Palaeolithic Art Research Articles

Experimental insights into cognition, motor skills, and artistic expertise in Paleolithic art

The production of Paleolithic art represents one of the most intricate technical and cognitive endeavors of Homo sapiens, marked by its profound antiquity and vast temporal and spatial framework. Despite its significance, there have been no prior studies aimed at understanding the cognitive and motor skills linked to the creation of realistic images characteristic of this artistic cycle. This research integrates archaeology and experimental psychology, premised on the assumption that the neurological basis of Anatomically Modern Humans has not changed substantially since the Upper Paleolithic. This work employs an innovative interdisciplinary approach, utilizing psychometric tests and drawing and engraving tasks monitored by motion-sensing gloves, to compare the performance of experts and non-experts in visual arts when faced with challenges akin to those of Upper Paleolithic artistic production. The results revealed that expertise in visual arts is linked to enhanced spatial abilities and specific patterns in drawing from memory. Additionally, both experts and non-experts displayed similar motor skills when engraving using Paleolithic techniques, suggesting that these techniques required specialized training in the contemporary experts. In conclusion, this research deepens our understanding of the processes involved in Upper Paleolithic artistic production.

Paleolithic cave art at Simanya Gran (Northeast of Spain): New graphic and symbolic expressions in novel territories

Recent years have witnessed significant advancement in the understanding of prehistoric behavior, leading to the discovery of new assemblages that challenge established knowledge within the discipline. This study presents a newly discovered Paleolithic art site in the northeast region of the Iberian Peninsula, specifically within the Simanya Gran cave complex. Excavations conducted since 2019 have revealed Neanderthal human remains and a complex litho-stratigraphic sequence dating back to the Middle Paleolithic, indicating human occupation spanning multiple periods. The documented graphic device (engravings and painting) exhibits thematic and formal characteristics comparable to Paleolithic art found in Spain and France. Through stylistic and contextual analysis, the paper proposes a tentative chronology for the graphic evidence, situating it within the mid-late Magdalenian period. Furthermore, the study explores the concept of graphic territories, suggesting that the distribution of similar graphic motifs across distant regions reflects intense socio-cultural interactions among prehistoric human groups. The significance of this discovery extends beyond its immediate geographic location, contributing to a broader understanding of Paleolithic art in the Mediterranean region and highlighting the importance of continued research in this field.

Distant Dinosaurs and the Aesthetics of Remote Art

Abstract Francis Sparshott introduced the term ‘remote art’ in his 1982 presidential address to the American Society for Aesthetics. The concept has not drawn much notice since—although individual remote arts, such as palaeolithic art and the artistic practices of subaltern cultures, have enjoyed their fair share of attention from aestheticians. This paper explores what unites some artistic practices under the banner of remote art, arguing that remoteness is primarily a matter of some audience’s epistemic distance from a work’s context of creation. I introduce palaeoart—the depiction of extinct prehistoric fauna and flora, especially from the Mesozoic—as a paradigmatic case of remote art, showing that its remoteness is secured both by the deceptively rich cognitive load required for its creation and appreciation, and by its existence at the margins of the institutional artworld, which ensures that this cognitive loading is largely obscured. Too often, remote art is not just inscrutable, it is invisible to us.

The last cave lion of the late Upper Palaeolithic: The engraved feline of Grotta Romanelli (southern Italy)

On the occasion of the review of the portable art of Grotta Romanelli, a decorated stone with a feline figure was object of an interdisciplinary study. The analysis considered different approaches so to: characterise the stratigraphic setting of the finding, the rock support, look into the techniques used to decorate the stone, elaborate a graphic documentation (photographs, 3D models and tracings), relate the symbolic production with the environmental context, and consider the motifs into the wider late Upper Palaeolithic (LUP) art production.The work allows confirming that the represented subject corresponds to a Panthera spelaea, and fixing some issues concerning the variability of the decorating activity, which is in line with the graphic tradition of the European LUP. Style and formal variable features of the figure might have responded to specific social conventions or to single author's skills, tracing new investigation lines about the cultural behaviour and the decorating activity: from the collection of the raw material and the preliminary modelling of the support, to the different artistic techniques (engraving and painting), from the use of the object to the definition of possible local artistic variations and/or inspiration at large scale. Moreover, it questions the thematic aspect in relation to the local fauna and its influence in the symbolic production, highlighting the importance of this stone in the wider debate about the extinction of the cave lions. Indeed, the Romanelli lion may represent the last evidence of this animal in Europe.

