The Beginning of Art essays

The Beginning of Art essays The unbroken line of art reaches all the way back to the ancient caveman scribing on a wall. That didn't start with just one prehistoric caveman; there must have been many around the world who evolved to the point of desire for bringing order out of chaos; in an effort to communicate their ideas to others. Examples of this type of primative art are found all over the world. Which is evidence there was a common thread of human need for this type of expression. It had to evolve out of a basic human psychic need that necessitated a desire toward noting ones surroundings; an effort to control their world. This is all extremely important to us because this was how Cro-Magnon Man first distinguished himself from Neanderthal Man. I should mention here that Neanderthal Man didn't have the physical capability to talk, he must have grunted. He lacked the physical vocal cord development that Cro-Magnon Man had. We are believed to be descended from Cro-Magnon Man. So what we are actually l ooking at with cave painting is the early development of thought, communication, the development of speech and the early data-base. Through this art we are given an insight into the evolution of the brain of man. Just think, if man never had the ability to speak, like the Neanderthal's who became extinct, there would be no way for the brain to develop - to form symbols - and eventually speak. Which of course leads to developing a data-base of knowledge that can be passed from one generation to another. That's why the early cave art is so important to us. In academic art history we tend to overlook the first scratches of primitive man; leaving their endeavor to be recorded and catalogued by the archeologist, anthropologist, paleontologist and so on. Indeed it is a vital part of our evolution and also our art history. In 1995 conducted dating adds an unexpected dimension to the find. In fact, three samples taken from two charcoal ...