Rock inscriptions. What's going on in the world
Chauvet Cave (France)
This unique archaeological site was discovered in 1994 by French speleologist Jean Marie Chauvet.
More than 300 were discovered in the cave rock paintings horses, lions, rhinoceroses, wolves, bison and other animals. Radiocarbon dating showed that the age of individual “canvases” is 30-33 thousand years. The preservation of the drawings is also striking. Judge for yourself:
The spiral is a universal symbol to which a wide variety of meanings are attributed: representation. life, cyclical movement of energy, rotation of waters and winds, thoughts, etc. however, if you don't know who created these cave paintings, their intentions or their way of thinking. it cannot be given a specific meaning.
Currently, and in accordance with the theory of rock art of neurophysiological origin, many of the explanations for these manifestations raise their elaboration in ritual contexts led by shamans, and therefore the result of art with magical content. Thus, breed beliefs will consist of beliefs in supernatural beings, in other worlds that are not entirely human, and in cosmic relationships. However, these explanations are unsatisfactory due to the inability to verify whether what the researcher believes is actually what the researcher believes.
Alas, not everyone can see them - the cave is closed to visitors to avoid the destruction of fragile paintings. After all, the slightest change in light, temperature and air humidity can ruin them. Even archaeologists can only be there for a few hours. But the German director Werner Herzog was lucky: he even filmed documentary about this art gallery - “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”.
How to preserve rock art?
A fragment of rock with energetic petroglyphs. Rock art, unlike other cultural relics of the past, is found on outdoors, where he had been for hundreds or perhaps thousands of years, was executed. Subject to various climatic conditions such as erosion, solar radiation, rain or humidity, the growth of lichens and fungi, or the deposition of minerals on the rock surface, many sites disappear naturally. However, the most destructive factor for these manifestations was human intervention.
Newspaper Rock (USA)
This rock, located near the city of Monticello (Utah), is considered one of the most impressive stone “canvases”, on which there is great amount petroglyphs. In total there are about 650 images on the rock.
They were inflicted, as scientists suggest, by the ancient Indians of the pre-Columbian Fremont and Anasazi cultures. There is a high probability that the petroglyphs were carved both in ancient times and after meeting the Europeans. It is believed that the drawings tell about the hunt for wild boars, mammoths and bison, as well as the domestication of horses and bulls, the invention of the wheel and other tools.
College. Detail of a petroglyph that is ignorant. the residents of this place applied white veneers to it in the furrows. When visiting many mountain ranges It is possible to recognize traces of human activity that are detrimental to its conservation: the accumulation of garbage, the creation of fires under painted walls, the digging of the surrounding soil in search of non-existent treasures, the zest of motifs and the writing of graffiti.
One of the faces of this rock was used as a wall to build a house. A water tank was also installed in the upper part. Installing a Marraner seriously attacks conservation. pictographs of this rock in Machete, Cundinamarca, Colombia. The cave site is a heritage of incalculable value to society, it is part cultural heritage, which our ancestors gave us, and it is an extraordinary testimony that allows us to reconstruct the past and deepen our knowledge of our own human nature.
Cueva de las Manos (Argentina)
The name of the cave can be literally translated as “Cave of Hands”, since the prints of hundreds of palms (800 images) are imprinted on its walls, and 90% of them are left ones. The prints were made between 13 thousand and 9 thousand years ago, presumably by spraying paint around a brush.
Most hands can be seen at the very entrance to the cave. One gets the impression that they serve as a greeting for those entering. There is also an opinion that the images of hands among the ancient Indians symbolized the transition to adulthood, which is why the palms of teenage boys are imprinted in this place, revered by the ancestors of the Indians. In addition to hands, the cave also contains drawings of animals - rhea ostrich and guanaco, as well as petroglyphs.
Even though it is made on rock, it is extremely fragile and must be protected and treated with respect, for your own enjoyment and for future generations. When we visit a site with rock paintings or engravings, there are some guidelines we should keep in mind.
How is rock art studied?
Rock art remains today as evidence of the societies that inhabited our territory. It has been studied from different perspectives, which have tried to provide clues for their understanding. From the field of fine art, this object has been defined as “artistic” because its graphic and visual character frames it in the aesthetic task of man. This was a theme of inspiration for modern artists, who saw in this tradition the key to the plastic synthesis of reality.
