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The Venus of Hohle Fels (also known as the Venus of Schelklingen; in German variously Venus vom Hohlen Fels, vom Hohle Fels; Venus von Schelklingen) is an Upper Paleolithic Venus figurine made of mammoth ivory that was unearthed in 2008 in Hohle Fels, a cave near Schelklingen, Germany. It is dated to between 40,000 and 35,000 years ago, belonging to the early Aurignacian, at the very beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, which is associated with the earliest presence of Cro-Magnon in Europe.

The figure is the oldest undisputed example of a depiction of a human being. In terms of figurative art only the lion-headed, zoomorphic Löwenmensch figurine is older. The Venus figurine is housed at the Prehistoric Museum of Blaubeuren (Urgeschichtliches Museum Blaubeuren).

The Swabian Alb region of Germany has a number of caves that have yielded many mammoth-ivory artifacts of the Upper Paleolithic period. Approximately 25 items have been discovered to date. These include the Löwenmensch figurine of Hohlenstein-Stadel dated to 40,000 years ago and an ivory flute found at Geißenklösterle, dated to 42,000 years ago. This mountainous region is located in Baden-Württemberg and is bounded by the Danube in the southeast, the upper Neckar in the northwest, and in the southwest it rises to the higher mountains of the Black Forest.

This concentration of evidence of full behavioral modernity, including figurative art and instrumental music among humans in the period of 40 to 30 thousand years ago, is unique worldwide and its discoverer, archaeologist Nicholas Conard, speculates that the bearers of the Aurignacian culture in the Swabian Alb may be credited with the invention, not just of figurative art and music, but possibly, the earliest religious practices as well. Within a distance of 70 cm to the Venus figurine, Conard's team also found a flute made from a vulture bone. Additional artifacts excavated from the same cave layer included flint-knapping debris, worked bone, and carved ivory as well as remains of tarpans, reindeer, cave bears, woolly mammoths, and Alpine Ibexes.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Hohle_Fels

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This is the fifth of the venus figurines that make up the Russian school of prehistoric sculpture which emerged during the final phase of Gravettian art, around 20,000 BCE. The first example is the Venus of Kostenky from Voronezh; two other nearby examples are the Venus of Gagarino (Lipetsk) and the Avdeevo Venuses (Kursk); the most distant ones are the Mal'ta Venuses (Irkutsk) from Siberia. Zaraysk (or Zaraisk) is an important Paleolithic site which dates back to about 22,000 BCE, about the time of the Last Glacial Maximum of the Ice Age. The site's most famous item of prehistoric art is the Zaraysk Venus (or rather venuses - since there are two figurines not one, though the second is unfinished). Neither has been dated directly, but they are believed to have been carved about 20,000 BCE, which makes them contemporaneous with Kostenky, Gagarino and Avdeevo, and slightly later than other archetypal European figurines, like the Venus of Willendorf (Lower Austria). In addition, Zaraysk is noted for another piece of Stone Age art, a remarkably lifelike ivory carving of a bison, dating to the same period as the figurines. To see how the sculpture at Zaraysk fits into the general evolution of Paleolithic culture, please see Prehistoric Art Timeline (from 2.5 million BCE).

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This is the fifth of the venus figurines that make up the Russian school of prehistoric sculpture which emerged during the final phase of Gravettian art, around 20,000 BCE. The first example is the Venus of Kostenky from Voronezh; two other nearby examples are the Venus of Gagarino (Lipetsk) and the Avdeevo Venuses (Kursk); the most distant ones are the Mal'ta Venuses (Irkutsk) from Siberia. Zaraysk (or Zaraisk) is an important Paleolithic site which dates back to about 22,000 BCE, about the time of the Last Glacial Maximum of the Ice Age. The site's most famous item of prehistoric art is the Zaraysk Venus (or rather venuses - since there are two figurines not one, though the second is unfinished). Neither has been dated directly, but they are believed to have been carved about 20,000 BCE, which makes them contemporaneous with Kostenky, Gagarino and Avdeevo, and slightly later than other archetypal European figurines, like the Venus of Willendorf (Lower Austria). In addition, Zaraysk is noted for another piece of Stone Age art, a remarkably lifelike ivory carving of a bison, dating to the same period as the figurines. To see how the sculpture at Zaraysk fits into the general evolution of Paleolithic culture, please see Prehistoric Art Timeline (from 2.5 million BCE).

The town of Zaraysk is situated on the right bank of the Osyotr River, some 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Moscow. The archeological site is located just outside the walls of Zaraysk's medieval fortress. It has been excavated since 1995 by a team from the Russian Academy of Sciences, led by archeologists Hizri Amirkhanov and Sergey Lev. This team has unearthed several examples of ancient mobiliary art, including the bison, in 2002, and the pair of figurines, in 2005.

The two venus figurines were found carefully buried in separate storage pits, in the centre of a Kostenky-style Ice Age habitation, next to a series of hollowed-out earth-dwellings. Each statuette had been covered by a large mammoth bone, and lay on a deposit of red ochre, one of the most common colour pigments of the time. The first figure was found whole, but in a poorly preserved state; the second was found in a better preserved condition, but damaged and incomplete. Both venuses resembled those discovered at Avdeevo, near Kursk to the south-west.

For a spectacular example of Russian cave art in the Urals, please see the: Kapova Cave Paintings (12,500 BCE) in the Shulgan-Tash Preserve.

European venus figurines had a number of typical features. (1) All depicted female nudes. (2) They tended to be excessively obese, especially around the hips. See, for instance, the Venus of Lespugue (c.23,000 BCE). (3) They emphasized the unique characteristics of the female, who was often depicted as pregnant: breasts were huge but drooping; buttocks were large and protruding; and the belly was typically swollen. See the Venus of Moravany (24,000 BCE). (4) Genitalia were frequently exaggerated - sometimes to the point of caricature. See, for example, the vulva of the Venus of Monpazier (c.25,000 BCE). (5) Their faces were featureless. See, for instance, the Venus of Dolni Vestonice (26,000 BCE).

In contrast, Russian venuses tend to be thinner and less voluptuous. Some even have flat stomachs and buttocks. Also, neither their genitalia nor their general female characteristics are exaggerated. Their faces have features (eyes, nose, mouth) at least half the time. Their 'nudity' is not convincing, and many contain markings suggestive of clothes. Finally, they include the occasional male venus or zoomorphic figure. Generally speaking, the Gagarino and Kostenky venuses tend to be more obese - that is, less 'Russian' and more 'European' than the Avdeevo and Mal'ta figures. (Note: for a different sculptural idiom altogether, see the Magdalenian Venus of Eliseevichi.)

The completed figurine (Venus 1), which was found the day before the other, measures about 17 centimetres (7 inches) in height, and 4.5 centimetres at its widest point (hips). Its unfinished sister (Venus 2) is less than half as tall and two-thirds the width.

Venus 1 (four views of which are pictured left) has some obesity around the middle, but she is stocky rather than voluptuous, and there are no signs of any exaggeration of genitalia or any other female characteristics. The legs are clearly defined and depicted as standing apart. Her head has no facial features, but markings are suggestive of a hair-style or possibly a cap. In short, she has the non-obese shape of the Russian school, with elements of both the Kostenky and Avdeevo styles.

Note: for more examples of Stone Age art from the Russian interior, see: Amur River Basin Pottery (from 14,300 BCE), and also the extraordinary Shigir Idol (7,500 BCE), the oldest known wood carving.

The famous Zaraysk bison sculpture was discovered in 2002, on a type of raised stage at the bottom of a small storage pit. Carved from a mammoth tusk, it measures about 10 centimetres (4 inches) in length and, according to Amirkhanov, its dimensions coincide perfectly with those of an adult bison. It is rendered in a true-to-life style, with added engravings showing mane and beard. For a comparison with European sculptures of animals, please see: Ivory Carvings of the Swabian Jura (Germany).

In addition to those cited above, see the following European venus figurines.

- Venus of Hohle Fels (ivory) Swabia, Germany.
- Venus of Galgenberg (green steatite) Lower Austria.
- Venus of Savignano (serpentine) Modena, Italy.
- Venus of Brassempouy (ivory) Landes, France.

* For more about parietal art, see: Cave Painting.

* For more about softstone venuses, see: Stone Sculpture.

* For more carving from Russia, see: Russian Art (22,000 BCE-present).

