Acheulean hand-axes from Kent. The types shown are (clockwise from top) cordate, ficron and ovate. Arguably a form of early art.
The oldest undisputed examples of figurative art are known from Europe and from Sulawesi, Indonesia, dated about 35,000 years old (Art of the Upper Paleolithic).[1]
Together with religion and other cultural universals of contemporary human societies, the emergence of figurative art is a necessary attribute of full behavioral modernity.
There are, however, some examples of non-figurative designs which somewhat predate the Upper Paleolithic, beginning about 70,000 years ago (MIS 4).
These include the earliest of the Iberian cave paintings, including a hand stencil at the Cave of Maltravieso, a simple linear design, and red paint applied to speleothems, dated to at least 64,000 years ago and as such attributable to Neanderthals.[2]
The markings on the walls of a cave in La Roche-Cotard in the Loire valley have been identified as the oldest known Neanderthal engravings and have been dated to more than 57,000 years ago.[3][4] Similarly, the Blombos Cave of South Africa yielded some stones with engraved grid or cross-hatch patterns, dated to some 73,000 years ago, but they are attributed to Homo sapiens.[5]
^M. Aubert et al., "Pleistocene cave art from Sulawesi, Indonesia", Nature volume 514, pages 223–227 (09 October 2014).
"using uranium-series dating of coralloid speleothems directly associated with 12 human hand stencils and two figurative animal depictions from seven cave sites in the Maros karsts of Sulawesi, we show that rock art traditions on this Indonesian island are at least compatible in age with the oldest European art. The earliest dated image from Maros, with a minimum age of 39.9 kyr, is now the oldest known hand stencil in the world. In addition, a painting of a babirusa ('pig-deer') made at least 35.4 kyr ago is among the earliest dated figurative depictions worldwide, if not the earliest one. Among the implications, it can now be demonstrated that humans were producing rock art by ~40 kyr ago at opposite ends of the Pleistocene Eurasian world."
^D. L. Hoffmann; C. D. Standish; M. García-Diez; P. B. Pettitt; J. A. Milton; J. Zilhão; J. J. Alcolea-González; P. Cantalejo-Duarte; H. Collado; R. de Balbín; M. Lorblanchet; J. Ramos-Muñoz; G.-Ch. Weniger; A. W. G. Pike (2018). "U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art". Science. 359 (6378): 912–915. Bibcode:2018Sci...359..912H. doi:10.1126/science.aap7778. hdl:10498/21578. PMID 29472483.
"we present dating results for three sites in Spain that show that cave art emerged in Iberia substantially earlier than previously thought. Uranium-thorium (U-Th) dates on carbonate crusts overlying paintings provide minimum
ages for a red linear motif in La Pasiega (Cantabria), a hand stencil in Maltravieso (Extremadura), and red-painted speleothems in Ardales (Andalucía). Collectively, these results show that cave art in Iberia is older than 64.8 thousand years (ka). This cave art is the earliest dated so far and predates, by at least 20 ka, the arrival of modern humans in Europe, which implies Neandertal authorship."
^Sample, Ian (21 June 2023). "French cave markings said to be oldest known engravings by Neanderthals". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
the Upper Paleolithic). Together with religion and other cultural universals of contemporary human societies, the emergence of figurative art is a necessary...
Theartofthe Upper Paleolithic represents the oldest form of prehistoric art. Figurative art is present in Europe and Southeast Asia, beginning between...
Upper Paleolithic, ArtoftheMiddlePaleolithic, and Category:Prehistoric art and its many sub-categories. The oldest undisputed figurative art appears...
to the start oftheMiddlePaleolithic period. However, the earliest undisputed evidence ofart during thePaleolithic comes from MiddlePaleolithic/Middle...
Paleolithic religions are a set of spiritual beliefs and practices that are theorized to have appeared during thePaleolithic time period. Paleoanthropologists...
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision ofthePaleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between...
The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision ofthePaleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3.3 million...
excavations, several flutes that date to the European Upper Paleolithic were discovered in caves in the Swabian Alb region of Germany. Dated and tested independently...
certain MiddlePaleolithic artifacts as early examples of artistic expression. The symmetry of artifacts, evidence of attention to the detail of tool shape...
use of tools. ArtoftheMiddlePaleolithic Burial – intentional burial, particularly with grave goods, may be one ofthe earliest detectable forms of religious...
pottery. The Timna Valley contains evidence of copper mining in 7000–5000 BC. The process of transition from Neolithic to Chalcolithic in theMiddle East...
the point of being currency. Principally, there are two different kinds of tally sticks: the single tally and the split tally. A common form ofthe same...
the MiddlePaleolithic (300,000–50,000 years ago), religion emerged with certainty in the Upper Paleolithic around 50,000 years ago. Upper Paleolithic religion...
the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymously, especially for outside northern Europe, and for the corresponding...
Shelter – Middle Stone Age archeological site in southern Ethiopia Gatecliff Rockshelter – Archaeological site in the Great Basin area ofthe western United...
consider this to be the beginnings ofthe MSA. The MSA is often mistakenly understood to be synonymous with theMiddlePaleolithicof Europe, especially...
Control of fire by early humans MiddlePaleolithic c. 300,000 BP – Anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) appear in Africa, one of whose characteristics...
been the first species to bury their dead about 500,000 years ago. TheMiddlePaleolithic period occurred in Europe and the Near East, during which the Neanderthals...
based on the monthly cycles ofthe Moon's phases (synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based on the solar...
theories on the evolution of behavioral modernity. These approaches tend to fall into two camps: cognitive and gradualist. The Later Upper Paleolithic Model...
Museum ofArt. Retrieved 11 May 2013. Pettitt, Paul (1 November 2008). "Art and theMiddle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Europe: Comments on the archaeological...
definition ofthe period. The end ofthe Pleistocene corresponds with the end ofthe last glacial period and also with the end ofthePaleolithic age used...
depending on the length ofthe plain wooden haft. See Viking Age arms and armor. Stone hand axes were in use in thePaleolithic period for hundreds of thousands...
her study of 'The Megalithic Artof Western Europe'. Her original definition of Megalithic art focused on paintings or carvings found on the structural...
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