Rock art of Europe
has been produced in Europe since the Upper Palaeolithic period through to recent centuries. It is found in all of the major regions of the continent.
One of the most famous examples of parietal art is the Grotte Chauvet in France. The cultural purpose of these remnants of the Paleolithic and other periods of prehistoric art is not known. However, some theories suggest that, because these paintings were created in parts of the caves that were not easily accessed, it is unlikely that they were intended simply as decoration.
In the post-Palaeolithic period, during later prehistory, regional variants grew up across the continent, being produced by settled, agricultural communities.
Scholarly interest in European rock art began in the 17th century.
Background
The defining characteristic of rock art is the fact that it is placed on natural rock surfaces; in this way it is distinct from artworks placed on constructed walls or free-standing sculpture. As such, rock art is a form of landscape art, and includes designs that have been placed on boulder and cliff faces, cave walls and ceilings, and on the ground surface. Rock art is a global phenomenon, being found in many different regions of the world.There are various different forms of rock art. This includes pictographs, which were painted or drawn onto the panel, petroglyphs, which were carved or engraved onto the panel, and earth figures such as earthforms, intaglios and geoglyphs. Some archaeologists also consider pits and grooves in the rock, known as cups, rings or cupules, as a form of rock art.
Although there are some exceptions, the majority of rock art whose creation was ethnographically recorded had been produced during rituals. As such, the study of rock art is a component of the archaeology of religion.
The academic field of rock art studies, a form of archaeology, investigates instances of past rock art to learn about the societies that produced it. Caves with spectacular artwork also have been found in Africa, Argentina, Australia, China, India, and other locations. Published discussions of discoveries of cave art that date to the nineteenth century, long before scientific dating was possible, resulted in frequent debates regarding the antiquity of the art. Some scholars at the time developed a typology that was overthrown when AMS radiocarbon dating became available.
Interpretations
Initial interpretations of the art at Lascaux and in other related grottoes, suggested that the paintings and engravings were decorative, or just art for art's sake. Toward the middle of the twentieth century, new theories suggested that the cave art had deep links to prehistoric rituals promoting fertility and successful hunting. Supporting that later interpretation, recent scientific studies have found a systematic sequencing in the representations of horses, aurochs, and stags that corresponds to the seasonal characteristics of each species that may be identified as distinctively related to spring, summer, and autumn.Major Upper Paleolithic sites with rock art
More than 300 caves with parietal art from prehistoric times have been discovered in Spain and France. Entrances to some have been discovered underwater, having been inundated as the seas have risen with time.- Chauvet Cave, Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France — Discovered in 1994 and dating from 37,000 B.C., Chauvet cave has two main chambers. In the first, most images are red, while in the second, most of the animals are represented in black. The most spectacular images are the Horse Panel and the Panel of Lions and Rhinoceroses.
- Caves of Arcy-sur-Cure, Arcy-sur-Cure, Burgundy, France — Long known only for the existence of the cave, its parietal art was not discovered until 1990. Dating from 28,000 B.C., it is the second oldest known parietal artwork, after that of the Chauvet cave.
- Cosquer Cave, near Marseille, France — Discovered by the deep-sea diver Henri Cosquer in 1985 and dating from 25,000 B.C., the entrance to Cosquer cave is more than 100 feet below sea level. It contains hand stencils, charcoal drawings, and approximately 100 polychrome paintings of horses and other animals.
- Pech Merle Cave, Cabrerets, Midi-Pyrénées, France — Discovered in 1922 and dating from 25,000 B.C., Pech-Merle is famous for its dappled horses drawn in charcoal and painted with ochre on limestone. For details and photographs, please see Pech-Merle Cave Paintings.
- Lascaux Cave, Montignac, Dordogne, France — Discovered in 1940 and dating from 17,000 B.C., Lascaux contains seven decorated chambers with more than 2000 painted images, including the extraordinary Hall of the Bulls which, despite the name given to it, features mostly pregnant horses as well as the aurochs bulls from which its name was derived.
- Font de Gaume, in the Dordogne Valley in France — Discovered in 1901 and dating from 17,000 B.C., Font de Gaume cave contains more than 200 polychrome paintings from the Solutrean-Magdalenian culture—second only in France to Lascaux in quality—featuring approximately 80 bison, 40 horses, and 20 mammoths.
