the Altamira cave in his homeland at the end of the 19th century. There, the rock paintings, made with charcoal and ocher, available to primitive people, were so good that they were long considered a fake and a hoax.

In fact, by that time such drawings had long been known throughout the world, with the exception of Antarctica. Thus, rock paintings along the banks of Siberian rivers, Far East known since the 17th century and described by famous travelers: scientists Spafari, Stallenberg, Miller. Therefore, the discovery in the Altamira cave and the subsequent hype is just an example of successful, albeit unintentional, propaganda in the scientific world.

Famous drawings

Art galleries, “photo exhibitions” of ancient people, amazing with their plot, variety, and quality of detail:

1. Magura Cave (Bulgaria). Animals, hunters, ritual dances are depicted.
2. Cueva de las Manos (Argentina). The “Cave of Hands” depicts the left hands of the ancient inhabitants of this place, hunting scenes, painted in red, white and black.
3. Bhimbetka (India). People, horses, crocodiles, tigers and lions “mixed” here.
4. Serra da Capivara (Brazil). Many caves depict hunting and scenes of rituals. The oldest drawings are at least 25 thousand years old.
5. Laas Gaal (Somalia) – cows, dogs, giraffes, people in ceremonial clothes.
6. Chauvet Cave (France). Opened in 1994. The age of some of the drawings, including mammoths, lions, and rhinoceroses, is about 32 thousand years.
7. Kakadu National Park (Australia) with images made by the ancient Aborigines of the mainland.
8. Newspaper Rock (USA, Utah). Indian heritage, with unusual high concentration drawings on a flat rocky cliff.

Rock art in Russia has a geography ranging from White Sea to the banks of the Amur and Ussuri. Here are a few of them:

1. White Sea petroglyphs (Karelia). More than 2 thousand drawings - hunting, battles, ritual processions, people on skis.
2. Shishkinsky writings on rocks in the upper reaches of the Lena River (Irkutsk region). More than 3 thousand different drawings were described in the middle of the 20th century by Academician Okladnikov. A convenient path leads to them. Although climbing there is prohibited, this does not stop those who want to see the drawings up close.
3. Petroglyphs of Sikachi-Alyan (Khabarovsk Territory). At this place there was an ancient camp of the Nanais. The drawings show scenes of fishing, hunting, and shamanic masks.

It must be said that the rock paintings of primitive people different places differs significantly in preservation, plot scenes, and quality of execution by ancient authors. But to see them at least, and if you’re lucky in reality, is like looking into the distant past.

The work of scientists can be compared to putting together a puzzle: each new piece can easily change the whole picture completely, destroying already established ideas about the world. Archaeological finds of the 19th and 20th centuries helped us look into the past and learn more about the life of our ancestors. Most often, ancient artists painted animals on rocks, without even thinking that they were passing on invaluable knowledge about the fauna to future generations.

Animals of the Chauvet Cave

On December 18, 1994, the entrance to a cave on the banks of the Ardèche River in the south, blocked since ice age. Jean-Marie Chauvet, Elette Brunel Deschamps and Christian Hillaire decided to explore a place they already knew about. A flashlight beam directed into the darkness illuminated the rock carving. A group of speleologists saw on the wall near the entrance. Researchers at that moment could not even imagine that a real treasure awaited them inside - 300 drawings, which were about 30 thousand years old.

The techniques that ancient artists used in their work are unique. Nothing similar was found at other archaeological sites. First, the wall was scraped and leveled, then the contours of the drawings were scratched and the necessary volume was created with paints and accents were placed. The methods of painting images in the halls of the cave are different. In the first two, the artists used red ocher; in the third, they mostly made engravings; all the figures in the third hall are black.

One more distinctive feature rock art this one is unusual artistic technique. Scientists suggest that multiple contours that are layered on top of each other helped create the effect of moving pictures.

