Remnants of Human History in Lascaux and the Cave of Altamira

Horses and deer from the Caves at Altamira, BC. 15000

Bison in Altamira, Upper Paleolithic, BC. 15000-8000

Deer from the Altamira caves, BC. 15.000

A painting by Peter Jackson depicting cave paintings of the period.

WHY DID THEY PREFER TO PAINTING ON THE WALL?

The high Paleolithic era, which took place 60,000 years ago, was divided into three as Aurignasian, Magdalenian and Solutrion eras. After the Magdalenian era closed the late Paleolithic period 20,000 years ago, it carries us to the present day as the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras. We come across rock paintings more frequently in the Early Neolithic Age, which is the period that coincides with the end of the ice age. Examples of rock and cave paintings from this period in Alta-Mira, Lascaux and the Sahara region are very interesting. Animal figures and hunting scenes are found in these depictions. The prehistoric painter expressed the environmental conditions he lived and the life he lived in with pictures. These are pictures drawn for magic, in order to gain a certain power or to overcome the fear of the wild. These descriptions can also be pictures made to survive at all costs in the wild or drawn for a game. Whatever the reason, painting was one of our ancestors’ intense interests.