5 Cave Painting Sites that Paint a Picture of Prehistoric Life

April 27, 2022

Cave paintings provide valuable knowledge about the culture of prehistoric civilizations. These five cave painting sites contain some of the oldest and most fascinating prehistoric art from around the world.

Lascaux Cave paintings in France. Bayes Ahmed. CC BY 2.0.

From Argentina to Bulgaria, humans have been creating art since the dawn of civilization. This art is sometimes the only way to glean certain details about prehistoric culture in various parts of the world. Each of the following five sites provides a unique insight into culture, religion, social life and more, as early as the Stone Age, which spanned from about 2.5 million years ago to 5,000 years ago.

1. Bhimbetka Rock Shelters - India

Paintings of animals at Bhimbetka Rock Shelters. Arian Zwegers. CC BY 2.0.

The cave paintings at the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters in Madhya Pradesh, India, date from the late stone age to early historic period. These paintings and carvings reflect many realities of prehistoric life, depicting animals, religious rituals, agricultural practices and social life. Many artifacts have also been found in the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, such as stone tools likely used for agricultural purposes. Because of the significant facts about early Indian life that have been provided by this cave art, the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters have been declared a World Heritage Site.

2. La Cueva de Los Manos - Argentina

Handprint paintings. Ryan Somma. CC BY-SA 2.0.

La Cueva de Los Manos or “the cave of hands” is aptly named; this cave painting located in Santa Cruz, Argentina is mostly a collection of handprints, estimated to have been created between 9,500 and 13,000 years ago. The handprints are believed to have been made from mineral pigments by early hunter-gatherer tribes. The meaning of the hands is unknown, but some have theorized they represent an initiation of teen boys into adulthood, due to the size of the hands. In addition to the hands, the cave also contains paintings of animals such as llamas, birds and pumas.

3. The Magura Cave - Bulgaria

Paintings at Magura Cave. Klearchos Kapoutsis. CC BY 2.0.

The Magura Cave in Belogradchik, Bulgaria contains an extensive number of paintings made of bat droppings between 4000-8000 years ago. There are approximately 700 paintings in the cave. The paintings depict anything from people dancing and hunting to religious rituals. The cultural significance of the themes painted, as well as the sheer number of paintings, makes the Magura Cave a significant cultural monument.

4. Lascaux Cave Paintings - France

Painting of an animal in Lascaux Cave. Christine. McIntosh. CC BY-ND 2.0.

The paintings of the Lascaux Cave in Dordogne, France are estimated to be 15,000-17,000 years old, stumbled upon by a group of teenage boys in 1940. Interestingly, among the approximately 600 paintings and 1,500 engravings, there is only one image of a human, making this site differ significantly from the others mentioned, which all depict daily human life in some way. In fact, the human form painted has the head of a bird. Other than this, most of the paintings are of various animals, both real and imaginary. What would be known as a modern day unicorn is even depicted. The Lascaux Cave tells us more about the imagination and storytelling practices of the people of prehistoric France than it does their concrete, daily practices.

5. Laas Geel - Somalia

Cow at Laas Geel. Najeeb. CC BY- SA 2.0.

Laas Geel, in Hargeisa, Somalia, is a collection of rock paintings discovered in 2002. Laas Geel depicts cows, painted with a vibrant red pigment. What is interesting about these cows is that they appear to have some type of ceremonial necklace or hanging around their necks. Many of the cows also appear to be wearing crowns or have some sort of halo-like object around their heads. The cows are often depicted next to humans and dogs. These depictions indicate that cows played some sort of ceremonial role, bringing up important questions about early religion and culture in Somalia.

Cultural Significance of the Summer Solstice in Greece

June 17, 2021

For the past 2,500 years, Greece has been celebrating the summer solstice as a time of equality. Today, some Greeks have carried these traditions forward.

Sunset over Oia, Greece. Eugene Chan. Unsplash.

