Rock Art

What are the meanings behind cave paintings? The hard thing about prehistoric art it’s obviously much harder to fine out what the meanings behind the artwork because you can’t ask the painter or sculptor. But you can ask a select few people from this generation and see if the know anything that there ancestors has passed down the family tree. It is getting harder and harder to find theses people as information is getting lost each time it is passed on and this new generation is finding it less interesting and aren’t seeing the importance of finding out as much information from there ancestors. This means that it’s hard to know if the paintings and symbols had hidden meaning. 

But some of the meanings behind the work are more obvious than others. For example markings on the outside of caves or open areas with things like shields or men on is a warning to anyone passing by that they are in marked territory. Other things like circles have a huge range of meanings and you can only tell what a circle is if you look at the rest of the markings as it can range from a water whole to the base of a tree. But the most common meaning is that is is the source of life and nourishment.    

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cave+painting+of+a+circle&espv=210&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=vYSWUvHZOYejhge6q4CIBg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1001&bih=513#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=62qmJOKVTqXgfM%3A%3Br7qwCMqbR6qTgM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fpaintingowu.files.wordpress.com%252F2011%252F01%252Frock-circle-at-exeter-hill.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fpaintingowu.wordpress.com%252Ftag%252Fpaleolithic-cave-painting%252F%3B720%3B612

Another thing I found out from reading a book named 'World Rock Art' is that not all members of the tribes or communities were allowed to paint certain things like evil spirits as it says in the book. 'the meanings of paintings of evil spirits and other dangerous creatures are accessible only to elders who know how to respect the paintings, for it is believed that any interference with them could cause the evil spirits to multiply.' From 'Page 105' I find it really amazing that these people had so much respect and meaning for the marks that they were leaving, and who know that they would still be there in 40 thousand years later still holding all the mystery and questions that there was back then. 

The Ancient World

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=brother+bear+handprint+ceremony&espv=210&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ryuNUqvdIuLR0QWA1oAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1001&bih=513#es_sm=91&espv=210&q=prehistoric+cave+paintings&tbm=isch

For the ancient world presentation week I really liked the part on the prehistoric cave paintings. I instantly wanted to know more about it. So I tried to find some books in the library but it wasn’t as easy as I had thought as there wasn’t much to choose from. So I decided to start with looking on the Internet.

I came across an anthropologist called Dean Snow and he started looking into handprints in caves, and like many other people I just assumed that handprints in caves belonged to men. This is because of the other cave paintings that I have come across of male hunting diagrams and I just linked this to the handprints. But Snow had done some research on the measurements of male and female hands, such as a woman’s index finger is genuinely longer in comparison to men’s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvy9uS7jhvs

Another reason why I had in mind that the handprints might have belonged to men is because; this might sound silly, but of the film brother bear. The film is about three brothers that are in a tribe and look to the spirits for guidance, and the spirits send them individual totems to help them become the best man that they can be for there people. When they are seen as a worthy man they earn there place to mark a handprint on the wall with there ancestors

My favourite moment of the film is right at the end when Kenai who was man that was transferred into a bear (by the spirits) realises what his path in life is from his own reckless actions. Without knowing this himself he revels his dedication to his totem and urns the honour of becoming a man, even as a bear and gets to put his paw print on the wall with his ancestors.        

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL6-fOENnfA