Cave painting

Cave paintings are special drawings and markings made on the walls and ceilings of caves. In archaeology, they are a type of parietal art, which also includes carvings called petroglyphs and engravings. These paintings are usually very old, from prehistoric times.

Scientists think some of the oldest cave paintings might have been made by ancient human relatives. Studying these paintings helps us learn about the history of humans and how we began to think in new ways.

These paintings are important because they show that early humans may have been creative and thoughtful. They give us clues about the lives of people who lived long ago.

Dating

More than 350 caves have been found in France and Spain with art from prehistoric times. Scientists use special ways to learn how old the paintings are. They study the paint, marks from old lights on the walls, or layers of minerals that grew over the paintings. This helps them know when the art was made.

The oldest known cave painting is a handprint from Liang Metanduno on Muna Island, dated to at least 67,800 years ago. Other very old paintings are pictures of animals and people in caves in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and Spain. These paintings show that people have made art deep inside caves for many thousands of years.

Subjects, themes, and patterns in cave painting

Cave artists used many ways to make pictures, such as tracing with fingers, shaping clay, carving, and painting with one or two colors. The most common pictures in caves are large wild animals, like bison, horses, aurochs, and deer, as well as prints of human hands and simple patterns. These animals were often hunted, which might be why they appear so often.

Scientists think the oldest drawings show animals moving very naturally, like the artists watched them closely. Some believe weather changes may have affected what artists chose to draw. Artists used natural colors like red and yellow from minerals and charcoal to paint. Sometimes they would scratch an animal’s shape into the cave wall before painting it.

Paleolithic cave art by region

Further information: Paleolithic art

Europe

See also: Caves in Cantabria

Well-known cave paintings include those of:

• Cave of El Castillo, Spain (~40,000 y.o.)
• Chauvet Cave, near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France (~35,000 y.o.)
• Cave of La Pasiega, Cuevas de El Castillo, Cantabria, Spain (~30,000 y.o.?)
• Caves of Arcy-sur-Cure, France (~28,200 y.o.)
• Cosquer Cave, with an entrance below sea level near Marseille, France (~27,000 y.o.)
• Caves of Gargas, France (~27,000 y.o.)
• Grotte de Cussac, France (~25,000 y.o.)
• Pech Merle, near Cabrerets, France (25,000 y.o.)
• Kapova Cave, Bashkortostan, Russia (~18,000 y.o.), the first cave paintings publicized outside Western Europe
• Lascaux, France (~17,000 y.o.)
• Cave of Niaux, France (~17,000 y.o.)
• Font-de-Gaume, in the Dordogne Valley, France (~17,000 y.o.)
• Badanj Cave, Stolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina (~16,000 y.o., very few engravings are pigmented)
• Cave of Altamira, near Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, Spain (~15,500 y.o.)
• La Marche, in Lussac-les-Châteaux, France (~15,000 y.o.)
• Les Combarelles, in Les Eyzies de Tayac, Dordogne, France (~13,600 y.o.)
• Cave of the Trois-Frères, in Ariège, France (~13,000 y.o.)
• Magura Cave, Bulgaria (~10,000 y.o.)
• Solsem cave, Norway (~3,000 y.o.)

The Ignatievka Cave in the Ural Mountains, which contains the image of a mammoth and 160 other paintings, is supposed to be the northernmost Paleolithic cave painting site, but its dating is problematic. About 60 ochre images in a similar manner have been described from the nearby Serpievka-2 cave.

Sites discovered in the 21st century include Creswell Crags, Nottinghamshire, England (~14,500 ys old cave etchings and bas-reliefs, but no paintings discovered so far) and Peștera Coliboaia in Romania (~29,000 y.o. art?).

Rock painting was also performed on cliff faces; but fewer of those have survived because of erosion. One example is the rock paintings of Astuvansalmi (3,000–2,500 BC) in the Saimaa area of Finland.

When Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola first encountered the Magdalenian paintings of the Cave of Altamira in Cantabria, Spain in 1879, the academics of the time considered them hoaxes. Recent reappraisals and numerous additional discoveries have since demonstrated their authenticity, while at the same time stimulating interest in the artistry and symbolism of Upper Palaeolithic peoples.

East and Southeast Asia

In Indonesia the caves in the district of Maros in Sulawesi are famous for their hand prints. About 1,500 negative handprints have also been found in 30 painted caves in the Sangkulirang area of Kalimantan; preliminary dating analysis as of 2005 put their age in the range of 10,000 years old. A 2014 study based on uranium–thorium dating dated a Maros hand stencil to a minimum age of 39,900 years. A painting of a babirusa was dated to at least 35.4 ka, placing it among the oldest known figurative depictions worldwide.

In November 2018, scientists reported the discovery of the oldest known figurative art painting, over 40,000 (perhaps as old as 52,000) years old, of an unknown animal, in the cave of Lubang Jeriji Saléh on the Indonesian island of Borneo.

And more recently, in 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery of cave art at least 45,500 years old in Leang Tedongnge cave, Indonesia. According to the journal Science Advances, the cave painting of a warty pig is the earliest evidence of human settlement of the region. It has been reported that it is rapidly deteriorating as a result of climate change in the region.

Originating in the Paleolithic period, the rock art found in Khoit Tsenkher Cave, Mongolia, includes symbols and animal forms painted from the walls up to the ceiling. Stags, buffalo, oxen, ibex, lions, Argali sheep, antelopes, camels, elephants, ostriches, and other animal pictorials are present, often forming a palimpsest of overlapping images. The paintings appear brown or red in color, and are stylistically similar to other Paleolithic rock art from around the world but are unlike any other examples in Mongolia.

