Talking Points: Cave Art
What can ancient drawings tell us about the past?
Cave paintings are some of the oldest drawings in the world. They were made using natural pigments from the earth, such as charcoal, stones and plants. Their drawings of animals, people and symbols give us clues about how people lived, what they saw and what might have been important to them.
Use the videos and questions below to explore cave art and the different ways these ancient drawings were made.
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Chauvet Cave
Explore into the depths of Chauvet cave with Google Arts and Culture
Discovered on December 18, 1994 in south east France, it is considered one of the most significant prehistoric art sites and contains some of the best preserved figurative cave paintings in the world.
Questions to Ask Children
Describe what you can see in the cave paintings?
Which drawings are your favourites?
What material do you think they might have used to create these paintings?
Lascaux Cave
On 12 September 1940, the entrance to the Lascaux Cave was discovered by 18-year-old Marcel Ravidat when his dog, Robot, fell in a hole.
The deteriorating condition of the cave caused by an introduction to bacteria and changes in humidity the caves led to its closure.
You may also find this video useful.
Questions to Ask Children
How do you think it would feel to discover prehistoric cave paintings?
Why is it important that these paintings are preserved?
How do these paintings differ from those in the Chauvet Cave?
The White Lady
The white lady cave painting is located in The Brandberg mountains in Namibia dating back to at least 2000 years ago.
It is usually assumed that the painting shows some sort of ritual dance.
It’s thought that the painting was probably made of ochre, charcoal, manganese, hematite, with blood serum, egg white, and casein used as binding agents.
Questions to Ask Children
Describe what you can see.
What animals do you think are depicted?
What do you like about this cave art?
What materials might you use to recreate the colours and textures of this painting?
How do these paintings differ from those in the Chauvet Cave?
This Talking Points Is Used In...
Pathway: Gestural Drawing with charcoal
using sketchbooks to make visual notes
Show me what you see
