Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Daily Life in Prehistoric Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Religious Motivation in Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
RockArt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .10
. . . . . 10
Timeline of Prehistory . . . . . . . . . .
. ..
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Caves in the Vezere Valley . . . .
Kakadu National Park . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .16
. . . . . . .18
The Caves of Altamira. . . . . . . .
..
Tassili N'Ajjer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
How Does Carbon Dating Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Rock Art Sites at Tadrart Acacus . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .26
Some Terms Used in Prehistoric Studies . . .
. . . . -26
. .28
Rock Art at Camonica Valley . . . . . . . .
. .28
Rock Art at Alta . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. -32
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Index . . .
..............
. .33

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationData

Teri, Marinella.
Arte rupestre prehistorico. English
rehistoric rock art / by Marinella erzi.
p. cm. - (The World heritage)
Translation of: El arte ruvestre urehistorico.
Includes index.
Summary: Discusses the subject matter, techniques, and cultural significance of
the paintings and en vings made on rocks, both inside caves and in the open
air, by primitive peop e around the world.
ISBN 0-516-08379-1
1. Rock iaintinqs-~uvenile literature. 2. Art. Prehistoric-Juvenile literature.
[I. Cave
2. Rock paintings. 3. Art, Pkhistoric. 4.Art appreciation.]
1. Title. [I. Series.

92-7504

CIP
AC

El Arte Rupestre Prehistorico: O INCAFO S.A/Ediciones S.M./UNESCO 1990

Prehistoric Rock Art: O Childrens Press: Inc./UNESCO 1992
ISBN (UNESCO)92-3-102599-6
ISBN (Childrens Press) 0-516-08379-1

'rehistoric
iock Art

How did the human race begin? This question has puzzled
us for ages. W e know that there was a hominid-or humanlike- species living in Africa nearly four million years ago.
Scientists have named it Australopithecus. Much latel; around
1,600,000 B.C., a hominid called Homo erectus appeared in
Asia and Africa. This species is also known as Pithecanthropus.
Homo erectus was a meat eater and so needed cutting tools to
butcher animals. T h e first tools made of flint are from that time.
From about 100,000 B.C., remnants of a more advanced
human, Neanderthal, have been found in Asia, Africa, and
Europe. Around the same time, our direct ancestors, Homo
sapiens sapiens, appeared in Africa. T h e structure of their
bodies is much like that of modern humans. Homo sapiens
sapiens had spread into Europe and Asia by 40,000 years ago.
In Europe, they have been called Cro-Magnon. These are the
people who created the first works of art- little figurines and
drawings at first, and latel; paintings o n stone.

The Magic of the Hunt

Scenes of animals and hunting are
the major subjects in prehistoric rock
art. Early peoples may have had a
magical belief that prey could be
captured more easily if its image
were "captured" first. As these
photos show. the styles vary considerably. depending on where the
paintings are found. Painting methods were probably passed on from
masters to apprentices. The top
photo shows a detail of a painting
on stone in Alta. Norway. from the
later Neolithic period. Below is a
deer's head from Altamira. Spain.
painted in the Paleolithic era.

Daily Life in Rehistoric Times

Hominids needed to develop new abilities to cope with the
hardships of their environment. They began to use their sense
of sight more and more, and their sense of smell less and less.
They had to be alert at all times, always ready to catch or
gath'er food. When they stood on their hind legs, their front
limbs were free to make and handle whatever toois they
needed, especially those used for hunting. And so, after long
ages of development, our own type of humans, Homo sapiens
sapiens,spread throughout the world.
These first human beings appeared during the Paleolithic
Era, or Old Stone Age. This was a period that lasted some
two million years, until about 10,000 B.c.
The climate during the Paleolithic Era was much different
than today's climate. A series of Ice Ages, or glaciations,
occurred throughout Paleolithic times. Glaciers- huge masses
of ice-covered much of the earth.
In between glaciations were periods of warmer weather,
called interglacials. In Africa the Ice Ages were much milder,
but they produced heavy rainfall.
People in the Paleolithic Era would take shelter at the
entrances of caves. To get the food they needed, they hunted,
fished, and gathered plants. They protected their bodies with
the skins of the animals they hunted.
It was often hard simply to survive. .People had to deal with
difficult childbirths and with illnesses they barely understood.
They had to protect themselves against wild beasts. The population was therefore sparse.