Primitive animation can be seen when the torch moves quickly - the animals seem to begin to move. The attention of the researchers was attracted by the figure of a cave bear, which seems to be coming out of the wall - the lower part of the body was deliberately not drawn. Some animals were drawn by talented artists not in profile, as was customary at that time, but in front.

The first artists in the Chauvet Cave were not people, but bears. Some designs are painted over the marks left by their claws.

Animals of the Laas Gaal cave complex

A few hours away from Somalia is the small town of Hargeisa. An ancient rock painting was discovered in caves on its outskirts, which was so well preserved that it was initially even considered a fake. Here you can see mostly large cattle, on the walls there are also figures of people and their pets – dogs. There are images of giraffes.

It is noteworthy that some animals with light hand The artist has been transformed - there are decorations on the necks of the cows, and even clothes on some of the cows. It seems that they are participating in some kind of ritual or celebration. Researchers suggest that the cow was a sacred animal for local residents, which is why its images are made so carefully and in detail not only on the walls, but also on the vaults of the cave. The animals' horns are unusual - they resemble a moon. The remaining figures are depicted schematically, with dashes.

Ten previously unknown caves with ancient paintings were discovered by a group of French researchers in the Laas Gaal region only in 2002-2003. The age of the images is 9-3 millennia BC. Local residents knew about them for a long time, but outside the state there was no information about such an archaeological discovery. Ancient painting cannot receive the status of a world object because it is located in a region where there is constant war.

You can be transported to the Laas Gaal caves and examine in detail the images of animals and human figures found in them in Hargeisa in one of the series of the project “Places That Don’t Exist” by Simon Reeve.

Animals of the Bhimbetka cliff dwelling

In the dense forest of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in the Vindhya mountain range, caves were discovered that were shelters for our distant ancestors. As in the case of Lass Grail, for a long time only local residents knew that rock paintings could be seen inside the mountain. Europeans began exploring these places at the end of the 19th century and discovered paintings inside. Rock painting - this is what scientists called their discovery in honor of one of the heroes of the popular Indian epic “Mahabharata”. As we found out, some of the drawings are more than thirty thousand years old. Since 2003, the site has been included in the UNESCO list.

All images are made in two colors – red and white. On the walls you can see scenes from the life of ancient man: how our ancestors harvested crops, performed rituals and hunted. There are many images of animals, mainly horses and cows can be seen on the rocks.

Anyone can see the ancient drawings - access to the cave is open not only to archaeologists, but also to tourists. You can explore the sites on your own, or you can go on a tour with a local guide.

Bulls of Lascaux Cave

Realism is one of the distinctive features images found in southwest France. It was discovered not by experienced archaeologists, but by local teenagers from Montignac. This event happened by chance - during a thunderstorm, a pine tree fell from a lightning strike, opening a small passage for inquisitive researchers. In the cave, the young men discovered ancient drawings, which they reported to their teacher immediately after returning home. The drawings are made in red, yellow and black. Some of them were so well preserved that scientists even had doubts about their authenticity and age.

All images can be divided into three groups: people, symbols and animals. Most of all there are drawings of animals. The most common species are horses and deer. The figures are not static; the ancient artist skillfully conveyed the movements of animals.

The Hall of the Bulls, which is also sometimes called the Rotunda, deserves special attention. On the wall you can see four black bulls, the size of which is impressive. The height of one of them is five meters. This is the largest rock art studied by scientists. It is believed that he is depicted in life size. In addition to bulls, you can also see other animals here - horses, deer, bears. The drawing of a mysterious beast with a horn on its forehead raised many questions in the scientific world. The researchers did not reach a consensus. Perhaps the ancient world was also inhabited by unicorns, but for now this is just a guess.

In the cave there is small area, which is called the "Cat's Lair", here you can see cats, images of which are not so often found in other caves.

Archaeologists hoped that they would find traces of burials in this cave, but nothing of the kind was found. They saw more and more new drawings, as well as household items and paints that ancient artists used in their work.

