Blombos Cave Rock Art
Prehistoric Engravings on Ochre Stone,
Prehistoric Snail Beads.
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Blombos Cave Rock Art
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Blombos Cave Rock Art (70,000 BCE)
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EARLIEST SCULPTURE STONE AGE ART in
IRELAND |
Discovery and Dating Archeological investigations first began at the Blombos complex in 1991. One of the earliest discoveries was a number of stone artifacts known as bifacial points, manufactured in a style which previously appeared in Europe only as late as 17,000 BCE. Other finds which indicated a relatively advanced Blombos culture, included ground and polished animal bone tools, dated to 80,000 BCE, making them some of the oldest bone tools in Africa. From tests on a wide range of fossils, tools and other artifacts, it was learned that Stone Age man inhabited the caves during three phases of the Middle Paleolithic: phase one occurred during the period 140,000-100,000 BCE; phase two occurred around 80,000 BCE; while phase three dated from around 73,000 BCE. The Engraved Ochre Stones Then in 2002, archeologists announced that two pieces or rock, composed of iron ore stone ochre and decorated with abstract crosshatch designs, had been recovered, dating to at least 70,000 BCE: that is, pre-dating the next oldest example of rock art (the El Castillo cave paintings) by 30,000 years. Two new luminescence-based dating techniques were employed to date the artifacts: thermo-luminescence and optically stimulated luminescence, which was used to date burnt pieces of stone discovered near the artifacts to 70,000-75,000 BCE. Ochre is a naturally occurring red iron oxide, commonly used by prehistoric hunter-gatherers as a colouring pigment for body-painting. In the Blombos caves, archaeologists discovered hundreds of lumps of this material, including pieces which had been ground into crayons. Their honed points suggested they were employed for design purposes, although as yet no cave painting has been discovered. (For examples of this type of parietal art, see the caves of Chauvet (c.30,000 BCE), Pech-Merle (c.25,000 BCE), Cosquer, (C.25,000 BCE), Lascaux (c.17,000 BCE) and Altamira (c.15,000 BCE). Other significant finds of ancient art from the Blombos cave included shell beads dating from the period (70,000-75,000 BCE). Significance The discovery of the abstract ochre stone engravings - predating similar megalithic art by 65,000 years - is suggestive of an advanced people capable of generating and understanding symbols and abstraction. In Europe no similar petroglyphs were found until the era of Aurignacian art around 33,000 BCE. The existence of such an African culture at Blombos is further supported by the sophistication implicit in the beads, bone tools and other materials found in the cave. Indeed, these smaller items may be the oldest examples of mobiliary art ever discovered. Whether the site of the cave complex, on the shore of the Indian Ocean, might indicate any form of contact with southern Asia - where cultural levels were rising fast during the Middle Paleolithic era - is not known, although the fact that prehistoric migrations from the SE Asian mainland to islands in the Pacific didn't really start until about 65,000 BCE tends to argue against this possibility. However, the recent dating of the Sulawesi Cave art (Indonesia) to 37,900 BCE, does support the idea that "modern man" acquired his artistic capability before leaving Africa, rather than during his journey, or after reaching his final destination.
Note: For more information about the artists of prehistory, please see the Ivory Carvings of the Swabian Jura, and the Venus Figurines, especially the Venus of Kostenky, the Venus of Willendorf and the Venus of Brassempouy. Controversy The only controversy concerning the discovery of this Late Pleistocene abstract art at Blombos cave, is whether the artifacts represent true art. Several archaeologists, at least to begin with, were reportedly hesitant to accept this proposition. One can dismiss this objection quite simply by pointing to the thousands of examples of cupule art, found throughout the world as far back as the Lower Paleolithic era. No archeologist has yet claimed to "understand" or "evaluate" the artistic nature or cultural significance of this ancient art, yet there seems no doubt that it represents a very early type of creative behaviour. |
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