Rock paintings

Primitive rock art looks like a two-dimensional image of an object. The technique of transferring the volume of the drawing originated only in the Renaissance. The main character of the Paleolithic art was the bison, as well as other large animals. Found a lot of images of rhinoceroses, mammoths and wild tours, as well as a variety of hunting scenes. Images of plants and people are extremely rare, which indicates a cult, rather than aesthetic, design of the drawings. The most surprising thing is that, despite their considerable age, many colors retain their original brightness.

Rock paintings of primitive people are quite diverse in technique. Proportions, as a rule, were not observed - a huge lion could be depicted next to a tiny mountain goat. Often, according to the drawings of ancient people, one can judge how the extinct animals looked , for example, mammoths. Movement on the cave drawings was conveyed by the position of the feet, by turning the head or by tilting the body. It is assumed that the rock paintings performed a cult function - the animals were worshiped, they were cautious. Primitive people probably believed that images of animals protect themselves from evil forces and help during hunting, on whose outcome the very existence of the tribe depended. Often the drawings depict spears, which according to the artist's intention was to bring luck on the hunt.

Many tribes still believe that their kind began from some animal - an eagle, a snake or a bear. In addition to images of animals, there are not entirely understandable figures - geometric figures of various shapes and a cluster of colored spots and dots.

Rock painting because of its ritual value is often located in remote parts of the caves, at a depth of hundreds of meters. The drawing of drawings represented a kind of ritual, in which the artist worked under the light of pots filled with burning fat of wild animals, or bundles of moss and wool. Images were scratched with a stone or painted. Many
Caves with drawings of primitive artists attract many tourists and
Scientists from all over the world. So the cave Altamira in Spain called
"Sistine Chapel" of primitive art. Rock paintings stretched out
Here at 300 meters. Some drawings reach a height of two meters.

Paleolithic rock painting

Often, artists of this period used rock protrusions when drawing drawings, which enhanced the visual effect. Oxides of various metals and natural dyes were used, which were mixed with animal fat or water. Cave paintings were applied with the help of fingers or special
"Brushes" made of tubular bones of animals. Sometimes the dye is simply
Was blown through the tube onto the wet surface of the rock, and the entire image was completely painted over.

Often on the rocks, fingerprints of prehistoric people are found. The ancient artist pressed his hand to the surface of the stone, and then poured it with paint. The same prints are typical for the art of Australian Aborigines, although this continent is thousands of miles from Europe.

Used by ancient artists and massive stone incisors for deep study of the contour. Such stone tools are often found in the parking lot of ancient people. In the era of the Middle and Late Paleolithic, the processing of the contours of drawings becomes more thorough, images appear on stone tiles, tusks and horns of animals. Perhaps, the drawings were applied to the surface of the tree, but to this day such patterns have not survived for obvious reasons. The art of the Paleolithic is represented in all the main types: sculpture, carving on bone and stone, painting, graphics and bas-reliefs.