Descendants of the
First Australians
Many settlements that date as far
back as 25,000 years have been
found in Kakadu National Park.
Australia (oppositepage. top).The
present inhabitants still practice
many traditional arts. In the photo
at the left is a rock painting at Alta,
Norway. The map (right)shows the
locations of the places mentioned
in this book. They are World Heri:
tage sites, chosen by UNESCO for
preservation.

- .P
monica Vell-t*

>JL

.
EQUATOR
PACIFIC
OCEAN

WORLD HERITAGE
D.

The first tools were made of stone, wood, bone, and shells.
During Paleolithic times, people made tools out of chipped
stone. They used rocks broken from cliffs or pebbles gathered
from streams. Stone was easy to shape by chipping, and it
resisted scratches.
After the last Ice Age, the climate changed. Now a much
gentler climate prevailed. But rainfall also decreased. causing
severe dryness in many places. With the change in climate
came the birth of agriculture. Instead of a nomadic life of
hunting, people settled down to tend crops and built more
solid houses. Usually, people settled next to rivers.
This change-from a wandering life to a settled lifemarked the beginning of the Mesolithic ~ r aThis
. period lasted
from about 10,000 to 9000 B.C. in the Near East, and to about
4000 B.C. in Europe. Next came the Neolithic Era. lasting
until around 3000 B.C.

Religious Motivation in Art

Once our early ancestors developed to a 'certain point, they
began to create works of art. The earliest arf objects may have
been made for religious purposes. In many cases, the art may
have been related to magic.
In today's way of thinking, an artist produces art to express
personal ideas, thoughts, or feelings. But Paleolithic art objects
were part of rituals and ceremonies related to birth, death,
and fertility. The artists faced the same problems and hardships as the other people in their group. In such small societies,
it was not likely that there were people dedicated only to art.
Between 30,000 and 20,000 B.C., the first figurines of
humans were made out of stone, bone, and ivory. Some of
them clearly represent women. Others appear to be youths or
stylized forms.

Art for Worship

The first works of art may have had
a religious purpose. They were not
made simply for personal expression. but as a part of rituals associated with birth. death. and fertility.
The female figurines represented in
the drawing (left)were created about
20.000 ~ c r h photo
e
at the right
shows an image on rock from the
Neolithic period found in the Tassili
N'Ajjer. Algeria.

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-

Rock Art
Glaciers still covered great parts of northern Europe when
humans made the first paintings, engravings, and reliefs on
rock walls. Using the carbon-14 method, these works can be
dated between 25,000 and 10,000 B.C. (See explanation of
. carbon-14 dating on page 24.) This type of art reached its
peak beginning about 15,000B.C.
Most of these works were created by people who were
talented artists. They used rapid strokes and various techniques of coloring and shading. By studying the many styles
in rock art, we can tell that skills were passed on from masters
to apprentices.
There are some paintings of people, as well as some syrnbols that we don't understand. But most of the paintings
shbw figures of animals. It could be that the people believed
thkir hunting would be more successful if the prey's image
were captured in a painting.
The paintings are generally multi-colored. Most were painted
in various shades of red, black, and yellow. The artists made
the colors by mixing such substances as manganese, ocher,
and charcoal with animal fat. They applied the colors to the
walls with sticks or reeds, with their hands, or by blowing
the ground-up pigment onto the rock wall. Sometimes they
used brushes.
Engravings were carved with flint or other stone tools. Flint
tools were also used to carve sculptures. O n e reason the paintings have lasted s o long is because of the water in the caves. It
contains lime (calcium oxide), and the lime has fossilized the
paintings over the years. In other words, the paintings have
gradually turned to stone.

Timeline of Prehistory
.R,....
4 million years ago: Australopithecus appears
..-

From 2 million years ago until 10,000 B.c.: Paleolithic Age

1,600,000 years ago: Homo erectus appears
100.000 years ago: Neanderthal and Homo sapiens sapiens appear
32,000 years ago: Homo sapiens sapiens (modern humans) are the
only type of humans
From 10,000 to 9000 B.C.(to 4000 B.C.in Europe): Mesolithic Age
From the Mesolithic to around 3000 BE.: Neolithic Age
From 3000 to 1100 B.c.: Bronze Age
From 1100 B.C.to the present: Iron Age

Rites of Yesterday and Today

At Kakadu National Park, more
than one thousand sites with prehistoric art have been counted. One
of them, Nourlangie Rock, is shown
in the top photo. Australians say it
represents Barginj,wife of the Lightning-Spirit.Below it is an everyday
scene among the people of Kakadu:
a mother and her two children collect mollusks in the brackish waters
that result when sea water and fresh
water mix during the flood season.

