Palaeolithic Cave Art: Dots and Lines

Dots and lines are the most common abstract symbols found in Paleolithic cave art, on cave walls and items like bone or ivory.

The number of dots and lines varies across different animals depicted in the art, with no consistent link between the animal type and the markings.

Chauvet Cave contains examples of horses drawn with dots, lines, and other markings, showcasing stylistic elements of the artist's technique.

The Chauvet cave horse images show a skillful artist with a sure hand and good control of the medium and technique.

These are older markings found overlaid by more refined, artistic drawings on cave surfaces, sometimes attributed to children.

Categories for animals found in the cave art, showing variation in dot/line counts, like horses, bison, and aurochs.

There's no pattern between the type of animal and the number of dots or lines used to represent it in the cave paintings.

A horse was engraved on a clay panel of the cave wall adjacent to an owl, showing the artist's use of the panel's natural curve.

Chiseling from the lower part of a sculpture to remove it from a cave ceiling can lead to its complete destruction.

A cave painting depicts a mammoth with a red heart painted on its left shoulder, suggesting symbolic or ritualistic meaning.

Cave paintings of mammoths often include detailed representations of their long hair, enhancing their realism and visual impact.

Oil lamps, often made from deer fat, were used in caves for lighting during prehistoric times. They are found alongside cave paintings.

Groups of dots and lines are often found in Paleolithic cave art, sometimes appearing near animals or on objects.

Sequences of dots and lines in cave art may represent lunar months, suggesting a connection to early calendar systems.

Cave art symbols may indicate early knowledge of animal migrations, mating seasons, and birthing patterns, crucial for hunter-gatherers' survival.

The arrival of spring, with its clear seasonal changes and animal migrations, may have been a natural point of origin for early lunar calendars.

A well-executed black portrait of a bison on a rock surface, enhanced with scratching to add depth and detail. It features red lines.

A bison painted on rock, with four lines on its flank, indicative of Paleolithic cave art.

Engraved images of stags swimming in Lascaux cave, marked by seven dots.

Cave painting of a hind with red markings, found at Cueva del Pindal.

A pair of facing reindeer engraved and painted in black and red, a remarkable Paleolithic artwork.

A depiction of a Megaloceros (large deer) known as the black stag, featuring twelve black dots.

A detailed depiction of a wooly rhinoceros found near a bison painting at Lascaux cave, marked by six black dots.

A cave painting of a red bear, with three red lines at the shoulder.

Two cave lions, possibly a mating pair, found in the Chauvet Cave.

A cave lion carved from reindeer antler, with magical symbols depicted by holes and arrows.

A prehistoric ivory sculpture of a lion-human, discovered in Hohlenstein-Stadel.

Fish engraving with three red spots, possibly a tuna or salmon depiction.

A carving of a salmon with seven engraved lines above and five holes.

Cave paintings of horses found in the Chauvet Cave, featuring red ochre dots and distinct markings.

Paleolithic cave painting of a horse, emphasizing its stiff mane and beard, showing only the front part.

Cave painting of a horse painted in red ochre.

A large black cave drawing of a horse, possibly a pregnant mare, with lines on the shoulder.

Cave paintings of horses, featuring dots and lines on the bodies.

Cave paintings of aurochs (wild oxen) with dots and lines at Lascaux cave.

Specific detail of a bull painting at the Lascaux cave, illustrating symbolic patterns on top of its snout.

engraving of a bovid (like a cow or ox) at Abri Blanchard cave.

Bovid depicted in red ochre in the Grotte de la Tête-du-Lion cave.

Image of an aurochs at Lascaux, specifying painting of four short lines on its body.

Image of an aurochs, potentially a bison, in this Spanish cave, showing four dots as markings.

Bison painting at a specific cave, described as having details of a shape (comb) and modelling.

Detailed depiction of a large bison, marked with four red vertical bars on its side, with partial body and forequarters preserved.

Detailed depiction of a bison, with black outlines, brown and black head and neck, and various red linear symbols on its body.

Bison painting, specifically, depicted from its lying position, not standing position as the title suggests , marked by detailed analysis of its stance.