THE HISTORY AND MYSTERY OF PREHISTORIC CAVE PAINTINGS

Introduction

Deep inside the cave, the man sat down for a moment to rest. He had traveled deeper into the recesses of the cave than ever before.

He bent down to pick up a piece of soft stone and walked toward a place on the wall that seemed to swell outward like the body of an animal. With a few awkward strokes, he added legs and then a head to the body. He stepped back to admire his work.

The man, standing alone in the dark, silent cave, suddenly became frightened; by the strange image he had created.

TASKS

1. Experiment With Media:

Brainstorm ways to use the unusual media and tools listed. Then experiment with a few and arrange a display that shows the diversity of the media and tools you tried.

Grape juice Brick dust

Beet juice Sawdust

Coffee or tea Flowers

Rust Feathers

Twigs Yarn dipped in paint

Fingers

2. Take a Field Trip to Paint Rock to study the Indian Pictographs

3. In your group of four, develop a skit that reenacts the events leading up to the cave drawing written in the introduction. Perform it for the big group.

4. Select an object and illustrate it with just one earth tone color plus black. You may use different values of the color.

PROCESS

1. Why did prehistoric man create cave drawings?

2. What does present day man create that compares to Prehistoric man’s creations?

3. What geographical areas of the prehistoric world were involved?

4. When did the earliest works of art occur?

DIVIDE INTO GROUPS OF FOUR. CHOOSE AN ASSIGNMENT FOR EACH PERSON:

1. Psychologist-determine through research why the works were created. Prepare a statement to present to the class with your findings.

2. Art Critic-study modern day works of art and

Prehistoric works of art. Compare the two. Prepare a statement that discusses a few basic comparisons to present to the group.

3. Geographer-research prehistoric sites where art was found. Create a 2-dimensional map showing the sites around the prehistoric world.

4. Historian works closely with the Geographer.

Determine when the many prehistoric works were created. Create a timeline of the prehistoric works of art.

Your group will present his or her findings to the class. Each member will give a short presentation describing his assignment, his findings, and conclusion drawn.