Section outline

  • 9.1: The Earliest Art

    We can trace the oldest human artworks back tens of thousands of years, where we find examples of art that humans wore, handled as objects of ritual, or used to create immersive spaces or environments, such as in painted caves. However, art-making practices probably extend far beyond what we have discovered in the archaeological record. Every few years, new discoveries reset our horizons of the earliest known art. Interpreting the meaning of these objects beyond simple decorative items is often unknowable since their connections to the cultural and symbolic systems are absent. We can only guess by comparing them to other objects we have discovered that are accompanied by additional explanations.

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      Prehistoric Art: Paleolithic Origins Page
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      This article will give you a sense of how art and representation have been an inherent part of human activity since the Paleolithic period. Note that many of the paintings we have recovered from this time tend to revolve around the themes of game, hunting, and fertility.