TheBPckthatHidesa8ecret
Uluru National Park in A d a ' s
central desert coven about 522
squm miles I132,,500hectares)+

The park is'rnade up of wide expanses of sand, dunes. and desert

formed by deposits From stream
Rising from this desert is the famous
monolith of &em Rock, shown in
the photo, which reaches a bight
of 2.845 feet 1867m e i d . fts tqp is
almost fiat. Thre are valuable and
unique stone paintings oh &ers
Rock. someof them around 10,000
years old. Howew theyare located
in one of the three zones reserved
exclusively for the native people.
Tourists and photographers are not
allowed to enter. The natural features of Lntlruwe just as important
as the cuIturaf. spectacular formationsm ofgreat interest 20 geologists who study the structure and
chemistry of the earth. Biologists
are just as inheresfadinthe national
park as an ecosystem. ft is hone b
many fascimtbg animal and plant
species.At the m e time,the native
communities confrih& their great
cultural and religiousheritage."This
is m e land, m e law, ane people!'
That hangu phrase swns up the
s e m of life in the heart ofAustralia

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The hunting of animals is one of the most common themes

in the paintings and engravings. Sometimes there are figures
of animals that barely existed in the artist's area. This may
mean that the hunters were trying for rarer forms of prey.
In many cases, the painters took advantage of parts of
the rock that jutted out. An animal painted on such a spot
seemed to jut out, too. They even used natural features of the
rocks, such as water trickles, to show wounds in the animals.
Such techniques can be seen in Altamira and other Paleolithic caves.
In some caves, there are paintings painted on top of other
paintings. Either they were created at different times or were
deliberately made that way to to give an impression of depth.
Many cave paintings were done far from the entrance to
a cave. This tells us that the people of that time used fire and
knew how to control it. They used torches to light their way
along the lengthy underground corridors. Remains of torches
have been found in various Paleolithic sites. There were also
stone lamps that were probably set at intersections or in front
of decorated areas. These lamps did not give off much light,
but they could last a long time. It has been determined that
10.5 ounces (300 grams) of animal fat could produce twentyfour hours of light.

I
I

Fine Artistic Techniques

Prehistoric artists used excellent
techniques. They often took advantage of raised areas on rocky walls
to make their figures seem more
real. Sometimes they accented the
outlines of drawings by engraving
them with a burin (a pointed flint
tool) and filling in with black. These
two techniques can be seen in the
photos at the left and right. The
painting on the left is from Altamira.
Spain. The one on the right is from
Lascaux Cave. in the Vezere Valley.
France.

BRlSBANE CITk ::OUI:ZIL

LIBRARY SERVICE

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Caves in the Vezere Valley

Scattered throughout the Vezere Valley, in the French region
of Aquitaine, are traces of the humans who lived there thousands of years ago. In the valley are 147 prehistoric sites and
25 decorated cavei The most famous is Lascaux Cave. It
contains hundreds of paintings, some outlined with strokes
made by a pointed flint tool called a burin. Some drawings
are made o n top of others, indicating that they were made at
more than one time.
Animals of the time are the main subjects in the pictures.
The artists took advantage of irregularities in the rocks to add
some depth or relief. Their colors were yellow, different shades
of ocher, and black.
One of the most interesting chambers in Lascaux Cave is the
Room of the Bulls. One of the bulls painted there is 18 feet
(5.5meters) long.

Kakadu National Park

This Australian park is in the region of Arnhem Land,
185 miles (300 kilometers) east of the city of Darwin. More
than 2,300 square miles (6,000 square kilometers) in area,
the park is comprised of many different types of land. There
are mangrove swamps and flooded plains, inhabited by
a great population of aquatic birds. There is also a rocky
plateau, with mountain masses as high as 1,640feet (500
meters). Several human settlements u p to 25,000 years old
have been discovered on this plateau. There is evidence that
the first inhabitants of Australia came from Asia at least
40,000 years ago.
Stone axes with ground cutting edges, about 20,000 years
old, have been found in excavations in this region. They are
the most ancient relics unearthed so far.
Prehistoric art appears in more than a thousand sites in
Kakadu National Park. Some of the paintings show events or
activities common in the community. Other pictures were
painted for religious purposes, to obtain blessings for the
group. Most of them are in shades of ocher and are quite well
preserved, since the native people themselves have been in
charge of taking care of them.
The present inhabitants,'the Lardil, are direct descendants
of the area's prehistoric residents. They are very interested in
preserving their heritage. However, the paintings are now in
danger of deteriorating, due mainly to the dust produced by
traffic to the sites.

