Aurignacians, inhabitants of Europe from 45,000 to 28,000 years ago, showed great skill in fighting as they kept back the Neanderthals and ultimately eliminating them from existence. However, combat was not their only skill. Art was also revealed to be apart of these warriors lives. Cave drawings located deep in the Chauvet cave give vast insight into the complex and sophisticated minds of the Aurignacian people.
In the cave of Chauvet, located in the Ardeche Valley of France, lie the earliest known cave paintings found dating back to 32,000 to 30,00 years. Animals cover the walls in a beautiful and expressive way that seem to articulate the intensity of their lives. (wade 103) With the discovery of these paintings, many questions arise and many debates began. Perhaps the biggest is on the true date of the cave drawings. Some argue that the art resembles later cultures in the Magdalenian era (17-12,000 yrs) while some go as far as to argue that the art is “too magnificent” for the Aurignacian Period so it must not be. But French rock art expert Jean Clottes shoots these theories down stating Chauvet is “the best dated rock art site in the world” (Balter) and Wade counters the assumption that people like us are the only ones capable of creating art. By looking at these cave drawings and studying their strokes, archaeologists have begun to hypothesize the symbolism and appreciate the detail of their form.
Symbols lie in calculated depictions of the animals as they move across the wall telling a story. In a drawing of lions chasing bison, Gilles Tosello, cave art expert, sees the humans identifying with lions with the hope to imitate their hunting expertise. In another drawing, we see attention to detail in full force as a prehistoric version of bas-relief form; (Balter) the etching of the horses head accentuate the importance and adds dimension. These two points give us reason to believe that the Aurignacians people were in fact capable of art. However, no matter what time these painting took place, the Chauvet cave offers us an insight to the expression and beliefs of the anatomically modern humans (Balter) , something we can all but be grateful for.
Balter, Michael. "Going Deeper Into the Grotte Chauvet." Science 15 Aug. 2008: 904-05. Jstore. Web. 14 Sept. 2009. http://www.sciencemag.org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/cgi/content/full/321/5891/904.
Wade, Nicholas. Before the Dawn. New York: The Penguin, 2006. Print.
Posts
It's so amazing that only humans have the ability to perform art. Art is everywhere in today's society: in architecture, advertisements fashion, and even landscaping. Without art, we would not only be the most boring society, but also the most depressed. Who knew cartoons on a wall could bring such character to future generations.
ReplyDeleteI like this posting it is interesting to think of our predecessors. As I read this I can not help but wonder if the Artists responsible for the cave paintings at the cave of Chauvet whom ever they may be intended them to be found and viewed by future generations. If so this provides even more insight to there level of sophistication, not thinking of it as drawing but more so a record of their existence.
ReplyDelete