Caves, Art of
The first sample of this type of art from the Paleolithic time was found accidentally in 1879 on the roof of a cave in Altamira, Spain (polychrome bison and other animals). The prehistoric origins of the paintings of these performances was however accepted by archaeologists until the discovery in 1895, similar sample designs and paintings in a cave then closed La Mut, Dordoni in southern France. Since then, the findings across the limestone area north and south of the Pyrenees have multiplied. The various animals (cattle, horses, bison, reindeer, mammoths, etc.) naturalistically rendered with various techniques beginning from the simple drawing and reach design with black or another contours and use of colors (mostly red and ocher). The concept of composition is almost non-existent and often the images overlap or "submitted" by the shape of the rock. It is an art that is obviously linked to rituals meant to ensure the success of the hunt, although a more modern theory disputes that, saying that we are dealing with representations of myths. The "artists" are the anthropological category of homo sapiens (the plant in Europe has been in 30.000 B.C. about) and "projects" can be placed somewhere between 30.000 and 12.000 BC, when the retreat of ice brought the end of the hunting cultures.