Primitive rock art. Rock art of primitive people: what is hidden behind it? Rock paintings of ancient people animals
All over the world, speleologists in deep caves find evidence of the existence of ancient people. Rock paintings have been excellently 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 the caves there are common plots, such as hunting, battle, images of the sun, animals, human hands. People in ancient times attached sacred significance to the paintings, they believed that they were helping themselves in the future.
Images were applied by various methods and materials. For artistic creativity animal blood, ocher, chalk, and even bat guano were used. special kind murals - hewn murals, they were beaten out in stone with the help of a special cutter.
Many caves are not well studied and are limited in visiting, while others, on the contrary, are open to tourists. However, most of the precious cultural heritage disappears unattended, not finding its researchers.
Below is a short excursion into the world of the most interesting caves with prehistoric rock paintings.
Magura Cave, Bulgaria
It is famous not only for the hospitality of the inhabitants and the indescribable color of the resorts, but also for the caves. One of them, with the sonorous name of Magura, is located north of Sofia, not far from the town of Belogradchik. Total length more than two kilometers of cave galleries. 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, here are a number of paintings from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Eneolithic and Bronze Ages. The drawings of ancient Homo sapiens depict figures of dancing villagers, hunters, many outlandish animals, constellations. The sun, plants, tools are also represented. Here begins the story of the festivities of the ancient era and the solar calendar, scientists assure.
Cueva de las Manos Cave, Argentina
The cave with the poetic name of Cueva de las Manos (Spanish for “Cave of Many Hands”) is located in the province of Santa Cruz, exactly one hundred miles from the nearest locality the city of Perito Moreno. The art of the rock painting in the hall, 24 meters long and 10 meters high, dates back to 13-9 millennium BC. amazing picture on limestone is a three-dimensional canvas, decorated with traces of hands. Scientists have built a theory about how the surprisingly crisp and clear handprints turned out. Prehistoric people took a special composition, then they put it in their mouths, and through a tube they blew it with force onto a hand attached to the wall. In addition, there are stylized images of a man, rhea, guanaco, cats, geometric shapes with ornaments, the process of hunting and observing the sun.
Bhimbetka Rock Dwellings, India
Charming offers tourists not only the delights of oriental palaces and charming dances. In north central India, there are huge mountain formations of weathered sandstone with many caves. Once upon a time, ancient people lived in natural shelters. About 500 dwellings with traces of human habitation have been preserved in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The Indians called rock dwellings named Bhimbetka (on behalf of the hero of the Mahabharata epic). The art of the ancients here dates back to the Mesolithic era. Some of the paintings are minor, and some of the hundreds of images are very typical and vivid. 15 rock masterpieces are available for contemplation of those who wish. Mostly, patterned ornaments and battle scenes are depicted here.
national park Serra da Capivara, Brazil
Rare animals and venerable scientists find shelter in the Serra da Capivara National Park. And 50 thousand years ago here, in the caves, our distant ancestors found shelter. Presumably, this is the oldest community of hominids in South America. The park is located near the town of San Raimondo Nonato, in the central part of the state of Piauí. Experts have counted more than 300 archaeological sites. 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.
Laas Gaal cave complex, Somaliland
The Republic of Somaliland recently seceded from Somalia in Africa. Archaeologists in the area are interested in the Laas-Gaal cave complex. Here are rock paintings from the 8th-9th and 3rd millennium BC. On the granite walls of the majestic natural shelters, scenes of the life and life of the nomadic people of Africa are depicted: the process of grazing, ceremonies, and playing with dogs. The local population does not attach any importance to the drawings of their ancestors, and uses the caves, as in the old days, for shelter during the rain. Many of the studies have not been studied properly. In particular, there are problems with the chronological reference of the masterpieces of the Arab-Ethiopian ancient rock paintings.
rock art Tadrart Acacus, Libya
Not far from Somalia, in Libya, there are also rock paintings. They are much earlier, and date 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, rhinoceros and fauna characteristic of a rather humid climate. Also interesting is the clearly traced change in the lifestyles of the population - from hunting to settled cattle breeding, then to nomadism. To get to Tadrart Acacus, one has to cross the desert to the east of the city of Ghats.
Chauvet Cave, France
In 1994, on a walk, by chance, Jean-Marie Chauvet discovered the cave that later became famous. She was named after the caver. In the Chauvet cave, in addition to traces of the life 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 get a special permit. In addition to mammoths, there is something to admire, here on the walls there are handprints and fingers of representatives of the Aurignacian culture (34-32 thousand years BC)
Kakadu National Park, Australia
In fact, the name of the Australian national park has nothing to do with the famous Cockatoo parrots. It's just that the Europeans mispronounced the name of the Gaagudju tribe. This nation is now extinct, and there is no one to correct the ignorant. The park is inhabited by natives who have not changed their way of life since the Stone Age. For thousands of years, Indigenous Australians have been involved in rock art. Pictures were painted here already 40 thousand years ago. In addition to religious scenes and hunting, stylized stories in drawings about useful skills (educational) and magic (entertainment) are sketched here. Of the animals, extinct marsupial tigers, catfish, barramundi are depicted. All the wonders of the Arnhem Land plateau, Colpignac and the southern hills are located 171 km from the city of Darwin. in the 35th millennium BC, it was the early Paleolithic. They left outlandish rock paintings in the Altamira cave. The art artifacts on the walls of the huge cave date back to both the 18th and 13th millennia. IN last period polychrome figures, a peculiar combination of engraving and painting, the acquisition of realistic details are 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 cave of Altamira is located in the Cantabrian region.