An Assortment of Animals
The Room of the Bulls is one of the
most fascinating parts of Lascaux
Cave in the Vezere Valley. This valley in the French region of Aquitaine.
already inhabited 100.000 years
ago. has 147 sites and 25 decorated
caves. The best known is Lascaux
Cave. (Top)A bull and a horse in
Lascaux Cave. (Bottom) A rock
painting of a turtle in Kakadu. Australia. Turtles were eaten by the

The Caves of Altamira

The caves of Altamira are in northern Spain, near Santillana
del Mar in the Cantabrian Mountains. A hunter from the
region discovered the caves in the middle of the nineteenth
century. When the Marquis of Sautuola heard about them. he
guessed that there might be something interesting inside.
He visited the caves several times, but it was his daughter
Maria who first discovered the famous bison on the ceiling
in 1879.
The caves, located in a limestone plateau, are made up of
a number of passageways and rooms, with a total length of
885 feet (270 meters). People probably lived in them as early
as 30,000 6.C. But the many stone tools around the entrance
indicate that the heaviest period of settlement was around
13,500B.C. The twenty impressive multi-colored figures
on the ceiling of the main room date from that time.
Bison, horses, deer. and wild boar are the subjects of the
paintings. The artists used raised parts of the rock to make
the animals look even more realistic. Some of the animals'
bodies stand out like relief sculptures. They are painted
in various shades of ocher, red, and black.
Three types of pictures appear in the caves: animals. human
beings, and unknown symbols or designs. The animal figures
may represent dead animals lying in a corral after being
driven into a slaughter area. The caves of Altamira are now
closed to the public to preserve the paintings.

A Ceiling Full of Bisons

The caves of Altamira. near Santillana del Mar. Spain, are closed to
the public now to assure their preservation. The caves were inhabited
most heavily around 13.500 B.C.
With all their rooms and winding
corridors. the caves' total length is
885 feet (270 meters). The most
outstanding features are the twenty
figures on the ceiling of the main
room. painted in ocher. red. and
black tones. It must have taken quite
a bit of effort for the artists to have
painted them. since theywould have
had to work in a very uncomfortable position.

Struggle Against the Desert

The Tassili N'Ajjer is a long, flat rock,
about 430 miles long and 62 miles
wide (700by 100 kilometers),in the
southeast corner of Algeria. On it
are more than 15,000 paintings.
engravings, and other archaeological remains. They are vivid evidence
of the diverse civilizations that have
lived in the area, from the Saharan
Neolithic era until quite recent times.
The Tassili N'Ajjer isvaluable to geologists and archaeologists. But it is
also of great interest to biologists. It
contains Mediterranean plants and
animalsthat defy the area's tendency
to turn into a desert.

Tassili N'Ajjer
Imagine a single, flat rock about 435 miles (700 kilometers)
long and 62 miles (100 kilometers) wide, and almost 1.25
miles (2,000meters) high. That is the Tassili N'Ajjer. It rises in
the southeastern corner of Algeria, in the heart of the Sahara
Desert of North Africa.
Wind and storms have worn away its clayey material, leaving unusual formations. This peculiar terrain is remarkable
for its biology as well as its geology. Its plants and animals
are similar to those in lands close to the Mediterranean Sea.
They serve as a reminder of the past, of a time when the arid
Sahara was lush and green.
Besides all this, the Tassili N'Ajjer is an archaeological site rich
with prehistoric art. O n its rock faces, there are more than 15,000
paintings, engravings, and other archaeological remnants.
Together, they are a priceless testimony to the many civilizations that have lived in the area. There are paintings from the
Saharan Neolithic period all the way up to recent times.
Archaeologists -scientists who study remains from past
civilizations- have found that people have lived in this part of
the Sahara region for over 7,000 years. Through the centuries,
the dwellers have had to adjust to an ever more arid climate.
As conditions changed, s o did the people's way of life.
Several different styles of paintings are found in the Tassili
N'Ajjer, each made in a different time period:

The Might of the Wind

T h e clayey material of the Tassili
N'Ajjer has been worn away by
winds and storms. This erosion has
left some unusual formations. such
as those in the photo at the right. At
the left is one of the engravings at
the Tassili N'Ajjer. It depicts a goat.
a n animal very abundant in the
region.

