- [Narrator] Wooly mammoths, step bison,
and other large mammals
once roamed alongside
people across Eurasia.
Tens of thousands of years later,
we may have glimpse
into this Ice Age world
through the cave art left
behind by early humans.
(tinkling music)
Around 400 art-filled caves and shelters
predominately located in France and Spain
have been discovered so far.
Some of the most elaborate
prehistoric artwork
exists in caves in France
known as Lascaux Grotto
and Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc.
Cave art dates as far
back as 65,000 years ago
to the time of the neanderthals.
Though, radiocarbon
dating and other methods
have revealed most art to be
less than 40,000 years old
and created by homo sapiens.
The majority of cave art depicts animals
that humans would have
encountered or hunted
during the Ice Age,
such as mammoths, horses,
lions, aurochs, and deer.
Some human figures and other symbols
have also been discovered.
Cave paintings were mostly created
with red or black
pigments made from rocks.
Some artworks were painted
directly onto cave walls,
while some were first engraved
into the stone with tools.
Occasionally, the artists would follow
the natural contours of the stone walls
to accentuate an animal's features.
Ever since the late
1800s, people have debated
the meaning and purpose of cave art.
Some scholars think cave paintings
were created by shamans who
would go deep into caves
and enter a trance-like state,
drawing animals they
encountered in the spirit world.
Symbols repeated across artworks
may indicate that those symbols
had agreed upon meaning among the artists.
Thus, perhaps cave art also represents
the earliest form of
graphic communication.
In reality, cave art may have been created
for a variety of reasons.
While we may never know
with absolute certainty
why cave art was made,
or the meaning behind
individual paintings,
these works give us insight
into the evolving minds
of our prehistoric ancestors
and the world in which they lived.
By one view, cave artists
were prehistoric naturalists.
Their detailed drawings may teach us
about the appearance
and behavior of animals
that have long been extinct.
But perhaps more significant,
a part of our never-ending
quest to find out
who we are and where we came from,
cave art may provide evidence of a time
when humans were first able
to etch their thoughts in stone.
