After visiting the Altamira cave paintings in northern Spain, Pablo Picasso famously exclaimed “after Altamira, all is decadence”. He wasn’t kidding. The art in this cave and in many others that dot parts of France, Spain and other regions in the world are among the greatest pieces of art ever created. Like all great art they provide an insight into the way that people thought, even though it was tens of thousands of years ago.
10. Magura Cave
The Magura Cave is one of the largest caves in Bulgaria located in the northwest part of the country. The cave walls are decorated by prehistoric cave paintings dating back about 8000 to 4000 years ago. More than 700 drawings have been discovered on the cave walls.
They are painted with bat guano (bat excrement) and represent hunting and dancing people as well as a large variety of animals.
9. Cueva de las Manos
Cueva de las Manos is a cave located in an isolated area in the Patagonian landscape of southern Argentina. It takes its name (Cave of the Hands) from the stencilled outlines of human hands, but there are also many depictions of guanacos, rheas and other animals, as well as hunting scenes.
Most of the hands are left hands, which suggests that painters held a spraying pipe with their right hand. The paintings are thought to have been created between 13,000 and 9,500 years ago.
8. Bhimbetka
Located in central India, Bhimbetka contains over 600 rock shelters decorated with prehistoric cave paintings. Executed mainly in red and white with the occasional use of green and yellow the paintings usually depict the lives and times of the people who lived in the caves.
Animals such as bisons, tigers, lions, and crocodiles have also been abundantly depicted in some caves. The oldest paintings are considered to be 12,000 years old.
7. Serra da Capivara
The Serra da Capivara National Park in northeast Brazil is home to numerous rock shelters that are decorated with cave paintings. The paintings include scenes of rituals and hunting, trees and animals capivaras.
Some scientists believe that the oldest cave paintings in the park are created 25,000 years ago. This is disputed by several geneticists however as this would conflict the currently accepted date of human settlement in the Americas.
6. Laas Gaal
Laas Gaal is a complex of caves and rock shelters in northwestern Somalia that contain some of the earliest known rock art in the Horn of Africa and the African continent in general. The prehistoric cave paintings are estimated to be between 11,000 and 5,000 years old. They show cows in ceremonial robes accompanied by humans, domesticated dogs and even a giraffe. The cave paintings are excellently preserved and retain their clear outlines and strong colors.
5. Tadrart Acacus
Tadrart Acacus form a mountain range in the Sahara desert of western Libya. The area is known for its rock paintings dating from 12,000 BC to 100 AD. The paintings reflect the changing environment of the Sahara desert which used to have a much wetter climate.
Nine thousand years ago the surroundings were green with lakes and forests and with large herds of wild animals as demonstrated by rock paintings at Tadrart Aracus of animals such as giraffes, elephants and ostriches.
4. Chauvet Cave
The Chauvet Cave in southern France contains some of earliest known prehistoric cave paintings in the world. Based on radiocarbon dating the oldest paintings in the cave may be up to 32,000 years old. The cave was discovered in 1994 by Jean-Marie Chauvet and his team of speleologists.
These paintings contain images of animals such as the ibex, mammoth, horses, lions, bears, rhinos and lions. Advanced techniques such as the use of perspective is clearly demonstrated in the ‘panel of horses’ which shows several animals on the same plane.
3. Kakadu Rock Paintings
Located in the Northern Territory of Australia, Kakadu National Park contains one of the greatest concentrations of Aboriginal art sites in Australia. Approximately 5000 art sites have been discovered in Kakadu along the escarpment and on rock outliers.
The Aboriginal painting are estimated to range in age from 20,000 years to the recent present although most of the paintings are less than 1500 years old. The site at Ubirr has some of the finest examples of “X-ray art” in the world. The Aboriginals not only painted the outside but also the bones and internal organs of the animals.
2. Altamira Cave
Discovered in the late 19th century, the Altamira Cave in northern Spain was the first cave in which prehistoric paintings were discovered. The paintings were of such an astounding quality that the scientific society doubted their authenticity and even accused it’s discoverer Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola of forgery.
Many people simply did not believe prehistoric man had the intellectual capacity to produce any kind of artistic expression. It was not until 1902 when the paintings were acknowledged as genuine. The charcoal and ochre images of horses, bison and handprints in the Altamira Cave are among the best preserved cave paintings in the world.
1. Lascaux Paintings
Nicknamed “the prehistoric Sistine Chapel”, the Lascaux Caves are a cave complex in southwestern France decorated with some of the most impressive and famous cave paintings in the world. The Lascaux paintings are estimated to be 17,000 years old.
Most of the cave paintings are situated quite a distance away from the entrance and must have been created with the aid of candles. The most famous cave painting is The Great Hall of the Bulls where bulls, horses and deers are depicted. One of the bulls is 5.2 meters (17 feet) long, the largest animal discovered so far in any cave.
Due to the damage resulting from too many people visiting the caves, the Lascaux paintings have been permanently closed to the public. The French government has built Lascaux II near the site where tourists can see a copy of the original cave.
Thank you for the incredible info! It’s amazing how we are getting to watch what our ancestors painted ages ago
You’ve left out the rock art in Matobo national park, Zimbabwe. It contains rock art from the San and the Bantu people going back 10000 years. No list would be complete without including rock art that contains the greatest giraffe rock painting in the world.
Great list. Even listing the recently discovered Laas Geel in Somaliland making it Africa’s oldest and best preserved ancient cave paintings. Good job!!
Wow! In what age or era in human history were these
paintings depicted? Goes to show how far humanity
has come!
Very awesome information and art 🙂 thanks!
These paintings just shows that art has a very long history. It is also noticeable that the themes of their paintings are how they lived back then, with animals almost always present in the artwork. I am just wondering if these paintings were really expressions of art or were they simply a means to record actual events (in the absence of alphabets and the like). I am also amazed by how they were able to figure out what medium to use in those days. It sure stood through the rigors of the weather and time for us to learn and enjoy today.
Great post. It is amazing to see how all of these pictures are still around.. well the drawings on the caves. I wonder what they were thinking when they were drawing this and what ws the main purpose for this. Great stuff great read.
wow, amazing post – to think of our ancestors painting these so long ago, not only are they great art but it really puts things into perspective