Realistic period. These are the oldest paintings, created about

6000 B . c . T are
~ ~pictures
~
of wild animals of the savanna.

I1

Period of round-headed beings. These paintings, often very

small or very large, show beings with round and exaggerated
heads. Whether they represent people or spirits or both is not
known. They date from about 6000 to 4000 B.C.
Cattle herdsmen period. Most of the paintings at the Tassili
N7Ajjerare in this style, used between about 4000 and 1200 B.C.
There are many pictures of cattle and sheep and of people
doing everyday chores.
Horse period. This period lasted from about 1200 B.C. to the
end of the B.c. era. It is marked by scenes of horse-drawn
chariots and of people riding on horseback. This might be
explained by the inhabitants' contacts with Egypt and other
North African cultures bordering the Mediterranean.
Camel period. From A.D. 300 to the present. Artists started
making this kind of painting at a time when camels began to
be used instead of horses. Along with the paintings are words
written in Tifinagh, a form of writing still used by the presentday Tuareg people of the area.

H m Lks Curium-14 Dating Mrk?

The carbon44 method was discovered in 1949 by the American
physicist Willard Frank Libby. Udng
this method, scientists can discover
the age of objects that are many
.thousands of years old. The testcan
be done on any organic materialthat is, anything that was once alive.
All living things-animals and
plants-contain the element carbon. Plants take in carbon dioxide
and also a form of carbon called
carbon-14. When animals eat
plants, they take in the phnt's carbon, too. While animals and plants
are alive, the carbon-14 inside them
is constantly breaking down. But
they are constantly taking in more
carbon-14 at the same time. Thus,
the amount of carbon-14 inside an
animal or plant s& the same as
long as it's a l i .
When something dies, it stops
taking in carbon-14. But the carbon14 inside it keeps breaking down

&n-14 breaks dawn, a (nv uAkactive" particle shoots out.

We know that carbon-14 has a
"half-life" of about 5,700 years.
That's how long it takes for onehalf the original amount of carbon14 to break down. After another
5,700 years, onequarter of it is left;
in 5,700 more years, one-eighth is
M,and so on. The number of radioactive particles shooting out of an
object tells how much carbon-14 is
still left in it.
With an instrument called a
Geiger counter,scientists can count
these particles. Once they know
how much carbon-14 remains in the
object, they can determine its age.
After about 50,000years, almost
all the carbon-14 is gone. Thus,
carbon-14 dating can be used to
find the age of organic material thac
is up to 50,000years old.
Fur, antlers, clothing, and woad
are all objects whose age can be
.
l
d
using carbon-14 dating.

Camels on the Rocks

The paintings at the Tassili N'Ajjer
are divided into five styles, depending on the dates when they were
created.The art in the bottom photo
belongs to the camel period, from
A.D. 300 to the present time. It was
in this era that the camel replaced
the horse. Paintings from the camel
period usually have inscriptions in
Tifinagh characters, a form of writing still used today by the Tuaregs.
The photo above shows some of
the clayey mountain masses in
the area.

The artists' descendants- the Ajjer Tuaregs -are more

bound to their ancient traditions than other Tuaregs are.
They are also more independent. They lead a nomadic life,
raising camels, goats, and sheep.

Rock Art Sites at Tadrart Acacus

The Tassili N'Ajjer region extends naturally across the
Algerian border into southwestern Libya. There, at Tadrart
Acacus, is a rocky mountain mass measuring almost 100
square miles (more than 250 square kilometers).
There, too, are found thousands of engravings and rock
paintings. Some of them are older than the ones at the Tassili
N'Ajjer, dating as far back as 12,000 B.C. Their styles are very
different, depending on when they were made.
Experts have divided the art at Tadrart Acacus into the
same periods as the paintings at the Tassili N'Ajjer:
Realistic (possibly 12,000 to 7000 B.c.)
Round-headed beings (7000 to 4000 B.c.)
Cattle (4000 to 1200 B.C.)
Horse (1200 B.C. to first century A.D.)
There is no camel period. The last pictures at Tadrart
Acacus were painted before camels were commonly used in
that area.
The paintings reveal the great changes in the plant and
animal life of the area through the centuries. They also reflect
the different ways of life practiced by the various inhabitants.