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This is the fifth of the venus figurines that make up the Russian school of prehistoric sculpture which emerged during the final phase of Gravettian art, around 20,000 BCE. The first example is the Venus of Kostenky from Voronezh; two other nearby examples are the Venus of Gagarino (Lipetsk) and the Avdeevo Venuses (Kursk); the most distant ones are the Mal'ta Venuses (Irkutsk) from Siberia.

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The Bhimbetka Rock Shelters are archaeological sites in central India spanning the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and historical periods. It marks the earliest traces of humankind in India and evidence that the Stone Age began at this site during the Ashurian period. It is located in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, India, about 45 kilometers southeast of Bhopal. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it consists of seven hills and more than 750 rock shelters spread over 10 kilometers (6.2 miles)[2][6]. At least some of the dwellings were inhabited more than 100,000 years ago.[2][7] According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, rock shelters and caves ranged from hunter-gatherers to agriculture to prehistoric spirits. It provides evidence of a “rare glimpse” of human settlement and cultural development, right down to
Inside Bimbetka's rock shelters are prehistoric cave paintings, the oldest dating to about 10,000 years ago (c.  These cave paintings depict subjects such as animals,  evidence of early Stone Age dancing and hunting, and post-horse-riding (possibly Bronze Age) warriors. It has  rock art on display [17] and is one of the largest prehistoric complexes [8][18]. The Bhimbetka Refuge also contains Precambrian fossils  hundreds of millions of years older than humans, including the enigmatic primitive Dickinsonia.

Reference: Yashodhar Mathpal, 1984, Prehistoric Painting Of Bhimbetka, Page 214.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhimbetka_rock_shelters

- Charlene Bangan
BSN-YA-40

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The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site in central India that spans the prehistoric Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, as well as the historic period. It exhibits the earliest traces of human life in India and evidence of Stone Age starting at the site in Acheulian times. It is located in the Raisen District in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh about 45 kilometres (28 mi) south-east of Bhopal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that consists of seven hills and over 750 rock shelters distributed over 10 km (6.2 mi). At least some of the shelters were inhabited more than 100,000 years ago. The rock shelters and caves provide evidence of, according to Encyclopædia Britannica, a "rare glimpse" into human settlement and cultural evolution from hunter-gatherers, to agriculture, and expressions of prehistoric spirituality.

Some of the Bhimbetka rock shelters feature prehistoric cave paintings and the earliest are about 10,000 years old (c. 8,000 BCE), corresponding to the Indian Mesolithic. These cave paintings show themes such as animals, early evidence of dance and hunting. The Bhimbetka site has the oldest-known rock art in India, as well as is one of the largest prehistoric complexes.

As of February 2021, Dickinsonia has been reported at Bhimbetka.

The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka is 45 kilometres south-east of Bhopal and 9 km from Obedullaganj city in the Raisen District of Madhya Pradesh at the southern edge of the Vindhya Range. South of these rock shelters are successive ranges of the Satpura hills. It is inside the Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary, embedded in sandstone rocks, in the foothills of the Vindhya Range. The site consists of seven hills: Vinayaka, Bhonrawali, Bhimbetka, Lakha Juar (east and west), Jhondra and Muni Babaki Pahari.

W. Kincaid, a British India era official, first mentioned Bhimbetka in a scholarly paper in 1888. He relied on the information he gathered from local adivasis (tribals) about Bhojpur lake in the area and referred to Bhimbetka as a Buddhist site. The first archaeologist to visit a few caves at the site and discover its prehistoric significance was V. S. Wakankar, who saw these rock formations and thought these were similar to those he had seen in Spain and France. He visited the area with a team of archaeologists and reported several prehistoric rock shelters in 1957.

It was only in the 1970s that the scale and true significance of the Bhimbetka rock shelters was discovered and reported. Since then, more than 750 rock shelters have been identified. The Bhimbetka group contains 243 of these, while the Lakha Juar group nearby has 178 shelters. According to Archaeological Survey of India, the evidence suggests that there has been a continuous human settlement here from the Stone Age through the late Acheulian to the late Mesolithic until the 2nd century BCE in these caves. This is based on excavations at the site, the discovered artifacts and wares, pigments in deposits, as well as the rock paintings.

The site contains the world's oldest stone walls and floors.

Barkheda has been identified as the source of the raw materials used in some of the monoliths discovered at Bhimbetka.

The site consisting of 1,892 hectares was declared as protected under Indian laws and came under the management of the Archaeological Survey of India in 1990. It was declared as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2003.

Of the numerous shelters, the Auditorium cave is one of the significant features of the site. Surrounded by quartzite towers which are visible from several kilometres' distance, the Auditorium rock is the largest shelter at Bhimbetka. Robert Bednarik describes the prehistoric Auditorium cave as one with a "cathedral-like" atmosphere, with "its Gothic arches and soaring spaces". Its plan resembles a "right-angled cross" with four of its branches aligned to the four cardinal directions. The main entrance points to the east. At the end of this eastern passage, at the cave's entrance, is a boulder with a near-vertical panel that is distinctive, one visible from distance and all directions. In archaeology literature, this boulder has been dubbed as "Chief's Rock" or "King's Rock", though there is no evidence of any rituals or its role as such. The boulder with the Auditorium cave is the central feature of the Bhimbetka, midst its 754 numbered shelters spread over few kilometres on either side, and nearly 500 locations where rock paintings can be found, states Bednarik.

The rock shelters and caves of Bhimbetka have a large number of paintings. The oldest paintings are found to be 10,000 years old, but some of the geometric figures date to as recently as the medieval period. The colours used are vegetable colours which have endured through time because the drawings were generally made deep inside a niche or on inner walls. The drawings and paintings can be classified under seven different periods.

Period I - ( Upper Paleolithic): These are linear representations, in green and dark red, of huge figures of animals such as bison, tigers and rhinoceroses.[dubious ][citation needed ]

Period II - ( Mesolithic): Comparatively small in size the stylised figures in this group show linear decorations on the body. In addition to animals there are human figures and hunting scenes, giving a clear picture of the weapons they used: barbed spears, pointed sticks, bows and arrows. Some scenes are interpreted as depicting tribal war between three tribes symbolised by their animal totems. The depiction of communal dances, birds, musical instruments, mothers and children, pregnant women, men carrying dead animals, drinking and burials appear in rhythmic movement.

Period III - ( Chalcolithic) Similar to the paintings of the Mesolithic, these drawings reveal that during this period the cave dwellers of this area were in contact with the agricultural communities of the Malwa plains, exchanging goods with them.

Period IV & V - (Early historic): The figures of this group have a schematic and decorative style and are painted mainly in red, white and yellow. The association is of riders, depiction of religious symbols, tunic-like dresses and the existence of scripts of different periods. The religious beliefs are represented by figures of yakshas, tree gods and magical sky chariots.[citation needed ]

Period VI & VII - (Medieval): These paintings are geometric linear and more schematic, but they show degeneration and crudeness in their artistic style. The colors used by the cave dwellers were prepared by combining black manganese oxides, red hematite and charcoal.

One rock, popularly referred to as "Zoo Rock", depicts elephants, barasingha (swamp deer), bison and deer. Paintings on another rock show a peacock, a snake, a deer and the sun. On another rock, two elephants with tusks are painted. Hunting scenes with hunters carrying bows, arrows, swords, and shields also find their place in the community of these pre-historic paintings. In one of the caves, a bison is shown in pursuit of a hunter while his two companions appear to stand helplessly nearby; in another, some horsemen are seen, along with archers. In one painting, a large wild bovine (possibly a gaur or bison) is seen.[citation needed ]

The paintings are classified largely in two groups, one as depictions of hunters and food gatherers, and in others as fighters, riding on horses and elephant carrying metal weapons. The first group of paintings date to prehistoric times while second one dates to historic times. Most of the paintings from the historic period depict battles between rulers carrying swords, spears, bows and arrows.

In one of the desolate rock shelters, the painting of a man holding a trident-like staff and dancing has been nicknamed " Nataraj" by archaeologist V. S. Wakankar. It is estimated that paintings in at least 100 rock shelters might have eroded away.

The only painting in the caves showing a man being attacked by a horned bovine.

Mesolithic dancers at Bhimbetka

An eroded painting in the caves showing "Natraj" dancing and holding a trident

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The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site in central India that spans the prehistoric Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, as well as the historic period. It exhibits the earliest traces of human life in India and evidence of Stone Age starting at the site in Acheulian times.

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Statue of Gudea: Neo-Sumerian period, circa 2,090 BCE.

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Statue of Gudea: Neo-Sumerian period, circa 2,090 BCE.

