Cave Art – A Window In Time

The late Pleistocene Age (about 40,000 years ago) was a time of grave hardship for the Stone Age cavemen. Glaciers covered most of the earth and the sea level was 300 feet lower, creating many caves. The average temperature ranged from 21 to 32 degrees. Huge creatures like woolly mammoths, cave bear and cats, cave hyena and woolly rhinoceros roamed the Earth. The caveman’s main occupation was to gather food for the clan. Back then, it was hunt or be hunted. Since the Iron and Bronze Ages were light years away, the main hunting materials were bone, stone and wood, which were commonly used to make spears. The animals provided the clan with not only food but also clothing, bedding and tools. The caveman and his clan would usually follow the migratory habits of the animals. How do we know all this? Because the cavemen created cave art. There is no way of knowing the purpose of this art – some believe it was used as a way of communicating with other clans. It is thought that the Shaman (the mystical men of the tribe) were the artists. The artwork portrays herds of animal such as bison horses, aurochs and deer, along with human hands. The coloring was created with red and yellow ocher, manganese oxide, hematite and charcoal. The cave art images, considering the conditions, are amazing. Since there is no written record, the cave art is the only thing we have to give us a clue about life during that era. The Stone Age men gave us an amazing gift – the opportunity to go back through a window in time and view what life was like for primitive man. What will we leave behind to be found by future peoples?