This is a public domain image of the Cave of the Hands site in Argentina.

THE LATER STONE AGE (~35 ka)

Art

Our prehistoric ancestors made some incredible images of animals on cave walls, and they did this mainly out of respect but also because they thought their art possessed magical qualities. Humans used all kinds of materials and mediums to create art; paint, clay, and even bones. Their masterpieces most often include depictions of human figures, fertility symbols, and especially animals of the hunt (like mammoths, bears, horses, reindeer, and bison). These animal illustrations that are shared below are quite detailed; yet, they were made on the walls of dark caves that were lit up only by torches and soapstone lamps fed with fat. Certainly, these must have been incredibly patient and talented artists. And their beautiful works suggest that they had some degree of respect for animals. Relevantly, cultural historian Gertrude Rachel Levy called this "a participation in the splendour of the beasts which was of the nature of religion itself" (as cited in [1]). Put differently, humans were so infatuated with animals that they thought it was sacred to create images of wildlife in their cavern sanctuaries. However, there's also quite a bit of this artwork that wasn't created solely for the purpose of honoring animals. Instead, it appears malicious intentions were at play for some of these cave drawings and paintings. Just as many modern tribes believe that crafting an image of an animal can subject it to the artist's power, our ancient ancestors probably thought the same thing. This inference is supported by the fact that archaeologists found a clay bear figurine in Montespan, France that was riddled with dart thrusts [2].

Animals of the Hunt

We can tell that children also crafted art in the LSA since many cave drawings and paintings were crudely made, lack any apparent meaning, and are situated on ceilings that could only be reached if a light person was hoisted up by another. A popular form of art among LSA people were finger flutings or lined decals that were created by running their fingers across clay and moonmilk on the surface of cave walls and ceilings. While the meaning behind these "finger flutings" is much debated by anthropologists today, the most probable explanation is that they were simply the product of lively children and graffiti-minded teenagers. Without any structure or clear subject matter, these finger flutings contrast sharply with the detailed portrayals of majestic animals like bison and mammoths that were undoubtedly produced by adults with steady hands. This supports the idea that finger flutings were made by less-talented artists, such as children. Plus, some of them were drawn on cavern ceilings which were too high for the average person to reach. This means that a smaller and lighter person would have to be hoisted up by another in order to doodle on the moonmilk and clay. I don't know about you, but this makes me think of a child pestering their parent until they get to draw on the ceiling! Further, children were busy with other forms of cave art besides finger fluting, including crude drawings of animals and people, as well as handprints made with red ocher (see the cover image for this tab). Fascinatingly, judging by the size of said handprints, most of these artistic children were between 2 to 5 years old [3].

Clothing

1. Noss and Grangaard, "A History of the World's Religions," p. 5.
2. ibid., p. 6.
3. Bower, "Children of Prehistory," pp. 264-5.
4. Wynn and Coolidge, "A Stone-Age Meeting of Minds," p. 49.
5. Wong, "The Caveman's New Clothes," p. 34.