Some Tenns Used in Prehistoric Studies

fossil: a remnant or outline of a plant or animal presewed in rock
fossilization: the gradual transformation of a plant or animal into rock
as minerals replace soft tissues
ghciation: an ice qle:the formation of ice sheets covering a h r s @on
hominids: humans and closely related human-like beings that are
now extinct
half-life: the number of years it takes for half an amount of a radioactive
material to break down
interglacial: a period of warmer climate between ice ages
paleontology: the science that studies life in past eras by examining
fossil remains
r
carbon-14dating method

name
-

The Hidden Valley

The rocky mountain mass of Tadrart
Acacus in Libya is a natural extension of the TassiliN.Ajjer Like the
site in Algeria. it contains thousands
of rock engravings and paintings.
One of them is shown in the lower
left photo. The other two photos
Were taken at
Italy.
In this breathtaking valley are more
than 140.000 prehistoric figures.
engraved on some 2.400 rocks. It is
the most important discovery of
rock art to date. since the valleywas
isolated from the rest of the world
so long.

Rock Art at Camonica Valley

In the far northern part of Italy, nestled in the Alps near the
border of Switzerland, lies the Camonica Valley. Important
archaeological remains -engravings and paintings -were
found in the valley in the early 1900s. These works of art
show that a prehistoric culture existed at Camonica Valley
beginning around 8000 B.C. There are more recent images,
too, belonging to the Etruscan and Roman civilizations.
In all, the valley contains more than 140,000 figures on
about 2,400 rocks. With so much work done over such a long
time, pictures from different time periods have been painted
or engraved on top of one another.
Everything seems to indicate that the pictures have a religious meaning. Engravings of people in poses of adoration
are common. There are also pictures of deer and of sun disks,
basic elements in the prehistoric religion of the area. Some
pictures, on the other hand, show scenes of everyday life and
of the dwellings used by members of the different social classes.
Life in Camonica Valley was a world of its own, isolated
from the outside world. There were a number of usual routes
across the Alps, but Camonica Valley was far from any of
them. That was why the valley's distinct culture lasted such
a long time. Once the Romans arrived, the area was opened
to trade and communication. After that, its culture started to
decline. Once tourism in the Italian Alps began to develop,
the valley became more widely known.'

Rock Art at Alta

Along the Alta Fjord in northern Norway, near the Arctic
Circle, there are paintings and engravings that seem to belong
to the Neolithic Era. In civilizations along the shores of the
Mediterranean, Neolithic culture flourished between 3000 and
1500 B.C. Some of the works at Alta date from that period.
But most of them were made later, between about 1500 B.C.
and 500 B.C. How can this be?
Glaciers covered the far northern part of the earth until at
least 8000 B.C. As a result, people began to settle there much
later than in warmer regions to the south. Thus, agriculture and
cities appeared later in the far north than in the Mediterranean.
The most ancient works at Alta are generally those found
higher than sea level. The more recent ones are lower, closer
to the present sea level. There is a difference of about 85 feet
(26 meters) between the higher (older) works and the lower
(newer) ones.

An Unfavorable Climate
Most of the engravings at Camonica
Valley have religious designs. The
main elements in the religion -the
deer and the sun -appear in almost
all the rock paintings there. The top
two photos show rock art from
Camonica Valley. Below is a fishing
scene in Alta. Norway. The paintings found in this fjord, near the
Arctic Circle, were made between
3000 and 500 B.C. They show a

I
I
I
I

Hunting scenes abound. At the very same time that hunting declined in the area, the paintings stopped. Bears, elk,
reindeer, and whales are some of the local animals shown in
the paintings. But there are also scenes of daily life, such as
fishing, navigation, and ritual ceremonies. There are even
scenes of farming, which was very difficult in the frigid climate.
The figures were carved in the rock and later colored, either
partly or completely. The paintings at Alta have a very curious
feature: the sides of reindeer and elk are sometimes crossed
by a number of vertical lines. After much study, some experts
have concluded that the lines represent the animals' bones.
With its extremely northern location and so unfavorable a
climate, Alta appears to be the most northerly part of our
planet where there was human life in prehistoric times.

