Palaeolithic Art's Insights into Modern Human Behavior: An Essay

This essay delves into the significance of Palaeolithic art, specifically examining how it informs our understanding of modern human behavior. The essay analyzes various forms of Palaeolithic art, including cave paintings, sculptures (such as Venus figurines), and rock art, to uncover the similarities between the needs, demands, and societal structures of ancient and modern humans. It explores how these artistic expressions reflect activities like hunting, rituals, religious beliefs, and social practices, and how these mirror aspects of contemporary human life. The author argues that Palaeolithic art provides valuable insights into the evolution of human behavior, revealing continuities in lifestyle, religious practices, and craft skills across time. The essay uses the Altamira cave paintings as a key example to illustrate these points, comparing the social and economic behaviors of the Palaeolithic people with those of modern humans. Ultimately, the essay concludes that Palaeolithic art offers a window into the past, demonstrating that the behaviors and intentions of modern humans have deep roots in the ancient world.

Running head: PALAEOLITHIC ART AND BEHAVIOUR OF MODERN HUMANS
Palaeolithic Art and Behaviour of Modern Humans
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1BEHAVIOUR OF MODERN HUMANS BY PALAEOLITHIC ARTS
Palaeolithic Age, also known as The Old Stone Age particularly refers to the period of
the human history as it is mostly known for the development of the stone tools by the human
beings. It was the period in which the human beings used to hunt together in bands and
survived mainly by gathering plants, fishing, hunting and scavenging birds and animals. It
was also the time during which time the human beings began to draw the images of various
objects on the walls of their caves. These paintings were made with the help of stone tools
and they depicted various objects which those human beings saw for themselves. These
paintings revealed to the about the various activities of the human beings during those times.
These activities showed to the historians about the behaviour of the modern humans, who
have descended from their ancestors of the Palaeolithic Age. Thus, it has been truly stated by
the experts that the Palaeolithic Arts do reveal much about the behaviour of the modern
humans in the society itself.
The purpose of this essay is to determine what does Palaeolithic art tells the
archaeologists and the historians about the behaviour of the modern human beings in
the society itself.
In the essay, itself, the readers will find out about the Palaeolithic arts made by the
ancient humans of the Palaeolithic period and what such paintings inform to the historians
and the archaeologists about the behaviour of the modern humans in the society itself. From
the discoveries of the art made in the caves of Altamira and in other areas, the archaeologists
have concluded that the human beings during the Palaeolithic period used to make an account
of everything they saw by making a drawing of the objects or the animal in the walls of the
caves where they used to live (Cosgrove, 2017). These paintings ranged from various types
varied from the animals or the plants which they hunted, the various rituals or the practices
which they used to practice, as well as the various God and the supernatural beings which
they used to believe and worship in. The main types of the paintings which the human beings

2BEHAVIOUR OF MODERN HUMANS BY PALAEOLITHIC ARTS
used to work during the Upper Palaeolithic period included paintings and sculptures of the
cave paintings, Venus figurines, rock paintings, cave paintings as well as the animal carvings
and the rock paintings of the animals and birds of the animals and the other objects which
they used to see around them in their everyday lives. Other paintings which have been
discovered at the caves of Altamira in Spain and in other caves around the word includes the
symbols of the images and the objects. Apart from this, the Venus figurines which they used
to make were the figures of various Gods and Goddesses as well as the shamanic figures and
the pornographic figures which they used to make (Langley, 2018). These points reveal to the
readers about the various kinds of paintings which they used to make in their days in the
walls of the caves and the rocks as well as other surfaces which they used to make. Thus, it
can be said that the ancient human beings of the Palaeolithic period were quite expert painters
compared to their time.
It is from these paintings made by the ancient human beings of the Palaeolithic period
that the archaeologists and the historians have begun to make guesses about what the
Palaeolithic art forms tell the audience about the behaviour of the human beings in the
modern time-period. In the Palaeolithic Age, it has been found that the ancient humans who
made all the paintings had the common traits as the behaviour of the modern human beings.
This fact is supported by the statement that the ancient human beings behaved in a quite
similar manner. For example, these paintings tell the readers about the fact that the needs and
the demands of the modern human beings are the same as that of the ancient human beings of
the Palaeolithic period. The arts also support the fact that the modern human beings, although
more advanced and have more available resources than the human beings of the Palaeolithic
Age is said to be of the same category as that of the human beings of those times (Starr,
2017).

