Works of art first appear in the fossil
record about 40,000- 50,000 years ago and
evidence of religious expression appears only 25,000-50,000 years ago. The
paintings have been dated using a method called accelerator mass
spectrometry,which measures carbon isotopes in dead animal and plant matter.
This is a newer method of radio carbon dating. The samples of carbon were
obtained from the charcoal used to make the drawings and from marks left on the
walls from torches used to light the cave. The dating places the paintings between
29,700 and 32,400 years old. Making them 13,000 years older than paintings
produced with the same level of sophistication found in the famous Lascaux caves
of the Pyrenees, in France. The Lascaux caves contain masterpieces from the
Magdalenian period.
The paintings are believed to be done
by a group of Aurignacians, Cro-Magnons
who were early Homo sapiens living in Europe. According to Janeen Renaghan,
these people had an advanced brain allowing them to think on a level of symbolism,
therefore being able to use visual images to communicate. They were the inventers
of representation. However, the reasoning behind their symbols and depictions is
unknown to us.
The fact that these paintings are much
older than previously found paintings and still
possess the same level of advancement of paintings done 13,000 yearslater
proves the theory of evolution of prehistoric art as a steady progression (i.e. Simple
forms to more advanced detailed and complex forms) to be reconsidered.
According to asection of the article Science shows cave art developed early, it was
stated, "Prehistoric cave art found in France and Spain shows ancient man to be a
remarkable artist." Even Pablo Picasso was astounded when he visited the
Lascaux caves saying, "we have discovered nothing" talking about the
advancement of caves paintings to modern art.
The oldest artifacts to be considered
art are much older than the cave paintings; on
the other hand they came before the rise of modern humans. These artifacts
include a very smallstone carving estimated to be at least 233,000 years old and
pigments and paint-grinding equipment found in Twin Rivers, Zambia dating
between 350,000 and 400,000 years old.