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In Mesopotamian Babylonia, an abundance of clay and lack of stone led to greater use of mud brick. Babylonian temples were massive structures of crude brick supported by buttresses , with drains to remove rain. The use of brick led to the early development of the pilaster , column , frescoes , and enameled tiles. Walls were brilliantly colored and sometimes plated with zinc or gold, as well as with tiles. Painted terra cotta cones for torches were also embedded in the plaster. In Babylonia, three-dimensional figures often replaced bas-relief—the earliest examples being the Statues of Gudea, which are realistic if somewhat clumsy. The paucity of stone in Babylonia made every pebble precious and led to perfection in the art of gem cutting.

Reference:
https://brewminate.com/prehistoric-art-the-language-of-images/

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The Dancing girl is a rare and unique masterpiece and made of bronze.
It belongs to Indus Valley Civilization and  dates back to 2500 BC. The statuette was found in the Ancient Mohenjo-daro site in 1926.

According to Archaeologists, this statuette is "the most captivating piece of art from an Indus site." because its shows a more natural pose compared to other more formal figures. It is symbolize the aesthetics of a female body during this period. There is no evidence that she is dancing and may not even represent a female dance but due to her pose in the sculpture it was assumed that her profession was a dancer and named "Dancing Girl".

The statue is a thin young woman standing with her right hand on the back of her hip and the left hand resting on her left thigh. Her features are prominent with large eyes, curly hair and flat nose. She appears to be naked and wearing only a necklace alongside with 25 bangles or bracelets in one hand and 4 in the other.

Reference: https://joyofmuseums.com/museums/asia-museums/india-museums/national-museum-new-delhi/dancing-girl-mohenjo-daro/

Submitted by Marielle Pauline A. Nuestro, BSN 1-YA-40

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Lion Man is a carving made out of a mammoth tusk that dates back to an amazing 35,000 to 40,000 years old, making it an extremely ancient example of human art and likely a glimpse into the world of humanity’s first religions. The statue is of a person with a lion’s head, much like the Egyptian Sphinx (albeit in reverse), only from many thousands of years prior. The pre historic sculpture discovered in a German cave in 1939.

Reference:https://listverse.com/2018/12/11/10-prehistoric-works-of-art-and-their-stories/

Submitted by: Wayne Russell Hortilano

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Image Credit : Jack Versloot – CC BY 2.0

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A group of caves known as Lascaux are located close to the village of Montignac in the Dordogne department of southwest France. The interior walls and ceilings of the cave are covered with more than 600 parietal wall paintings.

The paintings primarily depict large animals, typical of the area and current fauna, which match the Upper Paleolithic fossil record. The paintings' age is uncertain but is thought to be around 17,000 years old. The drawings are the work of many generations (early Magdalenian).

Reference:

HeritageDaily. (2021, August 26). 10 prehistoric cave paintings. HeritageDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/03/10-prehistoric-cave-paintings/126971?amp

Submitted by: Ehdrian S. Bercinio

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Clay figurines (dogū) of humans and animals were made throughout the Jōmon period, particularly during the latter half, and establish the beginnings of Japan’s sculptural tradition. The largest percentage of these figures, including this statuette from northern Honshū, comprises highly stylized females with enlarged breasts, hips, and stomachs presumed to have been fertility symbols.

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This stele is substantial, standing about three feet high. However, this free-standing stone sculpture's appearance of humanness or anthropomorphism is not solely due to its height. Despite the fact that both sides are sculpted, the focus is upon the front, especially its waist, chest, and face: a trapezoidal head lies directly on squared shoulders also with overview of a traditional pattern two closely-spaced eyes as well as a flat nose; on the robed figure's torso, a necklace hovers with two cords diagonal direction crossing the body with an awl; and on the waist, a double-bladed dagger The sculpture is straightforward—even abstract—but it unmistakably depicts a human figure.

References:
Anthropomorphic stele, El-Maakir-Qaryat al-kaafa near Ha’il, Saudi Arabia, 4th millennium B.C.E. (4000-3000 B.C.E.), sandstone, 92 x 21 cm (National Museum, Riyadh)
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/global-prehistory-ap/paleolithic-mesolithic-neolithic-apah/a/anthropomorphic-stele
by Nathalie Hager.

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Anthropomorphic stele (article) | Khan Academy

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4 of the Avdeevo Venuses(c.20,000 BCE)Left to Right:(1) Venus No 6.(2) One of the Double Venus figures.(3) Venus No 9(4) Venus No 7

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The Avdeevo Venuses exemplify prehistoric sculpture in the European heartland of Russia, during the period of Gravettian art (25,000-20,000 BCE). Along with the Venus of Kostenky (22,000 BCE) and the Venus of Gagarino (20,000 BCE) they form a centre of Paleolithic art, within the Kursk-Voronezh-Lipetsk triangle. Although they belong to the wider European tradition of venus figurines, the Avdeevo sculptures depict mature women in different phases of the reproductive cycle, who (overall) are somewhat less obese and less well defined than such archetypal figures as the Venus of Willendorf (25,000 BCE), or the Venus of Moravany (24,000 BCE). This is a relative difference only. Indeed, the central-Russian tradition - as illustrated by the Kostenky-Avdeevo-Gagarino sites - appears to have two venus paradigms: one fat, and one thin - with the Avdeevo figurines inclining to the latter. A more significant difference, perhaps, between the Russian and non-Russian venuses, is that the genitalia of the former are less exaggerated. If, as believed, venus figurines were fertility symbols that embodied the mysteries of childbirth, Russian Stone Age artists clearly leaned towards a different representation of this than their counterparts in central and western Europe.

Reference:
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric/avdeevo-venuses.htm

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The oldest known Stone Age sculpture is the Venus of Berekhat Ram, found on the Golan Heights, which dates back to the Acheulean culture of the Lower Paleolithic. A contemporaneous figurine - the Venus of Tan-Tan, was later discovered in Morocco.

Reference: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric/sculpture.htm

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The Venus of Berekhat Ram (280,000-250,000 BP) is a pebble found at Berekhat Ram on the Golan Heights. The pebble was modified by early humans and is suggested to represent a female human figure.

The object was excavated and first described by Naama Goren-Inbar from the Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The artifact is a scoria pebble, 35 mm long, 25 mm wide, and 21 mm thick. It weighs approximately 10 g. It was excavated in 1981 at the Acheulian site of Berekhat Ram, Golan Heights. The object is dated 280,000-250,000 BP.

Goren-Inbar reported several artificial grooves on the object: one is a transversal groove in the upper third, others are longitudinal grooves on the sides below the traversal groove. Alexander Marshack performed a microscopic study of the object in 1997. He also reported artificial modifications including the transversal and longitudinal grooves found by Goren-Inbar. Finally, Francesco d'Errico and April Nowell re-examined the object using a comparative approach. They partly confirmed, partly corrected the findings of Marshack. d'Errico and Nowell also reported the above grooves (with some corrections) and, additionally, reported areas of possible abrasion on the front, back and bottom of the object.

Goren-Inbar and Marshack suggested that the object resembled a female body and was artificially modified by hominids to emphasize its anthropomorphic features. The object was then called a figurine and is currently known as the Venus of Berekhat Ram (the term "Venus" was taken from the conventional name of much younger Venus figurines of Upper Paleolithic). If this hypothesis is correct, the object would be the earliest example of representational art in the archaeological record, together with the Venus of Tan-Tan.

d'Errico and Nowell confirmed the artificial nature of modifications of the object, but refrained from identifying it with a human body. They noted that grooves, in general, may have a functional purpose. Still, they stated that the longitudinal symmetrical U-shaped grooves (supposedly representing the "arms") are hard to explain functionally. So, similarly to Goren-Inbar and Marshack, d'Errico and Nowell argued in favor of the non-utilitarian and symbolic nature of the object.

The main discussion around the Venus of Berekhat Ram took place after the study of d'Errico and Nowell. A number of scholars, namely, Ofer Bar-Yosef, Angela E. Close, João Zilhão, Steven Mithen, Thomas G. Wynn, and Alexander Marshack, commented on that study, while d'Errico and Nowell provided a reply to these comments (both the comments and reply are included in the manuscript). The discussion around the Venus of Berekhat Ram concerned three questions:

1. Whether the scratched marks were made by humans or hominids at all.

2. If they were, whether they had non-utilitarian/symbolic intent.

3. If they did, whether they were intended to represent a female figure.

Anthropogenic origin

All commentators of d'Errico and Nowell's study were convinced by their analysis and results and accepted the hypothesis that the object was modified by early humans. Marshack argued in favor of this hypothesis already in his earlier study of the object.

