Upper Paleolithic

The Upper Paleolithic is the last and third sub category of the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic since it is understood in Asia, Africa and Europe.

The Upper Paleolithic (40,000 BC to 12,000 BC) in the Europe is well-known by the appearance of the com­plex technology of antler, bone, stone, and wall art, decorated tools and portable art objects as well. Archae­ologists at times call this an artistic explosion and the metaphor is suitable. Only a handful of the objects from the preceding five million years could be called as art (and most of these might not be artifacts in any way). However, most of the Upper Paleolithic sites include of carved, sculpted or engraved objects, and caves usually occupied by the Upper Paleolithic peoples usually contain wall paintings.

Cave paintings occur in 200 French caves, and still more are found in Spain. Much of the painting dates to the Magdalenian phase. However, a new site, Grorte Chauvet, was discovered in France in 1994 and AMS radiocarbon dates on the paintings themselves (the black paint is charcoal, with fat or blood sometimes used as a binder) and some torch marks on the walls date to 26,000 to 32,000 BC. Upper Paleolithic wall paintings have intrigued archaeologists for more than a century. More than sim­ple line drawings, these are masterworks created by tal­ented artisans who knew animal anatomy and behavior well. Careful shading shows the contours of animals' shoulders and haunches. Rutting stags lower their heads to bugle. Some animals may be pregnant. Many of the images were painted with brushes, and hand silhou­ettes by the hundreds cover some cave walls.

The paintings are deliberately dramatic. The artists understood the principles of perspective, and they sometimes employed the natural topography of cave walls to bring the animals to life. As you walk down one dark, narrow passage in the French cave of Lascaux, for example, two bulls appear to be running toward and to either side of you—a trick made possible by clever use of the cave's contours. Upper Paleolithic paintings sometimes turn up in the most obscure places, difficult to locate even with mod­ern equipment.

Questionnaire:

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