Evaluating the Evidence for Lunar Calendars in Upper Palaeolithic Parietal Art

In this paper, we examine the lunar calendar interpretation to evaluate whether it is a viable explanation for the production of Upper Palaeolithic parietal art. We consider in detail the history of this approach, focusing on recently published variations on this interpretation. We then discuss the scientific method and whether these recent studies are designed to address the research questions necessary to test a lunar calendar hypothesis. More broadly, we explore challenges related to inferring meaning in art of the deep past, the use of secondary sources and selecting appropriate ethnographic analogies. Finally, we assess claims that the lunar calendar interpretation documents the world's oldest (proto)writing system. We conclude that the lunar calendar interpretation as currently construed suffers from multiple theoretical and methodological weaknesses preventing it from being a viable explanation for the production of Upper Palaeolithic art. We further find that claims following from this interpretation to have discovered the oldest known (proto)writing system are unsubstantiated.

Wounded Animals and Where to Find Them. The Symbolism of Hunting in Palaeolithic Art

Representations of wounded animals and humans in European Upper Palaeolithic art have traditionally been conceived as figures related to the hunting activities of hunter-gatherer societies. In this paper, we propose an analysis of Franco-Cantabrian figurative representations showing signs of violence between 35,000 and 13,000 cal. bp to qualify the interpretations of hunting and death in Palaeolithic art. To this end, both multivariate statistical analyses and hypothesis tests have been used to highlight the formal, thematic, chronological and regional similarities and differences in these types of artistic representations. The results show that wounded graphic units are mythograms coded by different variables that do not seem to reflect the actual hunting of the animal, but rather a more complex meaning. It was also discovered that, in early times, the artist preferred to wound secondary or less frequent animals, like deer. This changed in more recent times, when the main animals, such as bison, are wounded under greater normativity and homogeneity in the Pyrenees or the Cantabrian region.

Genetic Variation in Relation to Demography of Male Population in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Until recently, it was believed that people settled in the area of today's Bosnia and Herzegovina only a few thousand years ago, that is, in the epoch of the Neolithic period 5-6 thousand years ago. Intensive archeological excavations revealed traces of men who lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Early Stone Age, or more precisely, in the Middle Paleolithic. In the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the material legacy of the Paleolithic is marked by the oldest monument of Paleolithic art in Southeast Europe - an engraving in the rock of the cave Badanj near Stolac, called Horse attacked by arrows, preserved fragmentarily, and was made around 12,000 BC. Genetic research revealed that the first people in Bosnia and Herzegovina were present even 20,000 years ago. A total of 2,501 people were tested in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they were classified into eight haplogroups: I, R, J, E, G, N, T and Q. The most common haplogroup in Bosnia and Herzegovina is haplogroup I. 52% of tested people belong to this haplogroup (I1- 8% i I2 - 44%). The second most common is haplogroup R with 21% (R1a-5% and R1b-16%), followed by haplogroups E-13%, J-9% (J1-1% and J2-8%), N-3%, G-2% and haplogroups T (3 tested, 0%) and Q (1 tested, 0%). Four haplogroups: I, R, E and J are represented in Bosnia and Herzegovina with 94%. The movement path of haplogroup I2-M423 begins 230,000 years ago from Africa and goes from Nigeria through Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Oman, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, all the way to the Balkan Peninsula. The path ends in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina about 18,000 years ago. Censuses in Bosnia and Herzegovina are also presented in this work. The oldest population census of Bosnia and Herzegovina dates back to the very beginning of the seventeenth century, and was conducted during the Turkish rule in the Balkan countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first population census in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austro-Hungarian authorities was carried out in 1879. Censuses were made in 1885, 1895 and 1910. In the period 1921-2013 a total of nine censuses were carried out in B&H.

Les elevés des Wandjina de George Grey. De L’art Aborigène à L'art primitif (1838–1906)

George Grey’s Wandjina Copies. From Aboriginal Art to Primitive Art (1838–1906) The history of the recognition of Palaeolithic art has been written from the perspective of European discoveries in the last third of the 19th century. Through this case study of the publication of the Wandjina paintings (Australian Kimberley) by George Grey between 1838 and 1841 and through the contextualisation of the interpretations attributed to them the article investigates the intellectual and political space in which conceptions relating to the ability of Aborigines to produce this art emerged within the debates of contemporaries and, later, of English and French prehistorians. It also provides an insight into the different contexts that shaped the will to reconstruct the heritage of non–European cultures in a colonial context.