3BEHAVIOUR OF MODERN HUMANS BY PALAEOLITHIC ARTS
This fact is supported by the fact that the paintings of the cave paintings showed the
activities of the human beings of those days are similar to the needs and the demands of the
human beings in the modern age. This is evidenced by the fact that both the humans of the
Palaeolithic as well as the modern age used to live together. This is evidenced by the
instances of the paintings in the caves which showed the humans living together as well as
hunting together for their food as well as other needs. This is similar to the needs and the
demands of the people in the modern times because, the modern people also live together in
societies just like people from the Palaeolithic Age. In addition to this, they also have ways
by which they earn money so that they would be able to gather food for themselves
(Cosgrove, 2017) . Thus, it can be said that the intentions are the same, only the way of
obtaining the foods for themselves are different among the people of the Palaeolithic Age and
that of the people of the modern age.
However, the mode of living is not the only thing that the paintings of the Palaeolithic
Age tells to the people about. It also tells the about the society and how both the modern
human beings as well as the human beings from the human beings from the Palaeolithic Age.
This is evidenced from the paintings of the social practices which are found in the paintings
(Langley, 2016). These social practices of the people of the Palaeolithic people include the
various rules and the regulations which they abide in the society itself as well as the way in
which they live in the society itself. If these paintings are compared with the lifestyle of the
human beings, then it can be seen that the human beings in the modern age too. This point is
supported by the fact that the humans in the modern world have a society of their own. Just
like the humans of the Palaeolithic Age, the modern-day humans abide by certain rules and
regulations which are mandatory to be followed by the humans living in the society itself
(Cosgrove, 2014). Thus, it can be said that the humans both belonging to the modern era as
well as to the ancient Palaeolithic society had certain rules and regulations which they had to

4BEHAVIOUR OF MODERN HUMANS BY PALAEOLITHIC ARTS
obey to survive in the society where they used to live both in the ancient times as well as the
modern times.
Another factor which is revealed to the historians as well as the archaeologists is the
religious practices which were prevalent in the society during those days. These images of the
religious practices and the rituals tells the readers the fact that just like the humans of the
modern world, the human beings of the Palaeolithic period had their own religious beliefs as
well as practices. This is seen in the images of the various Gods and Goddesses as well as the
shamanic and the supernatural creatures which are being seen painted in the walls of the
Altamira. If these paintings are compared with the human lives of the modern times, it is
found that the humans in the modern age also has a number of religious practices which they
must follow to be the part of the society in which they live (Dennell et. all, 2013). This is
evidenced by the fact that there are different religions in the modern world and human beings
must be a part of either of the religious system of the world itself. Similarly, the human
beings who belonged to the Palaeolithic Age also had certain religious systems and beliefs
which they had to abide by and follow. Moreover, just like the humans of the Palaeolithic
period had their own Gods and Goddesses, as identified by the Venus figurines, the humans
in the modern world also have their own images of Gods and Goddesses, to whom they offer
their prayers to get their blessings in their lives (Burudiewicz, 2016). From all of these points
made in the above section, it is clear that the images which were drawn during the
Palaeolithic period informs the readers, historians as well as the archaeologists about the
behaviour of the modern human beings based on the drawings of the human beings in the
walls of their caves during the Palaeolithic period itself.
When the lives of the humans in the Palaeolithic Age are compared with the lives of
the humans in the modern age, it is found that the humans in the modern age have much in
common with those of the humans in the Palaeolithic Age. This is evidenced not only in the

5BEHAVIOUR OF MODERN HUMANS BY PALAEOLITHIC ARTS
lifestyle and the religious beliefs and the society, it is also related to the means of earning
their livelihood by the human beings themselves (Bradshaw, 2013). It had been identified by
the historians that the humans of the Palaeolithic period were good craftsman, as they used to
male various objects and images with the help of the stone tools that were used to make these
objects. Similarly, it is also seen that in the modern world, the human beings have turned this
activity into professions of their own, which would help them to earn their livelihood
(Abadia, 2013)
. From this fact itself, many historians as well as archaeologists had concluded then fact that
perhaps the modern human beings had learned their craft from their ancestors. Thus, it is
these reasons why many historians as well as the archaeologists are of the opinion that the
paintings of the Palaeolithic paintings in the walls of the caves in the countries where they
were present (Zaidel et. all, 2013).
Therefore, from the above discussions, the fact can be concluded that the human
beings in the Palaeolithic period were far more advanced than they were originally thought to
be. It was them who had first painted the images on the caves of the walls, which tells the
readers about the drawing and the crafting skills of the people during those times. Thus, it can
be stated from the facts above that the archaeologists were right to state the fact that the
Palaeolithic Age paintings reveals much about the behaviour of the humans in the modern
times.

6BEHAVIOUR OF MODERN HUMANS BY PALAEOLITHIC ARTS
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7BEHAVIOUR OF MODERN HUMANS BY PALAEOLITHIC ARTS
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