Altamira (Spain)
This cave, in northern Spain, is also called the “Sistine Chapel of primitive art.” The age of the drawings from the Paleolithic era is about 20 thousand years. To add color, ancient artists used charcoal and ocher, and to create volume, they used natural protrusions and recesses in the cave walls. The drawings here are so good that the scientific community has questioned their authenticity, accusing the cave's discoverer, Marcelino de Sautuola, of being a forgery. Only after the death of the archaeologist in 1902 was the authenticity of the drawings established.
Today, due to the destruction of the images, the cave is closed to tourists. Instead, in 2001, copies of the Great Plafond panels were opened in a museum complex located near Altamira.
Art history has included the topic in connection with the origins of aesthetic expression. Emphasizing their antiquity, these manifestations show the beginning of a process of intellectual appropriation of the world through art. Many of rock formations in the Franco-Cantabrian region date back more than a thousand years.
Archeology allows us to understand past societies by studying their material remains that still exist in modern times. Fairytale art is one of them, and therefore gives us the opportunity to get closer to understanding not only the possible aesthetic task of a person, but also his technical achievements, how to relate to his environment and the way he interprets the world.
Alta (Norway)
The largest and only rock art “exhibition” open to tourists is located under open air 4 km from the city of Alta, near the Arctic Circle. 5 thousand images of animals (fish, deer), hunters and fishermen themselves, religious rituals and simply dance scenes, discovered in the 1970s, prove that in the period from 4200 to 500 BC. these places were also inhabited by people.
3 thousand drawings (exactly those located in the open air) are included in the list World Heritage UNESCO.
It is from archeology that many of the questions raised by the study of these manifestations can be answered: who, how, when and where they were made are some of the questions that are still unresolved for the rock art of our country. As with all scientific developments, contributions from other disciplines are increasingly needed; thus anthropology, ethno-history, ethnography, linguistics, history, etc. can provide important elements for their understanding.
In our countries, the study of these manifestations occurs only at the beginning. Research is very sporadic, and it is not yet possible to create space in academic centers where the results will be disseminated. The item is still considered secondary or even perceived as something curious or unusual.
Rock painting in the city of Alta / ©Ahnjo
Kalbak-Tash (Russia)
Urochishe Kalbak-Tash (Tyalbak-Tash), located on the right bank of the Chui River at 723 kilometers from the Chuisky tract, is the largest collection of petroglyphs in the Altai Mountains. The tract stretches for 10 km and contains more than 5 thousand drawings and runic inscriptions. The most popular are drawings of living creatures: bulls, deer, wolves, leopards and other animals common in these places.
The tract was a sanctuary for people of different eras - from the Neolithic (VI-IV millennium BC) to the ancient Turkic period (VII-X centuries BC).
Those who explore rock art in Latin America, are designed to rescue large amounts of information in the form of data that helps answer various questions. To do this, they have to travel to places, many of which are difficult to access or have unfavorable conditions. climatic conditions or public order. Field work can take several days or weeks, during which time it is done with blocks, drawings and photographs, a detailed report of the rock, frescoes and each of the motifs.
Once collected, this information is analyzed, archived and, as the responsibility of each researcher or institution, arranged so that it can be viewed by the general public. Documentation formats for systematizing the recording of cave sites.
All over the world, speleologists in deep caves are finding confirmation of the existence of ancient people. Rock paintings have been perfectly preserved for many millennia. There are several types of masterpieces - pictograms, petroglyphs, geoglyphs. Important monuments of human history are regularly included in the World Heritage Register.
For the purposes of this article, we will use the names of rock art and cave manifestations interchangeably. Anthropomorph: a cause that resembles a human figure. Meander: A motif consisting of curved lines in the form of a river sine wave. Style: a combination of the distinctive artistic expressions of a person, group, school, or era.
Graffiti: These are drawings or inscriptions from recent periods that have been superimposed on rocks or rock motifs. They are characterized by the use of razors, chalks, charcoal, paintings or markers, autographs of those who visit the rocks, intertwined hearts, dates, obscene messages or scratches with no apparent meaning. Graffiti is not considered part of rock art because it belongs to a different era and understanding of the world.
Usually on the walls of caves there are common subjects, such as hunting, battle, images of the sun, animals, human hands. People in ancient times attached sacred meaning to paintings; they believed that they were helping themselves in the future.
Images were applied using various methods and materials. For artistic creativity animal blood, ocher, chalk and even bat guano were used. A special type of painting is ashlar painting; they were carved into stone using a special chisel.