The summer solstice marks the longest period of daylight in the calendar year, as well as the official beginning of summer. The exact date of the solstice changes by a few days each year depending on the Earth's position in orbit around the sun. This year, it is expected to fall on June 20th in the Northern Hemisphere. While many countries have specific celebrations of the summer solstice, Greece has some of the most unique and meaningful traditions to commemorate the event in modern times.

The importance of the summer solstice to the Greeks dates back to the creation of calendar systems, many of which were developed based on geographical region. For example, the Athenian calendar spanned from summer solstice to summer solstice, and the Delphic calendar began around the first new moon after the solstice.

This solar orientation led ancient Greek communities to develop new year celebrations around the summer solstice, the most prominent being the festival of Kronia. The celebration was devoted to Kronos, the father of Zeus, and was a harvest festival.

The festival of Kronia was unique because it temporarily diverged from the ancient Greek rigid social hierarchy. It marked a momentary freedom from class restraints where slaves and lords celebrated together, sometimes even reversing roles, in order to mimic Kronos’ “Golden Age” of equality and peace.

The solstice was also preserved through rituals and routines, such as lighting fires at crossroads. This practice allowed communities to purge their homes of waste by discarding items into the fire, and was representative of renewal. Furthermore, it was believed that jumping over these fires would allow hopes and dreams to come true.

Many summer solstice festivities revolve around the themes of purifying and rebirth, and serve as an opportunity for communities to cleanse themselves of the past—similar to New Year's resolutions. Many of these traditions are still practiced today by some Greek communities. However, the equality represented in the ancient festival of Kronia is exemplified differently today, due to the abolition of the ancient Greek rigid social hierarchies

Rather than physical equality between social levels, equality is represented through social harmony and peace. This is most prevalent in the annual trek to the peak of Mt. Olympus which celebrates the summer solstice and is believed to emulate a similar sense of harmony.

The peak of Mt. Olympus in Greece. Billy Onjea. Unsplash.

Over the years, the Greeks have continued to recognize the rich cultural significance of the summer solstice. They have not only adapted old customs to fit modern times, but have also developed new ones which continue to honor the renewal and revitalization that a new cycle of time brings.

An Ancient Practice with Peru’s Last Medicine Men

January 25, 2020

Rosendo is a curandero, a healer who specializes in natural, plant-based medicines. He has been honing his trade in the mountains of the high Amazon, and at 86, he is one of the last remaining curanderos in the region. Now, he is passing the baton to his son Mauro in an effort to rescue this fading art. Our friends at Jungles in Paris bring us this story from San Martin, Peru.

Hosay procession in St. James. Nicholas Laughlin, CC BY-NC-SA

How an Ancient Islamic Holiday Became Uniquely Caribbean

September 27, 2018

A throng of Trinidadians line up along the streets of St. James and Cedros to admire the vibrant floats with beautifully bedecked models of mausoleums. Their destination is the waters of the Caribbean, where the crowds will push them out to float.

This is part of the Hosay commemorations, a religious ritual performed by Trinidadian Muslims, that I have observed as part of the research for my forthcoming book on Islam in Latin America and the Caribbean.

What fascinates me is how a practice from India has been transformed into something uniquely Caribbean.

Re-enacting tragedy

During the 10 days of the Islamic month of Muharram, Shiite Muslims around the world remember the martyrdom of Hussein, Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, who was killed in a battle in Karbala, today’s Iraq, some 1,338 years ago. For Shiite Muslims Hussein is the rightful successor to Prophet Muhammad.

Ashura, the 10th day of Muharram, is marked by public mourning and a re-enactment of the tragedy. Shiite Muslims put on passion plays that include inflicting suffering, as a way to remember Hussein. In Iraq, Shiite are known to beat themselves with swords. In India, mourners whip themselves with sharp blades. Some Shiite also visit Hussein’s shrine in Iraq.

Ashura procession in Pakistan. Diariocritico de Venezuela, CC BY

The commemoration has also become a symbol for the broader Shiite struggle for justice as a minority in the global Muslim community.