Lascaux Cave, France
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 walls of the cave were drawn 17 thousand years ago. And they still amaze amazing shapes, akin contemporary art graffiti. Scholars especially value the Hall of the Bulls and the Palace Hall of the Cats. What prehistoric creators left there is easy to guess. In 1998, the rock masterpieces were almost destroyed by mold, which arose due to an improperly installed air conditioning system. And in 2008, Lasko was closed to save more than 2,000 unique drawings.
Long years modern civilization had no idea about any objects ancient painting, however, in 1879, amateur archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, along with his 9-year-old daughter, accidentally stumbled upon the Altamira cave, the vaults of which were decorated with many drawings of ancient people - an unparalleled find shocked the researcher and spurred him to her close studying. A year later, Sautuola, together with his friend Juan Vilanov y Pier from the University of Madrid, published their research results, which dated the execution of the drawings to the Paleolithic era. Many scientists took this message extremely ambiguously, Sautuola was accused of falsifying the finds, but later similar caves were discovered in many other parts of the world.
Cave drawings in Altamira cave
Pablo Picasso, visiting the Altamira cave, exclaimed: "after the work in Altamira, all art began to decline." He wasn't kidding. The art in this cave and in many other caves that are found in France, in Spain and other countries, is one of the greatest assets in the field of art that has ever been created.
Magura Cave
Magura Cave is one of the largest caves in Bulgaria. It is located in the northwestern part of the country. The walls of the cave are adorned with prehistoric rock paintings dating from about 8,000 to 4,000 years ago. More than 700 drawings were discovered. The pictures show hunters dancing people and many animals.
Cueva de las Manos - "Cave of the Hands".
Cueva de las Manos is located in Southern Argentina. The name can be literally translated as "Cave of Hands". The cave depicts mostly left hands, but there are also hunting scenes and images of animals. The paintings are believed to have been created 13,000 and 9,500 years ago.
Bhimbetka.
Bhimbetka is located in central India and contains over 600 prehistoric rock paintings. The drawings depict people who lived at that time in a cave. Animals were also given a lot of space. Images of bison, tigers, lions and crocodiles have been found. It is believed that the most old painting 12,000 years.
Serra da Capivara
Serra da Capivara is a national park in the northeast of Brazil. This place is the home of many stone shelters that are decorated with rock paintings that represent ritual scenes, hunting, trees, animals. Some scientists believe that the oldest rock paintings in this park are 25,000 years old.
Prehistoric rock paintings at Laas Gaal
Laas Gaal is a complex of caves in northwestern Somalia that contain some of the earliest known art on African continent. The prehistoric rock paintings are estimated by scientists to be between 11,000 and 5,000 years old. They show cows, ceremonially dressed people, domestic dogs and even giraffes.
Drawing of a giraffe in the Tadrart Acacus.
Tadrart Acacus forms a mountain range in the Sahara desert, in western Libya. The area has been known for its rock paintings since 12,000 BC. up to 100 years. The paintings reflect the changing conditions of the Sahara desert. 9,000 years ago, the local area was full of greenery and lakes, forests and wild animals, as evidenced by rock paintings depicting giraffes, elephants and ostriches.
Drawing of a bear in Chauvet cave
Chauvet Cave, in the south of France, contains some of the earliest known prehistoric rock art in the world. The images preserved in this cave may be around 32,000 years old. The cave was discovered in 1994 by Jean Marie Chauvet and his team of cavers. The paintings found in the cave represent images of animals: mountain goats, mammoths, horses, lions, bears, rhinos, lions.
Rock painting of Kakadu.
located on northern territory Australia, Kakadu National Park contains one of the largest concentrations of Aboriginal art. The oldest works are believed to be 20,000 years old.
Drawing of a bison in the cave of Altamira.
Discovered in the late 19th century, the Altamira Cave is located in northern Spain. Surprisingly, the paintings found on the rocks were such High Quality that scientists have long doubted their authenticity and even accused the discoverer Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola of forging paintings. Many do not believe in intellectual potential primitive people. Unfortunately, the discoverer did not live to see 1902. This year, the paintings were found to be authentic. The images are made with charcoal and ocher.
Paintings by Lasko.
The Lascaux Caves, located in the southwest of France, are adorned with impressive and famous rock paintings. Some of the images are 17,000 years old. Most of the rock paintings are depicted far from the entrance. Most famous images this cave - images of bulls, horses and deer. The largest rock art in the world is the bull in the Lascaux Cave, which is 5.2 meters long.