Symbolic vs. utilitarian

d'Errico and Nowell's argument that the "arm"-shaped grooves suggest a symbolic nature of the object was questioned by three commentators: João Zilhão from the Instituto Português de Arqueologia, Thomas Wynn from the University of Colorado, and Steven Mithen from the University of Reading. All of them suggested that the object and its grooves could have a utilitarian purpose. Zilhão hypothesized that the object could be used to produce pigment and that the grooves could be byproducts of this process. Wynn suggested that the object could be a result of "someone passing time with a stone tool and a pebble". Mithen also stated that our symbolic understanding of the object does not imply that it was considered as such by early humans who produced it, because the cognitive processes for symbolic thinking we use today may differ from the ones used by early humans.

d'Errico and Nowell argued, however, that, although their analysis and results cannot refute a functional interpretation of the object, there are too many inconsistencies in this interpretation to investigate it any further. For example, d'Errico and Nowell suggested that, based on the existing Acheulean archaeological record, pigment "would have been more quickly and effectively produced by grinding one face of this object against a basalt flake or smashing it with a similar tool", which is different from the process used to create the observed grooves. This contradicts the hypothesis of Zilhão. d'Errico and Nowell also believe that the grooves on the object are the result of a deliberate motion rather than of non-purposive behavior, as suggested by Wynn.

Representational nature

Zilhão, Wynn, and Mithen rejected the hypothesis on the symbolic nature of the object and, thus, rejected the idea that the object is iconic. Angela E. Close from the University of Washington also could not see a figurine of a woman in the object, but, instead, the object reminded her of a penguin and a phallus when seen from different angles.

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The Venus of Berekhat Ram (280,000-250,000 BP) is a pebble found at Berekhat Ram on the Golan Heights. The pebble was modified by early humans and is suggested to represent a female human figure. The object was excavated and first described by Naama Goren-Inbar from the Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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Laas Geel are cave formations on the rural outskirts of Hargeisa, Somaliland, situated in the Woqooyi Galbeed region of the country. They contain some of the earliest known cave paintings in the Horn of Africa.

The paintings are very well preserved and show images of cows in ceremonial robes, humans, domesticated dogs and giraffes. Laas Geel’s rock art is estimated to date to somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000 years ago.

References:
Valette, C. (2020, March 30). 10 PREHISTORIC CAVE PAINTINGS. Heritage Daily.
10 prehistoric cave paintings - HeritageDaily - Archaeology News

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Stonehenge is one of the world's most famous prehistoric works of art. It's a massive stone circle that appears to have been designed as a place of worship, religious ceremony, and absolute significance in prehistoric times. Stonehenge was actually built over the course of centuries, beginning around 3000 BC. This massive structure is similar to the pyramids of Egypt in England, and it boggles the mind that Neolithic tribes were able to construct it.

It all started around 8000 to 7000 BC, when early humans began erecting wooden pine structures and digging ditches in the surrounding area. Then, thousands of years later, people began piling stones on top of one another, forming a massive structure.

References:
Admin, A. (2019, May 9). 10 Prehistoric Works of Art and Their Stories. Buzzfeeds.
10 Prehistoric Works Of Art And Their Stories – BuzzFeeds.site

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The area, which has been inhabited since the eighth millennium BC, contains thousands of rock engravings depicting hunting scenes, people, ships, constellations, animals, and so on. Qobustan's international recognition came in 2007, when UNESCO inscribed the 'Qobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape' on the World Heritage list. The oldest petroglyphs date from the 12th century BC. Inscriptions left by Alexander the Great's cohorts in the 4th century BC and 2,000-year-old graffiti written by Trajan's Roman legionnaires! The petroglyphs of Qobustan were discovered accidentally by quarry workers only in the 1930s. In addition to the rock carvings, traces of Mesolithic period occupation are to be seen, with numerous burial mounds and graves.Settled since the 8th millenniun

References:
Walter, C. (2008, September). Petroglyphs of Qobustan (Azerbaijan); a UNESCO World Heritage.
File:Petroglyphs of Qobustan 2.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

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Stonehenge is one of the world's most famous prehistoric works of art. It's a massive stone circle that appears to have been designed as a place of worship, religious ceremony, and absolute significance in prehistoric times. Stonehenge was actually built over the course of centuries, beginning around 3000 BC. This massive structure is similar to the pyramids of Egypt in England, and it boggles the mind that Neolithic tribes were able to construct it.

It all started around 8000 to 7000 BC, when early humans began erecting wooden pine structures and digging ditches in the surrounding area. Then, thousands of years later, people began piling stones on top of one another, forming a massive structure.

References:
Admin, A. (2019, May 9). 10 Prehistoric Works of Art and Their Stories. Buzzfeeds.
10 Prehistoric Works Of Art And Their Stories – BuzzFeeds.site

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India, the land of diversity, is home to a variety of landscapes. One such place is the Pachmarhi Hills, a range of mountains that runs in a south-north direction through the centre of the country. The Pachmarhi Hills are a range of mountains that run in a south-north direction through the centre of India. Rising to a height of 1,410 metres, these hills offer a picturesque landscape dotted with forests, farms, and villages. Pachmarhi Hills is a range of hills in central India, extending from the Satpura Range in the east to the Bhopal plateau in the west. It is part of the larger Satpura range in the Great Indian Desert region of central India. The highest point in the range is the summit of Pachmarhi at an elevation of 1,415 m above sea level. The Pachmarhi range is a watershed which forms the dividing line between the drainage basins of the Yamuna River on the north and the Narmada River on the south.

references

Tedesco, Laura Anne. “Pachmari Hills (ca. 9000–3000 B.C.).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pach/hd_pach.htm (October 2000)

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A piece of broken ivory from the Upper Palaeolithic is known as the Venus of Brassempouy.  It was found by Edouard Piette in a French cave in Brassempouy in 1892 and was carved from a mammoth's ivory. One of the earliest known realistic depictions of a human face, it dates to around 25 000 years ago.

The Lady of Brassempouy" or "La Dame de Brassempouy" are other names for the Venus of Brassempouy. Based on the feminine contour of the chin and the apparent hair or headgear, the ivory figurine's gender was described. However, despite being known as Venus or a lady, the head is "unsexed," according to archaeologist Paul Bahn.

Reference: s://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Brassempouy

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-venus-of-brassempouy#:~:text=The%20Venus%20of%20Brassempouy%20(also,and%20apparent%20hair%20or%20headdress.

-Chae En Park, BSN-YA-40

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Lion-Human of Hohlenstein Stadel Close-up of upper half

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Lion-Human of Hohlenstein Stadel Close-up of upper half

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Reference: The lion man: An ice age masterpiece - british museum blog. British Museum Blog - Explore stories from the Museum. (2022, February 22). Retrieved from https://blog.britishmuseum.org/the-lion-man-an-ice-age-masterpiece/

The Lion Man is a work of art. This 40,000-year-old artwork was carved with extraordinary creativity, dexterity, and technical skill from mammoth ivory and is 31 centimeters in height. It has the head of a cave lion and a body that is partially human. He stands upright, possibly on his toes, with his legs spread and arms at his sides. His figure is thin and feline-like, with shoulders as muscular as a lion's hips and thighs. As with his stance, his gaze is commanding and focused at the audience. His facial features indicate that he is attentive, as he is both looking and listening. He is formidable, mysterious, and from a planet beyond the natural order. He is the earliest known representation of a being that does not exist in physical form but represents supernatural concepts. The Lion Man of Hohlenstein Stadel, an ivory carving of a lion-headed man, is regarded as the oldest known anthropomorphic animal carving in the world and one of the greatest treasures of Prehistoric art from the Aurignacian period. It was discovered in a cave on Hohlenstein Mountain in the southwest German Swabian Jura.

References: The lion man: An ice age masterpiece - british museum blog. British Museum Blog - Explore stories from the Museum. (2022, February 22). Retrieved from https://blog.britishmuseum.org/the-lion-man-an-ice-age-masterpiece/

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The Swimming Reindeer is a 13,000-year-old Magdalenian sculpture of two swimming reindeer that is now housed in the British Museum.
The sculpture was carved from the tip of a mammoth tusk by an unknown artist in what is now modern-day France.
The sculpture was discovered in two pieces in 1866, but it wasn't until the early twentieth century that Abbé Henri Breuil realized they fit together to form a single sculpture of two reindeer swimming nose-to-tail.

