Cave Paintings

M1: We are going to start chapter 3 today. The chapter is on cave paintings. Who can tell us about cave paintings? M2: The drawings are mostly of animals. M1: Correct. The animals are mostly bison, horses, and deer. The most common themes in cave paintings are large, wild animals such as bison, horses, aurochs, and deer. Anthropologist Abbe Breuil interpreted the paintings as being hunting magic. That is to say, they were meant to increase the number of animals. Drawings of humans are rare and are usually schematic rather than the more naturalistic animal subjects. Who can guess when cave painting started? W1: Prehistoric times... M1: Yes... the paintings were made during the upper Paleolithic, about 40,000 years ago. Let me ask you another question. Who drew the paintings? W1: Artists... M1: Good answer, but who were the artists? What were their positions? W2: Tribal leaders? M1: Close, but incorrect. The artists were believed to be respected elders or shamans. The main colors of the paintings were limited to yellow, brown, charcoal, red, hematite, and manganese oxide.