Early history

In Trinidad, the 100,000 Muslims who make up 5 percent of the island’s total population, celebrate the day of Ashura, as Hosay – the name derived from “Hussein.”

The first Hosay festival was held in 1854, just over a decade after the first Indian Muslims began to arrive from India to work on the island’s sugar plantations.

But Trinidad at the time was under British colonial rule and large public gatherings were not permitted. In 1884, the British authorities issued a prohibition against Hosay commemorations. Approximately 30,000 people took to the streets, in Mon Repos, in the south, to protest against the ordinance. Shots fired to disperse the crowd killed 22 and injured over 100. The ordinance was later overturned.

The “Hosay Massacre” or “Muharram Massacre,” however, lives in people’s memories.

Colorful floats of Trinidad

These days, Hosay celebrations in St. James and Cedros not only recall Hussein, but also those killed during the 1884 Hosay riots. Rather than recreate the events through self-flagellation or other forms of suffering, however, people in Trinidad create bright and beautiful floats, called “tadjahs,” that parade through the streets to the sea.

The tadjah, a colorful model of a mausoleum. Nicholas Laughlin, CC BY-NC-SA

Each tadjah is constructed of wood, paper, bamboo and tinsel. Ranging from a height of 10 to 30 feet, the floats are accompanied by people parading along and others playing drums, just as is the practice in India’s northern city of Lucknow. Meant to reflect the resting place of Shiite martyrs, the tadjahs resemble mausoleums in India. To many, their domes might be a reminder of the Taj Mahal.

Walking ahead of the tadjahs are two men bearing crescent moon shapes, one in red and the other in green. These symbolize the deaths of Hussein and his brother Hassan – the red being Hussein’s blood and the green symbolizing the supposed poisoning of Hassan.

The elaborateness of the tadjahs continues to increase each year and has become somewhat of a status symbol among the families that sponsor them.

A bit carnival, a bit Ashura

Trinidad’s Hosay brings in a more carnival-like joy to a somber remembrance. Nicholas Laughlin, CC BY-NC-SA

While the festival is certainly a somber one in terms of its tribute, it is also a joyous occasion where families celebrate with loud music and don festive attire. This has led some to compare Hosay to Trinidad’s world-famous carnival with its accompanying “joie de vivre.”

But there are also those who believe that the occasion should be a more somber remembrance of the martydom of Hussein. More conservative Muslims in Trinidad have made attempts to “reform” such celebrations. These Muslims believe local customs should be more in line with global commemorations like those in Iraq or India.

What I saw in the festival was an assertion of both the Indian and Trinidadian identity. For Shiite Muslims, who have dealt with oppression and ostracism – both in the past and in the present – it is a means of claiming their space as a minority in Trinidadian culture and resisting being pushed to the margins. At the same time, with its carnival-like feel, the festival could not be more Trinidadian.

Indeed, the celebrations each year illustrate how Indian and Trinidadian rituals and material culture merged to create a unique festival.

KEN CHITWOOD is a Ph.D. Candidate in Religion in the Americas and Global Islam at the University of Florida

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE CONVERSATION

SARDINIA: Spinning Silk from the Sea

September 13, 2018

For over a thousand years, Chiara Vigo’s family has been keeping up an ancient tradition, spinning silk from the sea. Creating the sea silk, or byssus, involves an intricate process shrouded in secrecy. Living on the Sardinian coast, Chiara follows in her family’s footsteps as a master weaver—perhaps the last remaining on Earth.

Ancient Scotland

September 7, 2018

John Duncan spent the past seven months traveling all over Scotland to shoot his new film, ANCIENT SCOTLAND, and he states "I’ve never been more proud to call this country home."

Shot at twenty one stunning locations from as the far north as Muckle Flugga at the very top of Shetland to the prehistoric wonder of Britain’s highest sea stacks near St Kilda, some 40 miles west of the Outer Hebrides.