References:  British Museum Objects in Focus, accessed 3 August 2010, ISBN 978-0-7141-2821-4

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This sculpture was discovered during 1956, coupled with another sculpture known as “The Sitting Woman of Cernavoda”, which is a female figure. It is now located at the National Museum of Romanian History in Bucharest. Both of the sculptures were found during an archeological excavation along with other headless identical figurines near Cernavoda in Romania, and are considered to be important symbols in Neolithic art. The Thinker of Cernavoda is concluded to be the oldest known prehistoric sculpture that indicates a deep reflection of one’s thoughts and feelings, a man engulfed in his own mind. Unlike most prehistoric arts that often express connection with everyday life and survival of humans, it differs in a way that it is more focused on emotions and life. This led to the sculpture being popular and one of the most iconic figures in prehistoric era.

References:
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/sculpture/thinker-of-cernavoda.htm

https://romaniacolor.com/en/places/ancient/the-thinker-and-sitting-woman-the-symbols-of-the-neolithic-culture-of-hamangia/

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Artists are humans (Homo sapiens).

All over Africa, non-representational decoration that is extremely old has been discovered.

The oldest specimen with a date is a group of pierced, red ochre-coated Nassarius snail shells discovered in Morocco that date to 82,000 years ago.

They may have been strung beads, based on wear patterns.

A layer of sediment thought to be 75,000 years old in the Blombos cave in South Africa contains pierced shells and small pieces of ochre (red hematite) etched with basic geometric patterns. Nassarius shell beads discovered in Israel may be more than 100,000 years old.
Reference
https://smarthistory.org/paleolithic-art-an-introduction/.

Blasco, Lianna Janel K.

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The Apollo 11 Stones are a group of seven stones, two of which used to be one single piece, that depict animals. The fascinating part about the Apollo 11 Stones is their sheer age, dated to around 25,000 BC. Why is this so important? Because of the progress of the human race at this point. This shows that by this point, humans were thinking a bit like us, making art and inscribing their daily lives into stone for us to find some 27,000 years later.

These artifacts were discovered in the Apollo 11 Cave in Namibia.[2] The stones, etched with charcoal, ocher, and other substances, have taught us a lot about the people living at the time. The Apollo 11 Stones are named such because the success of the Apollo 11 landing was broadcasting on the radio soon after archaeologists made their discovery. Probably the most astonishing part is that within the cave, archaeologists uncovered evidence of about 100,000 years of human occupation, meaning the term “cave man” is very real, and this is how our ancestors survived the harsh, prehistoric world of the Paleolithic period. The Apollo 11 Stones are the oldest example of representational art found in Africa to date.

https://listverse.com/2018/12/11/10-prehistoric-works-of-art-and-their-stories/

Aira Jean G. Santiago
BSN YA-40

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Bhimbetka is a collection of rock shelters, located in central India and contains over 600 paintings that span the prehistoric paleolithic and mesolithic periods, the oldest of which dates from at least 12,000 years.

Humans once lived in rock shelters thousands of years ago. In addition to a variety of creatures, such as tigers, lions, and crocodiles, the paintings show the lifestyles of the humans who lived in the caves.

Bhimbetka was a gift from our early ancestors because of the abundant flora and fauna that surrounds these. One of the greatest ancient complexes to be viewed, the Bhimbetka Rock Shelter features the earliest known rock art in India.

Reference:
H., (2021, August 26). 10 prehistoric cave paintings. HeritageDaily Retrieved September 1, 2022,  from
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/03/10-prehistoric-cave-paintings/126971

The heart of Incredible India (n.d.). Amazing Bhimbetka. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.mptourism.com/destination-bhimbetka.php

Submitted by Zoe Beatriz Detosil

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Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka

The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka are in the foothills of the Vindhyan Mountains on the southern edge of the central Indian plateau. Within massive sandstone outcrops, above comparatively dense forest, are five clusters of natural rock shelters, displaying paintings that appear to date from the Mesolithic Period right through to the historical period. The cultural traditions of the inhabitants of the twenty-one villages adjacent to the site bear a strong resemblance to those represented in the rock paintings.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Abris sous-roche du Bhimbetka

Les abris sous roche du Bhimbetka se trouvent au pied des monts Vindhyan, au sud du plateau de l'Inde centrale. Cinq groupes d'abris sous roche naturels sont situés au sein d'énormes affleurements de grès, au-dessus d'une forêt relativement dense, et contiennent des peintures qui paraissent commencer au mésolithique et se poursuivre sans interruption jusqu'à l'époque historique. Dans les vingt et un villages qui entourent le site, vivent des populations dont les traditions culturelles contemporaines rappellent celles dépeintes dans les peintures rupestres.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

ビンベットカのロック・シェルター群

インド中部、同国最大の州アディア・プラデーシュ、デカン高原北部に走るビンディア山脈の山麓に位置する。21ヵ所の村で形成され、登録範囲は18.93k㎡におよぶ。5つの自然石の岩塊には、約400のロック・シェルター（岩窟）があり、そこに描かれている絵は、中石器時代から歴史時代へと、狩猟の伝統が継承されていることを見事に物語っている。密林のロック・シェルターには多種多様な植物が繁茂し、現在でも地域の人びとによって保護されている。

source: NFUAJ

Rotsschuilplaatsen van Bhimbetka

De schuilplaatsen in de rotsen bij Bhimbetka bevinden zich in de uitlopers van het Vindhyan gebergte, aan de zuidelijke rand van het centrale Indiase plateau. Binnen massieve zandstenen aderen - boven relatief dichtbeboste wouden - liggen vijf clusters van natuurlijke schuilplaatsen in de rotsen. Op de rotswanden zijn schilderingen te zien die lijken te komen uit het Mesolithicum, met een overgang en doorloop naar de historische jaartelling. De culturele tradities van de inwoners uit de 21 dorpen grenzend aan het gebied, dragen een sterke gelijkenis met de tradities te zien op de rotstekeningen. Ze wijzen op een lange interactie tussen het volk en het landschap.

Source: unesco.nl

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Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka are in the foothills of the Vindhyan Mountains on the southern edge of the central Indian plateau. Within massive sandstone outcrops, above comparatively dense forest, are five clusters of natural rock shelters, displaying paintings that appear to date from the Mesolithic Period right through to the historical period.

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Reference: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/labri-de-la-madeleine-tursac-dordogne-bison-se-lechant-bison-licking-himself

Bison Licking Insect Bite is an Upper Paleolithic carving that was discovered in France's Dordogne region in Abri de la Madeleine, close to Tursac. This location is known as the Magdalenian culture's type site and is where many exquisite little carvings in antler or bone were created.

It was previously housed in the Musee des Antiquites Nationales, St. Germain-en-Laye, but has been shifted to the expanded National Museum of Prehistory in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil, that also opened in 2004 and is close to its findspot. It was made between 20,000 and 12,000 BP (15,000 BP according to the museum). It is a piece of a reindeer antler spear-thrower that has been carved and etched. The Art shows a bison of the now extinct steppe wisent species (Bison priscus), with its head turned around and tongue outstretched. It is believed that the spear-thrower was severely broken into its present shape before the carving was done from the piece, which is why it was necessary to depict the animal's turned-back head in order to match the architecture that already existed .

Reference: http://musee-prehistoire-eyzies.fr/en/collection/tid-4/cid-5/collection-bison-se-lechant, (2015,04)

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Cueva de las Manos refers to both the main site of the cave and the surrounding complex of rock art sites that includes it. 

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Cueva de las Manos is located in Patagonia in the southern part of Argentina and contains cave paintings that were created between 13,000 and 9,000 years ago.

The cave’s name literally means ‘Cave of hands’ and was presented that name because of the hundreds of stenciled hands painted on the cave walls. The age of the paintings was calculated from the remains of bone-made pipes used for spraying the paint.

Reference:

H. (2021, August 26). 10 prehistoric cave paintings. HeritageDaily - Archaeology News. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/03/10-prehistoric-cave-paintings/126971

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Detail of the "Panel of Hands" from the El Castillo Cave. Photo Courtesy of the University of Bristol. (Click on image to view larger.)