The deep past in the virtual present: developing an interdisciplinary approach towards understanding the psychological foundations of palaeolithic cave art

Virtual Reality (VR) has vast potential for developing systematic, interdisciplinary studies to understand ephemeral behaviours in the archaeological record, such as the emergence and development of visual culture. Upper Palaeolithic cave art forms the most robust record for investigating this and the methods of its production, themes, and temporal and spatial changes have been researched extensively, but without consensus over its functions or meanings. More compelling arguments draw from visual psychology and posit that the immersive, dark conditions of caves elicited particular psychological responses, resulting in the perception—and depiction—of animals on suggestive features of cave walls. Our research developed and piloted a novel VR experiment that allowed participants to perceive 3D models of cave walls, with the Palaeolithic art digitally removed, from El Castillo cave (Cantabria, Spain). Results indicate that modern participants’ visual attention corresponded to the same topographic features of cave walls utilised by Palaeolithic artists, and that they perceived such features as resembling animals. Although preliminary, our results support the hypothesis that pareidolia—a product of our cognitive evolution—was a key mechanism in Palaeolithic art making, and demonstrates the potential of interdisciplinary VR research for understanding the evolution of art, and demonstrate the potential efficacy of the methodology.

The West Tofts handaxe: A remarkably average, structurally flawed, utilitarian biface

The West Tofts handaxe is a small British Acheulean biface well known for its cortical preservation of a fossilised bivalve shell. The shell's retention, its prominent central placement, and perceptions of the tool's broader aesthetic-value have resulted in it being described as an example of early hominin aesthetic intent. When combined with its mid-to-late Pleistocene age, the handaxe plausibly has implications for our understanding of hominin cognitive evolution and the origins of Palaeolithic art. Crucial to the assignment of aesthetic intent are a series of assumptions concerning the exceptionality of the tool's design, production and use. Here, we test those assumptions. The West Tofts handaxe is revealed to be technologically and morphologically unremarkable for the British late Acheulean, was produced on a tabular flint nodule that did not require invasive (central) flake removals, and displays remarkably average flaking investment. High-resolution micro-CT scans of its internal structure reveal numerous fractures and air pockets, and at least one – potentially two – additional fossilised shells. These inclusions and flaws feasibly impacted the tool's production, potentially resulting in the shell's retention. Limited microwear traces were identified on its distal flaked edges, potentially hinting at the tool's expedient use. These and other data underline the importance of restraint when attributing aesthetic intent or ‘over-investment’ to the West Tofts handaxe. Today we may consider it a remarkable artefact worthy of elevation, but to the Acheulean individual who produced it, the West Tofts handaxe was likely an average utilitarian tool produced on a flawed but conveniently thin flint nodule.

Discussion: “An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and Phenological Calendar” by Bennett Bacon et al. (2023)

A recent work by Bacon et al. (2023) proposes to interpret a large part of Palaeolithic art as an ethological calendar. They argue that by studying the association of certain signs (dots, lines, and Y-shapes) with an animal, it is possible to infer vital episodes such as reproduction, birth, and migration of the represented species. However, in the present article, we discuss some methodological errors made by the authors. For instance, they use a tracing to demonstrate the association between a mammoth and a series of lines at El Pindal, although this tracing is not faithful to the actual arrangement of the pictorial motifs in the cave. In Pair-non-Pair, Sotarriza, and Atxurra caves, the signs considered do not really exist. And in other cases, such as Altxerri, Covaciella, or Tito Bustillo, the signs have been misinterpreted. Important problems such as the lack of definition of “association” and various apriorisms and presentisms adopted by the authors are also exposed and discussed. In conclusion, this proposal lacks methodological support and it is not possible to conclude that an ethological calendar was present in Palaeolithic art.

First direct evidence of lion hunting and the early use of a lion pelt by Neanderthals

During the Upper Paleolithic, lions become an important theme in Paleolithic art and are more frequent in anthropogenic faunal assemblages. However, the relationship between hominins and lions in earlier periods is poorly known and primarily interpreted as interspecies competition. Here we present new evidence for Neanderthal-cave lion interactions during the Middle Paleolithic. We report new evidence of hunting lesions on the 48,000 years old cave lion skeleton found at Siegsdorf (Germany) that attest to the earliest direct instance of a large predator kill in human history. A comparative analysis of a partial puncture to a rib suggests that the fatal stab was delivered with a wooden thrusting spear. We also present the discovery of distal lion phalanges of at least 190,000 years old from Einhornhöhle (Germany), representing the earliest example of the use of cave lion skin by Neanderthals in Central Europe. Our study provides novel evidence on a new dimension of Neanderthal behavioral complexity.