Development During
the Neolithic Era
Prehistoric cultures did not develop
in the same way or at the same time
all over the world. Thus, the Neolithic Era did not begin at the same
time everywhere. There were differences of up to thousands of years
between one region and another.
Alta, in Norway,has the most recent
paintings, such as the one at the
left. Yet these paintings are much
simpler than those of Altamira
(opposite page, h e r right), which
were made 10,000years earlier:The
pictures at Camonica Valley (upper
right), also less realistic than Altamira's, belong to a period between
Altamira and Alta.

These Sites Are Part o f the World Heritage

Caves of the Vezere Valley, located in the French region of Aquitaine. The district has 147
sites and 25 decorated caves. Lascaux, Combarelles. and Font-de-Gaume are the most
outstanding caves.
Kakadu National Park, an archaeological and ethnological reserve in the far northern part
of Australia. People have lived there continuously for 40.000 years. More than one thousand
places in the park have examples of prehistoric art.
Caves of Altamira, near Santillana del Mar in the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain. The
caves are 885 feet (270 meters) long. Of all the remains and paintings that have been
preserved, the twenty figures of animals on the ceiling of the central room here are the
most outstanding.
Tassili N'Ajjer, a rocky mountain mass in Algeria, with a very unusual away of plants and
animals. More than 15,000 paintings and engravings frorn the Saharan Neolithic period are
found here.
Rock Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus, an extension into Libya of the Tassili N'Ajjer. It also has
thousands of rock paintings and engravings.
Rock Art of Camonica Valley. Engravings and paintings of great interest are preserved
in this valley in the Italian Alps. They belong to the long period between 8000 B.C. and
Roman civilization.
Rock Art of Alta, in the Alta Fjord, Norway. This is the most northerly place where there was
human life during prehistory, as proven by artistic remains from as far back as 3000 B.C.

Glossary
apprentice: a student learning a craft from a master
archaeologist: a scientist who learns about the past by studying the
remains of ancient artifacts and monuments
culture: the beliefs, values, skills, and social patterns of a particular group
of people
engraving: a picture made by carving lines into a stone
excavate: to find or uncover something by digging or scooping out a
hole in the ground
fertility: the ability to reproduce
figurine: a small carved or molded statue
fjords: deep, narrow inlets of the sea between steep cliffs; found along
coasts in Scandinavia, Alaska, and southern South America
flint: a hard quartz mineral
glacier: a huge body of ice spread out over a large area
lime: calcium oxide
manganese: a grayish-white metal
monolith: a massive stone
ocher: an earthy, reddish-yellow color obtained from iron ore
pigment: a coloring material; it could be a powder that is mixed with a
liquid, or a substance taken from a plant or animal
prehistoric: "before history"; occurring before human history began to be
written down
relief: a sculpture on a wall or other flat surface that stands out from
its background
savanna: a grassy plain with few or no trees

Index
Page numbers in boldface type indicate illustrations.
Africa, early humans in, 4
Algeria, prehistoric art in, 9,20,
22,22,25,31
Aps, 28
Alta, Norway, 5,6,28,29,30,
30,31
Altamira caves, Spain, 5, 14, 14, 18,
18,19,30,31,31
Anagu people of Australia, 12
animals in art, 5, 10,14,14, 15, 16,
17,18,19,22,24,25,26,
27,28,30,30,31
art, beginnings of, 4,8, 10
art techniques, 10, 14, 18
Asia, early humans in, 4, 16
Australia, prehistoric art in, 11, 12,
16, 17,31
Australopithecus, 4
Ayers Rock, Australia, 12,12-13
camels, 24,25,26
Camonica Valley, Italy, 27,28,
28-29,30,31,31
carbon-14 dating, 10,24
climate, 6,8,22
clothing, 6
colors, 10,16, 18
Cro-Magnon,4
daily life in prehistoric times: 6, 8, 14,
24,28,30
Europe, early humans in, 4, 10
farming, 8, 30
figurines, 4 , 8 , 8
fire, early use of, 14
fishing, 6 , 2 5 3 0
France, prehistoric art in, 15, 16,
17,31
gathering plants, 6
glaciers, 6, 10, 28
homes and shelters, 6,8: 18,28
Homo erectus, 4

