Definition: Cave art (or parietal art) refers to paintings, murals, drawings, etchings, carvings, and pecked artwork on the interior of rockshelters and caves. Two kinds of Upper Paleolithic art are recognized by scholars: cave art and portable (or mobiliary) art; see that glossary entry for more information.
Probably the most discussed issue in cave art is whether you can determine how old a painting is based on style--in other words, do styles change over time? Cave art was discovered in the 19th century, long before absolute dating was possible, and the antiquity of the art was much debated. Some scholars at the time developed a typology that was overthrown when AMS radiocarbon dating became available. However, some stylistic studies have been attempted in recent years, and, since cave art dates for some 25,000 years, it would seem a useful pursuit.
The earliest cave art known is from the European Paleolithic period (Chauvet Cave in France at about 31,000 years ago), but decorating caves is something found throughout the world and pretty much throughout time: some examples are Koonalda Cave in Australia, the Gottschall Rockshelter in the United States, Pecos rock art and others throughout the American southwest.
Sources
See the glossary entry for portable art for comparison.
AbadÃa, Oscar M. and Manuel R. G. Morales 2007 Thinking about 'style' in the 'post-stylistic era': reconstructing the stylistic context of Chauvet. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 26(2):109-125.
Bahn, Paul G. 1995 New developments in Pleistocene art. Evolutionary Anthropology 4(6):204-215.
Conkey, Margaret W. 2000 A Spanish Resistance? Social Archaeology and the Study of Paleolithic Art in Spain. Journal of Anthropological Research 56(1):77-93.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
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