Anthropological reports No. 2, p. 39. Pre-Hispanic paintings and engravings: history, art and reality. A guide to our past and our present. Socializing Indigenous Geography: Rock Art in Colombia. Rock art in Colombia. Folding. Monuments of Rupestres Colombia. First notebook: general information, some picturesque sets of Cundinamarca. Bogota, Colombian Journal of Anthropology.
Ministry of the Environment, Bogota. A methodological model for documenting rock art. Methodology for the development and materials of pictograms located in the Farfaka River area. Columbia University. Attempts to present works of rock art.
Many caves have not been sufficiently studied and are limited in visiting, while others, on the contrary, are open to tourists. However most of Precious cultural heritage disappears unattended, unable to find its researchers.
Below is a short excursion into the world of the most interesting caves with prehistoric rock paintings.
Fasatativa, Sanctuary of the Frog. Administration and preservation of rock art objects. Preservation of national cultural heritage. First edition, Bogota. Myths and petroglyphs in the Caqueta River. Traditionally considered the first form of human achievement, rock is one that was realized in the prehistoric period on the walls of caves. These paintings are known in this way because the term mountain means, in Latin rock, the surface on which they were presented. Incredible and magical pictures of caves have been found all over the planet, which belonged to different populations and which have some common features.
Ancient rock paintings.
Bulgaria is famous not only for the hospitality of its residents and the indescribable flavor of its resorts, but also for its caves. One of them, with the sonorous name Magura, is located north of Sofia, near the town of Belogradchik. The total length of the cave galleries is more than two kilometers. The halls of the cave are colossal in size, each of them is about 50 meters wide and 20 meters high. The pearl of the cave is a rock painting made directly on the surface covered with bat guano. The paintings are multi-layered; there are a number of paintings from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods. The drawings of ancient homo sapiens depict figures of dancing villagers, hunters, many strange animals, and constellations. The sun, plants, and tools are also represented. Here begins the story of the festivities ancient era and about the solar calendar, scientists assure.
Cave paintings have long been considered primitive forms of art. Today the primitive term is no longer applied to them, since they represent the type of mentality of the persons who performed them. For many experts, it is incorrect to try cave paintings within the parameters of Western art.
It is believed that the paintings of the caves were made by people for a practical purpose more than. In this sense, prehistoric man had a magical type, which led him to assume that depicting animals on the walls would ensure success in his activities. These animals are usually accompanied by people who are equipped with the necessary tools and weapons for hunting.
The cave with the poetic name Cueva de las Manos (from Spanish - “Cave of Many Hands”) is located in the province of Santa Cruz, exactly one hundred miles from the nearest settlement- the city of Perito Moreno. The rock painting art in the 24-meter-long and 10-meter-high hall dates back to the 13th to 9th millennia BC. This amazing painting on limestone is a voluminous canvas decorated with hand traces. Scientists have built a theory about how the amazingly clear and clear handprints turned out. Prehistoric people took a special composition, then took it into their mouths, and blew it forcefully through a tube onto a hand placed against the wall. In addition, there are stylized images of humans, rheas, guanacos, cats, geometric figures with ornaments, the process of hunting and observations of the sun.
Enchanting India offers tourists not only the delights of oriental palaces and charming dances. In north central India there are huge rock formations of weathered sandstone with many caves. Ancient people once lived in natural shelters. About 500 dwellings with traces of human habitation remain in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The Indians named the rock dwellings Bhimbetka (after the hero of the Mahabharata epic). The art of the ancients here dates back to the Mesolithic era. Some of the paintings are insignificant, and some of the hundreds of images are very typical and striking. 15 rock masterpieces are available for contemplation by those who wish. Mainly, patterned ornaments and battle scenes are depicted here.
This one of the rock paintings related to the pattern in which individuals represented performing ceremonies, as well as symbols of another type, whose exact meaning could not be reconstructed. Cave paintings mostly took place inside caves, as they were spaces used as homes by prehistoric people. They were typically made from natural dyes obtained from plants or animal remains, with harpoons and other tools that served as brushes and pencils.
Many of these incredible paintings remain to this day, and most of them are considered. Course: 7°, Las Coloradas School, Province of Neuquén, Argentina. The overall proposal of the Work is aimed at knowing aspects of Rock Art, understanding it as a form of communication that expresses part of the way of life of the ancestors and allows one to know and interpret one's own history.
Both rare animals and venerable scientists find shelter in the Serra da Capivara National Park. And 50 thousand years ago, our distant ancestors found shelter here in caves. Presumably, this is the oldest community of hominids in South America. The park is located near the town of San Raimondo Nonato, in the central part of the state of Piaui. Experts have counted more than 300 archaeological sites here. The main surviving images date back to 25-22 millennium BC. The most amazing thing is that extinct bears and other paleofauna are painted on the rocks.