Virtual reconstruction of the Palaeolithic landscape in Santimamiñe cave (Bizkaia, Spain)

Santimamiñe Cave, in Biscay (North Spain) is a well-known archaeological site in the region because of its prompt discovery and excavation in the early 20th century and its ensemble of parietal art. The latest studies have identified human occupation in the entrance from the Lower Magdalenian, while the inner passages were presumably decorated in the Middle and Upper phases of the period (about 16.5 to 14.5 ka). One of the particularities of the cave is its lithochemical deposits in the form of numerous speleothems which acted as a tourist attraction. These formations coat the original passage of the cave, which formed in Lower Cretaceous limestone in the Basque-Cantabrian basin. They have created obstacles (squeezes, climbs, ramps, irregular floors, etc.) which hamper movement through the cave. In fact, Santimamiñe is known for the location of its Palaeolithic art in places with very difficult access. This complicated structure of the cave meant that work had to be carried out during the 20th century so that Santimamiñe could be used as a show cave. Unfortunately, the alterations mean that it is now difficult to imagine what the cave was like in the Magdalenian, when it was decorated.The present study has proposed and developed a methodology for the virtual reconstruction of the cave, based on a geomorphologic study of the karst, the analysis of historical records and three-dimensional digitalisation of the cave. It has thus been possible to reconstruct virtually the form of the cave when it was decorated. This is a key step for a more detailed understanding of human behaviour related to artistic production in the Middle and Upper Magdalenian.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: PALAEOLITHIC ICONOGRAPHY AS A TRAIT OF IDENTITY IN THE IBERIAN PENINSULA

SummaryThe study of the figurative repertoire of Palaeolithic artists allows us to approach aspects such as iconographic diffusion and cultural preferences. This paper presents an updated corpus of figurative rock art for the Iberian peninsula and analyses its distribution in the Cantabrian region, inland Iberia and the Mediterranean basin, three areas frequently used in the literature. This corpus contains 3341 graphic units that were analysed using multivariate statistics and hypothesis testing. The results show that the main figurative themes can be classified according to their discriminating power. Horse, ibex and deer were the animal motifs that formed the common background of this artistic expression. In contrast, Palaeolithic artists used different proportions of bison, hind and aurochs to create a possible distinctive identity. Finally, it is discussed whether the iconographic selection is due to palaeoecological reasons, cultural motivations, or a combination of both.

Conversations with Caves: The Role of Pareidolia in the Upper Palaeolithic Figurative Art of Las Monedas and La Pasiega (Cantabria, Spain)

The influence of pareidolia has often been anecdotally observed in examples of Upper Palaeolithic cave art, where topographic features of cave walls were incorporated into images. As part of a wider investigation into the visual psychology of the earliest known art, we explored three hypotheses relating to pareidolia in cases of Late Upper Palaeolithic art in Las Monedas and La Pasiega Caves (Cantabria, Spain). Deploying current research methods from visual psychology, our results support the notion that topography of cave walls played a strong role in the placement of figurative images—indicative of pareidolia influencing art making—although played a lesser role in determining whether the resulting images were relatively simple or complex. Our results also suggested that lighting conditions played little or no role in determining the form or placement of images, contrary to what has been previously assumed. We hypothesize that three ways of artist–cave interaction (‘conversations’) were at work in our sample caves and suggest a developmental scheme for these. We propose that these ‘conversations’ with caves and their surfaces may have broader implications for how we conceive of the emergence and development of art in the Palaeolithic.

Cova Dones: a major Palaeolithic cave art site in eastern Iberia

ABSTRACTThis article presents details of the recent discovery of Palaeolithic cave art in Cova Dones, Valencia. The preliminary results reveal a rich graphic assemblage with features that are unusual for Mediterranean Upper Palaeolithic art and were previously unknown for the Pleistocene in the eastern Iberian coast.

Nuevo hallazgo de arte mueble de estilo Paleolítico en el Noreste peninsular: la plaqueta grabada de les Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Tarragona)

This paper reports the discovery of a schist slab with 7 zoomorphic figures (deer, wild goats and/or bulls) and other engraved remains at Coves del Fem site (Ulldemolins, Priorat, Tarragona) in 2020. This find adds to the limited, although unique, repertoire of portable art of Palaeolithic style found so far in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. A detailed analysis of this piece and comparison with the artistic record known so far for the Mediterranean side of Iberia are key to establish the relative chronology of this find. The themes (a combination of animals and non-figurative motifs), the formal (simplified representations of animals with elongated bodies), technical (a schist slab with fine incised engravings filled with striated strokes) and compositional patterns of the motifs, with a complex palimpsest of figurative and non-figurative engravings distributed on both sides creating two non-scenic compositions, recall an art from the end of the Paleolithic artistic cycle. To these common elements, this slab adds certain singularities. First, two animals of different species are involved in a mirror symmetry composition,which is not unique to this site, but it is more common in older periods and with the animals distributed on both sides of a vertical axis, rather than horizontal, as in this case. Such distribution has no parallels in this final phase of the artistic sequence. Second, the microscopic analysis of the art reveals the preservation of red pigment inside the engraved grooves, showing the use of a mixed technique, involving a combination of incision and painting. This practice, used probably to enhance motifs and improve visualization, has been recorded in a limited number of Palaeolithic sites, most likely due to conservation problems. Third, the slab includes the first example of an engraved goat known in the Catalan repertoire. Overall, this find contributes to expand the repertoire of Catalan Paleolithic art, confirms the importance of the Tarragona province, concentrating most of the finds of Paleolithic portable art in Catalonia, and opens new perspectives in the study of Coves del Fem, substantially expanding the chronology of this site until the end of the Upper Paleolithic period. Finally, it brings a new example with its own peculiarities (the type of composition) for characterizing the art of the Pleistocene/Holocene transition in south-western Europe.