The Padah-Lin Caves of Burma contain 11,000-year-old paintings and many rock tools.

India

The Ambadevi rock shelters have the oldest cave paintings in India, dating back to 25,000 years. The Bhimbetka rock shelters are dated to about 8,000 BC. Similar paintings are found in other parts of India as well. In Tamil Nadu, ancient Paleolithic Cave paintings are found in Kombaikadu, Kilvalai, Settavarai and Nehanurpatti. In Odisha they are found in Yogimatha and Gudahandi. In Karnataka, these paintings are found in Hiregudda near Badami. The most recent painting, consisting of geometric figures, date to the medieval period. Executed mainly in red and white with the occasional use of green and yellow, the paintings depict the lives and times of the people who lived in the caves, including scenes of childbirth, communal dancing and drinking, religious rites and burials, as well as indigenous animals.

Southern Africa

Cave paintings found at the Apollo 11 Cave in Namibia are estimated to date from approximately 25,500–27,500 years ago.

In 2011, archaeologists found a small rock fragment at Blombos Cave, about 300 km (190 mi) east of Cape Town on the southern cape coastline in South Africa, among spear points and other excavated material. After extensive testing for seven years, it was revealed that the lines drawn on the rock were handmade and from an ochre crayon dating back 73,000 years. This makes it the oldest known rock painting.

Australia

Significant early cave paintings, executed in ochre, have been found in Kimberley and Kakadu, Australia. Ochre is not an organic material, so carbon dating of these pictures is often impossible. The oldest so far dated at 17,300 years is an ochre painting of a kangaroo in the Kimberley region, which was dated by carbon dating wasp nest material underlying and overlying the painting. Sometimes the approximate date, or at least, an epoch, can be surmised from the painting content, contextual artifacts, or organic material intentionally or inadvertently mixed with the inorganic ochre paint, including torch soot.

A red ochre painting, discovered at the centre of the Arnhem Land Plateau, depicts two emu-like birds with their necks outstretched. They have been identified by a palaeontologist as depicting the megafauna species Genyornis, giant birds thought to have become extinct more than 40,000 years ago; however, this evidence is inconclusive for dating. It may suggest that Genyornis became extinct at a later date than previously determined.

Hook Island in the Whitsunday Islands is also home to a number of cave paintings created by the seafaring Ngaro people.

Holocene cave art

Asia

The Edakkal Caves in Kerala, India, have drawings from 5,000 BC to 1,000 BC.

Horn of Africa

Rock art near Qohaito shows people lived there since the fifth millennium BC. The town stayed until the sixth century CE. Mount Emba Soira, Eritrea's highest mountain, is nearby. Many rock art sites have old stone tools, which suggests the art may be older than we think.

In 2002, French scientists found cave paintings in Laas Geel near Hargeisa in Somaliland. These paintings are about 5,000 years old. They show wild animals, decorated cows, and herders who may have been the artists. In 2008, Somali scientists found more paintings in Dhambalin region, including an early picture of a hunter on horseback, dated to between 1000 and 3000 BCE.

Between Las Khorey and El Ayo in Karinhegane, there are many cave paintings of real and mythical animals, with inscriptions about 2,500 years old. Gelweita is another important rock art site about 25 miles from Las Khorey.

In Djibouti, rock art showing antelopes and a giraffe can be found at Dorra and Balho.

North Africa

Many cave paintings are found in the Tassili n'Ajjer mountains in southeast Algeria. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has 15,000 engravings and drawings. They show animal migrations, climate changes, and human life from 6000 BC to the late classical period. Other paintings are in Libya and other Sahara regions.

The Cave of Swimmers and the Cave of Beasts in southwest Egypt, near the border with Libya, were discovered in 1933. The Cave of Swimmers has paintings of people swimming, made about 10,000 years ago.

In 2020, a limestone cave with animal paintings like donkeys, camels, deer, mule, and mountain goats was found in Wadi Al-Zulma.

Southern Africa

At uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park in South Africa, paintings thought to be 3,000 years old show animals and humans. These are believed to reflect the religious beliefs of the San people, who lived there long ago.

North America

Distinctive cave paintings and murals exist in southern Baja California and northern Baja California Sur. They show humans, animals, sea creatures, and abstract designs. Studies suggest these Great Murals may be as old as 7,500 years.

California

Native artists of the Chumash tribes made cave paintings in present-day Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties in Southern California. Examples include Burro Flats Painted Cave and Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park.

There are also Native American examples in caves of the Southwestern United States. Cave art that is 6,000 years old was found in the Cumberland Plateau region of Tennessee.

Native American tribes contributed to Californian cave art. The Chumash people made paintings in Swordfish Cave, named for the swordfish painted on its walls. It is a sacred site for Chumash religious and cultural practices. Efforts were made to protect it.

South America

Serra da Capivara National Park in northeast Brazil protects many prehistoric paintings. It became a World Heritage Site in 1991. The park’s best-known site is Pedra Furada.

Cueva de las Manos in Argentina features hand stencils and paintings of animals and humans. The paintings use red, white, black, and yellow colors. Some hand stencils are about 550 BC.

Southeast Asia

There are rock paintings in caves in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Burma. In Thailand, caves along the Thai-Burmese border and the Petchabun Range have rock paintings. In Malaysia, the Tambun rock art is 2000 years old, and paintings in the Painted Cave at Niah Caves National Park are 1200 years old. Some tribes in Malaysia were still making cave paintings in the early 1920s, adding pictures of modern objects like cars.

In Indonesia, rock paintings can be found in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Flores, Timor, Maluku and Papua.