From the possibility of recreating cave paintings, using natural elements and using methods used by the ancients in prehistory, it was possible to reproduce a fact of the past in the current context. Some examples were made on small stones; several bibliographical sources were carried out to rescue basic information, through which interpretations were also made of some breed representations of various origins, in particular near Las Coloradas; specialists in history and anthropology; several performances were made in public places in the city.
The Republic of Somaliland recently separated from Somalia in Africa. Archaeologists in this area are interested in the Laas Gaal cave complex. Presented here rock paintings times 8-9 and 3 millennium BC. On the granite walls of majestic natural shelters scenes of life and everyday life of the nomadic people of Africa are depicted: the process of grazing livestock, ceremonies, playing with dogs. The local population does not attach importance to the drawings of their ancestors, and uses the caves, as in the old days, for shelter during the rain. Many of the studies have not been properly studied. In particular, problems arise with the chronological reference of masterpieces of Arab-Ethiopian ancient rock paintings.
The elements that were used as components of the paintings were of mineral and animal origin. For their development and application they were used: containers, mortars, stones, thin tubes, skin with and without hair, horsehair. The methods tested were pipe blowing; one of the applications is with skin with hair, and the other with splattered hair.
As far as the investigation has progressed, several paintings have been obtained, but due to the short time they have, it is unknown how durable they are. One of the biggest problems was the inability to visit any real sites.
Not far from Somalia, in Libya, there are also rock paintings. They are much earlier, dating back almost to the 12th millennium BC. The last of them were applied after the birth of Christ, in the first century. It is interesting to observe, following the drawings, how the fauna and flora changed in this area of the Sahara. First we see elephants, rhinoceroses and fauna typical of quite humid climate. Also interesting is the clearly visible change in the lifestyle of the population - from hunting to sedentary cattle breeding, then to nomadism. To get to Tadrart Akakus, you need to cross the desert east of the city of Ghat.
In 1994, while walking, by chance, Jean-Marie Chauvet discovered what later became famous cave. She was named after the speleologist. In the Chauvet cave, in addition to traces of the life activity of ancient people, hundreds of wonderful frescoes were discovered. The most amazing and beautiful of them depict mammoths. In 1995 the cave became state monument, and in 1997, 24-hour surveillance was introduced here to prevent damage to the magnificent heritage. Today, in order to take a look at the incomparable rock art of the Cro-Magnons, you need to obtain special permission. In addition to mammoths, there is something to admire; here on the walls there are handprints and fingerprints of representatives of the Aurignacian culture (34-32 thousand years BC)
In fact, the famous Cockatoo parrot is the name of the Australian national park it does not matter. The Europeans simply mispronounced the name of the Gaagudju tribe. This nation is now extinct, and there is no one to correct the ignorant. The park is home to Aboriginal people who have not changed their way of life since the Stone Age. For thousands of years, Indigenous Australians have been involved in rock painting. Pictures were painted here already 40 thousand years ago. In addition to religious scenes and hunting, there are stylized stories in drawings about useful skills (educational) and magic (entertaining). Among the animals depicted are the extinct marsupial tigers, catfish, and barramundi. All the wonders of the Arnhem Land plateau, Colpignac and the southern hills are located 171 km from the city of Darwin.
It turns out that the first homo sapiens reached Spain in the 35th millennium BC, this was the early Paleolithic. They left strange rock paintings in the Altamira cave. Artistic artifacts on the walls of the huge cave date back to both the 18th and 13th millennia. In the last period, polychrome figures, a peculiar combination of engraving and painting, and the acquisition of realistic details became interesting. The famous bison, deer and horses, or rather, their beautiful images on the walls of Altamira, often end up in textbooks for middle school students. The Altamira Cave is located in the Cantabria region.
Lascaux is not just a cave, but a whole complex of small and large cave halls located in the south of France. Not far from the caves is the legendary village of Montignac. The paintings on the cave walls were painted 17 thousand years ago. And they still amaze with their amazing forms, akin to modern graffiti art. Scholars especially value the Hall of the Bulls and the Palace Hall of the Cats. It’s easy to guess what prehistoric creators left there. In 1998 rock masterpieces Almost destroyed by mold caused by an improperly installed air conditioning system. And in 2008, Lascaux was closed to preserve more than 2,000 unique drawings.
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