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The Cave of El Castillo (Cave of the Castle), is a Stone Age rock shelter in Spain which contains the oldest cave painting yet discovered: namely, a panel of abstract signs and hand stencils rock art located in the "Gallery of the Hands", one of which (a disk of red ochre) has been Uranium/Thorium dated by Dr. Alistair Pike of Bristol University, to at least 39,000 BCE. This makes it the earliest art of its type ever recorded, albeit only by a whisker - see the important Sulawesi Cave art, cited below. Discovered in 1903 by the Spanish archaeologist Hermilio Alcalde del Rio, a famous expert in the prehistoric art of Spain, the 300-metre long cave is one of several ancient rock shelters in Monte Castillo, a conical limestone mountain situated near the town of Puente Viesgo, south of Santander in the Cantabria region of Spain. Another nearby shelter is the Cave of La Pasiega, which dates back to about 16,000 BCE. The El Castillo Cave consists of two basic areas; a large entrance chamber (the "Gran Sala"), and a subsequent extensive labyrinth of narrow galleries totalling almost a kilometre in length. The parietal art on the walls of the galleries consists of over 100 images, including several rock engravings of deer as well as images of animals (aurochs, bison, goats, horses) along with some rare images of dogs, many of which are superimposed, as well as a large number of hand stencils and disks created by spraying paint onto the rock surface through a tube. For another important Spanish rock shelter in the Asturias, see: Tito Bustillo Cave (c.14,000 BCE). For another important Aurignacian site of cave painting from Central Europe, see: Coliboaia Cave Art (30,000 BCE).

The cave painting "The Panel of Hands Offsite Link," which depicts the outline of hands on the walls of the Cueva de El Castillo Offsite Link (Cave of El Castillo) in Puenta Viesgo, Cantabria, Spain, was dated in June 2012 by a team led by Alistair W. G. Pike of the University of Bristol in England. This makes it the oldest dated cave painting, possibly 4000 years older than paintings in Chauvet Cave in France, By utilizing hands as stencils and blowing paint onto the wall, the contour of the hands was created.

References:
El Castillo Cave Paintings: Red Ochre Disks, Hand Stencils. (2012). Visual-Arts-Cork.com. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric/castillo-cave-paintings.htm

‌
The Oldest Cave Painting : History of Information. (n.d.). Historyofinformation.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://historyofinformation.com/detail.php?entryid=3693&fbclid=IwAR1h9_AgO09MoMDw2XOOm7vI52M70Mk2gt6kuJ0exsZg-AUWBbz0W0mBpyg

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Visionary Strategy in the Fight Against Malaria

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Visionary Strategy in the Fight Against Malaria

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In 1868, an Asturian named cubillas was hunting in the fields of Altamira. During the chase, his dog became a wedge between the rocks. And when the cubillas went to release his dog, he saw a  cave that belonged to Marcelino Sanz Sautuola.
Ten years ago, Sanz de Sautuola, from a wealthy family interested in paleontology, decided to search for fossils in the Altamira estate with his 8-year-old daughter, and his daughter discovered them. paintings of 'Altamira.

https://www.isglobal.org/en/healthisglobal/-/custom-blog-portlet/desde-altamira-hasta-africa-bohemia-una-estrategia-visionaria-contra-la-malaria/7393425/0

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Reproduction cave of Altamira 01_MatthiasKabel

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This sculpture is a marble, discovered by Roman Vineyard in 1506, it's a classical sculpture. this Laocoön and His Sons was placed in the Vatican. It's interested in the realistic depiction of movement. One of the most that caught my attention bacause of its molding and how it started, the sculpture shows the beautiful image, it is enticing to know the story despite its well-designed. The Virgil, Laocoön was a Poseidon priest who tried to pierce the Trojan Horse with a spear in order to reveal its trick, but he was killed along with both of his sons. On the other side, in Sophocles he was an Apollo priest who was supposed to be celibate but had wed. The experts believe the sculpture that it was between 42-20 BCE. Height of this sculpture 6 ft-7.

References: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agesander_of_Rhodes&ved=2ahUKEwjJw_DXyPL5AhWROnAKHSMXA4AQFnoECAsQAQ&usg=AOv

Jastine C. Alcoy

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{{MuseiVaticani |Agesander, Athenedoros and Polydorus |''Laocoön and his sons'', also known as the ''Laocoön Group''. Marble, copy after an Hellenistic original from ca. 200 BC. |H. 1.84 m (6 ft. ¼ in.) |Found in the Baths of Trajan, 1506 |Inv.1059, In

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Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. Date/Time Thumbnail Dimensions User Comment current 21:18, 30 July 2020 2,350 × 2,500 (873 KB) Waterborough cropped to make it similar to the first and better version 15:19, 17 January 2010 2,600 × 2,500 (3.46 MB) Jastrow larger resolution 11:48, 23 October 2006 1,750 × 1,840 (1.71 MB) Jastrow {{MuseiVaticani |Agesander, Athenedoros and Polydorus |''Laocoön and his sons'', also known as the ''Laocoön Group''.

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Image Credit : Jack Versloot – CC BY 2.0

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Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne in southwestern France. Over 600 parietal wall paintings cover the interior walls and ceilings of the cave.

The paintings represent primarily large animals, typical local and contemporary fauna that correspond with the fossil record of the Upper Paleolithic time. The drawings are the combined effort of many generations, and with continued debate, the age of the paintings is estimated at around 17,000 years (early Magdalenian).

Reference:

HeritageDaily. (2021, August 26). 10 prehistoric cave paintings. HeritageDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/03/10-prehistoric-cave-paintings/126971?amp

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The earliest known and least understood forms of art in the world are prehistoric cave drawings. In the Pyrenees regions of southern France and northern Spain, there have been found to be at least 200 painted caves, some of which date back as far as 30,000 BCE. The paintings mostly feature animals, but they also occasionally feature human figures, a variety of abstract symbols, human handprints, and engravings. In every instance, their intentions are still unclear. For prehistoric, illiterate societies, the standard investigative tools—written documentation, understanding of the social and political context of the time, and other artworks and artifacts to use as comparisons—do not exist or are extremely rare and similarly ununderstood. Additionally, academics are still debating the cause for the emergence of the human instinct.

source: https://headstuff.org/culture/history/origin-worlds-art-prehistoric-cave-painting/

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Angono Petroglyphs - Human and Animal-like figures

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is considered a highly significant cultural landmark, because it is the oldest known work of art in the Philippines. It is included in the list of the National Cultural Treasure of the country and World imperiled historic sites in the world by the World Monuments Watch and World Monuments Fund.

Human and animal-like figures are engraved on the Rockwall made of Vulcanic tuff. These figures are considered the oldest known art works in the Philippines , dating back to 3,000 B.C.

Actually, the Angono Petroglyphs is not found in Angono, Rizal but in Binangonan.  In 1965 it was accidentally discovered by national artist Carlos ‘Botong’  Francisco who gave the amazing ancient carvings that name.

Reference:
http://smartpinoysatbp.weebly.com/angono-petroglyphs.html

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The Lady with the Hood, also referred to as The Lady of Brassempouy,

One of the most well-known sculptures throughout history is the Venus of Brassempouy. This tiny head is so unique that Édouard Piette (1827–1906), the man who discovered it, thought it might be a fake. The accuracy of the artwork, whose significance is still unknown, has been proved by the rigor of his work and contemporary examinations of the figure.

The Lady of Brassempouy is a tiny sculpture made of mammoth ivory that is 3.65 centimeters high, 2.2 centimeters wide, and 1.9 centimeters thick. It is the head of a woman, depicted less realistically and more schematically, with a triangular face, well-proportioned eyebrows, and a nose and nose. However, there are no eyes or mouth.

References: https://temarte.com/en/prehistoric-art/973-the-lady-or-venus-of-brassempouy-also-known-as-the-lady-with-the-hood.html

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The Coliboaia Cave was first mentioned in literature before 1900, but it wasn't until 1981 that Gabor Halasi thoroughly investigated it. The cave was not widely known until prehistoric mural cave paintings were discovered in September 2009. The Romanian Federation of Speleology quickly secured its protection. Coliboaia Cave is located at an altitude of 560 m on the western slope of the Sighistel valley, as part of a larger Karstic System known as "Detalul Secaturii-Coliboaia." Its portal, which is oriented east-west, is quite large, and the cave entrance is medium in size. Following a 1.50-2 meter slope, one arrives in a large chamber with collapsed parts. To reach the active gallery of the cave, one must pass through a natural lake formed by the collapse of the great chamber's ceiling. An underground stream with three siphons of varying sizes drains the gallery, followed by a bifurcation. Climbing a calcite cascade leads from the main gallery to the Art Gallery. The gallery is located 7 meters above the cave's actual walking level. The drawings are in black pigment and were most likely created with charcoal. Animals include bison, horses, unidentified ones (horse or felid), one or two bear heads, a possible mammoth, and rhinoceros heads. Except for the drawings from the inner part of the gallery, the drawings were made on both walls of the gallery without any apparent concern for symmetry (facing horse and rhinoceros). The absence of a detailed topography of the gallery prevents a more detailed description of the drawings for the time being.

