Art History: Cave Paintings and Prehistoric Art
Exploring early art made by people long ago
Art History: Cave Paintings and Prehistoric Art
Exploring early art made by people long ago
Art History - Grade 2-3
- 1
Prehistoric artists often painted animals on cave walls. Name one animal that you might see in a cave painting and explain why it may have been important to people long ago.
Think about animals that people long ago may have watched or hunted.
One animal that might be seen in a cave painting is a horse, bison, deer, or mammoth. It may have been important because people saw these animals often, hunted them for food, or thought they were powerful. - 2
Cave artists did not have crayons or markers. What natural materials could they have used to make paint?
Cave artists could have used natural materials such as dirt, clay, charcoal, crushed rocks, and berries to make paint. - 3
Look at a pretend cave painting that shows three handprints. What might handprints in cave art tell us about the people who made them?
A handprint can be like a message that says, I was here.
Handprints might tell us that real people were there. They may have used handprints to leave a mark, show they belonged to a group, or decorate the cave. - 4
Circle the word that best describes many colors used in cave paintings: bright neon colors or earthy colors. Explain your choice.
Earthy colors best describe many cave paintings because artists used natural materials like clay, charcoal, and minerals. These materials made colors such as brown, black, red, and yellow. - 5
A cave painting shows a group of animals running. What story might the artist have wanted to tell?
Think about what is happening in the picture, not just what objects are shown.
The artist might have wanted to tell a story about animals moving together, people hunting, or an important event they saw. Cave paintings may show things that mattered to the artist's community. - 6
Why do you think many cave paintings were made on walls instead of paper?
Many cave paintings were made on walls because paper had not been invented yet. Cave walls were large surfaces where people could draw and paint with natural materials. - 7
Choose two words that describe cave paintings: old, modern, handmade, plastic. Write the two best words and explain why they fit.
Pick words that match art made by people long ago.
The two best words are old and handmade. Cave paintings are old because they were made long ago, and they are handmade because people painted them by hand. - 8
Prehistoric artists sometimes used simple lines and shapes to show animals. Draw or describe how you could show a deer using only simple shapes.
A deer could be shown with an oval body, a small circle or oval head, four line legs, and branching lines for antlers. Simple shapes can still help people understand the animal. - 9
What can cave paintings teach us about people who lived long ago?
Art can be a clue about how people lived.
Cave paintings can teach us what animals people saw, what they may have cared about, and how they used art to share ideas or stories. They help us learn about life before written books. - 10
Imagine you are making a cave painting for people to find far in the future. What would you paint to show something important about your life today?
A good answer might describe painting a family, a pet, a home, a school, a favorite food, or a useful object. The painting should show something important about life today.