- Cave of La Pasiega, Cuevas de El Castillo, Cantabria, Spain — Discovered in 1911 and dating from 16,000 B.C., the cave of La Pasiega consists of one main gallery, approximately 80 yards in length, with openings to several secondary galleries. Its artwork consists of more than 700 painted images and includes numerous abstract symbols and engravings.
- Cave of Altamira, near Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, Spain — Discovered in 1879 and dating from 15,000 B.C., the parietal art on the Altamira ceiling is regarded as the crowning artistic achievement of the Magdalenian period. The cave, along with that of Chauvet and those of Lascaux, has been regarded by archaeologists and art historians as "the Sistine Chapel of Paleolithic art", due to its high quality and large scale wall paintings. The so-called polychrome chamber houses approximately 30 large animal images, mostly of bison, vividly executed in red and black pigment. For details and photographs, please see: Altamira Cave Paintings.
Mesolithic
A later type of parietal art that is categorized as the rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin has been found in more than 700 caves and rock shelters. Generally, that artwork is painted in a distinctively different style from earlier parietal art and contains far more human figures.Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age rock art
Atlantic European rock art
Various different forms of late prehistoric rock art have been found in Atlantic Europe, the coastal region that extends from the Strait of Gibraltar up to the British Isles. The term Atlantic rock art was popularised in the 1990s by archaeologist Richard Bradley. The art is characterised by abstract geometric motifs, most notably the cup-and-ring motifs. The art can be found in Portugal, France, Spain, Britain, and Ireland. Although the art is characterised by abstract motifs it is sometimes found alongside figurative carvings, such as those at Galicia in North western Spain. Furthermore, several sites in Northern and Central Portugal, namely at the Côa Valley, Ponte da Góia, Abrigo da Faia rocks, Sever do Vouga, and several locations along the Vouga River, and Minho River bassins, and another discovery made in Argyll in Scotland, in 2020.The carvings associated with the tradition of Atlantic rock art in Europe are often found in rural settings, in open-air landscapes and occur on boulders and outcrops. Many of these panels remain in situ, however some smaller more portable examples have been moved to museums for safe keeping. The abstract nature of many of these carvings provide us with very little information of their purpose in prehistory. However, this art form has become the topic of several excavations and studies throughout Europe in recent years. Many of these studies consider a landscape approach.
The associated motifs consist of cup-marks often surrounded by one or more concentric rings that regularly feature an extending radial groove. Another common motif is the rosette motif which consists of a circular pattern of cup-marks. There is evidence for regional variation amongst this tradition.
Many archaeologists and scholars have theorised on the purpose of the art but given its mostly abstract nature and little direct context for its presence on rock surfaces, it is difficult to form a conclusive explanation for it. A widely considered theory is that the art marks routeways and boundaries within prehistoric societies.
Perhaps the most well-known landscape of Atlantic rock art in Europe is that of Galicia in north-western Spain at the Campo do Lameiro archaeological park. The majority of the carvings are situated in the Valley of the River Lérez. Over a span of 21.8 hectares hundreds of carvings can be found on the surface of rock panels in various clusters throughout the park. Along with the abstract/ geometric motifs, zoomorphs and anthropomorphs can be seen and many of these combinations form visual representations of hunting scenes.
There are over 6000 examples of Atlantic art in the UK and of these over 2000 can be found in Scotland with the highest concentration found in Kilmartin Glenn, Argyll. Northern England is host to several rock art landscapes most notably in the counties of Northumberland and Durham. In recent years many conservation and recording initiatives have been undertaken in this region by archaeologists at the University of Newcastle.
In Ireland the Atlantic rock art appears in clusters throughout the country, the most significant of those occur in counties Fermanagh/Donegal, Wicklow/Carlow, Louth/Monaghan, and Cork, with the highest concentration occurring in County Kerry on the Dingle and Iveragh Peninsulas.
During the Early Bronze Age, which lasted from circa 2300 through to c.1500 BCE, various depictions of weaponry were engraved onto rock surfaces across Atlantic Europe.