As with many other places of archaeological discoveries, a sad story happened to the Lascaux Cave - due to tourists visiting the site, irreversible changes began to occur. Mold appeared on the walls.

Specially installed system microclimate did not seriously change the situation. Today the site is closed to tourists. Archaeologists in protective suits are sometimes inside, manually cleaning the walls of fungus.

You can see ancient paintings in an artificially recreated cave, located 200 meters from the original.

Colored bulls of Altamira cave

Today, the whole world knows the drawings of bulls, skillfully preserved on stone by an ancient artist. On the vaults of the cave you can see a whole herd - 23 bulls in motion. Each animal is busy with its own business, and together they make an indescribable impression on the audience.

The most popular heroes of rock art ancient world can rightfully be called animals. Drawing techniques and creative techniques vary significantly in different countries. From ancient painting you can learn more about a person’s life and his relationship to the world.

If at first our ancestors simply admired what they saw around them and conveyed it in their drawings, then they began to conquer territories, conquering nature. Instead of individual images of animals, ancient artists began to depict scenes of hunting them.

About ancient rock paintings.

All over the world, speleologists in deep caves are finding confirmation of the existence of ancient people. Rock paintings have been perfectly preserved for many millennia. There are several types of masterpieces - pictograms, petroglyphs, geoglyphs. Important monuments of human history are regularly included in the World Heritage Register.

Usually on the walls of caves there are common subjects, such as hunting, battle, images of the sun, animals, human hands. People in ancient times attached sacred meaning to paintings; they believed that they were helping themselves in the future.

Images were applied various methods and materials. Animal blood, ocher, chalk and even bat guano were used for artistic creation. Special view paintings - hewn paintings, they were knocked out in stone using a special chisel.

Many caves have not been sufficiently studied and are limited in visiting, while others, on the contrary, are open to tourists. However, most of the precious cultural heritage disappears unattended, unable to find her researchers.

Below is a short excursion into the world of the most interesting caves with prehistoric rock paintings.

Ancient rock paintings.

Bulgaria is famous not only for the hospitality of its residents and the indescribable flavor of its resorts, but also for its caves. One of them, with the sonorous name Magura, is located north of Sofia, near the town of Belogradchik. The total length of the cave galleries is more than two kilometers. The halls of the cave are colossal in size, each of them is about 50 meters wide and 20 meters high. The pearl of the cave is a rock painting made directly on the surface covered with bat guano. The paintings are multi-layered; there are a number of paintings from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods. The drawings of ancient homo sapiens depict figures of dancing villagers, hunters, many strange animals, and constellations. The sun, plants, and tools are also represented. Here begins the story of the festivities of the ancient era and the solar calendar, scientists assure.

The cave with the poetic name Cueva de las Manos (from Spanish - “Cave of Many Hands”) is located in the province of Santa Cruz, exactly one hundred miles from the nearest settlement- the city of Perito Moreno. The rock painting art in the 24 meter long and 10 meter high hall dates back to the 13th to 9th millennia BC. This amazing painting on limestone is a voluminous canvas decorated with hand traces. Scientists have built a theory about how the amazingly clear and clear handprints turned out. Prehistoric people took special composition, then they put it in their mouth, and through the tube they blew it forcefully onto a hand attached to the wall. In addition, there are stylized images of humans, rheas, guanacos, cats, geometric shapes with ornaments, the process of hunting and observing the sun.

Enchanting India offers tourists not only the delights of oriental palaces and charming dances. In north central India there are huge rock formations of weathered sandstone with many caves. Ancient people once lived in natural shelters. About 500 dwellings with traces of human habitation remain in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The Indians named the rock dwellings Bhimbetka (after the hero of the epic Mahabharata). The art of the ancients here dates back to the Mesolithic era. Some of the paintings are insignificant, and some of the hundreds of images are very typical and striking. 15 rock masterpieces are available for contemplation by those who wish. Mainly, patterned ornaments and battle scenes are depicted here.

