Knowra Art of the Upper Paleolithic Art of the Upper Paleolithic Visual and decorative works made by humans during the Upper Paleolithic, including cave paintings, engravings, sculptures, and personal ornaments. Its surviving forms reveal varied techniques, subjects, and uses across regions and millennia.
Chauvet Cave : A decorated cave in southern France containing animal paintings and engravings, many dating to about 36,000 years ago. Its layered animal imagery is among the oldest known large-scale cave art.
Upper Paleolithic : The later part of the Paleolithic, beginning about 50,000 years ago in many regions and ending with the Holocene. This is the archaeological period in which the art discussed here flourished.
Paleolithic pigments : Mineral and other coloring materials used to produce images during the Paleolithic. Pigment choices and preparation determined color and application.
Aurignacian : An early Upper Paleolithic archaeological culture associated with distinctive stone tools, ornaments, and figurative art. Some of Europe’s earliest known figurative art belongs to Aurignacian contexts.
Paleolithic religion : Proposed beliefs and ritual practices of Paleolithic peoples, inferred from archaeological evidence rather than written records. Religious explanations have shaped interpretations of cave imagery, but remain difficult to verify.
Lascaux : A cave in southwestern France renowned for its painted and engraved animals, made roughly 21,000 to 17,000 years ago. Its polychrome animal figures exemplify the visual power of Magdalenian cave painting.
Cave painting : Images made by applying pigment to the walls or ceilings of caves and rock shelters. Painted cave surfaces are one of the best-known forms of this art.
Cave art stencils : Hand-shaped images made by applying pigment around a hand placed against a surface. Stencils created a direct bodily mark on cave walls.
Gravettian : A widespread Upper Paleolithic archaeological culture known for specialized stone tools, figurines, and diverse regional traditions. Its figurines and ornaments mark a major phase in artistic production.
Cave art and shamanism : An interpretation connecting some cave images and settings with altered states and shamanic practices. This influential hypothesis offers one account of imagery in deep cave spaces.
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