Illuminating palaeolithic art using virtual reality: A new method for integrating dynamic firelight into interpretations of art production and use

Approaches to Palaeolithic art have increasingly shifted beyond the traditional focus on engraved or depicted forms in isolation, to appreciating the sensorial experience of art making as integral to shaping the form of depictions and the meaning imbued within them. This kind of research appreciates an array of factors pertinent to how the art may have been understood or experienced by people during the Palaeolithic, including placement, lighting, accessibility, sound, and tactility. This paper contributes to this “sensory turn” in Palaeolithic art research, arguing that the roving light cast by the naked flame of fires, torches or lamps is an important dimension in understanding artistic experiences. However, capturing these effects, whether during analysis, as part of interpretation, or presentation, can be challenging. A new method is presented in virtual reality (VR) modelling – applied to Palaeolithic art contexts for the first time - as a safe and non-destructive means of simulating dynamic light sources to facilitate analysis, interpretation, and presentation of Palaeolithic art under actualistic lighting conditions. VR was applied to two Magdalenian case studies: parietal art from Las Monedas (Spain) and portable stone plaquettes from Montastruc (France). VR models were produced using Unity software and digital models of the art captured via whitelight (Montastruc) and photogrammetric (Las Monedas) scans. The results demonstrate that this novel application of VR facilitates the testing of hypotheses related to the sensorial and experiential dimensions of Palaeolithic art, allowing discussions of these elements to be elevated beyond theoretical ideas.

Dots, circles and horses: New rock art evidence through image-based digital methods in Moro Cave (Tarifa, Spain)

In the mid-1990s, Moro Cave rock-shelter became a key site to understand the rock art phenomenon in southernmost Iberia, as the discovery of Solutrean engravings settled former arguments about the presence of Upper Palaeolithic art in the region. Since then, discontinuous and unsystematic interventions in this site not only left many questions unanswered but also reduced its scientific relevance in broader reviews and discussions. In this paper, we highlight how current digital applications of image-based spatial methods are improving the study of rock art in Campo de Gibraltar and La Janda ancient lagoon area (Cádiz province, Spain).Here we present the first results of the introduction of ‘free and open-source’ image-based recording methods to research at Moro Cave, such as photogrammetric Structure from Motion, orthophotomosaics, microtopography, and statistical band-processing of raster imagery. As a result, spatial modelling of the rock-shelter, microtopography of panels, and the discovery of numerous unpublished motifs across the whole site provide promising insights for future research. This paper focuses on new faint and particular dotted painted patterns (spirals/concentric circles, alignments, and aggregations) related to the large horse on the lower floor; cultural parallels, Upper Palaeolithic adscription, taphonomic issues and future directions are discussed. As a conclusion, a Late Solutrean/Early Magdalenian chronology is proposed due to dot size and shape, arrangement and composition, comparison with other sites, and degree of degradation.

Multi-light photogrammetric survey applied to the complex documentation of engravings in Palaeolithic rock art: the Cova de les Meravelles (Gandia, Valencia, Spain)

The new phase of study and revision of the Palaeolithic art of the Cova de les Meravelles, as well as the advances made in the field of 3D documentation in recent years, have motivated a new documentation campaign on the main panel full of tiny engraved motifs. The difficulties involved in acquiring and processing data executed using fine and thin engraving techniques indoors, have been solved through a multi-light photogrammetric survey, photographing the main panel surface with five lighting directions, and applying principal component analysis (PCA). This procedure has allowed us to obtain a large corpus of two and three-dimensional data and to improve the documentation base produced 17 years ago after its discovery. In this paper, we present the procedure followed, the enhanced engraving results in the new documentation campaign, its most significant contributions to the complex archaeological survey, and the limits we have found along the procedure.