References:
Harald Floss, European Upper Paleolithic art: the cultural heritage of Outstanding Universal Value. In De Sanz, Nuria, Human origin sites and the World Heritage Convention in Eurasia, UNESCO Publishing, 2015, p.103

"An Exceptional Archaeological Discovery-The Art Gallery in Coliboaia Cave Apuseni Mountains Romania". Academia. Retrieved 17 March 2015.

Submitted by: Torres, Mary Belbeth E.

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  Michael Hodd, East African Handbook, (Trade & Travel Publications: 1994), p.640.

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Laas Geel (Somali: Laas Geel), also known as Laas Gaal, are cave formations on the rural border of Hargeisa, Somaliland, located at Maroodi Jeex region of the country. This contains some of the earliest known cave paintings of domesticated African aurochs (Bos primigenius africanus) in the Horn of Africa. Laas Geel is approximately to  date somewhere around  circa 18,000 BC or 20,000 years ago.
The Laas Geel cave paintings are known to be some of the most vivid rock art in Africa. In addition to, they represent cattle in ceremonial robes lead by humans, who are believed to have been the residents of the region. The necks of the cattle are embellished with a kind of plastron. Certain cattles are also portrayed wearing decorative robes. Besides long-horned cattle, the rock art also illustrates an image of a domesticated dog, a few paintings of Canidae as well as a giraffe. This site is expertly preserved assignable  to the location of the paintings that covered with  granite overhangs.

References: Farrar, V. Tarikhu (2020-01-31). Precolonial African Material Culture: Combatting Stereotypes of Technological Backwardness. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-7936-0643-3.

▪Michael Hodd, East African Handbook, (Trade & Travel Publications: 1994), p.640.

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Andreev, A. (2017). The Sun Hall of Magura Cave.

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The Magura Cave, also known as The Rabisha Cave, is a cave located near Rabisha village, Belogradchik town, Belogradchik municipality in Vidin Province, Bulgaria, and is considered one of the largest caves in the country. It is believed that the cave’s formation is due to earthquakes and rivers. The cave consists of various artworks, estimated to be around 750, that is from 7000 years ago. The limestone walls are painted with bat guano applied over limestone (as stated in “Prehistoric paintings in Magura Cave”, n.d). Women, men dancing and hunting, people wearing masks, animals, stars, tools, and plants could all be seen in the paintings represented by their silhouettes.

The sanctuary hall’s walls are also adorned with paintings that portray 366 days and 5 festivals. Early Paleolithic, Neolithic, Late Neolithic, and the beginning of the Bronze Age are some of the eras represented in the paintings. One of the most diverse collections of geological formations, including stalactites, stalagmites, cave pearls, and rivers of "cave milk," are some that may be found in the cave. According to Andreev, A. (2017), the Magura cave is mainly used for Bulgaria’s tourism but it is also used in producing Natural Sparkling Wines, due to the cave’s weather and temperature conditions. Previously, the cave has also been used as a sanatorium, a refuge, and many more.

References:

Andreev, A. (2017, November 19). The amazing stone age drawings in Magura Cave, Bulgaria. Andrey Andreev. Retrieved August 31, 2022, from https://www.andrey-andreev.com/en/magura/

Prehistoric paintings in Magura Cave. Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved August 31, 2022, from https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/440

Submitted by: Oandasan, Champagne

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Serra da Capivara National Park
Many of the numerous rock shelters in the Serra da Capivara National Park are decorated with cave paintings, some more than 25,000 years old. They are an outstanding testimony to one of the oldest human communities.
Established in 1979, the Serra da Capivara National Park stretched across the municipalities of São Raimundo Nonato, São João do Piauí, and Canto do Buriti in the south-eastern section of Piauí state in Brazil’s Northeast Region. In 1994, the municipality of Brejo do Piauí and, in 1995 the municipality of João Costa were dismembered   of São João do Piauí. The municipality of Coronel José Dias was dismembered of São Raimundo Nonato in 1992. These three municipalities, plus São Raimundo Nonato, are partially located in the area of the Serra da Capivara National Park.
The Park covers nearly 129, 140 hectares and has a circumference of 214 kilometres
The region’s plant species are primarily characterized by the loss of most of their leaves during the dry season, extending from May to December, serving to lend the landscape its silver hue. The region borders two major geological formations – the Maranhão-Piauí sediment basin and the peripheral depression of the São Francisco River – and is endowed with a diversity of relief vegetation and landscapes of breathtaking beauty and dotted with exceptional vistas of the surrounding valleys, mountains, and plains
Over 300 archaeological sites have been found within the park, the majority consisting of rock and wall paintings dating from 50,000-30,000 years Before Present. Many of the numerous rock shelters in the Serra da Capivara National Park are decorated with rock paintings, some more than 25,000 years old. The analyses and dating of the evidence and artefacts found in the Serra da Capivara National Park serve to confirm the millennial presence of human beings on the American continent and the importance of the heritage.
Formal establishment of the Park has served to ensure preservation of the archaeological sites, which stand as a testament to ancient human settlement in South America. Safely contained within the Park’s clear delimitations and 10-kilometer buffer zone, the area’s sites have remained effectively protected and intact, both in terms of their physical integrity preservation and historical and cultural value.

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sunset_at_the_Serra_da_Capivara_National_Park.jpg

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File:Sunset at the Serra da Capivara National Park.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

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Magura Cave is located in the northwest of Bulgaria and contains a collection of cave paintings, painted with bat excrement that date from 8000-4000 years ago. An excess of 700 paintings has been discovered in the large cave, depicting people dancing and hunting as well as a wide range of animals.

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The world's oldest and best-preserved cave paintings can be found in a cave in southern France. Although the detailed drawings originate to the Upper Paleolithic and are at least  37,500 years old, it was also found that the cave contains the fossilized remains of numerous extinct plants and creatures. In addition to depicting ordinary herbivores, the cave also shows predatory animals, which were presumably prehistoric human hunters' quarry. These artworks do not exist beyond the context, and most of images portray intricate situations or interactions among species as well as many other creative and more abstract illustrations. The paintings feature at least 13 distinct species.

Thus, the painters of this cave belongs to the Aurignacian era, the very first Late- or Upper Palaeolithic culture in Europe, which started approximately 40,000 years ago with the first appearance of anatomically modern humans and lasted until about 28,000 years ago. These are hunter-gatherers who competed with predators like cave bears and cave lions, panthers and wolves, and whose primary prey included reindeer, horses, bison, and antelopes. Aurignacians are regarded as exhibiting the whole spectrum of what we term fully modern behavior since they manufactured personal ornaments, works of figurative art, and even musical instruments using a variety of organic tools.

References: Groeneveld E,(2017). CHAUVET CAVE

Submitted by: Mariano, Mikaela Sofia V.

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The Hall of the Bulls is a section of the Lascaux cave near Montignac, France, and it has amazingly detailed and stunningly beautiful animal paintings. The Paleolithic artists planned and plotted extensively to decorate this cave with the most exquisite animal paintings ever seen. This isn't your basic cave painting; these walls are adorned with bulls and bison.
The cave paintings are considered to have been made between 16,000 and 14,000 BC. One of the paintings is 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) broad, far larger than the typical cave artwork in pictures. The elegance of this artwork is mind-blowing, especially when we consider that these folks lived short, cruel, frequently cold, often painful lives yet still managed to celebrate life and what was important to them.

Reference: https://listverse.com/2018/12/11/10-prehistoric-works-of-art-and-their-stories/

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This painting of Mabuyu reminds a story which warns against stealing. According to Kjellgren, Eric. “Ubirr (ca. 40,000?–present).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. This rock art were made with a red ocher pigments and/or haematite paint which preserve the best it is an iron oxide. Ubirr is known for its rock art found in Northern Australia, the art in Ubirr cave document ancient human interaction with environment.

Reference:
Kjellgren, Eric. “Ubirr (ca. 40,000?–present).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ubir/hd_ubir.htm (October 2000)

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The Cueva de Las Manos (Cave of the painted Hands) is the most popular painting because of its breathtaking collage of more than 800 black, white, ochre and red handprints and was created or painted 9,000 years ago. This painting or art can be found at Patagonia. One fact about this painting is that in 829 handprints most of them are male, while some has six fingers and only 31 out of 829 have a right hand. Another fact is Cueva de Las Manos has been declared to be one of the most important examples of rock in South America (UNESCO, 1999). And lastly, no one knows what is the true meaning of those handprints. Some theories says that the handprints are from adolescent boys and they do it as a part of an initiation ceremony and some theories says that the painting is part of a religious ceremony.

