Cave paintings have been a mystery to many people ever since their discovery, causing many different theories about why our ancestors went into the caves to create their art. An early theory was that it was just art for art’s sake. It was just something to pass the time and had no meaning. Others believe that the paintings were made by Shamans. The Shaman is the spiritual leader of the people and he would have went in the caves for spiritual guidance. Since our ancestors were hunters and gatherers, there is the theory that the paintings were to ensure success in their hunting.
There is even convincing evidence that women also were in the caves. The handprints match female hands, not just adolescent boys. A noted author of the book The Nature of Paleolithic Art, claims that teenage boys were the ones who did the paintings, comparing the themes of bison and horses to the interests of teenage boys today. The difficulty getting in the caves, and the conditions that the people had back then and now, makes you wonder why anyone would want to go in a dark cave to do their art. There is also a theory about the acoustics in the cave inspiring the artists.
There are many different theories, some more believable than others, but we will never be sure about why our ancestors went in caves to do their art. The earliest theory is the art for art’s sake theory, which claims the paintings had no meaning and was made just to kill time. The mindset in the nineteenth century was that our early ancestors were not so bright. However, the paintings found in the caves of Lascaux and Altamira were more sophisticated, clearly showing cognitive function that we have today. Also, the trouble our ancestors went through to paint in these caves does not sound like mindless thinking.
There had to be thinking on the artist’s part such as: creating light since it was dark in the cave, gathering the supplies needed to make their paint, as well as creating scaffolding for the paintings they did on the ceilings and other different sections. The theory of art for art’s sake is no longer believed, but was the most popular for a long time. In contrast, another popular theory is that the paintings were done by adolescent boys who are just getting their frustrations out by painting.
According to R. Dale Guthrie, author of The Nature of Paleolithic Art, “testosterone-fueled boys created most prehistoric cave art”. He also claims the handprints found in the caves are predominately made by young boys age nine to seventeen. The art of animals being speared and eviscerated is violent and can be compared to such things as sports, cars, and fighting that the teenage boys today like. Also, he notes that the sculpted figures such as the Venus of Willendorf, display women nude and with exaggerated sexual parts. Hence the theory of testosterone-fueled boys is a popular theory among other colleagues.
Paul Martin, professor of quaternary biography at the University of Arizona, who credits Guthrie’s knowledge on human behavior as being extraordinary, states “If he finds that much cave art reflects teenage or preteen preoccupations, I am prepared to believe him”. Although this theory sounds plausible, the art in the cave seems to have more meaning than just adolescent boys letting out their aggressions by painting. The people back then were hunters and gatherers, consequently, the boys were probably learning to hunt and gather their food, which would seemingly release a lot of their aggression before the thought of going in a cave to paint.
The theory of adolescent boys being the creators of the cave art is plausible, it is not as realistic as it seems though. Since our ancestors were hunter gatherers, there are theories that the art was done by shamans in a drug induced state to help commune with spirits. Shamans were the people’s spirit guides, medicine man and teacher. Jean Clottes, an advisor for prehistoric art and former director of research for the Chavet Cave, believe the animals painted represented the shamans transformation into the animals of the spirit world.
They were meant to conjure up magic to help the hunters be successful on the hunting trips. Likewise, Jim Keyser, an archeologist for the U. S. Forest Service, states that religious beliefs can be “complex and metaphoric” and that because modern religious art has symbols, therefore, it is not hard to believe our ancestors had religious symbols too. Jean M. Auel, the noted author of Clan of the Cave Bears, has been in the Altamira cave in Spain’s Basque country. She claims the feeling one gets in the presence of our ancestors from thousands of years ago is overwhelming and that pictures do not do justice to the artists.
If she can get this spiritual feeling, then the possibility that the artists of the past felt that way makes the theory for shamanism a believable theory. Along the same lines, Andre Leroy Gourhan, a famed archeologists and anthropologist, believed there was a religious theme to the paintings, however, he believes the religion was “based on opposition … of male and female values expressed by animal figures … and by more abstract signs”. He mainly looked at the patterns of the drawings to draw his conclusions.
Even though he gives his theory, he is still not convinced it is true, he believes the complexity of the drawings and paintings is beyond comprehension. He likens it to an archeologist from mars trying to theorize the meaning of cathedral art of his time. The theories made with a religious tilt to them are easy to believe considering the feeling one would get inside a cave that has these paintings. The atmosphere would feel similar to going in an old church and feeling close to the past. Most people believe men were the artists in the caves, however there is new evidence that women were perhaps the artists.
Dean Snow, professor of anthropology at Pennsylvania State University, studied the results of finger ratios he had read about in a book by John Manning. The ratio in question shows that females have their index and ring finger the same length and for men, the ring finger is noticeably longer. Also, the pinkie on men and boys is almost as long as the ring finger. He had this in mind when he visited the caves in northern Europe. After testing the validity of the ratios of female to male hands, he compared them to handprints in the caves.
His conclusion was that they were predominately female. The ratio he determined was ten percent male, fifteen percent adolescent males, and seventy-five percent female. As a result of this study, the meaning of the paintings take on a different meaning. Women must have had a more important role in the community than was previously thought. Women may have had a more prominent role in the hunting and gathering of their community. It is possible they did the paintings to teach the young kids about the hunt.
The men were out actually hunting, so the women had more time to do this, according to a comment made by Mr. Science in response to an article about women being the artists. Teaching their young is an interesting theory. Women caring for the young has been the role for women for a long time, and it would make sense for them to teach their young about the animals they will see, as well as, the hunting their fathers do. The caves would allow quiet for the mother to teach, and for the children to give their full attention.
Also, according to Sean W. women were too valuable to be sent on the hunt, therefore they stayed closer to camp and went in the caves to paint as a way to ensure a safe return of the men. This goes back to the hunting magic that was attributed to shamans. The belief that the paintings were religious in nature is a popular theory. The new findings that women were the main ones that went into the caves has changed many of the ideas about our ancestors. It proves they had a bigger role in the community, and that the male domination of the past overlooked this fact in their theories.
According to Steven Waller, a biochemists that has a cave in France, acoustics may have been the reason for the artist’s choice of animals they painted. The echo he heard standing at the mouth of the cave gave him this idea. Once he went inside, the sound he heard was like a herd of animals stampeding, so he theorized this is why the artists painted horses, bison and other animals similar in nature. This led him to study more caves around the world to which he found the recurring theme of paintings done at the highest level of sound.
The sounds in the caves can make someone think all kinds of things, thus it could have inspired the artists of the past in some way. The sounds they were hearing may have sounded like music to them, and they went in the caves to hear it. Music inspires people, so it is plausible that it inspired our ancestors. The cave paintings found in recent years has changed the way people see our ancestors from the Paleolithic period. Most people see them as cavemen that were not so smart. Once the caves were found, especially Lascaux and Altamira, opinions changed. The paintings seemed more sophisticated and complex.
Since we will never know why they went in the caves, we will just have to accept the many theories made by different specialists in their fields, as well as just about anybody that has been able to visit the caves. The atmosphere in the caves does seem like a religious experience today, so it is safe to say our ancestors felt that way too. Whether the art was done by a shaman, young boys or women, it gives a sense that our ancestors from so many years ago thought the way we do today. Most art tells a story, it is just intriguing to theorize what their story was.