From National Geographic, Michael Greshko, 2/22/18
There are two short and wonderful videos in the article. Enjoy!
Did humans or Neanderthals make these cave paintings?
Professor M. Och
ARTH 114 and ARTH 115: Introduction to Western Art, University of Mary Washington
This is absolutely incredible. The oldest things we’ve studied in class were only around 30,000 years old, and these scientists have found art from over 100,000 years ago! When you think about it, that may seem like a long time, and it is, but its incredible to think how new we are as humans on this earth. This shows how important art is and will always be. Our ancestors, who weren’t even technically human, created art, though not representative, is still an impressive action.
It’s amazing how art from so long ago can still affect and inspire people today. Ancient people looked at nature and replicated what they could see into their drawings to tell stories. I quite like the style of the cave paintings, they kind of remind me of cartoons almost.
This article points out the common thought that humans that came long before us were for some reason lesser than us and incapable of things like art which is not true. This is a really great step in determining how we as a species evolved and how we are not that different.
When I read 100,000 years ago part of my jaw dripped it is truly amazing dating has traced it that far back. With dating and evolution we see this imperative behavior of neanderthals are not confined to just a single period…
This article, along with the videos, clarified some of the misconceptions that I had about neanderthals. I thought they were purely focused on survival and not exactly capable of the abstract thought that is required for making art. With previous evidence suggesting that neanderthals made jewelry and had burial practices, I see no reason why these cave paintings could not have been done by the neanderthals.
I was also not entirely sure how cave paintings were dated. When I was reading the article, they talked about getting a sample from the rock for dating. I thought to myself, “how can they say that the date of the rock is consistent with the date of the painting?”. Then I read further, and realized that they scrape a sample from a mineral crust that has formed over the painting. Neat!
All in all, this was a very educational and quite interesting article.
Art that dates back so far is interesting because it shows you how advanced and intelligent Neanderthals were. I believe Neanderthals painted what was important to their culture. Wall art that has been found only shows a small amount of what was important to them and a touch of information we know today about early intelligent life.