Homo sapiens sapiens, 4, 6

hominids, 4, 6
hunting, 4, 5 , 6 , 8 , 14, 30, 3 0
Ice Ages, 6 , 8
Italy, prehistoric art in, 27.28,
28-2930,31,31
Kakadu National Park. Australia, 7,
11, 16, 17.31
Lardil people of Australia, 11, 16
Lascaux Cave, France, 15, 16, 17,31
Libya, prehistoric art in, 26, 27, 31
map of prehistoric sites, 7
Mediterranean region, 20, 22,24,28
Mesolithic Era, 8
Neanderthal. 4
Neolithic Era, 8,22,28,30
Norway, prehistoric art in, 5,6,28,
29,30,30,31
Nourlangie Rock, 11
Paleolithic Era, 6,8, 14
Pithecanthropus,4
plant and animal life, 12,20,22, 26
religious purposes of art, 8, 16,28
Roman civilization, 28
Sahara Desert, 20-21,22
Sautuola, Marquis de, 18
Spain, prehistoric art in, 5, 14, 18
18,19,31,31
Tadrart Acacus, Libya, 26, 27, 31
Tassili N'Ajjer, Algeria, 9,20-21,
22,22,23,24,24-25,26,31
tools, 4, 8, 10, 16, 18
Tuareg people of North Africa, 24,26
Uluru National Park, Australia, 12,
12-13
UNESCO, 6 , 3 5
Vezere Valley, France, caves in, 15,
16?17,31
World Heritage sites, 6, 7,31,35

Titles in the World Heritage Series

The Land of the Pharaohs
The Chinese Empire
Ancient Greece
Prehistoric Rock Art
The Roman Empire
Mayan Civilization
Tropical Rain Forests
Inca Civilization
Prehistoric Stone Monuments
Romanesque Art and Architecture
Great Animal Refuges of the World
Coral Reefs

Photo Credits
Front cover: Incafo; p. 3: l? Vauthey/Sygma-Contifoto; p. 5: L. Ruiz Pastor/Incafo, J.
A. Fernandez & C. de Noriega/Incafo; p. 7: R. Smith; p. 9: Index; p. 11:D. Hiser, R.
Smith; pp. 12-13: A. Larramendi/Incafo; p. 14: J. A. Fernandez & C. de Noriega/
Incafo; p. 15: I? Vauthey/Sygma-Contifoto; p. 17: I? Vauthey/Sygma-Contifoto, R.
Smith; p. 18: J. A. Femandez & C. de Noriega/lncafo; p. 19: J. A. Femandez & C. de
Noriega/Incafo, Incafo; pp. 20-21,22,23,25:A. G. E. FotoStock; p. 27: S. Fiore/FiroFoto, Schoenal/Marco-Polo,S. Fiore/Firo-Foto; p. 29: S. Fiore/Firo-Foto, S. Fiore/
Firo-Foto, L. Ruiz Pastor/Incafo; p. 30: L. Ruiz Pastor/Incafo; p. 31: L. Ruiz
Pastor/Incafo, S. Fiore/Firo-Foto, J. A. Fernandez & C. de Noriega/Incafo; back
cover: L. Ruiz Pastor/Incafo, J. A. Femandez & C. de Noriega/Incafo.

Project Editor, Childrens Press: Ann Heinrichs

Original Text: Marinella Terzi
Subject Consultant: Dr. Thomas E Kehoe
Translator: Angela Ruiz
Design: Alberto Caffaratto
Cartography: Modesto Arregui
Drawings: Olga Perez Alonso
Phototypesetting: Publishers Typesetters, Inc.

UNESCOb World Heritage

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)was founded in 1946. Its purpose is to contribute to world peace by promoting cooperation among nations
through education, science, and culture. UNESCO believes that such
cooperation leads to universal respect for justice, for the rule of law,
and for the basic human rights of all people.
UNESCO'smany activities include, for example, combatting illiteracy, developing water resources, .educating people on the
environment, and promoting human rights.
In 1972, UNESCO established its World Heritage Convention.
With members from over 100 nations, this international body works
to protect cultural and natural wonders throughout the world. These
include significant monuments, archaeological sites, geological formations, and natural landscapes. Such treasures, the Convention
believes, are part of a World Heritage that belongs to all people.
Thus, their preservation is important to us all.
Specialists on the World Heritage Committee have targeted over
300 sites for preservation. Through technical and financial aid, the
international community restores, protects, and preserves these
sites for future generations.
Volumes in the World Heritage series feature spectacular color
photographs of various World Heritage sites and explain their historical, cultural, and scientific importance.

BRISBANE C I T Y COUNCILLIBRARY SERVICE

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