On September 12, 1940, rock paintings were found in the famous Lascaux cave in France, which is called the Sistine Chapel of prehistoric painting. There are several more places where you can find impressive art of primitive people.
Lascaux cave, France
This is one of the largest and most important paleontological monuments on the planet. There are no other caves with such a large number of rock paintings. In addition to the impressive number of inscriptions, it is also surprising how well they are preserved. The plots of the cave are standard for painting of that period: these are drawings of animals, people, tools.
The cave is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and is closed to tourists. The fact is that due to the presence of people in Lascaux, the fragile natural balance was disturbed, which allowed these inscriptions to exist for many millennia. Now the walls of the cave are treated by scientists every few weeks, removing constantly multiplying bacteria and algae from the rock. For tourists to visit, Lascaux 2 Cave was created, located two hundred meters from the original cave and consisting of reproductions.
Kapova Cave, Russia
The cave is located on the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan in the Shulgan-Tash reserve, has a length of about three kilometers. It was formed in limestone, in a karst massif. A small lake flows into the cave, the water in which is undrinkable and is used exclusively for healing baths.
The drawings on the walls of the Kapova cave were discovered in the mid-fifties by the Soviet zoologist Ryumin. They were applied with the help of ocher, and their age is about eighteen thousand years. This colossal number is hard to imagine: creativity and the desire to create something new made a person draw even before the existence of civilization, religion, science, language. The place, unlike the Lascaux cave, is fully accessible to tourists.
Altamira Cave, Spain
This cave, discovered in 1789, is also quite famous for the fact that, like Lascaux, it uses the technique of polychrome painting: that is, the drawings have color. An interesting nuance is that the natural contours of the walls are used to create a three-dimensional effect.
By the way, you can find drawings not only on the walls, but also on the ceiling. After several closures of the cave due to the fact that mold appeared in the drawings from dampness, in 2011 visits were resumed again.
Tamgaly tract, Kazakhstan
In this place in the Anrakay mountains, 170 kilometers from Alma-Ata, there was once a sanctuary of ancient people. Here you can see images of deities, animals and people: married couples, warriors, hunters.
In total, there are about two thousand drawings. Most of the inscriptions scientists attribute to the Bronze Age. Another UNESCO World Heritage Site is under open sky and open to the public.
Newspaper Rock, USA
This place is located in the southeast of Utah, literally its name is translated as "newspaper stone". Its peculiarity is the collection of petroglyphs, which was created by the Indians in the prehistoric period. It still remains unclear why such a large number of petroglyphs are drawn on such a small area.
These schemes step by step drawing will help to create paintings with children that imitate rock art. Painting of cave walls by ancient hunters - oldest works visual arts known to mankind. Primitive pictures are made so expressively, brightly and lively that they still do not leave the audience indifferent.
Usually, cave artists depicted animals - the object of their hunt, less often - hunters, and almost never plants. Therefore, we offer you four schemes for step-by-step drawing with children of rock art figurines: a man, an elk, a ram and a wild prehistoric horse.
For their work, ancient artists used natural pigments. We will use more modern materials for drawing. Pastels or felt-tip pens are best, but you can also draw with colored pencils or paints. But we will try to keep the “ancient” colors: red, brown, black.
Preparing paper for step-by-step drawing with children "Rock Painting"
Of course, you can draw on ordinary landscape sheets, but it is much more interesting to make the basis for the drawing - “stones”. What's more, they're easy to make. And the drawings made on such “stones” are wonderful to assemble into a whole “rock”. 
You can make the basis for a step-by-step drawing with the children or prepare the “stones” in advance. First, imitating a stone surface. Use all shades Brown. Then, with a wide brush, draw a dark brown uneven line - the outline of the "stone". When the drawing is dry, cut the paper along the outline. 
Ready-made basis for step-by-step drawing with children "Rock Painting".
Step-by-step drawing with children "Rock painting" on natural stones.
As the basis for the drawing, you can also choose real stones found on a walk or brought from a summer vacation. You can draw with a thin brush and gouache paint, marker, felt-tip pen, even soft with a simple pencil. For durability, it would be good to cover the drawing with a colorless varnish. Read about the tricks of such painting in the article. Choose the color of paints based on the color of the stone. In this case, the more contrast, the better. 
Natural stones with figures of "Rock Painting"
Hunter - a step-by-step drawing scheme with children "Rock Painting"
Baran - a step-by-step drawing scheme with children "Rock Painting"
Elk - a step-by-step drawing scheme with children "Rock Painting"
Horse - a step-by-step drawing scheme with children "Rock Painting"
Diagram drawings can be printed out and given to the guys for independent work. Children can decide for themselves what kind of drawing they want to do, choose a paper (or real) “stone” for it, the color of a chalk or felt-tip pen. In one lesson, children of 7-8 years old will have time to make one or two drawings, if you tint paper “stones” with them together. Or all four pictures, if you give them ready-made "stones". Such an activity will perfectly complement the reading of "Little Tales" by R. Kipling. For example, about a cat that walked by itself, or about how the first letter was written. You can read a book while the tinted base dries or just after all the work is finished.