Pinturas, R. (n.d.-b). Cueva de Las Manos [Painting]. Cueva de Las Manos, Río Pinturas - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/936/

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Outstanding Universal Value

The Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas, contains an exceptional assemblage of cave art, with many painted rock shelters, including a cave, with magnificent pictographies surrounded by an outstanding landscape, with the river running through a deep canyon, which were executed between 9,300 and 1,300 years ago.

It takes its name (Cave of the Hands) from the stencilled outlines of human hands in the cave, but there are also many depictions of animals, such as guanacos ( Lama guanicoe ), still commonly found in the region, as well as hunting scenes that depict animals and human figures interacting in a dynamic and naturalistic manner. The entrance to the Cueva is screened by a rock wall covered by many hand stencils. Within the rock shelter itself there are five concentrations of rock art, later figures and motifs often superimposed upon those from earlier periods. The paintings were executed with natural mineral pigments - iron oxides (red and purple), kaolin (white), and natrojarosite (yellow), manganese oxide (black) - ground and mixed with some form of binder.

The artistic sequence, which includes three main stylistic groups, began as early as the 10th millennium BP [Before Present]. The sequence is a long one: archaeological investigations have shown that the site was last inhabited around AD 700 by the possible ancestors of the first Tehuelche people of Patagonia. The Cueva is considered by the international scientific community to be one of the most important sites of the earliest hunter-gatherer groups in South America during Early Holocene that still maintains a good state of preservation and has a singular environment formation, unique at Santa Cruz province.

The rock art, its natural environment and the archaeological sites on this region are some of the very important reasons that made this area a focus for archaeological research for more than 25 years. They made an impact on the observer due not only the deep gorge walls surrounded by a privileged landscape, but also by the artistic compositions, variety of motifs and its polychromies. These scenes represent a unique evidence to know aboutthe first Patagonian hunters' behaviour and their hunting techniques. Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas contains an exceptional assemblage of cave art, unique in the world, for its age and continuity throughout time, the beauty and the preservation conditions of the paintings, the magnificence of the collection of stencilled outlines of human hands and the hunting scenes, as well as the environment that surrounds the place of exciting beauty and for being part of the cultural value of the site itself.

Criterion (iii): The Cueva de las Manos contains an outstanding collection of prehistoric rock art which bears witness to the culture of the earliest human societies in South America.
Integrity
The inscribed property encompasses 600 ha with a buffer zone of 2,338 ha. The attributes of the property, represented by the archaeological site, the surrounding setting, and its artistic depictions, that convey the Outstanding Universal Value of the Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas, are fully present both in the nuclear and buffer zones and have not been altered and do not face any imminent threats due to development or negligence.

The habitat surrounding the archaeological site remains intact and has the same animal species depicted through cave art approximately 10,000 years ago. This also applies to plant species. As mentioned above, this is a particular, unique, and a typical setting, both at a provincial and regional level, with great value for the preservation of the Argentine natural systems. The favourable conditions (very low humidity, no water infiltration, stable rock strata) at the rock shelter have ensured that the state of conservation of all but the most exposed paintings is excellent. However, the increase of tourism to Patagonia in recent years has resulted in damage from human vandalism. These has included graffiti, removal of fragments of painted rock, touching of painted surfaces, accumulation of dust and refuse, etc. although measures undertaken have reduced impacts from these factors.
Authenticity
The authenticity of the rock art of the Cueva de los Manos is unquestionable. It has survived several millennia untouched and no restoration has been carried out since it became widely known to the scientific community in the second half of the 20th century. The archaeological excavations have been very restricted, so as to obtain the maximum cultural information for dating the art with the minimum disturbance to archaeological layers or to the appearance of the rock shelter.

Scientific excavations have made it possible to relate the cave depictions located in the site to the communities living in the region since the 10 th millennium Before Present. The evidence of the excavations made in the cave area led to the establishment of context links between the cultural levels and paintings. The authenticity of the pictorial sequence was also verified by in-depth research. The art sequence of the Cueva de las Manos is based on a detailed study of overlapping, the different use of hues, its various states of conservation, and the location of the depictions along different defined sectors. Its relation to the various cultural levels of the site is supported by carbon dating and indicators showing a direct association with them, such as mineral pigments or remains of painted fragments that came off the wall and found in the excavations.

These elements, along with research evidence and interdisciplinary analyses, strongly support the authenticity of the Cueva de las Manos site as a unique example of one of the earliest hunter-gatherer communities living in the South American region in the Early Holocene.
Protection and management requirements
In 1975 the Province of Santa Cruz issued the law N° 1024 for the conservation of historic, archaeological and paleontological heritage. At the provincial level, the Government of the Province of Santa Cruz declared the City of Perito Moreno as the Archaeological Capital of Santa Cruz, because of the importance of the archaeological site of the Cueva de los Manos, by Decree No 133 of 13 May 1981. The National Congress of the Argentine Republic declared the Cueva de los Manos a Historic National Monument by Law No 24.225 of 20 July 1993. In 1997, the Government of the Province of Santa Cruz promulgated the law N°2472 for the protection of the provincial cultural heritage. In 2003 National Law N°25743 for protection of archaeological and paleontological heritage was promulgated.

In 1997 a management plan was presented for the global administration of the site. It proposed many specific actions that had been carried out along the last 10 years of management: local permanent custody, visitor management strategies and an interpretation centre at the reception area. Additionally, assessments of the state of conservation of the site and natural deterioration causes were implemented, along with geomorphologic and geotechnical studies of the area and rock art conservation surveys.

The Cuevas de las Manos Site Committee was formed in March of 2006. It requires strengthening for the implementation of its activities and to ensure its operation and continuity. It would be very important to have a permanent presence of the Committee at Perito Moreno, closest village. This would facilitate decision-making when it is needed to solve concrete problems.

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Outstanding Universal Value The Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas, contains an exceptional assemblage of cave art, with many painted rock shelters, including a cave, with magnificent pictographies surrounded by an outstanding landscape, with the river running through a deep canyon, which were executed between 9,300 and 1,300 years ago.

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The only materials that could be used to create art conveniently during the prehistoric age were caverns and rocks. But what are Bhimbetka Rock Shelters and why are they so well-known? Bhimbetka rock shelters are a group of unman made rock shelters in the central Indian foothills of the Vindhya Range, according to Kenneth Pletcher (2013). There are numerous heavily sculpted sandstone rock formations throughout the Bhimbetka region. Since 1971, the majority of the archaeological investigation at the Bhimbetka site has been focused on its hill, where 243 shelters have been examined, 133 of which feature rock art inside. The caves offer a unique look at the progression of culture from early nomadic hunters and gatherers to settled cultivators and spiritual expressions.

Reference: https://www.britannica.com/place/Bhimbetka-rock-shelters

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Terracotta statuette of a woman with bird face

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Terracotta statuette of a woman with bird face

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This figurine is typical of Cypriot Coroplastic art of the Late Cypriot II and III periods. The type, with the pubic triangle accentuated and the breasts clearly shown, is likely of Syrian origin, but Cypriot sculptors created their own variations. Made by the Cypriot culture in the late Cypriot ll period, ca. 1450-1200 B.C. Height is 8 3/16 in (20.80 cm).

REFERENCES:
https://archive.org/details/mma_terracotta_statuette_of_woman_with_bird_face_241104

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/241098#:~:text=built%20with%20ACNLPatternTool-,Terracotta%20statuette%20of%20woman%20with%20bird%20face,1450%E2%80%931200%20B.C.&text=This%20figurine%20is%20typical%20of,sculptors%20created%20their%20own%20variations.

Submitted by: Ortiz, Althea Erica G.

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This cave painting is found at the Altamira Cave complex near the town of Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, Spain. This prehistoric art shows a vibrantly colored bison, which, according to the Encyclopedia of Stone Age Art, recent research suggests was drawn around 23,000 and 34,000 BCE.
Natural minerals are the main materials used as pigments. They do not decay, which is why the colors are still vibrant.

Reference:
Otte, M. (2015c). Polychrome bison; Altamira Cave, Cantabria, Spain – Mask; Altamira Cave, Cantabria, Spain.  [Photograph]. researchgate.net. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Polychrome-bison-Altamira-Cave-Cantabria-Spain-Mask-Altamira-Cave-Cantabria-Spain_fig2_313401551

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The Venus of Willendorf is an 11.1 centimetre-tall Venus figurine estimated to have been made around 25,000-30,000 years ago.