Rare animals and venerable scientists find shelter in the Serra da Capivara National Park. And 50 thousand years ago, our distant ancestors found shelter here in caves. Presumably, this is the oldest hominid community in South America. The park is located near the town of San Raimondo Nonato, in the central part of the state of Piaui. Experts have counted more than 300 archaeological sites here. The main surviving images date back to 25-22 millennium BC. The most amazing thing is that extinct bears and other paleofauna are painted on the rocks.

The Republic of Somaliland recently separated from Somalia in Africa. Archaeologists in this area are interested in the Laas Gaal cave complex. Here you can see rock paintings from the 8th-9th and 3rd millennium BC. Scenes of life and everyday life are depicted on the granite walls of majestic natural shelters nomadic people Africa: the process of grazing livestock, ceremonies, playing with dogs. Local population He does not attach importance to the drawings of his ancestors, and uses caves, as in the old days, for shelter during the rain. Many of the studies have not been properly studied. In particular, problems arise with the chronological reference of masterpieces of Arab-Ethiopian ancient rock paintings.

Not far from Somalia, in Libya, there are also rock paintings. They are much earlier, dating back almost to the 12th millennium BC. The last of them were applied after the birth of Christ, in the first century. It is interesting to observe, following the drawings, how the fauna and flora changed in this area of ​​the Sahara. First we see elephants, rhinoceroses and fauna typical of a rather humid climate. Also interesting is the clearly visible change in the lifestyle of the population - from hunting to sedentary cattle breeding, then to nomadism. To reach Tadrart Akakus, you need to cross the desert east of the city of Ghat.

In 1994, while walking, by chance, Jean-Marie Chauvet discovered the cave that later became famous. She was named after the speleologist. In the Chauvet Cave, in addition to traces of the life activity of ancient people, hundreds of wonderful frescoes were discovered. The most amazing and beautiful of them depict mammoths. In 1995, the cave became a state monument, and in 1997, 24-hour surveillance was introduced here to prevent damage to the magnificent heritage. Today, in order to take a look at the incomparable rock art of the Cro-Magnons, you need to obtain special permission. In addition to mammoths, there is something to admire; here on the walls there are handprints and fingerprints of representatives of the Aurignacian culture (34-32 thousand years BC)

In fact, the famous Cockatoo parrot is the name of the Australian national park not relevant. The Europeans simply mispronounced the name of the Gaagudju tribe. This nation is now extinct, and there is no one to correct the ignorant. The park is home to Aboriginal people who have not changed their way of life since the Stone Age. For thousands of years, Indigenous Australians have been involved in rock painting. Pictures were painted here already 40 thousand years ago. In addition to religious scenes and hunting, there are stylized stories in drawings about useful skills (educational) and magic (entertaining). Among the animals depicted are the extinct marsupial tigers, catfish, and barramundi. All the wonders of the Arnhem Land plateau, Colpignac and the southern hills are located 171 km from the city of Darwin.

It turns out that the first homo sapiens reached Spain in the 35th millennium BC, this was the early Paleolithic. They left strange rock paintings in the Altamira cave. Artistic artifacts on the walls of the huge cave date back to both the 18th and 13th millennia. In the last period, polychrome figures, a peculiar combination of engraving and painting, and the acquisition of realistic details became interesting. The famous bison, deer and horses, or rather, their beautiful images on the walls of Altamira, often end up in textbooks for middle school students. The Altamira Cave is located in the Cantabria region.

Lascaux is not just a cave, but a whole complex of small and large cave halls located in the south of France. Not far from the caves is the legendary village of Montignac. The paintings on the cave walls were painted 17 thousand years ago. And to this day they amaze with their amazing forms, akin to contemporary art graffiti. Scholars especially value the Hall of the Bulls and the Palace Hall of the Cats. It’s easy to guess what prehistoric creators left there. In 1998, the rock masterpieces were almost destroyed by mold caused by an improperly installed air conditioning system. And in 2008, Lascaux was closed to preserve more than 2,000 unique drawings.

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