Art as a Culture
1. Functions of Early Art It is hard to completely decipher the original intent behind the paintings that these cavemen produced. The caves likely did not serve as a place to inhabit (worldhistory.org) so the question is raised, why explore so deeply into these caves to paint when it was not a permanent lodging? However, they could have been trying to depict a story of some kind, reflecting the experiences they encountered during their everyday lives, or it could have been a part of ritual. The lack of people shown on the cave walls, in comparison to the abundance of animals painted, may be representative of the importance that animals held within their lives. Animals were essential as a food source so these paintings could be displaying a type of reverence held for them. There could also be a need for these animals to be documented, in order to recall what creatures surrounded their specific area. Additionally, humans may not have been thought necessary to include, as it may ha...
